Useless Grass Could Become Next Biofuel
One day in the not-too-distant future, we might be filling our cars with fuel made from grass.
A biologist has transferred a gene from corn into a fast-growing species of grass and transformed it into what could become an important source of biofuel. In a world of vanishing oil reserves, farmers have been growing more and more high-energy crops like corn and sugar cane to make ethanol as an alternative for gasoline, while scientists are seeking even higher-energy products from other crops.
A UC Berkeley plant geneticist reports that his experiments with a species of corn called corngrass1 have yielded genetically altered forms of common switchgrass plants that more than doubles their content of starch. In a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists say that test plots of the altered switchgrass have shown that the gene experiments have improved the starch content in the plants by roughly 255%. Also important, they report, the gene transfer blocks the switchgrass plants from flowering. "They're forever young," and that means the plants cannot spread pollen containing the new gene beyond the area where the altered plants grow.
Now, larger field tests of the transformed switchgrass are planned, and he said he is starting a new series of genetics experiments to see how other genes from the corngrass1 plant can be triggered in response to light and darkness, and to raise the starch content of switchgrass even higher. The goal is a major new source of biofuel from a wild plant that grows throughout the world.
Opinion: I think it’s really good that we are making progress with biofuel and I hope this becomes our main fuel source replacing oil. This is going to have a major impact on the world if it succeeds. The issue of biofuel needs to be covered more in the media.
Questions:
When do you think that biofuel will become the main fuel source?
Do you think that biofuel will ever be a practical solution to the dwindling supply of oil?
What are some reasons why biofuel might become impractical?
Yet again people are making amazing advancements in the area of alternative energy. If someone has useless grass, then now someone can put it to use and create energy. This concept was probably far beyond what people could do just a few years ago. I have a whole lawn filled with grass and could probably just get rid of it, but now I can use it to do other tasks,such as possibly powering my house.This is just another one of the amazing innovations that people are always coming up with.
ReplyDeleteQuestions
1. What are some other really innovative alternative energy solutions,and are they really practical?
2.Could we use wheat to make these types of energy, why or why not?
3. Why don' t many people use this method to obtain energy?
There seems to be a lot of promise in alternative energy. This seems to be just another way for us to switch from fossil fuels. I am not sure if I support this or not. It depends on if the grass consume enough carbon dioxide to counter act the carbon dioxide added when burned. This article make me think of the one we did for homework a a few days ago, about the trying to push for bio fuels. In that reading it stated that corn was being used and influenced food prices, but using grass would have no impact.
ReplyDeleteTo answer Ahson's question 1, I think Piezoelectricity is a practical one. It uses movement as power. Israel is starting to really experiment with it. These used a road as a power source. 400kW per hour were generated by this road, this shows promise into this concept. If people used this in cities people would generate power,and power would determined by the movement of people.
Ryan Marinelli
Knowing that people are coming up with new ways daily of alternate energy source give my faith in our economy. Grass being used as a fuel is very innovative and would be the perfect alternative of oil. It would be great if we converted all machines run by oil to be able to run on grass. To answer number 1: I think it will become a major source once we run out of oil.
ReplyDeleteIncredible, a forever young grass that can be made into fuel! I like more passive forms of generating energy, like solar and wind, because harsh chemicals and dangerous reactions are less environmentally friendly, and generally passive energy is more easily renewable and attainable. This corngrass is interesting, and it makes me wonder what else humans have the potential to create.
ReplyDelete1. How can so much possible land usage negatively effect the environment?
2. What process, exactly, is used to convert the grass to fuel, and how is it used? Is it environmentally friendly?
3. Can we create something even better than this in the realm of plant life to help us with energy?