Scientists Look Beyond Corn For Biofuels

Corn and sugar get all the attention as sources of biofuels, but there are other plants that can fill the need, according to a new analysis.

Scientists from the Energy Biosciences Institute write that a "one size fits all" approach is probably not sustainable, especially if the crops use a lot of water. But there are a number of plants such as agave or switchgrass that use much less water than many other crops, and can grow in areas that have fallen out of use for farming.  

EBI Director Chris Somerville of the University of California, Berkeley, and Deputy Director Steve Long of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were co-authors of the research, which was published in the Friday issue of the journal Science. The institute is a research collaboration between the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Illinois, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the funding sponsor BP.

In the paper, many of the plants they suggest using are perennials, which means the soil they are in doesn't need tilling as often, or at all. The perennial root systems can help replenish the soil by adding carbon and protecting it from erosion.