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Can reeds (or rushes) be used as biomass like Miscanthus?


pembswoodrecycling
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Hi all,

 

I know its not quite a firewood query, but I figured someone may know something about Biomass in general...

I did some work on a dairy farm last year, and by way of an experiment we used Miscanthus grass as bedding for the cattle (it was being sold cheap because the biomass plant that was meant to use it broke down).

this got me thinking, since Reeds (or to some people rushes) are the bane of every small sheep farmers life, is there any way that reeds could be used as a source of biomass fuel the same as Miscanthus is? if so is it worth cutting, drying like hay, and baling them up?

 

there is a field next door to us, 4 foot tall with reeds and I'm sure if I offered to take them away the farmer would be delighted!

 

Picture below to see the sort of plant I mean, so theres no confusion.

 

P.s. ignore the sheep :thumbup1:.

sheep.JPG.85b391e0dbd14275bbddabd11cb43802.JPG

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Hi all,

 

I know its not quite a firewood query, but I figured someone may know something about Biomass in general...

I did some work on a dairy farm last year, and by way of an experiment we used Miscanthus grass as bedding for the cattle (it was being sold cheap because the biomass plant that was meant to use it broke down).

this got me thinking, since Reeds (or to some people rushes) are the bane of every small sheep farmers life, is there any way that reeds could be used as a source of biomass fuel the same as Miscanthus is? if so is it worth cutting, drying like hay, and baling them up?

 

there is a field next door to us, 4 foot tall with reeds and I'm sure if I offered to take them away the farmer would be delighted!

 

Picture below to see the sort of plant I mean, so theres no confusion.

 

P.s. ignore the sheep :thumbup1:.

 

He certainly would be delighted, the plant you are talking about is juncus (soft rush) it can be baled for bedding but before taking it on you may want to check the price of putting double wheels on your tractor, have a good chain and a second tractor readily available and make sure that you have a good low ground pressure trailer available. They do not normally grow in good firm well drained ground.

 

You may also consider taking a look at the stone outcrops in your photo and considering the effect of hitting one with a running mower.

 

The answer to your question is yes it can be cut and baled like hay - it makes decent bedding - biomass - no reason why it should not work in a straw bale boiler - but straw bales are normally easier to get!

 

Cheers

mac

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He certainly would be delighted, the plant you are talking about is juncus (soft rush) it can be baled for bedding but before taking it on you may want to check the price of putting double wheels on your tractor, have a good chain and a second tractor readily available and make sure that you have a good low ground pressure trailer available. They do not normally grow in good firm well drained ground.

 

You may also consider taking a look at the stone outcrops in your photo and considering the effect of hitting one with a running mower.

 

The answer to your question is yes it can be cut and baled like hay - it makes decent bedding - biomass - no reason why it should not work in a straw bale boiler - but straw bales are normally easier to get!

 

Cheers

mac

 

This photo is not my land, its just one I nicked off google so you could see what plant I was talking about.

The land in our area is quite poor, six inch of top soil and then clay as deep as you can dig, so it gets very wet in the winter, but sets like concrete in the summer - chains and 4wd are not a problem!

we used to bale reeds for bedding, the trouble is you need to let the muck rot for several years or you just spread the seed and the problem.

 

my query was mainly about the fuel value of it, it seems like a quick growing resource that nobody has really tapped in to, was just wondering if there was any particular reason why not...

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