Rice into biofuel and fodder

Photo credit: SciDevNet

Image credit: Abbie Trayler-Smith / Panos

• On-farm system turns rice plants into biofuel and fodder

  Speed read

  • Rice plants are wrapped in plastic bales with yeast, enzymes and bacteria
  • By using rice grown for livestock, the method avoids competing with food crops
  • But it could lead to competition for farmland, and roll out may be a challenge

  

  Rice paddies in Asia – http://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2014/07/05/08/56/rice-terraces-384665_640.jpg

  EXCERPT

  A technology to create biofuel and animal feed at the same time without any off-site processing has been developed by Japanese researchers.

  The solid-state fermentation (SSF) system involves wrapping rice plants grown to feed livestock along with yeast, enzymes and bacteria into a bale covered with a plastic film, and capturing the ethanol produced by the resulting fermentation.

  This technology builds on traditional processes used by farmers around the world to create silage to feed livestock such as cattle, goats and sheep, according to a report published on 30 January in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels.

  According to Horita, the biggest challenge to implementing SSF on a larger scale is the cost of rolling out the technology. Researchers would have to present the advantages of using the system to farmers, who would also need access to power stations that can buy and use the resulting ethanol, he says.

  Read the full article: SciDevNet