Straw, grass

A major source of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons is open burning of agricultural residue. Over 2.5 million metric tons of particulate matter per year are added to the atmosphere over the United States from burning rice, grass straw and stubble, wheat straw and stubble. 

Hammes K., R.J. Smemik, J.O. Skjemstad, A. Herzog, U.F. Vogt, M.W.I. Schmidt (2006). Synthesis and characterisation of laboratory-charred grass straw (Oryza sativa) and chestnut wood (Castanea sativa) as reference materials for black carbon quantification. Org. 

Biomass and coal have fundamentally different fuel properties that can lead to benefits or deterrents to co-firing. For instance, biomass is a more volatile fuel than coal and has higher oxygen content. Coal, on the other hand, has more fixed carbon than biomass. Wood fuels tend to contain very little ash (on the order of 1% ash or less) and consequently increasing the ratio of wood in biomass/coal blends can reduce the amount of ash that needs to be disposed. A negative aspect of biomass is that it can contain more chlorine than coal. This is particularly true for some grasses, straws, and other agricultural residues. 

Alternative fruiting substrates include alder or oak sawdust and bran mixed 4 1 with a moisture content of 60% and sterilized at 1 5 psi for 1 -1 Vz hours. Fortified rye grass straw has also been used as a sterile fruiting medium. (See Chapter III). 

Jacquet J., Pollet B., Lapierre C., Mhamdi R, Rolando C., New ether-linked ferulic acid-coniferyl alcohol dimmers identified in grass straws, J. Agric. Food Chem., 43, 1995, 2746-2751. 

Several pyrolysis experiments have been carried out with each type of feed. The data in Table VIII are from typical experiments but are. not necessarily optimum with regard to liquid yield and fuel value. Animal waste, rice hulls, fir bark, grass straw and municipal solid waste have been pyrolyzed under nearly identical conditions. 

Vegetation-based textiles are more wide-ranging. Grasses, straws, bamboos, pulp-wood trees, cotton plants, rice, milkweed, and nettle are prime sources of bulk and/or (bast) fibers for textiles. Acetate is introduced to increase the reflectivity of certain vegetative fabrics such as artificial silk and taffetas. Seaweed and alginate fibers can comprise certain specialized textiles, while other more unique manmade fabrics such as lyocell are constructed from blends of cotton and wood fibers. 

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