This module covers the production and use of Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) and Biodiesel on farms in the Northeast. Topics include differentiating SVO from biodiesel, oilseed crops for SVO and biodiesel, the biodiesel production process, safety and personnel protection, economics of production, energy return and carbon avoidance.
Link to all of the Northeast Farm Energy IQ Curriculum, developed by Extension specialists from Penn State, Rutgers and University of Vermont.
CenUSA Bioenergy is a coordinated research and education effort investigating the creation of a regional system in the Central US for producing advanced transportation fuels from perennial grasses on land that is either unsuitable or marginal for row crop production. In addition to producing advanced biofuels, the proposed system will improve the sustainability of existing cropping systems by reducing agricultural runoff of nutrients in soil and increasing carbon sequestration.…
The USDA-ARS FarmBio3 project explores whether on-farm fast-pyrolysis processing units could be a component of an efficient and cost-effective decentralized system of biofuel production and processing.
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…Learn all about biochar–what it is, and how it benefits soils and the climate by sequestering carbon.
Biochar is charred …
The Northeast Woody/Warm-season Biomass Consortium (NEWBio) is a regional network of universities, businesses, and governmental organizations dedicated to building robust, scalable, and sustainable value chains for biomass energy in the Northeast. Driven by the broad societal benefits that sustainable bioenergy value chains could provide, NEWBio aims to overcome existing barriers and dramatically increase the sustainable, cost-effective supply of lignocellulosic biomass while reducing net greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing ecosystem services, and building vibrant communities.
The profitable production of switchgrass for biofuel today depends primarily on the price of oil, as well as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
In the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) legislation passed …
The variety of biofuel processing methods and equipment is remarkable, allowing us to transform energy feedstocks into useful solid fuels, liquid fuels, gases, electricity, heat or mechanical work. One of the main barriers to a successful biomass energy industry is the simple fact that most raw biomass is not immediately useful as an energy source. Biofuel crops must be processed in one way or another before they can be a valuable source of energy.
Near-infrared analysis allows plant breeders and biorefiners to rapidly measure the composition of a biomass sample.
Funded by AFRI. Learn More.
Researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) have found that genetic, management, storage, and environmental factors affect the chemical composition of switchgrass samples. Using a database of …
by Oladiran Fasin
As part of preparing biomass for conversion into biofuels, biomass is ground through mills such as a hammer mill (Figure 1) or a knife mill. The ground biomass particles are then fed into conversion vessels and/or stored in hoppers that are often attached to storage vessels (Figure 2). Creating a steady flow of the biomass particles out of the hopper is a significant issue for processing and conversion. Often, biomass flow from storage containers will be disrupted …
