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The depletion of natural resources for energy, water and land act as primary driving factors
for the development of alternative energy systems. The focus of this report will be on one
such source – Energy Crops for their use as Biofuels, with the main motivations being to
address questions such as whether biofuel production is a viable option in Canada, the role
microbes play in biofuel production, genomics used in biofuel research, and the
environmental, societal, and economic impacts of biofuels.
The term ‘Energy crops’ refers to biomass from crops grown used as feedstock for energy
production [1]. Biofuels are the energy source produced from renewable resources such as
plants and organic waste replacing traditional non-renewable fuels such as oil and natural
gas [2]. The advantages of biofuels on top of their renewability are that they cause a 25%
reduction in particulate matter and hydrocarbon emissions, 11% reduction in carbon
monoxide (CO) emissions, while providing the same efficiency as fossil fuels [3].
Canada is known for its vast land resources housing 7% of the world’s land mass, 10% of
the world’s forests, and about 67.5 million hectares of agricultural land, of which 36.4
million is cropland. In addition, Canada possesses nearly a billion hectares of land, 42% of
which is forested, and 7% is agricultural, representing a total renewable resource of greater
than 600 EJ (exajoules) of captive potential energy. Owing to the mounting energy demand
and usage, non-profit organizations such as the Sustainable Development Technology
Canada are working with the Government of Canada to develop and meet visions such as
“650 PJ/yr (0.65 EJ) of bio-based fuel by the year 2015, by capitalizing on Canada’s
natural advantage, and leveraging existing technological strengths and capabilities". [1]
Production of biofuels involves taking the biomass formed with the help of photosynthesis
using solar energy and carbon dioxide after harvesting trees or other energy crops such as
switchgrass and corn, and processing them to obtain cellulose. The cellulose is then broken
down into glucose using enzymes followed by fermentation to ethanol with the aid of
bacteria such as Bacillus licheniformus and Bacillus subtilis. This ethanol is used as a
biofuel which, after combustion, leads to the release of carbon-dioxide, which in turn gets
used up for photosynthesis, thereby completing the cycle [4, 5].
There are many factors used as criteria for choosing the most appropriate crop for a
particular scenario, from a list of potential crop options. Some of the most important
