An everyday grass has been identified as the best candidate for generating green energy from UK brownfield and polluted sites.
Scientists at
Teesside University have concluded that
reed canary grass is the perfect candidate for improving unsightly blots on the British landscape, while helping the country meets its
renewable energy targets.
Researchers at the University’s Contaminated Land and Water Centre began looking into which plants could best be grown on
brownfield sites in 2004. The results of the research reveal reed canary grass – a native British grass – is the best biofuel crop to grow on such land.
The findings are being described as significant because a key concern about biofuel
crops is that they take away land that would otherwise be used in
food production.
The team working on the Biomass, Remediation, re-Generation (BioReGen) project – which is backed by a €1.2 million (£1 million) grant from the European Union’s LIFE-Environment research programme – experimented with four types of plant – willow trees, miscanthus, reed canary and switch grasses.
Reed canary grass best biofuel for biomass power stationsTests were carried out on how well each grass grew on poor soil and how well they burned once turned into bricks and pellets. The tests found that reed canary grass was the best biofuel to grow for biomass power stations and smaller-scale boilers used in buildings. Willow trees are the current favourite for biomass power stations.
“In areas like Teesside, and many similar ones around the country, there are a lot of marginal or brownfield sites on which reed canary grass can be grown,” said Dr Richard Lord, Reader in Environmental Geochemistry and Sustainability.
Having reached maturity, which takes two years, reed canary grass can be harvested and turned into bricks and pellets, which Dr Lord said not only burn well but also don’t add to greenhouse gases or contribute to global warming.
“The test burnings have shown that reed canary grass produces a good, clean fuel without picking up contamination from the soil,” he said.
“Our research also suggests that the end product is improved soil quality and biodiversity at the greened-up sites. We are now examining ways in which we can commercialise this idea and are already talking to a number of major biomass power station operators.”
Earlier this month, scientists at Manchester University discovered
genes that make plants, such as trees, grow fatter, which they say could lead to increased biomass
production without competing with food crops.
Related news: Renewable energy newsGreen research newsRelated links:www.tees.ac.uk