Wheatgrass And Other Biomass Energy Sources

Governments are continuously searching for other sources of fuel in the light of the proven harmful effects of petroleum to the environment, and one of these sources they are looking at is wheatgrass and biomass reserves. Wheatgrass comes from the cotyledons of a common wheat plant named Triticum aestivum, and is believed to have curing and health benefits. It can be grown easily in home gardens and backyards, which is why more people are cultivating it for personal or commercial purposes.

Agricultural scientists have discovered the other benefits of wheatgrass aside from those in the curative side. It can be a source of alternative fuel like ethanol and methanol. In fact, not only wheatgrass, but also other crops can be processed to produce biomass energy. Ethanol and methanol can be derived from biomass and fossil fuels. The ability of wheatgrass and other crops and woody sources in providing biomass energy for fuel is one hopeful step in the reduction of the amount of greenhouse gases in the environment. All waste by-products have the potential be become biomass energy sources, and the list can range from corn stalks and kernels, soybean, canola oil, animal fats and waste, prairie grasses and hardwood, and even algae.

There are sundry advantages in using biomass fuel. First, it does not contribute to the build-up of greenhouse gases. Also, biomass absorbs carbon when it is grown that is equal to the carbon it releases when used as a fuel, so it hardly contributes to global warming. Biomass does not release a high amount of sulfur oxide unlike coal, and it has a high octane rating that can give a better burning efficiency to vehicles. Including corn and plant and animals wastes, wheatgrass does not have to end up straight to landfill if it is processed for fuel.

Here are other benefits that we can get from using biomass fuel: It is evenly distributed throughout the world unlike finite energy sources; it is cheaper to convert these potential sources to fuel; it gives opportunities for local, regional, national, and international levels a more sustainable energy source; it is a technologically and economically friendly means of solving the problem of fast-depleting fuel reserves; it contributes to greenhouse reduction; it gives an opportunity for local farmers and entrepreneurs for a sustainable development.

In some western countries like Brazil and Western America, the use of ethanol and methanol as a replacement to gasoline has already been started. Only a simpler kind of technology is used in the production of these biomass alcohols compared to that of gasoline processing. To create fuel from biomass, the feedstock is first ground to reveal the starch from the plant. Then, water and enzymes are mixed with the ground feedstock before heating the mixture to produce sugar. To ferment this sugar, yeast is added. Once ethanol is produced, it will undergo distillation to remove the alcohol content, which then ends up with vehicle-efficient fuel.

Wheatgrass, like other potential sources of biomass energy, offers a promising, eco-friendly source of income for the rural population throughout the world.