Jennie Daley

比一個地方，能承受的能源，但康奈爾大學教授希望放牧藥丸聽起來更可能生野菜改變那觀念。傑瑞Cherney， E.V。 農業貝克教授在莊稼和土壤科學的部門，工作大約五年合作必要的片斷在燒他們的草藥丸和火爐附近創造產業。 最新的步往那是一個草藥丸火爐的設施在康奈爾的大紅色穀倉，擔當畢業生和專家學生文娛中心。

「這技術非常擁有諾言，并且我們想引起對它的一些注意」的能持續力實習生說Ethan雨水，康奈爾的幫助促進住讀設施。 在壁爐臺在火爐之上在大紅色穀倉讀的一張大，與信息有關的海報， 「它需要70天種植一片莊稼為草藥丸。 在礦物燃料需要70百萬年做僵化的草」。

草藥丸擁護者讚賞燃料的這質量並且事實它是可以當地增長的產品，顯著減少運輸花費和潛在地提供地方工作。

麥克Rutzke，一名資深研究員在康奈爾的食品科學部門，考慮了這些好處二年前，當他決定買燒玉米的藥丸火爐。 因為他的Danby家有他的鄰居生長玉米的英畝，它是一個容易的決定為了他和他的妻子能投資在將燒的一個輕微地更加昂貴的火爐什麼他們增長。 他們迅速發現增加草藥丸一個20%比率到為更加乾淨的燒傷做的他們的玉米，因此他們也現在使用Cherney提供的某些草藥丸。

當Rutzke興奮以他新的加熱系統時的表現和費用，他看清楚的標誌那更多需要偶然改進產業。 他說有長的等待新的火爐，建議要的人一个在下個冬天應該現在命令。 He has also found that securing grass pellets is tough if you don’t know someone like Cherney.

Yet even for Cherney it’s tough. He had to send grasses to Canada for his latest batch of pellets. Infrastructure issues such as these are ones he feels could be overcome with some government support of the industry such as what he has seen in Pennsylvania and Vermont.

Middlebury College in Vermont recently decided to invest $11 million in a biomass plant that is fueled by wood chips, grass pellets and willows. They hope state grants will offset some costs. The plant will provide heat for the college and is part of its initiative to be carbon neutral by 2012, meaning it will produce all of its own clean energy locally.

“Trying to start a whole new energy system is tough,” Cherney said, especially when New York state recently dedicated significant resources to ethanol production. “I’m trying to get everything together to get an industry going where there’s supply and demand but you can’t do that on your own. Most things start up with some sort of government support.”

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, NYSERDA, said that they have no programs supporting the development of grass pellets in part because it’s not a new technology.

While not novel, there are still barriers that Cherney thinks government funds could help overcome, for instance subsidizing the purchase of pellet machines in areas where they could be shared by several farmers.

Once a farm had a way of creating pellets, there would be little required for it to produce a heating source, according to Cherney. Most farms already grow and harvest grasses and it’s a plant that can grow on marginal soils that aren’t well suited for other crops.

Cherney noted that interest in grass pellets seems to be driven by two things, the price of fuel oil and the weather. He said he gets fewer inquiries in the warmer months and when fuel costs are low. Also, the availability of wood pellets affects interest. While wood pellet stoves aren’t equipped to burn grass pellets, many people wonder about that possibility when wood pellet supplies become limited.

The relatively higher ash content of grass pellets makes them incompatible with wood stoves. When the ash gets heated it can melt and form a mass that blocks air flow and ash removal. Many corn-burning stoves have some type of rotating device to prevent this.

While incompatible in stoves, Cherney said the existing research demonstrates that the amount of heat from grass pellets is comparable to that of wood and the two should be comparable in cost, too.

Rutzke has found his stove to be efficient and cost-effective.

“We think it’s a much better alternative to fossil fuels than converting biomass to ethanol because there are fewer steps, it’s more direct and it’s a technology that already exists,” Rutzke said.

Details on Cherney’s research and information about grass pellet stoves is available at www.grassbioenergy.org.