grain field

Biomass Info:

The Bioenergy Feedstock Library hosts characteristic data from over 70,000 biomass samples representing over 90 crop types.

This page highlights a selection of the Library's crop types. Samples with a link to a Data Sheet PDF are reference materials, which are biomass materials that were prepared and characterized at INL for use in research applications. Physical samples of these feedstocks are available by request.

Request Biomass Samples »

Corn Stover

Data Sheet PDF (Single Pass) (Revised 11-28-2016)

Data Sheet PDF (Multi Pass) (Revised 11-28-2016)

Data Sheet PDF (Ensiled) (Revised 11-29-2016)

  Corn stover is the most common crop for bioenergy research. Corn stover, an agricultural by-product, consists of the leaves and stalks of corn plants left in a field after harvest. It can be harvested with a single piece of equipment for both cutting and baling (single pass), or use a double-pass method that first cuts and drops the stover in windrows in the field and then picks up and bales the windrowed stover, typically introducing more ash from soil.

Switchgrass

Data Sheet PDF (Revised 11-28-2016)

Switchgrass is a native warm-season perennial grass that can thrive in a variety of climatic conditions and soil types. It can be grown on land that is not suitable for row crop production in either conventional tillage or no-till production systems.

Miscanthus

Data Sheet PDF (Revised 7-10-2019)

Miscanthus (commonly known as Elephant Grass) is a tall perennial grass that resembles bamboo. It is easy to grow, requires few nutrient inputs, and produces a crop with a high biomass yield and low mineral content. Miscanthus can be grown on lands not suitable for row-crop production.

Sorghum

Data Sheet PDF (Revised 11-28-2016)

Sorghum is a cereal grain that grows tall like corn and can be produced as a quick-growing annual. High-biomass sorghum uses water and nutrient inputs efficiently, is drought resistant, has robust establishment characteristics, and can be produced on lands considered marginal for other crops.

Wheat Straw

Data Sheet PDF (Revised 11-28-2016)

Wheat straw, an agricultural by-product, consists of the dry stalks that remain after the grain and chaff have been removed. It's use as a large-scale biomass power source is increasing in many parts of the world.

Hybrid Poplar

Data Sheet PDF (Revised 1-8-2018)

Poplars grow fairly well in the northern, central, and southern United States. Extensive genomic resources and ease of clonal propagation and transformation, will allow the generation of advanced transgenic clones with enhanced traits.

Currently Unavailable

Lodge Pole Pine

Data Sheet PDF (Revised 11-28-2016)

Lodgepole pine is a highly adaptable tree that can grow in many environments, from water-logged bogs to dry sandy soils. Pine is being primarily grown for sawtimber and pulpwood, but they have great potential as an energy crop or in management regimes that produce biomass and other products.

Currently Unavailable

Sugarcane Bagasse

Data Sheet PDF (Revised 11-28-2016)

Sugarcane bagasse is the fibrous material left over after sugarcane is processed for sugar production. Sugarcane bagasse is a low cost, high availability feedstock with great potential for ethanol production, especially in tropical countries.

MSW

MSW (municipal solid waste, more commonly known as trash or garbage) is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public from residential and business waste streams. MSW is a highly variable waste stream that changes from region to region, season to season and year to year. Of the materials commonly found in MSW, paper, paperboard, wood, food, and yard trimmings represent good sources of lignocellulose that can be used as sugar feedstocks for production of biofuels.

Currently Unavailable