Biomass / Bioenergy Production on Reclaimed Coal
Mines
Increasing
raw material demands worldwide, new technologies for converting cellulosic
materials into liquid fuels, and climate-related concerns with fossil-fuel
carbon emissions all have the potential dramatically increase demands for
bioenergy feedstock products over coming decades. Soils on reclaimed mine areas
in central Appalachia can be highly productive when non-compacted and managed
for woody material production. These soils are deeper than native mountain
soils, rich in nutrient cations, often have favorable textures and pH, occur
over extensive areas, and generally have not been placed in economically valued
uses. This research seeks to determine the potential of reclaimed mine areas to
support fast-growing herbaceous and woody crops for their biomass crops biomass
production potentials; and to develop reclamation and management strategies
that will maximize those potentials.
Results
of early research, conducted under J. Burger’s leadership, demonstrate
that hybrid poplar far outyields commonly used reclamation species -- native
hardwoods and eastern white pines – on reclaimed mine. This result is not
surprising, given that poplars (genus Populus)
and their hybrids are the fastest growing trees within the temperate zone and
are widely considered to be the premier woody perennial candidate for bioenergy
feedstock production. Thus, with additional involvement by Virginia Tech
foresters A. Brunner and J. Munsell, the research has been expanded to evaluate
and compare 97 genotypic varieties of hybrid poplar for production, agronomic,
and wood-quality characteristics when grown on reclaimed mine areas; and to
compare the biomass production capabilities of hybrid poplar to other
fast-growing species that yield denser biomass materials.
Hybrid poplars growing on an experimental site in Wise
County, Virginia, at age 5.
Publications
Fields-Johnson C., C. Zipper, D. Evans, T.
Fox, J. Burger. 2008. Fourth-year
Tree Response to Three Levels of Silvicultural Input on Mined Land. in:
Proc., 25th Annual Meeting, American Society of Mining and Reclamation.
Fike, J., J. Galbraith, C. Teutsch, D.
Parrish, C. Zipper. 2009. Herbaceous Crops
for a Biofuels/Bioproducts Industry on Reclaimed Mine Lands.