Sunday, May 4, 2008
1-12

Introducing for the first time giant reed (Arundo donax) as ideal feedstock for future biorefinery

Renata Bura, Sharon Doty, Richard Gustafson, and William McKean. College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Bloedel Hall 334, Seattle, WA 98195

Giant reed (Arundo donax), a perennial grass, is one of the fastest growing plants in the world. It has an excellent potential to be a major source of bioenergy, biochemicals, and pulp and paper in the future biorefinery. Why? At 15 to 20 oven dry tons per acre, giant reed is approximately twice as productive as poplar and switchgrass with less fertilizer demand and low management costs. Aroundo donax efficiently removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and “fixes” it into plant tissue, above and below ground. It has been previously proven in our lab to be an excellent source of biomass for pulp and paper production, since it requires less bleaching chemicals and energy to achieve the same level of brightness as wood pulp. In this study for the first time we have shown the technical feasibility of utilizing giant reed for pulp and paper as well as bioethanol production in the future biorefinery. The ethanol yields from 3 stage processing combined of SO2-catalysed steam pretreatment, enzymatic saccharification and yeast fermentation will be presented.

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