New energy crop giant cane (Arundo donax L.) can substitute traditional energy crops increasing biogas yield and reducing costs

Sugars Production for Green Chemistry from 2nd Generation Crop (Arundo donax L.): A Full Field Approach.

“…Xylose production followed the same trend as that of glucose (Figure c), although IL treatment performed at 140 °C for 3 h for AD20, was not so far in terms of total xylose production (Mg Ha −1 ) from that obtained by treating biomass at 160 °C for 3 h. Since A. donax is highly productive it was interesting to compare data obtained in this work for glucose yield (Mg Ha −1 ) with those for other energy crops (Table ).…”

“…Arundo donax L. or giant cane is a suitable feedstock for biorefinery because is cheap and it is a non‐food crop. Giant cane is a perennial C3 plant with physiological characteristics similar to those of a C4 plant: this peculiarity allows a great amount of biomass to be produced per cultivated surface area (70 Mg dry matter Ha −1 , has been recently reported by the author in trial plots) . Thanks to its adaptability, giant cane can be grown with low nutrients and water availability, few agronomic interventions, fertilizers or applications of phytosanitary products.…”

“…Giant cane contains considerable amount of hemicellulose (19 %‐32 % dry matter) and cellulose (20‐39 % dry matter) and therefore could be a significant source of glucose, xylose and other fiber‐derived simple compounds. Arundo donax has therefore been proposed for producing bioethanol and biogas, with a potential for yields that are much higher than those obtainable using other well‐known energy crops …”

Characterization of fine root system and potential contribution to soil organic carbon of six perennial bioenergy crops

“…Among them giant reed is gaining increased notoriety in northern Italy for its high yield potentials [39,40] while switchgrass is a valuable option for its low environmental impact [38]. On average the herbaceous species had a higher proportion of roots in the deeper soil layer than the woody species ( Figs.…”

European Framework for the Diffusion of Biogas Uses: Emerging Technologies, Acceptance, Incentive Strategies, and Institutional-Regulatory Support

“…The dominant energy crop used for biogas production in most countries is maize, which makes up more than 75% of the crops planted for this purpose. Recently, however, interesting emerging non-food energy crops have been proposed, like Arundo donax L. (giant cane, or giant reed), grown with low agronomic input (low, or no irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, and agronomic mechanical interventions), meaning both low cultivation cost and low environmental impact [26]. Use of low-input, non-food, energy crops as unique feedstock or in co-digestion with manure would also solve the current ethical debate on utilization priorities of food crops [27,28].…”