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Increasing concerns about climate change mitigation and rising oil prices are creating unprecedented interest in the development of economical and convenient renewable energy fuels. Recent advances in biomass feedstock development and conversion technologies have created new opportunities for using agricultural land as a means of producing these renewable fuels in larger quantities than relying on wood and agricultural residues alone. Dedicated agricultural feedstocks such as switchgrass and short rotation willow can abate greenhouse gas emissions by increasing carbon storage in the landscape, as well as by displacing fossil fuels in combustion applications. This project examined the potential of using these materials and other biomass residues as new feedstocks for the pellet industry.

Switchgrass has been identified as a promising pelleting feedstock as it facilitates higher throughput rates and requires less energy for crop drying than wood. Although switchgrass is a higher cost feedstock to procure than wood residues, it could become an economical biofuel. The overall energy balance of switchgrass is 14.5: 1, which includes energy for switchgrass production, transportation to the conversion facility, preprocessing, pelleting and marketing.