@article{hossain_jones_godfrey_saloni_sharara_hartley_2024, title={Characterizing value-added pellets obtained from blends of miscanthus, corn stover, and switchgrass}, volume={227}, ISSN={["1879-0682"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2024.120494}, DOI={10.1016/j.renene.2024.120494}, abstractNote={The current pellet industry primarily relies on woody biomass. Inclusion of a diverse feedstock, such as herbaceous biomass, is necessary to meet the rising demand for pellets in heat and power generation, and for biofuel production. This study was motivated by the need to densify biomass, improving its naturally low energy density, to reach the required pellet standards for biofuel conversion. We developed value-added miscanthus pellets blended with different ratios of corn stover and switchgrass and analyzed their chemical, physical, and mechanical properties. Pure miscanthus pellet durability index (PDI) was less than 85%, well below the ISO 17225-6 standard for herbaceous pellets. While increasing switchgrass and corn stover ratios increases durability beyond 94%, it also increases ash content from 1.6% to 4.6%, a quality unfavorable for biofuel conversion. The moisture content of the blended pellets varied from 7.12% to 12.45%, and positively correlated with the durability of the pellets. Pure miscanthus pellets had the highest bulk density, 633 kg/m3, while pellets containing 75% miscanthus and 25% corn stover had the lowest density, 564 kg/m3. The findings of this study also identified a decrease in the pellet bulk density with the increase in ash content and pellet diameter.}, journal={RENEWABLE ENERGY}, author={Hossain, Tasmin and Jones, Daniela S. and Godfrey, Edward and Saloni, Daniel and Sharara, Mahmoud and Hartley, Damon S.}, year={2024}, month={Jun} }
 @article{hossain_jones_godfrey iii_saloni_sharara_hartley_2024, title={Nth-plant scenario for blended pellets of Miscanthus, Switchgrass, and Corn Stover using multi-modal transportation: Biorefineries and depots in the contiguous US}, volume={183}, ISSN={["1873-2909"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2024.107162}, DOI={10.1016/j.biombioe.2024.107162}, abstractNote={The sustainability of the biofuel industry depends on the development of a mature conversion technology on a national level that can take advantage of the economies of scale: the nth-plant. This study addresses the logistic challenge of mobilizing national cellulosic feedstock supplies for a sustainable bioenergy industry. A Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model was developed and updated to deliver on-spec biomass that considers both a desired quantity and quality at the biorefinery. Our supply chain analysis includes multi-modal transport (truck and rail), varying depot and biorefinery sizes, and feedstock blends of corn stover (harvested by either a two- or three-pass method), switchgrass, and miscanthus. The following US states: Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Texas were identified as key locations for producing accessible miscanthus. Based on our most optimistic scenario, using trucks as the only transportation mode in 2040 with a cost target of $79/dt, corn stover, switchgrass, and miscanthus could help meet 48% of the EPA target, 173 million dry tons that translate into 7.8 billion GGE. The addition of rail transportation for biomass delivery to biorefineries could help meet 79% of the EPA target, 283 million dry tons that translate into 12.7 billion GGE.}, journal={BIOMASS & BIOENERGY}, author={Hossain, Tasmin and Jones, Daniela S. and Godfrey III, Edward and Saloni, Daniel and Sharara, Mahmoud and Hartley, Damon S.}, year={2024}, month={Apr} }
 @article{mayer_veal_godfrey_chinn_2021, title={Response of canola yields from marginal lands managed with tillage practices}, volume={4}, ISSN={["2666-1543"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.jafr.2021.100133}, abstractNote={In recent years the discourse regarding the effective use of dwindling agricultural spaces for food, fiber, or fuel production has grown and it is becoming increasingly important to manage non-agricultural or marginal spaces that make them suitable for crop production. Highly eroded, highly compacted, low nutrient soils, similar to those found along highway rights-of-way (ROWs) offer unique field characteristics that can be used to study crop production potentials and land use decisions. This work evaluated the feasibility of maintaining a canola crop production system on the non-agricultural soils of highway ROWs across the humid subtropical climate within North Carolina, USA as a bioenergy feedstock for renewable fuels. Specific objectives included examination of (1) three different North Carolina geoclimatic conditions and (2) three levels of tillage (conventional (CT), minimum (MT), and no-till (NT)) on canola (Brassica napus L.) grain yields cultivated on ROW soils. Field experiments were conducted for two growing seasons in the Inner Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Mountains regions and assessed main and interaction effects among tillage, site, and year of cultivation on crop productivity. After season 1, CT produced the highest average yield (1.24 Mg ha−1) followed by MT (0.93 Mg ha−1) and NT (0.86 Mg ha−1), respectively. In the second year, the comparative intensity of productive effects from CT was lower, and plots cultivated under MT resulted in the highest average yields (2.70 Mg ha−1), followed by CT (2.69 Mg ha−1) and NT (1.96 Mg ha−1), respectively. Yields observed were comparable to regional canola grain yields, and no significant difference was observed between yields under CT versus MT. These findings suggest that reduced levels of tillage on ROW soils in North Carolina hold the potential to produce yields comparable to those realized in traditional agricultural soils, and targeted tillage practices can support improved suitability of marginal crop production spaces.}, journal={JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD RESEARCH}, author={Mayer, Michelle L. and Veal, Matthew W. and Godfrey, Edward E., III and Chinn, Mari S.}, year={2021}, month={Jun} }