Biomass Feedstock Production and Provision: Overview, Current Status, and Challenges - Engineering and Science of Biomass Feedstock Production and Provision - page 12

1.5 Objectives and Goals of This Topic

Achieving a sustainable BFPP system is paramount for the success of the emerging
bioenergy sector. Engineering will play a critical role in addressing these challenges
and ensuring the techno-economic feasibility of this sector. It must also integrate
with the biological, physical, and chemical sciences and incorporate externalities,
such as social/economic considerations, environmental impact, and policy/regula-
tory issues, to achieve a truly sustainable system. Tremendous progress has been
made in the past few years towards achieving these objectives. New challenges have
simultaneously emerged that need further investigation. It is, therefore, prudent at
this time to review the current status and identify future challenges, which is the
objective of this topic.
Each of the chapters in the topic aims to discuss different issues related to feed-
stock production and is purposely organized based on the different challenges iden-
tifi ed above. The chapters have been prepared such that a reader interested in a
specifi c topic can directly go to that chapter without having to read the preceding
chapters. However, given the interdependencies of these various topics in a BFPP
system, the links and impacts between different stages of the system are highlighted
through cross-referencing between chapters at various places.
We have identifi ed three different agricultural biomass feedstock options that,
according to our opinion, will play an important role in the near-term future of
bioenergy systems. These are switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ), Miscanthus
( Miscanthus × giganteus ) as dedicated energy crops, and corn stover as agricultural
residue. Signifi cantly more data are available for these feedstocks for all stages of
production and provision. However, a comprehensive summary and comparison,
especially for all the feedstock production and provision stages, is lacking in the
literature. This is especially true for Miscanthus and switchgrass given their rela-
tively recent emergence as potential feedstock. We have, therefore, discussed these
three feedstocks in most chapters. This serves the dual purpose of providing consis-
tency among different chapters as well as presenting a summary of crop-specifi c
literature across all feedstock production stages. Several other feedstock options,
such as energy cane, sweet sorghum, tropical maize, and short rotation coppice, are
also being discussed in the literature. These have been briefl y discussed in individ-
ual chapters at appropriate places and in relation to that specifi c topic. It must also
be noted that even though many of the fi eld studies, experiments, and case studies
discussed in the topic are based in the United States, the scientifi c concepts, engi-
neering designs, and recommendations reported have wider applicability, making
the contents of the chapters relevant for other regions around the world as well.
Our objective for this topic is to serve as an authoritative treatise on the topic of
BFPP based on the current literature and understanding. We hope that it will serve
as a guide to various interested stakeholders in the bioenergy sector such as engi-
neers (agricultural, chemical, mechanical, civil), agronomists, academic and indus-
trial researchers, policy makers, bioenergy industries/businesses, farmers, and farm
consultants. In addition to this, we also hope that the topic will serve as a foundation
for the undergraduate and graduate students interested in working in this area and as
a reference guide for instructors teaching courses in this area.