[Terrapreta] economics of corn stover as pyrolytic fuel vs. microbe food

[Gerald Van Koeverden]

Let's say you're a corn farmer and a pyrolysis company came to you  
and said he'd like to buy your corn stover.  What is its value to  
you?  Is it more or less than what that company could afford to pay  
for it?

Do we have any idea of the costs to the corn farmer?  Of course, the  
cost of raking and baling can be calculated easily enough.  What  
about the loss of future yield due to the decreased amount of  
nutrition for microbes and other soil organisms, decreased soil  
organic matter and subsequent decrease in CEC and tilth?  Can anybody  
put a figure on that?  How many bushels of corn/acre??

What about the cost to the pyrolysis company in hauling bales from  
the field to its plant, storing it, chopping it, drying it, etc...   
Considering what they get for their end product (?), how much could  
they rationalize paying per ton of corn stover?  Right now most of  
these companies are using free sources of waste biomass as  
feedstock.  Has anybody done even a crude economic study?


Gerrit