An actual use for Kudzu
Hat tip to Jennifer at
Invasive Species Weblog for the link.
Excerpted from
Chemically Green:
Kudzu Ethanol Plant Startup in Tennessee, Cows Will Love It
Kudzu was introduced from Japan into the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, where it was promoted as a forage crop and an ornamental plant. From 1935 to the early 1950s the Soil Conservation Service encouraged farmers in the southeastern United States to plant kudzu to reduce soil erosion as above, and the Civilian Conservation Corps planted it widely for many years.
However, it would soon be discovered that the southeastern US has near-perfect conditions for kudzu to grow out of control � hot, humid summers, frequent rainfall, temperate winters with few hard freezes (kudzu cannot tolerate low freezing temperatures that bring the frost line down through its entire root system, a rare occurrence in this region), and no natural predators. As such, the once-promoted plant was named a pest weed by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1953.
So what does Kudzu have to do with ethanol? Simply, due to the starch (sugar) content, kudzu can be used to replace corn to make ethanol. Will kudzu take the place of food ingredients being used to make ethanol? A resounding �Yes!� is stated by Mr. Doug Mizell, co-founder of Agro*Gas Industries in Cleveland, Tennessee. Mizell and company co-founder, Tom Monahan, have dubbed the kudzu-based-ethanol, �Kudzunol.� Kudzu is an obvious resource: �There�s 7.2 million acres of kudzu in the south that�s absolutely good to no one,� said Mizell. �It grows a foot a day, 60 feet a season and can be harvested twice a year and not even hurt the stand.�
All the kudzu plant is used after harvesting, no part goes wasted.
Whats even more cool is that this operation is running subsidy-free and with private funding. The marketplace works when you give it a chance. Should see a drop in corn prices too - paging Archer Daniels Midland, A.D.M. to the white courtesy phone please.
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Posted by DaveH at December 16, 2008 7:43 PM