Giant Soybean Plants Could Provide Cellulose For Ethanol
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Posted by Cindy Zimmerman – November 22nd, 2006
Bigger, stronger soybeans could help meet the demand for cellulosic material to produce ethanol.
USDA Agricultural Research Service chemical engineer Justin Barone and ARS geneticist Thomas Devine believe the giant soybean plants could be “specially bred with strong cellulose, for use in briquettes and wood substitutes, or with weak cellulose better suited for cellulosic ethanol production.”
In the photo, Devine measures one of his large biomass soybean plants which grow up to seven feet in height without lodging due to their stong sapling-like stalks.