So… What Do We Do with ALL that Material?

我们谈到了收集90,000吨的玉米橄榄球，并与美国颗粒技术合作。我们还讨论了它在当地市场经济中可能拥有的影响。

But what do you do once you’ve collected that 90,000 tons of stover? Actually, a lot of things.

我们的生物质解决方案团队从两年前开始使用颗粒技术。我们的目标是帮助他们，当地农民，收集和捆绑其领域的AG残留物。

We are continually working with Pellet Tech to streamline the process and hope to double our take of corn stover with them to over 200,000 tons in the near future.

But why is this stover collection story-worthy?

有多种原因。首先是从田地改善的未来产量。另一个，是美国颗粒技术美国革命的牛和其他动物造粒饲料的创造。但它没有结束那里。斯托弗可以转换成能量，医疗器械，生物可降解塑料，以及仍有更多的创新来源。

The most important part, however, is that it can be healthy for the field in general – improving soil quality and yields for future harvests. Too much stover can be just as detrimental to soil health and future growth as too little.

玉米田，特别是我们在内布拉斯加州经营的地方，都在玉米玉米生产中。这意味着田地每年都用于种植玉米。所以，每年玉米收获时，田地里有大量的ag残留物。过去，残留物每亩两到三吨。现在随着玉米越来越靠近，更丰富，Ag残留量已经上升到每英亩七到八吨。

That’s quite a big jump in residue.

With that additional residue, the land becomes covered much more densely. In turn, it’s more residue that needs to decompose over the winter. Or, as has been done in the past, it’s tilled back into the ground (which takes labor, equipment, time and fuel). But we’re finding that even tilling can cause more of a problem, as the increased residue is unable to decompose fast enough for the next harvest. In turn that means that more equipment, time and fuel is needed to add nitrogen to the fields. Early application of nitrogen is important, because microbes that break down the stover need nitrogen for that process.

What we’ve learned by gathering the residue – into high-density square bales, of course – is that it has several important benefits for fields and future crop yields.

First, the residue doesn’t need to be tilled back into the ground – saving time and fuel. The field also doesn’t need an early application of nitrogen – again saving time, fuel and the cost of nitrogen. Third, with the amount of residue reduced, the fields are warming up faster in the spring, allowing for the corn to get off to a quick start.

因此，这是颗粒技术的胜利，这对这些领域的残留物具有既得福利。但这也是农民的胜利。并且，有环境影响降低，因为施肥较小，化石燃料的减少被烧毁了操作设备。最后，设备使用率较少意味着设备上的磨损较少。

但是，回到收集和捆包橄榄渣发生的事情。

For Pellet Technology, the tons of stover are converted into pellets by a proprietary process. The pellets are then used as feed or as pellets for energy storage and conversion.

在饲料侧，颗粒技术创造了饲料牛的颗粒。通过与内布拉斯大学的伙伴关系在牛的生活期间测试了颗粒作为饲料的使用。

那么，上行有什么？为什么这件事？

For example, during the extended drought on the West Coast, ranchers and farmers were having a difficult time procuring necessary feed. How can a rancher feed his herd when the cattle can’t graze, because the grass hasn’t been able to grow due to the lack of water? Now they can use Pellet Technology’s patented PowerFeedPellets™ to feed their herd and provide the nutritional diet necessary to keep them healthy.

玉米秸秆的另一种用途是能量和乙醇。如今，97％的国家的电机燃料组合含有约10％的乙醇。¹乙醇提供清洁的辛烷值升压以燃料。这种益处炼油厂，然后不再需要像MTBE一样添加有毒化学品，以汽油。根据美国能源部的Argonne国家实验室的据此，更重要的是，平均而言，燃料含有乙醇可减少CO₂emissions by 34 percent.²

它是可再生的。

One of the early adopters of high-ethanol fuels is NASCAR. Such fuels burn cleaner, provide more power and higher octane levels, and they emit fewer greenhouse gases. I’ll save the rest of that story for another time.

来自橄榄皮的能量也可用于产生电力或热量。

According to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, energy crops and crop residues could provide 14 percent of U.S. electricity use – which could essentially light up the entire West Coast! Or, it could provide 13 percent of the national’s motor fuel.

所以，这个“垃圾”有很多用途。这是喂养动物的全新方法，产生能量。但是，更令人兴奋的是，没有人真正知道什么创新仍然是在地平线上收集和加工玉米橄榄球。

Only time will tell.

https://ethanoleffect.com/?gclid=cnkzspda_s8cfre7gqodvoui2q.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/045905/pdf