scholarly journals Dual-Cropping Loblolly Pine for Biomass Energy and Conventional Wood Products

2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Andrew Scott ◽  
Allan Tiarks

Abstract Southern pine stands have the potential to provide significant feedstocks for the growing biomass energy and biofuel markets. Although initial feedstocks likely will come from low-value small-diameter trees, understory vegetation, and slash, a sustainable and continuous supply of biomass is necessary to support and grow a wood bioenergy market. As long as solidwood products are more valuable, bioenergy production will not be the primary market for southern pine. A study exploring a dual-cropping system for southern pine bioenergy and solidwood products was begun in 1982 in Louisiana to determine the phosphorus (P) nutritional requirements of the system. Fertilization of 60 kg ha−1 of P was required to produce 90% of the maximum volume at the age of 22 years. Direct-seeding pine in the interrows of a traditional pine plantation produced about 10.2 Mg ha−1 of biomass for energy at the age of 5 years but had no lasting effect on the planted pine height, diameter, or standing volume. The system is a viable method to produce both bioenergy and solidwood products. Herbaceous competition control and nitrogen (N) fertilization likely would make the system even more productive and profitable.

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 176-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Mitchell ◽  
Tom Gallagher

Abstract A time and motion study was conducted to determine the productivity and cost of an in-woods chipping operation when processing whole small-diameter trees for biomass. The study removed biomass from two overstocked stands and compared the cost of this treatment to existing alternatives. The treatment stands consisted of a 30-year-old longleaf pine stand and a 37-year-old loblolly pine stand. In the longleaf pine stand, 71% of the trees removed were less than 5 in. dbh. In the loblolly pine stand, approximately 81% of the stems removed were less than 5 in. dbh. The harvesting system consisted of conventional ground-based harvesting equipment and a three-knife chipper that processed the biomass into fuel chips. The average production time to fill a chip van was 24.61 minutes. The chip moisture content averaged 94.11% (dry basis). Using machine rates and federal labor wage rates, the in-woods cost of producing fuel chips was $9.18/green ton (gt). The cost of the biomass chipping operation ($15.18/gt), including transportation, compared favorably to existing alternative treatments of cut-and-pile or mulching.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-410
Author(s):  
J Mcfero Grace ◽  
J F Klepac ◽  
Steve E Taylor

AbstractImproved use of forest biomass has been presented as a viable option to satisfy a portion of the demand for sustainable alternative sources of energy. Yet, there are considerable gaps in our understanding related to the efficiencies of current state-of-the-art forest biomass recovery systems. Southern pine plantation biomass stands typically exhibit higher stand densities and smaller-diameter trees than conventional stands, which, in turn, may result in reduced recovery efficiencies. In this study, the impact of new harvest systems for biomass recovery was investigated in typical southern pine plantation biomass harvests. Specifically, spatial and temporal effects on residue distribution were examined following biomass harvest of 14- and 24-year-old loblolly pine plantations. Preharvest total standing biomass for the younger site at 90 t ac–1 (220 t hectare–1) was half that of the older site at 160 t ac–1 (390 t hectare–1). Although the analysis detected no significant temporal effects on residue distributions, the preharvest condition exhibited 100 percent ground cover, whereas postharvest conditions had nearly 20 percent of the area designated as bare. Two of the five residue classifications, light debris and litter-herbaceous, were found to have a significantly higher incidence of occurrence than the other residue classifications on the sites based on a multinomial regression. In general, we found recovery efficiencies for both sites of 80 percent or greater for both methods of determination, by destructive sampling and based on load tickets.


TAPPI Journal ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 9-16
Author(s):  
SUNG-HOON YOON ◽  
HARRY CULLINAN ◽  
GOPAL A. KRISHNAGOPALAN

We studied three process modifications to investigate their effects on the property and yield recovery capabilities of kraft pulping integrated with hemicellulose pre-extraction of southern pine. Loblolly pine chips were pre-extracted with hot water until the sugar extraction yield reached the targeted value of 10% and then subjected to conventional and modified kraft pulping. Modification included polysulfide pretreatment; polysulfide-sodium borohydride dual pretreatment, and polysulfide followed by polysulfide-sodium borohydride dual pretreatment two-stage pretreatments prior to kraft pulping. In the first modification, about 5% of the lost pulp yield (total 7%) caused by hemicellulose pre-extraction could be recovered with 15%-20% polysulfide pretreatment. Complete recovery (7%) was achieved with simultaneous pretreatment using 15% polysulfide and 0.5% sodium borohydride with 0.1% anthraquinone in polysulfide-sodium borohydride dual pretreatment. Two-stage pretreatment using recycled 15% polysulfide followed by simultaneous treatment of 6% polysulfide and 0.4%–0.5% sodium borohydride with 0.1% anthraquinone also achieved 100% yield recovery. Continuous recycling of 15% polysulfide employed in the two-stage process modification maintained its yield protection efficiency in a repeated recycling cycle. No significant changes in paper strength were found in handsheets prepared from the three process modifications, except for a minor reduction in tear strength.


1991 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald L. Sirois ◽  
Cynthia L. Rawlins ◽  
Bryce J. Stokes

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qaswar ◽  
Jing ◽  
Ahmed ◽  
Shujun ◽  
Dongchu ◽  
...  

A long-term field experiment was carried out (since 2008) for evaluating the effects of different substitution rates of inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizer by green manure (GM) on yield stability and N balance under double rice cropping system. Treatments included, (1) N0 (no N fertilizer and no green manure); (2) N100 (recommended rate of N fertilizer and no green manure); (3) N100-M (recommended rate of N fertilizer and green manure); (4) N80-M (80% of recommended N fertilizer and green manure); (5) N60-M (60% of recommended N fertilizer and green manure); and (6) M (green manure without N fertilization). Results showed that, among all treatments, annual crop yield under N80-M treatment was highest. Crop yield did not show significant differences between N100-M and N80-M treatments. Substitution of different N fertilizer rates by GM reduced the yield variability index. Compared to the N0 treatment, yield variability index of early rice under N100-M, N80-M, and N60-M treatments was decreased by 11%, 26%, and 36%, respectively. Compared to the N0 treatment, yield variability index of late rice was decreased by 12%, 38%, 49%, 47%, and 24% under the N100, N100-M, N80-M, N60-M, and M treatments, respectively. During period of 2009–2013 and 2014–2018, nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE) was highest under N80-M treatment and N balance was highest under N100 treatment. NRE of all treatments with GM was increased over the time from 2009–2013 to 2014–2018. All treatments with GM showed increasing trend of SOC over the years. Substitution of N fertilizer by GM also increased C inputs and soil C:N ratio compared to the N100 and N0 treatments. Boosted regression model indicated that C input, N uptake and AN were most influencing factors of crop yield. Thus, we concluded that N fertilization rates should be reduced by 20% under GM rotation to attain high yield stability of double rice cropping system through increasing NRE and C inputs.


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