1. Availability of corn stover as a sustainable feedstock for bioethanol production
- Author
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Kiran L. Kadam and James D. McMillan
- Subjects
Paper ,Conservation of Natural Resources ,Environmental Engineering ,Biomass ,Bioengineering ,Ethanol fermentation ,Raw material ,Furfural ,Zea mays ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Ethanol fuel ,Waste Management and Disposal ,Ethanol ,Construction Materials ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Agriculture ,General Medicine ,Straw ,Wood ,Refuse Disposal ,Corn stover ,chemistry ,Agronomy ,Biofuel ,Fermentation ,Solvents ,Environmental science - Abstract
The amount of corn stover that can be sustainably collected is estimated to be 80–100 million dry tonnes/yr (t/yr), a majority of which would be available to ethanol plants in the near term as only a small portion is currently used for other applications. Potential long-term demand for corn stover by non-fermentative applications in the United States is estimated to be about 20 million dry t/yr, assuming that corn stover-based products replace 50% of both hardwood pulp and wood-based particleboard, and that 50% of all furfural production is from corncobs. Hence, 60–80 million dry t/yr of corn stover should be available to fermentative routes. To achieve an ethanol production potential of 11 billion L (3 billion gal) per year (a target level for a non-niche feedstock), about 40% of the harvestable corn stover is needed. This amount should be available as long as the diversion of corn stover to non-ethanol fermentative products remains limited.
- Published
- 2003