Production costs of potential corn stover harvest and storage systems

Vadas, Peter; Digman, Matthew F.

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2013.03.028

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Feedstock yield is assumed at 2.7 tonnes/hectare with resulting moisture content assumed at either 20 or 30% (wb). Bales are stored field-side in tarped stacks, and an assumed 10 or 12% dry matter loss occurs during the year of storage for 20% moisture (Hartley et al, 2015) and 30% moisture bales (Vadas and Digman, 2013), respectively. Bales are transported an average of 82 km using flatbed trucks to a preprocessing facility at the biorefinery gate.…”

Section: Logistics Supply Chain Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Assessment of a Chopped Feedstock Logistics Supply Chain for Corn Stover

et al. 2018

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Storing corn stover in wet, anaerobic conditions is an active management approach to reduce the risk of significant aerobic degradation and catastrophic loss due to fire. An estimated 50% of the corn stover available in the U.S. is too wet at the time of harvest to be stored safely in baled formats and is compatible with wet, anaerobic storage through ensiling. A logistics system based on field-chopping and particle size reduction early in the supply chain removes the dependency on field-drying of corn stover prior to baling, allows for an expanded harvest window, results in diminished size reduction requirements at the biorefinery, and is compatible with ensiling as a storage approach. The unit operations were defined for this chopped logistics system, which included field chopping, bulk transportation to a biorefinery site, on-site preprocessing to meet biorefinery size and ash specifications, industrial-scale storage through ensiling, and delivery of corn stover at a rate of 2,000 tonnes per day for ∼50% of the year. The chopped system was compared to the conventional bale system for 30% moisture (wet basis) corn stover, a likely delivered moisture content for baled corn stover harvested wet. Techno-economic analysis showed that the chopped logistics system is cost competitive, costing only 10% more than the baled logistics system, meanwhile reducing the energy consumption by 48% and greenhouse gas release by 60%. In summary, a chopped logistics system utilizing on-site preprocessing and storage at a biorefinery gate is an economically viable approach to provide a stable source of corn stover for use when dry bales are not available, meanwhile reducing the risk of loss in long-term storage.

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Section: Logistics Supply Chain Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Assessment of a Chopped Feedstock Logistics Supply Chain for Corn Stover

et al. 2018

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“…These attributes, in addition to the potential to remove all cobs without adversely affecting soil organic C, make cobs more attractive than stover for cellulosic ethanol production from an agronomic perspective. Further research is necessary to evaluate the long-term effects of full cob removal on soil quality, notably soil organic C. Collection systems that separate grain and cellulosic fractions are being evaluated for efficiency and economic feasibility [38,39]. However, sole reliance on corn cobs would likely result in collection radii overlap once the industry is established, thus necessitating the use of multiple feedstocks to meet biorefinery biomass requirements [16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Nitrogen and Tillage Management Affect Corn Cellulosic Yield, Composition, and Ethanol Potential

et al. 2015

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Corn (Zea mays L.) stover and cobs remaining after grain harvest can serve as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol production. Field trials were conducted at two locations in Minnesota over three years to determine how corn cellulosic yield composition and ethanol yield are influenced by tillage system [chisel tillage (CT), strip-tillage (ST), and no-tillage (NT)] and fertilizer N rate (0, 45, 90, 134, 179, and 234 kg N ha −1 ). Stover biomass yield, C and N concentrations and content, and potential ethanol yield increased with increasing fertilizer N rate. Stover biomass yield, C content, and potential cellulosic ethanol yield were less with NT than CT and ST by ≥9, 8, and 8 %, respectively. Theoretical ethanol yield of stover was maximized at a fertilizer N rate lower than the economically optimum N rate (EONR) for grain yield. Cob biomass yield, C concentration and content, N concentration, and potential ethanol yield increased with fertilizer N rate, but not at the same magnitude observed for stover. Tillage system did not influence cob biomass yield, C and N concentrations and content, or potential ethanol yield. These results demonstrate that biomass and ethanol production of stover and cobs can be affected by N and tillage management. Cobs may be a more viable feedstock option than stover because nearly all measured variables were less sensitive to management and their harvest removes less C and N from a field compared to full harvest of combined cobs and stover.

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“…Corn stover has advantages over other biomass feedstocks: it consists of the above ground, non‐grain part of the corn plant (stalks, cobs, and leaves); it is a co‐product of standard corn production; and the EPA estimates that 74.4 million metric dry tons of corn stover could be harvested in the Midwest alone in 2022 . Dedicated energy crops require land, and can cause land‐use change (LUC).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field to flight: A techno‐economic analysis of the corn stover to aviation biofuels supply chain

Bittner

Tyner

Zhao

2015

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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Aviation biofuels can help to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States, help to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard for cellulosic biofuels, and improve US energy security. Cellulosic biofuels carry a lot of risk, because conversion technology is expensive. As a result, incentives are needed to reduce the risk for private investors. Government can implement policies to reduce the risk in investment in aviation biofuels. The issue is deciding which policy will provide the most reduction in risk, while providing a lowest cost to the government. This analysis focuses on aviation biofuel production using fast pyrolysis from corn stover. Cost benefit analysis is used to calculate the net present value, internal rate of return, and benefit‐cost ratio for a plant. Uncertainty is added to fuel price and four technical variables: capital cost, final fuel yield, hydrogen cost, and feedstock cost using @Risk, a Palisade Corporation software. We look at the impact of two policies: reverse auction and capital subsidy. For the reverse auction and capital subsidy, we used contract lengths of 5, 10, and 15 years to see the impact a longer contract could have on probability of loss. Both policies reduced risk in investment of aviation biofuels. A reverse auction reduced risk of investment more. As the contract length increased, the probability of loss and coefficient of variation in net present value were reduced substantially. When fuel price increased stochastically and a contract length of 15 years was used, probability of loss was reduced to 18.4%.

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Production costs of potential corn stover harvest and storage systems

Cited by 18 publications

References 14 publications

Techno-Economic Assessment of a Chopped Feedstock Logistics Supply Chain for Corn Stover

Techno-Economic Assessment of a Chopped Feedstock Logistics Supply Chain for Corn Stover

Nitrogen and Tillage Management Affect Corn Cellulosic Yield, Composition, and Ethanol Potential

Field to flight: A techno‐economic analysis of the corn stover to aviation biofuels supply chain

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