Air Quality Water & California Rice Pesticides Rice Straw Wildlife

Environmental & Conservation Balance Sheet for The California Rice Industry

Table 4-2:
Summary of Offsite Rice Straw Uses
As Alternatives to Field Burning

Report of the Advisory Committee on Alternatives to Rice Straw Burning, December 29, 1995.

Alternatives/ Technology	Technological Feasibility	Economic Feasibility	Commercial Feasibility
Energy Conversion
Anaerobic Digestion	Three-stage process requiring addition of manure.	Marginal, because of pre-treatment stages.	Technology still in concept stage; no pilot plants to date.
Direct Combustion	Not feasible because of slagging and high ash content.	Limited demand for biomass fuels; competitive market.	Not feasible. Commercial plants refuse rice straw because of technical difficulties.
Ethanol Production	Acid-hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis methods; each provides efficient conversion resulting in relatively high product yields.	Market demand dependent on government subsidies.	Pilot plants proposed for North Valley locations. Ethanol fuel conversion could divert 40 percent of total rice straw volume annually.
Alternatives/ Technology	Technological Feasibility	Economic Feasibility	Commercial Feasibility
Pulp Products
Paper/Cardboard	Silica sludge produced during lignin removal is prohibitory with respect to cost and regulatory concerns; abrasive silica content of rice straw increases equipment and treatment costs significantly.	Highly competitive market represented by abundant raw materials with far superior processing qualities.	There are no known commercial rice straw plants in the United States. Feasiblity of manufacturing rice straw pulp products could improve if technology evolves to accomodate high silica content of rice straw.
Fiberboard	Silica sludge produced during lignin removal is prohibitory with respect to cost and regulatory concerns; abrasive silica content of rice straw increases equipment and treatment costs significantly.	Highly competitive market represented by abundant raw materials with far superior processing qualities.	NMC Corporation, a fiberboard plant using 21,000 tons of rice straw per year, is proposed for construction in Colusa County. The medium density fiberboard product would be used in furniture construction.
Composites	Silica sludge produced during lignin removal is prohibitory with respect to cost and regulatory concerns; abrasive silica content of rice straw increases equipment and treatment costs significantly.	Highly competitive market represented by abundant raw materials with far superior processing qualities.	A total of 30,000 to 100,000 tons of straw could be processed annually using the proprietary Particle Compacting Development (PACO) process to manufacture composite products such as pallets, sheeting, tiles, furniture, and irrigation piping.
Alternatives/ Technology	Technological Feasibility	Economic Feasibility	Commercial Feasibility
Construction Products
Bricks and Cement Boards	Agronomic Systems' process uses 70 pecent biomass (rice straw) and 30 percent recycled plastic to produce a wood replacement material (called BioComp) that can be shaped and nailed like wood, but is stronger, waterproof, and rot and insect resistant.	Production costs are expected to be approximately $0.52 per board foot; selling price will depend upon the market.	The pilot plant for BioComp has made a successful pilot run using rice straw from Sutter County. BioComp estimates that each plant will be able to produce up to 14,000 tons per year and service 3,000 to 5,000 acres of straw-producing land.
Panel Construction	Good. Seismic, thermal, and sound properties of the extruded panels are outstanding.	Dependent upon baling, transportation, and storage costs.	Several companies are currently using rice straw. PYRAMOD has a portable mfg. setup that could be driven to the harvesting site. One extrusion machine requires 10,000 tons of rice straw annually.
Bale Construction	Good. Finished structure is highly fire resistant and has exceptional insulation benefits.	Baling and transportation can cost $25 to $70 an acre.	Owner/builders who perform their own work can construct a building for $30/sq. ft.
Alternatives/ Technology	Technological Feasibility	Economic Feasibility	Commercial Feasibility
Soil Enhancement
Composting	Relatively high C:N ratio aids breakdown process.	Feasible.	Compost operations that use straw, process approx. 2,500 tons of straw annually.
Mushroom Production	Good as long as year-round supplies are available.	Feasible.	Mushroom growers would not have an incentive to switch from wheat to rice straw until price of rice straw comes down.
Alternatives/ Technology	Technological Feasibility	Economic Feasibility	Commercial Feasibility
Environmental Mitigation
Erosion Control	Good. Rice straw is heavier, more durable, and less likely to harbor noxious weeds.	Mechanisms for supplying the market (collection, transportation, storage) should be enhanced.	Demand is steady and not likely to decline.
Alternatives/ Technology	Technological Feasibility	Economic Feasibility	Commercial Feasibility
Livestock Feed
Cattle Fodder	Feasible for adult or pregnant livestock.	Must be supplemented.	Unknown.