The Study of Post-Harvest Processing and Handling of Residues From Plants Grown Primarily For Agronomics: Soybean Stalk, Corn Stover, Tomato Vine, Cucumber, Eggplant, and Summer Squash

Information on post-harvest handling of the crop is critical to the development of new or improved plant species and traits. This paper presents a comprehensive study of the grinding characteristics and handling properties of a number of crop residues under agronomic studies. We used a laboratory-scale knife mill connected to an in-line power meter to investigate the specific energy of size reduction for each crop. The summer squash sample yielded the smallest mean particle size upon grinding (P= 0.05). The results indicate a significant correlation between the Carbon to Oxygen (C/O) ratio and the Gross Calorific Value (GCV), ash, lignin content, and net specific grinding energy consumption (NSGEC) of the samples. Among agricultural residues, the soybean stalk sample, with the highest C/O ratio (0.96), exhibited the highest GCV (17.5 MJ/kg, db) and NSGEC (31.7 kWh/t), while the summer squash sample, with the lowest C/O ratio (0.46), showed the lowest GCV (13.6 MJ/kg, db) and NSGEC (5.1 kWh/t). The flowability of the ground biomass samples varied, with cucumber showing the best free flow properties. The results also showed that there is a significant positive correlation between the lignin content and NSGEC of all samples (p= 0.05).