Pennycress, often referred to as stinkweed, is a common weed throughout Eurasia and North America. In the past 20 years, there has been some interest in harnessing it as a potential renewable fuel crop rather than just treating it as a weed, as the high erucic acid content of its seeds could make it suitable as a jet fuel.
“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from air travel will mean not just incremental changes, but a fundamental change in how we have been producing fuel and where that fuel comes from,” said Professor Ajay Shah, senior author of the Ohio State University study. “And what we found is that pennycress might make a very good alternative fuel, especially when you consider the environmental costs of producing it.”
Growing pennycress as a crop requires less fertiliser and fewer pesticides than other plants that can be used to make renewable jet fuel, the researchers concluded. It also requires fewer farm operations, such as soil tilling, than...