Plant-based Biofuels
Should we switch to switchgrass?
Author: Sarah Pounders
Overview
 Source:
USDA Agricultural Research Service
|
Plants may become a major fuel source in the future. This lesson introduces students to the idea of plant-based fuel, and explores the benefits and challenges of current biofuel technologies.
Standards (Microsoft Word Document)
Materials:
Background With oil prices on the rise, researchers around the world are investigating
how plants can fuel transportation. Often referred to as biofuel, biomass-based
fuel sources are renewable and potentially less harmful to the environment
because they produce less carbon monoxide.
The most common biofuel in production today is ethanol, an alcohol created
by fermentation of plant sugars. Extensive background information about
ethanol can be found
on the NEED
Web site.
Corn is currently the most common source of ethanol, but using corn
for fuel is controversial. First, the crop requires a fair amount of
inputs including water, fertilizer, and pesticides, while contributing
little to overall environmental health. Second, using it for fuel reduces
food available for humans and livestock worldwide. Overall the amount
of energy it takes to produce, process, and distribute corn-based ethanol
makes it an inefficient energy source. Scientists are developing techniques
to make ethanol from plants such as perennial grasses and fast growing
trees. These plants provide environmental benefits such as preventing
soil erosion and using fewer resources.
Laying the Groundwork
- Share information about energy consumption in the United States using
the Kidsgardening article Plants
and Energy. Once students have reviewed the data, ask, What is
our main source of energy? What do we use it for? Is it renewable or
nonrenewable?
- Ask students to bring in recent articles from newspapers and/or
magazines about energy issues. Make a list of concerns brought up
by the articles. Also make a list of suggested solutions.
- If biofuel is not one of the topics addressed by students' articles,
introduce the concept, and discuss what biofuels are and how
they are manufactured. Are people using
biofuels in
your area?
Exploration
Hand out copies of the Department of Energy's article
Biofuels
from Switchgrass: Greener Energy Pastures to students to read and then use the following questions to spark
discussion:
Additional information about switchgrass production can be found
at the
Agricultural
Resource Marketing Center Web site Although there are high hopes for biofuels, there are also many
concerns. Read The
False Hope of Biofuels
from the Washington Post with your students. How does this contrast
with the article from the Department of Energy? Host a debate to present
the pros and cons of biofuels.
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