Abstract:This review studies biofuel expansion in terms of competition between conventional and advanced biofuels based on bioenergy potential. Production of advanced biofuels is generally more expensive than current biofuels because products are not yet cost competitive. What is overlooked in the discussion about biofuel is the contribution the industry makes to the global animal feed supply and land use for cultivation of feedstocks. The global ethanol industry produces 44 million metric tonnes of high-quality feed, however, the co-products of biodiesel production have a moderate impact on the feed market contributing to just 8-9 million tonnes of protein meal output a year. By economically displacing traditional feed ingredients co-products from biofuel production are an important and valuable component of the biofuels sector and the global feed market. The return of co-products to the feed market has agricultural land use (and GHG emissions) implications as well. The use of co-products generated from grains and oilseeds can reduce net land use by 11% to 40%. The proportion of global cropland used for biofuels is currently some 2% (30-35 million hectares). By adding co-products substituted for grains and oilseeds the land required for cultivation of feedstocks declines to 1.5% of the global crop area.

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The primary objective of this research was to develop safe, programmable and cost-effective technologies of plantlet production from the seeds of undomesticated American populations of Virgina fanpetals (Sida hermphrodita RUSBY). During our seed priming treatment experiments, approximately 40% of the Virginia fanpetals seeds that were high-quality, infection-free, normally imbibing and germinating seeds. Our spring propagation tray experiments indicated that the spring large-scale tray plantlet production of Virginia fanpetals can be performed with using properly pre-treated and fractioned seeds and the phytotechnology that is characteristic of conventional, large airspace plastic tunnels that are used in white cabbage production. This phytotechnological method can be conducted in a simple and efficient way, making it possible to produce hardened, strong plantlets at an industrial scale, scheduled for planting in early spring (March). Our investigation showed that the combination of summer-autumn nurse-in-tray plantlet production technique and subsequent unprotected wintering of Virginia fanpetals with properly pre-treated and fractioned seeds is a promising new methods. There are no heating costs, and this phytotechnique can be easily and properly mechanized. Scheduled plantlets can be produced at an industrial scale by the time of early spring (March) plantlet planting. The digging up of the plantlets can be flexibly adjusted; the plantlets may even grow in the plantlet cases for an entire year. A comparative analysis of the costs of this procedure needs further research.

To evaluate copper uptake and its toxicity on bioenergy grass giant reed (Arundo donax L.), experiments were carried out using two epigenetic clonal lines - American (BL) and Hungarian (20SZ) ecotypes - grown on elevated Cu concentrations up to 26.8 mg L(-1). Neither ecotype showed any noticeable foliar symptoms of Cu toxicity at concentrations tested up to 10 mg L(-1). Dry mass of plants of both ecotypes significantly increased at the highest Cu treatment compared to control. Although the BL ecotype had greater capacity to uptake Cu than 20SZ, the dry mass and shoot length of BL was higher than that of 20SZ. Values of bioconcentration and transportation factors were higher in the BL than in the 20SZ ecotype. Almost 45 % of total Cu content within the whole plant was found in the plant root of both ecotypes. This demonstrated both ecotypes can be utilized for Cu phytoremediation alongside with significant biomass production.

The primary objectives of this study were to identify the ecotypes of the 'longicaulis' giant reed (Arundo donax L.) that are winter-frost and cold tolerant in temperate climates on marginal lands and to perform biotechnological research on these ecotypes. We searched for large 'longicaulis' giant reed ecotypes, which wintered successfully in spite of the 2012/2013 winter frosts and sprouted from stem nodes in the spring of 2013 in three locations of the Balaton basin. Starting in vitro culture from the buds of the secondary shoot of the full-grown plant on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium supplemented with 0.3 mg L-1 6-benzyl-aminopurine (BAP) and 0.05 mg L-1 1-naphthalene-acetic acid (NAA) was the most satisfactory during October. Our experiments indicated that in vitro propagation by stem cuttings can be successfully performed from in vitro shoots (node number increased with 0.2% NaCl treatment) on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium containing kinetin (3 mg L-1) and indole-3-acetic acid (3 mg L-1). By combining our micro-and macropropagation methods based on propagation by stem cuttings, 400 to 450 plants can be produced from one in vitro shoot during 11 to 12 months of growth.