Wheat stubble could power a greener future Biofuels made from
the stubble left over from harvesting grains could replace
around one fifth of the volume of petrol used in Australia, say
researchers. Dunlop says based on 2001 figures, the 10 main
grain crops of Australia produce about 65 million tonnes of
stubble. He says much of this needs to be left in the ground to
protect soil, retain soil carbon and reduce evaporation. This
would leave just under fifteen million tonnes of remaining
stubble to be distributed in a way that is economically viable
to collect. "That would be equivalent to roughly 20% of the
volume of the petrol that we use," says Dunlop. The researchers
analysed figures for wheat, barley, canola, lupins, oats,
sorghum, triticale, field peas and chick peas in their study.
"[Stubble] is probably one of the more widely distributed
feedstocks that is currently available," says Dunlop. Dunlop
says it's important to consider the energy used to grow, harvest
and processed a proposed biofuel feedstock.