Shane lishawa - loyola univ. photo: apr 2009
Photo pick of the season:
POWER-FOR-RESTORATION IS NOW ALSO PART OF GROWING ALLIANCES of
ORGANIZATIONS UTILIZING INVASIVE PLANTS for ENERGY/PRODUCTS, WATER RETENTION, and REMEDIATION - - WHILE RESTORING NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS and MARGINAL LANDS
LOGLOGIC SOFTRAK HARVESTER loaned for
the marsh harvest BY LOYOLA UNIV. JUNE 2015
richard grosshans,
senior research scientist photo: 2015
ADAM WOEHLEVER (Ohio department of natural resources),
jIM BISSELL (cleveland museum of natural history),
GRAHAM MITCHELL (LOGLOGIC),
BOB ZEITZ (MENTOR MARSH BOARD)
- discussing harvest plans in the mentor marsh "CAREX
AQUATILIS" AREA. JUNE 2015
nancy tuchman - loyola univ
founder/director institute of environmental sustainability. photo: 2015
ron breslaw, citizen scientist VOLUNTEER - collecting freeman maple seedlings
germinating in a skunk cabbage leaf
in the swamp forest remnant, at grace court. sep 2015
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remnant swamp forest in Mentor Marsh (Cleveland Museum of Natural History protected). phragmites removal allows restoration to this state via the existing native seed bank.
quasar energy group anaerobic digestion facility at osu/adi, Wooster oh. april 2013
Pilot:Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, Ohio
Phragmites australis - anaerobic digestion
theinstitute of environmental sustainability(at LOYOLA univ.) ORGANIZED A NATIONAL "RESTORATION / INVASIVES UTILIZATION' CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP IN JUNE 2015.
WE JOINED THEIR COLLABORATIVE AND THEY JOINED OURS. LOYOLA'S LOAN OF THEIR HARVESTER ACQUIRED UNDER A GLRI AWARD helped complete the pilot IN MENTOR MARSH IN OCT 2015.
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY IS HARVESTING invasive CATTAILS to restore biodiversity and is utilizing the harvested biomass FOR POWER.
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NETWORKS
Phragmites australis, a top 10 invasive plant in the US, and monoculture in the 700+ acre Mentor Marsh.
Power-from-Restoration
(Invasives-to-Power)
Through this website, our local/international collaborative, led by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, is sharing:
- how to use invasive plants (waste biomass) to offset fossil fuels
- other methods that reduce ecosystem restoration costs
- lessons learned about the sustainability of various biomass products
Cultivation of biomass crops can impact land and water. The harvest (removal) of invasive "standing crops" benefits land and water - and biodiversity. That is, we generate green power while restoring native ecosystems, versus degrading them.
Worldwide, the cost of invasives management is estimated to be billions of dollars annually. Developing a market for this biomass, provides an opportunity to offset restoration costs greatly, and to expand local green infrastructure / local green economies - in the Lake Erie basin, the Great Lakes - and globallly.
Creating this market will not motivate others to cultivate invasive plants. The high cost of shipping and land negates any profit incentive. Only those motivated by restoration will reap benefits.
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In our Mentor Marsh pilot, we are utilizing Phragmites australis for power via anaerobic digestion, creating a bio-gas that is a drop-in replacement for natural gas from hydraulic fracturing - both for utility power and fuel.
UPDATE 2023: This site is available as a historical record, not to encourage biomass power as a largescale sustainable answer.
The collaborative project was intended to test what would be the most sustainable form of biofuel, if there was to be any: Harvesting invasive plants from a wetland, to restore it, while using this "plant waste" in anaerobic digestion to produce a biogas that would be a drop-in replacement for "fracked" natural gas.
Even this project resulted in a large canbon footprint. Biomass is best left on-site vs removal - with the most salient reason being shipping of heavy material. Much more detail is available by contacting Linda Sekura, the project lead, and website developer.