Biofuel
Bioethanol from trees, grasses, and waste
How its made
Scientists are developing technologies that allow all parts of the plant to be used like trees, grasses, wood chippings, and forestry waste all could be used in biofuel production
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
- willow, poplar, switchgrass, and miscanthus all grow quickly without much fertilizer
- land that is bad for crops can be used to grow these trees and grasses
- they are bread to use less water
- growth of willow can lead to removing harmful chemicals from the soil
- switchgrass can be used for biofuel and grazing
- the technology is not perfected
- willow requires certain amount of water and can't be grown in dry areas
- it cannot be used ans a natural fertilizer
- poplar isn't very genetically diverse so it's hard to produce the perfect plant for biofuel
Did you know?
An alternative to willow is poplar as it shares several characteristics.