Thought about growing a biomass crop for combustion fuel on your farm? This article offers three questions farmers can ask to evaluate growing energy producing combustion crops. It examines wood, woody crops and grasses in more detail.
Find these topics and many other related Farm Energy media resources at the Farm Energy Media archive.
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| Switchgrass briquettes a combustion fuel. Photo: Daniel Ciolkosz, Extension Associate, Penn State. |
Unprocessed biomass comes in a variety of sizes, shapes and other properties, ranging from a gooey puddle of microscopic algae to the massive trunk of a large oak tree. If any feedstock is to be used effectively for combustion, it usually needs some form of processing to ensure that it is suitable for effective use in combustion equipment. The most common types …
Grain Drying is part of a series of Efficiency Checklists and Topics that can help you to assess all areas of your farming operation for energy efficiency and find ideas to save energy and reduce costs. For links to other articles in the Efficiency Checklists and Topics series, see Additional Resources at the end of this article.
A grain drying system may be the most energy-intensive operation in your cropping system. For some crops, more energy is …
Efficient use of energy becomes increasingly important with rising energy costs. Energy efficiency is determined by comparing what is actually produced or performed to what could be produced or performed with the same consumption of energy resources.
Although many changes to improve energy efficiency can usually be implemented immediately on a farm, long term efficiency gains come with planning when new or replacement equipment is purchased or new structures are built.
Reducing the …
Tractor and Field Operations is part of a series of Efficiency Checklists and Topics that can help you to assess all areas of your farming operation for energy efficiency and find ideas to save energy and reduce costs. For links to other articles in the Efficiency Checklists and Topics series, see Additional Resources at the end of …
The many benefits to using soybean oil in the production of biodiesel include, soybeans are widely grown, the infrastructure and equipment to grow, transport and process them already exists, and the left over soybean meal is important for animal feed. Read more about the advantages and drawbacks of soybeans as a biofuel energy crop.
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| Soybeans. |
Livestock Buildings is part of a series of Efficiency Checklists and Topics that can help you to assess all areas of your farming operation for energy efficiency and find ideas to save energy and reduce costs. For links to other articles in the Efficiency Checklists and Topics series, see Additional Resources at the end of this article.
Confined livestock structures need ventilation to remove heat and moisture and maintain air quality. The amount of ventilation needed varies depending …
Home Energy is part of a series of Efficiency Checklists and Topics that can help you to assess all areas of your farming operation for energy efficiency and find ideas to save energy and reduce costs. For links to other articles in the Efficiency Checklists and Topics series, see Additional Resources at the end of this article.
