Crop Science and Plant Breeding - Industrial crops for sustainable energy and materials
Intro
Industrial crops for sustainable energy and materials
Our industrial crops programme is developing plants for heat, power and raw materials. The aim is to produce new materials and products that reduce carbon emissions by replacing carbon intensive alternatives.
Recent reports indicate that for the UK to meet Net Zero targets perennial biomass crops, such as Miscanthus, will be needed and grown across several hundred thousand hectares. This is because such crops are highly energy efficient and able to remove CO2 especially if combined with carbon capture and storage technologies when used for energy generation.
Plants take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow. Harvesting and burning plant biomass for heat or power releases the same “contemporary” carbon back into the atmosphere (Fig 1). This is different to the ancient carbon released during the burning of fossil fuels that increases overall atmospheric CO2. Similarly the carbon can be fixed into products some of which have very long life times. By using perennial crops and senesced plant materials we can significantly improve the sustainability of the crop by reducing agronomic inputs and returning nutrients to the field for use in subsequent growth years.
Figure 1. Carbon flow (below) and approximate greenhouse gas balance (above) achievable from different fuel use scenarios including fossil fuel, green or senesced biomass with and without carbon capture and storage (CCS); (from Robson et al., 2019)
Our focus is on developing plants that produce the best balance of high yield from low inputs while delivering the right quality of biomass. We have a major research programme focussed on the high yielding C4 grass, Miscanthus. We also work on indigenous perennial ryegrass, reed canary grass, and short rotation coppice willow. All these perennials can combine high yield potentials with minimal or no fertiliser /pesticide input. The ecosystem benefits of perennials include carbon sequestration, prevention of soil erosion and nutrient leaching, and improvement of habitat for biodiversity through more permanent land cover and reduced pesticide use.
We also work on selected annuals, such as hemp, for fibre and chemicals. Recent projects have also included marine biomass resources and fresh water algae (Lemna), processed for high value products and water remediation.