Biofuels and energy crops

As part of the UBC Food System Project (UBCFS) our group helped research and establish biofuel demonstration plots at the UBC Farm for canola, a first-generation biofuel, and miscanthus, a second-generation biofuel. Our research compares and contrasts these two crops in terms of growing capabilities and processing technologies, and contextualizes this information as it relates to the UBC Farm. After analyzing the soil and climate conditions of the UBC Farm, we deduced that both crops can potentially have all of their nutritional and climate requirements met once issues regarding adequate nitrogen for canola, and sufficient drainage for miscanthus are addressed. We believe that producing, processing and utilizing canola and its end product (biodiesel) is feasible within the boundaries of the UBC campus. On the other hand, miscanthus will serve better as a tool for education and research because of the relatively expensive technology that is required to extract its ethanol. Based on these findings and conclusions, our group provided a set of general recommendations to the UBC Farm and specific recommendations for the 2010 AGSC 450 students. They concern areas of research and interviews that we didn’t have the time or resources to complete. All of our recommendations support the notion that UBC has the potential to attain its goal of becoming a leader in sustainability, and can be an exemplar of a self-reliant food system. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofUnreviewedUndergraduat