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A method is presented, which estimates the potential for power production from agriculture residues. A GIS decision support system (DSS) has been developed, which implements the method and provides the tools to identify the geographic distribution of the economically exploited biomass potential. The procedure introduces a four level analysis to determine the
theoretical, available, technological and economically exploitable potential. The DSS handles all possible restrictions and
candidate power plants are identi ed using an iterative procedure that locates bioenergy units and establishes the needed cultivated area for biomass collection. Electricity production cost is used as a criterion in the identi cation of the sites of economically exploited biomass potential. The island of Crete is used as an example of the decision-making analysis. A signi cant biomass potential exists that could be economically and competitively harvested. The main parameters that affect the location and number of bioenergy conversion facilities are plant capacity and spatial distribution of the available biomass potential.

Contact Phone
Contact Email
assim@chemeng.ntua.gr
Contact Person
D. Assimacopoulos
Bioenergy Category
Author(s)
D. Voivontas

For several years the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been developing a Decision Support System for Agriculture (DSS4Ag) which determines the economically optimum recipe of various fertilizers to apply at each site in a field to produce a crop, based on the existing soil fertility at each site, as well as historic production information and current prices of fertilizers and the forecast market price of the crop at harvest. In support of the growing interest in agricultural crop residues as a bioenergy feedstock, we have extended the capability of the DSS4Ag to develop a variable-rate fertilizer recipe for the simultaneous economically optimum production of both grain and straw. In this paper we report the results of 2 yr of field research testing and enhancing the DSS4Ag?s ability to economically optimize the fertilization for the simultaneous production of both grain and its straw, where the straw is an agricultural crop residue that can be used as a biofeedstock. For both years, the DSS4Ag reduced the cost and amount of fertilizers used and increased grower profit, while reducing the biomass produced. The DSS4Ag results show that when a biorefinery infrastructure is in place and growers have a strong market for their straw it is not economically advantageous to increase fertilization in order to try to produce more straw. This suggests that other solutions, such as single-pass selective harvest, must be implemented to meet national goals for the amount of biomass that will be available for collection and use for bioenergy.

Contact Phone
Contact Email
rhoskinson@cableone.net
Contact Person
Reed L. Hoskinson
Bioenergy Category
Author(s)
Hoskinson Reed L.

A methodology was developed to estimate quantities of crop residues that can be removed while maintaining rain or wind erosion at less than or equal to the tolerable soil-loss level. Six corn and wheat rotations in the 10 largest corn-producing states were analyzed. Residue removal rates for each rotation were evaluated for conventional, mulch/reduced, and no-till field operations. The analyses indicated that potential removable maximum quantities range from nearly 5.5 million dry metric t/yr for a continuous corn rotation using conventional till in Kansas to more than 97 million dry metric t/yr for a corn-wheat rotation using no-till in Illinois.

Keywords
Publication Date
Contact Person
Richard Nelson
Contact Organization
Kansas State University
Bioenergy Category
Author(s)
Nelson, Richard G
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