Corn stover, a major crop‐based lignocellulosic biomass feedstock, is required to be at an optimum moisture content for efficient bioconversion processes. Environmental conditions surrounding corn stover, as in storage facilities, affect its moisture due to hygroscopic sorption or desorption. The measurement and modeling of sorption characteristics of corn stover and its leaf, husk, and stalk f...

Conversion of crop residues into biochars (BCs) via pyrolysis is beneficial to environment compared to their direct combustion in agricultural field. Biochars developed from soybean stover at 300 and 700 °C (S-BC300 and S-BC700, respectively) and peanut shells at 300 and 700 °C (P-BC300 and P-BC700, respectively) were used for the removal of trichloroethylene (TCE) from water. Batch adsorption ...

This study investigated the chemical composition and ruminal degradability of corn stover in three maize-planting regions in Qiqihaer, Heilongjiang Province, China. The whole stover was separated into seven morphological fractions, i.e., leaf blade, leaf sheath, stem rind, stem pith, stem node, ear husk, and corn tassel. The assessment of nutritive value of corn stover and its fractions was per...

Corn stover is usually treated by an energy-intensive or expensive process to extract sugars for bioenergy production. However, it is possible to directly generate electricity from corn stover in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) through the addition of microbial consortia specifically acclimated for biomass breakdown. A mixed culture that was developed to have a high saccharification rate with corn ...

A comparison was studied for non-treated and pretreated corn stover with dilute alkaline peroxide and dilute acid treatment respectively for bioethanol production by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process in a continuous stirred batch bioreactor using fungi Aspergillus oryzae. The optimum parameters for bioethanol fermentation were: time, 48 h; pH, 6.0; temperature, 50oC; ...

Excessive harvest of corn (Zea mays L.) stover for ethanol production has raised concerns regarding negative consequences on soil physical quality. Our objective was to quantify the impact of two tillage practices and three levels of corn stover harvest on near-surface soil physical quality through the Least Limiting Water Range (LLWR). We evaluated no harvest, moderate and high stover harvest ...

Methane gas, as one of the major biogases, is a potential source of renewable energy for power production. Biochar can be readily used to purify biogas contaminants such as H2S and CO2. This study assessed the adsorption of CH4, H2S, and CO2 onto four different types of biochars. The adsorption dynamics of biochars were investigated in a fixed-bed column, by determining the breakthrough curves ...

Currently short-chain polyols such as ethanediol, propanediol, and butanediol are produced either from the petroleum feedstock or from the starch-based food crop feedstock. In this study, a combinational process of enzymatic hydrolysis with catalytic hydrogenolysis for short-chain polyols production using corn stover as feedstock was developed. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated corn st...

THE EXISTING US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) makes commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol a priority, calling for 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuel production by 2022, sourced from grasses, trees, agricultural residues, and municipal waste. The US Department of Energy “US Billion-Ton Update” study (Downing et al. 2011) suggests that to meet the mandates in the RFS, approximately 66 million...

Response surface methodology (RSM), based on a 2(2) full factorial design, evaluated the moisture effects in recovering xylose by diethyloxalate (DEO) hydrolysis. Experiments were carried out in laboratory reactors (10 mL glass ampoules) containing corn stover (0.5 g) properly ground. The ampoules were kept at 160 °C for 90 min. Both DEO concentration and corn stover moisture content were stati...