Physical separation of straw stem components to reduce silica

J. Richard Hess, David N. Thompson, Reed L. Hoskinson, Peter G. Shaw, Duane R. Grant

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, we describe ongoing efforts to solve challenges to using straw for bioenergy and bioproducts. Among these, silica in straw forms a low-melting eutectic with potassium, causing slag deposits, and chlorides cause corrosion beneath the deposits. Straw consists principally of stems, leaves, sheaths, nodes, awns, and chaff. Leaves and sheaths are higher in silica, while chaff, leaves, and nodes are the primary sources of fines. Our approach to reducing silica is to selectively harvest the straw stems using an in-field physical separation, leaving the remaining components in the field to build soil organic matter and contribute soil nutrients.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)43-51
Number of pages9
JournalApplied Biochemistry and Biotechnology
Volume105
Issue number1-3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2003

Keywords

  • Bioenergy
  • Combustion
  • Selective harvest
  • Silica
  • Wheat straw
  • Whole crop utilization

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