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...

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 ...

Exploring the natural genetic variability and its exploitation for improved Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) in sorghum is one of primary goals modern crop improvement programs. The integrated strategies include high-throughput phenotyping, next generation sequencing (NGS)-based genotyping technologies, a priori selected candidate gene studies that help understand detailed physiological molecular ...

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...

The recent increased emphasis on impact assessment is due in part to the rapidly changing nature of funding for agricultural research and the shifts that have occurred in what is expected of the agricultural research community. The reasons for doing impact assessment are relatively clear: ex post studies can determine the impact of past investment in research on target beneficiaries and are a w...