From the Biomass Journal – June 2009
Since the late 1960s, scientists have studied duckweed for animal and human consumption because of its high protein content. NC State associate professor of forestry and environmental resources, Anne Stomp and fellow researchers are now tapping into the plant’s innate environmental benefits, from desalinating wastewater to exploring its potential as a viable starch-based feedstock for ethanol production.
The drive to develop sustainable nonfood, starch-based ethanol feedstocks and more efficient conversion processes is intensifying as the U.S. attempts to reduce ethanol’s carbon footprint by transitioning from corn to cellulosic ethanol. That has prompted researchers at North Carolina State University to take a closer look at plants, such as duckweed, that could be a potential feedstock for ethanol production.
Duckweed has traditionally been studied because of its inherently rich protein content at 30 percent to 35 percent on a dry-weight basis. The purpose was to explore whether duckweed could be a protein source for animal and human food. A growing interest in sustainable ethanol feedstock development, however, has researchers exploring the plant’s starch content.
Read the complete article at http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2714&q=&page=all