Tag Archives: biomass
Corn Residue as a Feedstock for Cellulosic Ethanol
By Kolby Hoagland | September 13, 2013 This week, Biomass Magazine took part in the National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo and the Corn Stover Harvest & Transport Seminar , which were held in conjunction at the CenturLink Center in Omaha. I was given the honor to MC the Corn Stover Harvest & Transport Seminar where soil scientists, crops specialists, equipment manufacturers, farmer associations, and numerous other experts from industry and academia candidly discussed how corn residue ought to be harvested and aggregated to maintain soil quality and provide a consistent feedstock for cellulosic ethanol plants. In this week’s DataPoint, I will build on a previous article by Anna Simet and provide an in-depth analysis on the benefits of combining corn residue removal with no/low-till field management. The first panel of the Corn Stover Harvest & Transport Seminar, “From Soil to Pump: The Impact of Organic Matter and Nutrient Loss on Our Farmland,” looked at key considerations of corn residue removal on soil conservation and corn yield improvement. The presenters from ARS, Monsanto, and Iowa Corn provided a succinct research-backed that either too little or too much stover left on a field can have negative effects to subsequent corn crops and soil health. The panelists agreed that no-till and low-till field management schemes are some of the most effective practices for farmers to protect their soil from erosion, soil organic matter volatilization, and nutrient run-off. As average annual corn yields trend upwards, the reduction of corn residue left from the previous year’s grain harvest becomes more important. Corn residue encountered during planting in the spring poses a number of problems to farmers. Fall and spring tillage have historically been practiced to incorporate the previous season’s corn residue back into the soil in order reduce the quantity left on the surface of the field. The prime motivators of plowing corn residue back into the soil are to reduce pathogens that might be in the residue and to encourage better seed to soil contact, which excess corn residue inhibits. Plowing the corn residue back into the field provides a clean and even seed bed for strong stand establishment. Furthermore, tillage schemes have been practiced by generations of farmers and are a proven way to manage residue. The panel acknowledged the historic nature of tillage practice, but also conveyed the negative consequences tillage poses to soil health and yield. Once the residue has been tilled back into the soil, the carbon in the previous year’s corn residue binds nitrogen that would otherwise be available to the current corn crop. Furthermore, the tillage of agricultural soil volatilizes considerable quantities of soil organic matter, destroys soil aggregates, and encourages erosion and runoff. By combining no/low-till practices with stover removal in field management schemes, studies not only show yield increases in subsequent corn crops but improved soil health. Soil aggregates are maintained in the fields soil profile, valuable soil organic matter is prevented from volatilizing to the atmosphere, and healthy amounts of stover are left on the field to protect from erosion and runoff when stover removal and no/low-tillage practices are combined in a field management shceme. The panel determined that pairing crop residue removal with no/low-tillage practices would support farmer’s intent to manage excess crop residue, support soil health, and provide sufficient quantities of feedstock to the burgeoning cellulosic ethanol industry. The in-field variability of soil and the dynamic relationship that corn residue has on positive and negative yield effects necessitate ingenuity and practice. The conclusion of the panel stated that corn stover can be done in a manner that would sustain soil health when paired with no and low-till practices. The experiences gained by farmers supplying Abegnoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas, DuPont Cellulosic, and Poet-DSM will support a better understanding of best practices for future suppliers of corn residue to the burgeoning cellulosic ethanol industry. Continue reading
Big Coal –> Big Biomass At The U.K.’s Drax Power Station
By Share Print Situated on the River Ouse, the Drax Power Station provides about 7% of the United Kingdom’s electricity supply. With its 4 GW capacity , Drax is the second largest coal-fired power plant in Europe and the U.K.’s number one emitter of carbon dioxide. This spring, facility directors announced that half of the plant’s capacity would be converted to renewable sources. It is expected that, by 2015, the facility will burn 7.5 million metric tons per year of imported biomass (mostly wood pellets from the United States and Canada). Photo Credit: Photo taken on March 20, 2008 by thewritingzone and found using Creative Commons. Continue reading
Stobart Inks Biomass Supply Deal With Green Fund Manager
Stobart inks biomass supply deal with green fund manager 9th September 2013 By Chris Barry – Editor, North West STOBART, the transport and infrastructure group, has announced a boost for its biomass division, which supplies waste to green energy plants. Its Stobart Biomass Products arm has agreed an exclusive deal with fund manager Greensphere Capital for the supply of up to 1,000,000 tonnes of biomass fuel per year into existing and future biomass power plants. Stobart has been working with Greensphere for more than a year and both parties have identified a number of existing and potential biomass projects for possible investment by funds managed by Greensphere. Greensphere Capital will be investing in a national platform of waste biomass power plants, to which its Framework Agreement with Stobart will provide fuel. The firm manages capital on behalf of institutional investors, including the government-backed Green Investment Bank. Stobart said: “The Master Framework Agreement specifies the terms that individual supply contracts with specific plants will adopt and although at present there is no minimum volume commitment the expectation is that volumes will grow over the coming three years, as plants are acquired and developed. “In addition to the income generated by Stobart Biomass for the supply of the fuel the group will generate revenues from transporting the product and from supporting each new project through to commissioning.” Chief executive Andrew Tinkler said “We believe Greensphere is the ideal partner for Stobart Biomass in this rapidly expanding market and whilst we continue to work with a number of other plant developers this agreement promises to underpin a sizeable element of our biomass supply strategy.” Continue reading