Nation's First Biomass Plant That Converts Rice Straw to Ethanol May Reduce Air Pollution

The nation's first commercial biomass plant for converting rice straw into ethanol fuel could soon be a reality within the next three years, according to Sharon Shoemaker, executive director of the UC Davis-based California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research. Rice straw remains in the field after the grain is harvested and has long been a nuisance for farmers. If incorporated back into the soil, the straw can foster diseases in future rice crops and, when burned, it contributes to the Sacramento Valley's air-pollution problems. State legislation has mandated that rice farmers gradually eliminate straw burning as a disposal practice. Researchers say that biomass technology can now convert the plant material into fuel which will provide a commercially feasible option. Approximately two-thirds of rice straw is fermentable for ethanol. The remainder would be put to other uses in power generation and sodium silicate manufacture.

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Pat Bailey, Research news (emphasis: agricultural and nutritional sciences, and veterinary medicine), 530-219-9640, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu