Corn stalk as a bioenergy resource

Waste corn stalk has the potential to help reduce the nation's dependence upon foreign sources of petroleum by becoming a major bioenergy resource. There are many sources of biomass that could also be utilized for this endeavor. It is estimated that over 100 million tons of agricultural waste are produced in the United States alone. This represents a significant source of energy. Through gasification, this waste could be used to generate power, fuels, and/or products. This dissertation shows that the gasification of corn stalk can produce char, heat, synthesis gases (CO and H₂), and can also be used for work to dry moist biomass. Through the integration of drying, gasification, and carbon production, waste corn stalk can be used as a significant bioenergy resource. Novel concepts included in this dissertation include: (1) using corn stalk as a gasification fuel, (2) using corn stalk to generate activated carbon, (3) using activated carbon from corn stalk to adsorb organic pollutants, (4) using the gasification of corn stalk in a new process to dry moist biomass, (5) using the “partial” gasification of moist corn stalk in another new process to dry moist biomass in a single step. Each concept could be integrated with existing gasification technology to increase the efficient utilization of energy from biomass.