Corn Stover and Perennial Grasses For Biofuel
Download
Report
Transcript Corn Stover and Perennial Grasses For Biofuel
Tim Reinbott
University of Missouri
Bradford Research and Extension Center
Plentiful
12 Billion Bushel Crop, nearly 1 billion carryover
Compact
45 lbs/ft2
Consistent
Minnesota to Missouri is the Same
Infrastructure in Place
On Farm Storage
Often Called Trash:
But it Protects From and Provides
Wind Erosion
Water Erosion
Soil Carbon-Organic Matter
No Food or Fuel Debate?
Is this always true?
Does Corn Residue Have
An
Economic Value?
Harvest Index
Corn-50%
Soybean-40%
Wheat-40%
N, P, and K/ton
19-4-36
Tons/acre
120 bu/acre :
120 x 56=6720 lbs
x 0.67=4500 lbs
or 2.25 tons/acre
• 2.25 tons/acre x 4 lbs P205/ton=9 lbs P2O5/acre
• 2.25 tons/acre x 36 lbs K20/ton=81 lbs K20/acre
• 9 x $0.78/lb P205=$7.02
• 81 x $0.78/lb K20=$63.18
• $70.2/acre or $31.2/ton
Used in Power Plants or
Ethanol-Poet in South
Dakota
15% of Residue=
1000 lbs/acre
Nutrient Removal
1 lb P2O5 and 8 lb
K2O/acre-$7.5
Specialized Equipment
• Harvest Index
=Grain Yield/total above ground
yield
Grain~52% and Stover ~48%
• Fertilizer Cost of Residue-P and
K=$70/acre
• Cost of Raking and Baling-
$12/bale
• Total Cost=$150/acre or $51/ton
Soil Carbon or Organic
Matter
In Missouri-~2%
We have lost 50% from
tillage
Can we maintain what
we have left and still
remove the crop residue?
Soil Structure
Erosion Control
Soil Tilth
Aeration
Water Holding Capacity
Nutrient Cycling
Ion Exchange
Microbial Activity
After 8 years a drop in Soil Organic Matter when even
50% of Residue is removed.
Percent Organic
Matter
Percent Soil Organic Matter-8
years Continuous Corn
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
2.4
2.3
0
50
100
150
Amount of Previous Crop Residue
A 120 bu/acre corn crop produces 6720 lbs of Corn
Stover. Which is minimal to maintain Soil
Organic Matter.
Amount of Cover to Maintain or Limit
12000
Soil Organic
Matter
Water Erosion
lbs/acre
10000
8000
Wind Erosion
6000
4000
2000
0
Plow
Notill
Continuous Corn
Plow
Notill
Corn Soybean Rotation
Corn Residue has economic value-$70/acre
Baling another $12/bale or $45/acre.
Residue in Missouri Extremely Important for
Maintaining Soil Organic Matter and Reducing
Erosion
Corn Cobs-OK, just make sure you get something for
them.
Primary Forage in
Missouri-17 million acres
Cool Season Grass
Most Growth in Spring
and Fall
Stockpiling
After Fescue Seed Harvest
Fescue Seed Harvest
As a Forage-$20/bale
As Biofuel-$35/bale
Pelletizing
Ethanol
Nutrient Costs?
Tall Fescue Hay 40-15-40/ton removed
P and K @ $0.78/lb = $42.9/ton
Decent Quality Hay in Spring if Put Up Timely
Often more than needed
High Quality Grazing in Fall
Aftermath of Seed Harvest-Poor Quality
Planting-Seed of
Switchgrass is very easy
compared to Indian or
Big Bluestem
Indian and Big Bluestem
must be deawned if you
do not have specialized
equipment
Standard Seed Metering
Fluffy Seed Attachment
Switchgrass is a Early
Successional Species
Will die out in 10-15
years
Other NWSG persist
longer
Switchgrass Has A lot of
Ecotypes Developed
Upland-Cave In Rock
Lowland-Alamo,
Kanlow
Mow, Rake, Bale
When
Beginning in October
when dormant
Can be delayed to allow
more nutrients to move
down to the root system
In NE Missouri in 2008
at the Plant Materials
Center with 100 lbs
N/acre
CIR Switchgrass-4.97
tons/acre
Big Bluestem-5.6
tons/acre
Rumsey Indiangrass-6.6
tons/acre
Kanlow and Alamo SG7.9 tons/acre
Our Plots without any N:
Switchgrass-1.94
ton/acre
Indian-2.14 ton/acre
Big Bluestem-1.11
ton/acre
Switchgrass
Indiangrass
When it is icy many of the grasses can be broken down
Big Bluestem
Big Bluestem (left) compared to
Indiangrass (right).
5 tons/acre
100 lb N/acre-$80/acre
Remove:
P-9 lb/ton x 5 tons=45 lbs/acre
K-46 lb/ton x 5 tons=230 lbs/acre*
At $0.78/ lb P and K=$35+$179=$214+$80=$294/acre
* this can go down if harvest is delayed until winter
$294/acre/5 tons
Or $58.8/ton
1200 lb Big Round Bale=$35
Cost of Baling-$20/bale
Total Cost-$55/bale
Does not include transport, time, etc.
As much below ground
dry matter as above
Very Deep-6 ft
Not going to be a
problem
50 million Gallon Ethanol Plant
90 gallon/ton conversion
550,000 tons or 925,000 big Round Bales
At 5 tons/acre 111,000 acres within a 40 mile radius of
the ethanol plant
Enough to Fill Faurot Stadium 5 times
An Answer Maybe In
Field Pelletizing or
Compression to a More
Compact Form
Tall Fescue Aftermath From Seed Harvest Maybe the
Best Source of Biofuel
Big Blustem and Indiangrass harder to establish than
Switchgrass but will live longer and give similar if not
greater yields
Cost of fertilizer replacement is nearly $60/bale
Concerns with year around storage
Corn-1/3 Ethanol, 1/3 Distillers Grain, 1/3 CO2
Cellulosic Ethanol or Pelleting-100% Fuel
No animal feed
A monoculture of a grass
will be essentially a
desert for wildlife
Cost is driven up by N
fertilizer
What if we had a mixed
stand?
Minnesota Study
Published in Science
Found More Biomass
and Biofuel Potential
When As The Diversity
Increased
Use of Natives?
Use of Native Legumes
for a N source
Also Provide Flexibility
for Livestock
At MU Bradford
Research and Extension
Center
Low Input/High Diverse
compared to a High
Input/Monoculture
18 different forbs and
legumes
Switchgrass and Big
Bluestem
Cutting Height
Seasonal Harvests
Depending on Need