Michel Jullian writes: > > Hi Fred (your reply-to pb isn't fixed BTW) > > Thanks for the very documented enlightenment on air nitrogen fixing plants > (legumes), would there be a problem in using them directly as biofuel > convertible biomass do you think?
You're welcome. Soydiesel from soybean crops is a hot item these days, Michel. You can have your "Tofu Cake" and motor fuel too. :-) http://www.soyfoods.com/soyfoodsdescriptions/tofu.html http://energy.cas.psu.edu/soydiesel.html Fred > > Michel > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Frederick Sparber" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "vortex-l" <vortex-l@eskimo.com> > Sent: Friday, March 10, 2006 1:25 PM > Subject: Re: Farrell responds to Pimentel regarding ethanol > > > > Crop rotation fixes the nitrogen energy problem. > > > > Using hybrid seed I had no problem getting 120 bushel/acre corn planted on > > land that grew soybeans the year before. > > > > I doubt the Amish in that northwester Pennsylvania area now, don't sweat > > it either. > > > > http://www.princeton.edu/~hos/mike/texts/readmach/zmaczynski.htm > > > > "The early 20th century produced three methods to "fix" nitrogen, that is, > > convert it from an inactive gas in the air to nitrogen compounds that > > would be further reacted to produce fertilizers or used directly. Two > > methods, the electric arc process and the cyanamid process never proved > > important in making fertilizer in the United States though they were of > > some importance through the first part of this century. The third process, > > the Haber Process, has made a lasting impression on chemical technology > > and fertilizers." > > > > http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AG152 > > > > "All plants must have nitrogen (N) for growth. Approximately 110 million > > tons of N are required for the world's annual food production but only 7 > > million tons are supplied by the fertilizer industry; the rest come from > > legumes. Legumes are plants, like peas, beans, soybean, alfalfa, clover, > > and aeschynomene, that have special bacteria in their rooting system and > > make use of N from the air. The air we breathe is 78% nitrogen gas, and > > 21% oxygen. There are ~35,000 tons of free N above every acre of land, but > > this gaseous form is unavailable to plant or animal life. Fortunately, > > nature has provided us with a simple and cheap method of obtaining some of > > this N from the atmosphere by the growing of legumes." > > > > "Most, but not all legumes have the capacity to fix N. The quantity of N > > fixed depends on several factors, such as (1) the kind of legume, (2) the > > effectiveness of the N-fixing bacteria, (3) the soil conditions including > > pH and N fertilizer, and (4) availability of necessary plant food such as > > carbohydrates, phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium > > (Ca), iron (Fe), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), and boron (B). For example, > > estimates of N fixed in a growing season for alfalfa are 100-200 lb/A; > > berseem clover, 50-210 lb/A; red clover, 50-200 lb/A; white clover, 50-150 > > lb/A; hairy vetch, 100 lb/A; and aeschynomene, 50-150 lb/A. In soils that > > are well supplied with N fertilizer, there may be little or no fixation > > because the plants use available N in the soil and do not encourage the > > bacteria to fix more. As a result, the greatest N fixation is obtained in > > soils low in available N." > > > > These probably exceed the EPA/s groundwater "nitrate" pollution levels in > > soils. :-)
