Purpose-grown biomass crops : efficient production and real-world verification

Abstract

For Nova Scotia, the adoption of green fuels represents an opportunity to transition away from its high emission, coal-based energy system. Namely, a NS bioindustry could be facilitated by its agricultural expertise and abundant marginal land. The objective of this research was to determine whether bioenergy crops could be established on Nova Scotian marginal land. Two sites were created in East Gore, Hants County and Skye Glen, Inverness County. At these sites, four biomass crops (Miscanthus, switchgrass, poplar, willow) were planted and treated with one of three soil amendments (<i>Ascophyllum nodosum</i> seaweed extract, paper mill sludge, anaerobic digestate) or a no-additives control. Growth parameters were measured in the following fall/spring. After analyzing these data through ANOVA, it was found that poplar and Miscanthus treated with paper mill sludge possessed higher growth parameters (relative to other tested crops) consistently across sites. Conversely, switchgrass generally had lower yields in comparison.