TITLE:
The Effect of Mechanical Conditioning on Physical Conditions of Miscanthus Plants
AUTHORS:
Sebastian Redcay, Jude Liu
KEYWORDS:
Energy Crop, Baling, Strength, Preprocessing
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.14 No.1,
January
20,
2023
ABSTRACT: Miscanthus is an emerging dedicated energy crop, which can provide excellent yield on marginal lands. However, this crop
is more difficult to harvest than many conventional energy crops such as corn
stover and switchgrass due to its tall and rigid stalks. Crop samples for
laboratory studies were collected from the field and the effects of roll
spacing, roll speed, and crop input of a mechanical conditioning device on the
physical conditions of miscanthus were studied in a lab setting. Test results
showed that mechanical conditioning is effective to change the physical
conditions of miscanthus to make baling possible or easier. Results also showed
that the roll spacing had the most significant
impact on the physical conditions of miscanthus, shown by a 115%
increase in conditioning over a 0.95 cm (75%) reduction in roll spacing. Increased
roll spacing and speed were shown to decrease the amount of torque required to
condition the miscanthus.