Kudzu keeps growing, but plans to make it into biofuel have stalled

Kudzu is sometimes called "the vine that ate the South." Anyone who's lived or visited the southeastern U.S. can certainly understand why. The fast-growing vine swarms over trees and buildings and other items. A few years ago, there was a lot of talk about finding a way to use the invasive plant as a biomass ingredient for cellulosic ethanol, with both the University of Toronto and the U.S. Department of Agriculture investigating the issue. We haven't heard much about that plan for a while now, though, and the AP tells us why: the poor economy.

Even though a 2008 study by the UT and USDA found that kudzu might be able to produce a corn-like 400 liters of ethanol per acre, the follow-up portion of that study – a large-scale proof-of-concept project – never got underway because alt-fuel investments dried up when the recession hit. Low petroleum gas prices also didn't help.

All is not dead in the kudzu biofuel world, though. A Tennessee-based company – Agrogas – still looking for money to try and commercialize the idea, so we might figure out a way to use the plant before it totally takes over.

[Source: AP | Image: maryatexitzero - C.C. License 2.0