Over the years, growing dominant crops on land can lead to various environmental consequences, such as loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, farmers are advised to revert parts of their land back to meadows, but whether this will bring them economic benefits is questionable.
Experts from Iowa State University offer a solution that, they say, will benefit everyone—farmers, businesses, and ultimately, society as a whole.
The solution involves using grass biomass to produce natural biogas, a subject the research team at the mentioned university has been studying for six years.
Professor of Ecology and Natural Resource Management Lisa Schulte Moore and her colleagues have modeled the economic feasibility of gas production from grass in various environments and from different perspectives.
Their work focuses on optimizing and expanding the use of anaerobic digesters—facilities where the natural process of organic matter biodegradation occurs without oxygen. Captured in tanks, the biogas can be processed into fuel that has the potential to replace petroleum-based natural gas and be used to power electric generators. “To replace natural gas with resources that revitalize sustainable agriculture, we must be able to quantify how much energy we can produce and demonstrate that it can be profitable and environmentally friendly,” said study co-author Mark Mba-Wright.
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Renewable Natural Gas as the Most Cost-effective Option
In a study published in the journal BioEnergy Research, researchers modeled how a network of digesters in Ames, Iowa, could meet the city’s heating and electricity needs. According to their estimates, installing 10 digesters at various locations using livestock manure, biofuel byproducts, food waste, wastewater, and grass as feedstock would be enough. The fact that renewable natural gas has proven to be the most cost-effective option can help city leaders make informed decisions, said Mba-Wright.
In another study, scientists analyzed two hypothetical digesters using grassy biomass. They concluded that these facilities would generate a combined profit of over $400 million under the best conditions over their expected 20-year lifespan. Researchers also claim that during these two decades, 45 million gigajoules of renewable natural gas—about 12.5 billion kilowatt-hours—would be produced, with an 83 per cent lower carbon footprint compared to natural gas derived from fossil fuels. Experts say emissions would also be lower than those from corn-based ethanol or soybean-based biodiesel.
