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vember 19, 2012 9:17:10 AM<br> <b><span style=3D"font I am fairly familiar with the growing & use of sugarcane from research activities in Brazil, WI and Colombia (1970s-1990s) What's left in the field shortly before or just after harvest, including old leaves, fallen stalks etc. is commonly referred to as "trash". Bagasse, as Nancy pointed out, is the residue after the stalks are squeezed. As well as a source of fuel, bagasse is now also used as supplemental feed for ruminants See, e.g., http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/bagasse-for-animal-feed.html. Residues remaning after the ruminants have been at them can be worm-composted, the worms fed to fowl, and the residue used as a hugh quality compost (a system developed in Colombia by T.R.Preston) I think most bagasse today is well used either as animal feed or for fuel and little is wasted. Also, the tradition of burning fields just prior to harvest to clear away trash & snakes is declining because of the recognized value of trash as a soil-building material. As well, decomposing trash can support a lot of nitrogen fixation depending on how fertilizers are handled (Nick Hill & I published several papers on the ecology of nitrogen fixation in cane trash, the topic of his PhD thesis.) I was in Brazil over the interval that they developed alcohol from cane as a major fuel for cars, going from 10% to 100% alcholol powered cars, developing new engines on the way, a tremendous accomplishment. However, they paid a high price ecologically, levelling large areas of productive, high biodiversity, carbon capturing forest. I often cite cane as the most efficient biomass energy crop, pointing out the quick turnover time (essentially annually versus 30+ years for our forests), that sugarcane is a perennial C4 tropical grass growing under high light-year round conditions, and that it can be grown with very little nitrogen supplement.. and contrast that with biomass crops in temperate latitudes. US energy specialists generally have promoted biomass fuels for cars not because of carbon capture (which can be negative for short season annual, heavily fertilized crops such as maize), but because it lowers their dependence on Niddle East Oil. Perennial grasses, or fast growing shrubs, e.g. alder, which also fixes nitrogen) or trees (e.g. some poplars) are much better in regard to carbon capture than clearcutting forests for biomass, and I think are a sensible option for already cleared land in NS, especially if they are fertilized with sewage/septic wastes. More comments at http://versicolor.ca/biomass/docs/NSEsubmission.html Quoting Nancy Roberts <nancy.roberts@ns.sympatico.ca>: > Bagasse is the word, but it means the pulpy stalks only AFTER the > juice has been pressed out. I wonder what the burned but not pressed > stalks are called? > > To jump to your firewood observation, some smaller wood is chipped > for the manufacture of wood pellets – this might be where you > firewood supplier's small wood is going. I know this is done in New > Brunswick. This was triggered when the US housing market collapsed, > causing closure of lumber mills in NB, reducing the supply of > sawdust for pellets. > > Some pellets are exported to Europe from New Brunswick. > > Cheers, > > Nancy > > Nancy Roberts Design > Celebrating 19 years of making you look GOOD > > Dartmouth, NS B2Y 2X6 > > > > > On 18-Nov-12, at 7:56 PM, Paul MacDonald wrote: > >> Hi Dave >> That is in essence how sugar is produced from canes. >> The begause ( Spelling? ) which is the canes from which the leaves >> have been burned >> in the field is put through rollers which presses out the sugar sap. >> The begause is then burned, the heat used to remove the water from >> the sap and dry the sugar and the surplus heat is used to dry >> the incoming begause so it burns better. >> All the burning of course ends up with brown sugar which must be refined >> in less energy efficient factories. >> A very energy efficient operation but you better have an >> experienced man on hand >> to direct things or it can end up with lots of trouble. >> On an earlier post you talked about green versus dry wood. >> The lad I get my firewood from tells me that this year forward he >> only supplies >> wood above 15 cms - approximately. The smaller wood is chipped green >> for heat but I never asked where the heat is produced. >> Bigger wood costs too much to chip. Suits me fine! >> Have a nice fall >> Paul >> >> >> From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com> >> To: NatureNS@chebucto.ns.ca >> Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2012 7:05:25 PM >> Subject: [NatureNS] Burning Forests PS >> >> Dear All, Nov 18, 2012 >> After sending the e-mail earlier today I noticed that some of the >> waste heat (about 65% ?) from a plant of this type could be used to >> dry the chips before burning. When green wood is burned about 25% >> of the heat energy is used to evaporate water. So the waste heat >> would readily do this with ~40% left over for other purposes. >> Yt, DW >> >> > > David Patriquin 6165 Murray Place Halifax, N.S. Canada B3H 1R9 e-mail: patriqui@dal.ca Phone: 902-4235716 Professor of Biology (retired) Dalhousie University http://www.dal.ca Halifax Field Naturalists http://halifaxfieldnaturalists.ca Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society http://nswildflora.ca Young Naturalists Club of Nova Scotia http://ync.nature1st.net/ Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization http://wrweo.ca Control of Chinch Bug without Pesticides http://versicolor.ca/lawns
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