Treethanol
Encyclopedia
Treethanol is an ethanol fuel
(more precisely cellulosic ethanol
) made from trees.
Forest trees make up more than 90% of the total terrestrial biomass
while performing functions such as carbon sequestration, producing oxygen, and promoting biodiversity. Trees are a promising source of ethanol because they grow all year round, require significantly less fertilizer
and water and contain far more carbohydrates (the chemical precursors of ethanol) than food crops (like corn) do.
Responsible forestry
practices do not contribute to greenhouse gases because the forest is allowed to regenerate following fiber
harvesting. For this reason wood can be considered to be an essentially carbon-neutral source of energy.
Ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres...
(more precisely cellulosic ethanol
Cellulosic ethanol
Cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel produced from wood, grasses, or the non-edible parts of plants.It is a type of biofuel produced from lignocellulose, a structural material that comprises much of the mass of plants. Lignocellulose is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin...
) made from trees.
Forest trees make up more than 90% of the total terrestrial biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
while performing functions such as carbon sequestration, producing oxygen, and promoting biodiversity. Trees are a promising source of ethanol because they grow all year round, require significantly less fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
and water and contain far more carbohydrates (the chemical precursors of ethanol) than food crops (like corn) do.
Responsible forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
practices do not contribute to greenhouse gases because the forest is allowed to regenerate following fiber
Fiber
Fiber is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread.They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together....
harvesting. For this reason wood can be considered to be an essentially carbon-neutral source of energy.
See also
- EcologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
- Environmental protectionEnvironmental protectionEnvironmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
- Habitat conservationHabitat conservationHabitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...
- Natural resourceNatural resourceNatural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
- Renewable resourceRenewable resourceA renewable resource is a natural resource with the ability of being replaced through biological or other natural processes and replenished with the passage of time...
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
External links
- Fast-growing trees could take root as future energy source:http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html4ever/2006/060823.Chapple.poplar.html
- The Poplar Tree: Advancing Alternative Energy Sources
- DOE Joint Genome Institute Announces 2008 Genome Sequencing Targets EucalyptusEucalyptusEucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
to be sequenced as a candidate biomass energy crop by US DOE Joint Genome InstituteJoint Genome InstituteThe U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute was created in 1997 to unite the expertise and resources in genome mapping, DNA sequencing, technology development, and information sciences pioneered at the DOE genome centers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Lawrence Livermore...