Use of grassland for bioenergy and biorefining

Publication date: 26/07/2018
Extent: 12 pages

Contributions by: Ulrich Thumm, University of Hohenheim, Germany

Chapter synopsis: High-yielding, intensively managed, agriculturally improved grasslands provide biomass with qualities suitable for anaerobic fermentation and biorefining. Biomass from semi-natural grasslands or from landscape conservation areas has higher lignin content. It is suitable for combustion or pyrolysis, but requires pre-treatment before fermentation or hydrolysis to break down the cellulosic fibre. This chapter begins by reviewing grassland types, categorizing them according to their potential for biomass production. The next section details the options for use of grassland biomass, and covers biogas, combustion, pyrolysis and gasification, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation to ethanol, and biorefining. Finally, we discuss the future prospects for the use of grassland biomass in bioenergy applications.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2017.0024.20