Which Biofuel is Better for the Environment?: Biomass Energy: Eco20/20

Which Biofuel is Better for the Environment?

According to studies done by educational institutions, the biomass that is the best for the environment is prairie grass. Prairie grass is best for energy per acre, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and for reviving degraded land, and possibly for economic conditions.

Energy per Acre

Although corn has been widely used as a biomass to produce biofuel, it has been proven to not produce the most energy per acre. Soybean diesel has proven not to yield a high amount of usable energy per acre, either. Instead, prairie grass has been shown to be able to supply the highest amount of energy per harvested acre. It also shows to be the best biomass for the environment. So while corn grain ethanol and soybean diesel are a great way to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, they still aren't the best in biomass.

Removing Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere

Prairie grass and other flowering plants have been found to be carbon negative, meaning that the use of biofuel made from them does not emit carbon dioxide. It has further been found that prairie grass crops reduce the amount of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. If each acre of degraded land were planted with prairie grass, it would reduce the carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere by almost two tons per year for each acre.

Degraded Land Revived

By planting crops on degraded land, several environmental benefits can be achieved. One benefit is that nutrients are replenished in currently non-fertile soils. Another benefit is that if all degraded land resources are used, it can harvest enough biofuel to replace approximately thirteen percent of the world's consumption of petroleum fuels and approximately nineteen percent of the world's energy consumption. This will reduce the need for these sources of energy to be created, harvest and used. Fossil fuels and nuclear energy are two of the most environmentally damaging energy sources. Another benefit of using prairie grass as a biomass is the fact that the land and water in surrounding areas will be cleaned over time. This will also help preserve natural wildlife habitats by planting crops that are native to each land.

Economic Benefits

Many farmers are not receiving payments for services they are rendering. Instead, they are getting paid for the products they provide, mostly on their own land. If the Conservation Reserve Program would allow farmers to grow and harvest biomass on these degraded land sources as well as on certain reserves, the farmers can continue raising and harvesting their own crops and/or cattle. This in turn will allow product prices to remain the same, instead of the increase that could be expected if farmers had to remove their crops from the market in order to grow and harvest biomasses.

Sustainability

Since biomasses can be continually renewed, their sustainability provides a reduction of the need for mining, drilling, land clearing and other environmentally dangerous resource harvesting techniques. This can allow the Earth to heal itself. The environment will be able to heal itself. And since biomasses are renewable resources, there will be no need to revert to these practices, or attempt to find other practices that may be equally damaging.

Better Biofuel: Prairie Grass

As you can see, prairie grass beats many other biomasses as a clean, green energy source. Many other biomasses are carbon positive, unlike prairie grasses. Few biomass crops can replenish all the same nutrients in the soil as prairie grass. Prairie grass also offers the highest level of energy supplied per acre harvested.