Images of Research: Adapting to advance

Blooming biomass: cultivating contaminated land

Category: Green recovery

A microscope image of reed canary grass

Biofuels are an increasingly popular alternative to fossil fuels, however, growth of plant-based biomass takes valuable land away from food production. Our research is exploring the potential to grow bioenergy crops, such as reed canary grass, on contaminated land. Using X-ray computed tomography, we are examining whether the contamination is simply dust on the plant or has been absorbed into the plant material from the land, aiming to inform pre-treatment options.

Entrant: Benjamin Nunn , Civil And Environmental Engineering

Copyright: Benjamin Nunn

Funding: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101006717.

Collaborators: James Minto

Links

Entrant profile: https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/persons/benjamin-nunn