Pelletization of Rice Straw for Ethanol Production

Abstract

This paper clarifies an improvement to the enzymatic saccharification and volume reduction of rice straw pellets. During pelletization, rice straw is triturated under high temperatures and pressures. The saccharification rate is 36% and improves than crushing alone. In addition, the bulk density of the pellet is 0.64g per cm³, over four times as much as that of a rice straw roll bale. The collection and transportation cost of the conventional and pelletization system were estimated at 14.4 and 17.8yen per kg, respectively. This didn’t lead to a reduction in overall cost because of the higher cost of pelletization, however, the reduction of the secondary transport and loading-unloading cost was accepted by the volume reduction of rice straw.