Grant Ellington

Hydrogen gas (H2) has been considered as one of the most promising fuels because of its super clean and highly efficient conversion to energy. It is mainly used as a fuel for fuel cells, rockets and spaceships. It is also commonly used in hydrogenation where H2 is introduced into foods or chemicals. Currently, approximately 100 million m3 (or 3.5 billion ft3, at 1 atm) of H2 is sold in the United States each year, of which 48% is from natural gas reforming, 30% from refinery-gas/chemicals, 18% from coal gasification, and 4% from electrolysis of water. The major challenge with H2 fuel is its high production cost, which is strongly dependent on the energy source and technology used. In order to make H2 fuel more economically feasible and sustainable, cheaper and renewable energy source (e.g., biomass) and better technologies are necessary. The objective of this proposal is to develop H2 from a low value biomass, hemp hurd. Industrial hemp is a growing agricultural industry in North Carolina that offers an additional economic opportunity for existing farm operations. North Carolina continues to operate under the USDA Industrial Hemp Pilot Program authorized in 2014. Hemp is a promising crop due to its diversity in bioproduct applications, including the flower oil for health benefits, seeds for nutrition, and fiber for textiles. Currently, most of the industrial hemp production is for the cannabidiol (CBD) oil extracted from the floral buds and the smokable flower market. Hemp hurd is comprised of the residual components after flower, seeds, and fibers have been removed, and mainly consists of stalks and stems. Compared to corn stover, hemp hurd is of similar composition, albeit with higher lignin content and lower ash content.[56] North Carolina planted over 9000 acres of hemp in 2019 with the majority dedicated to CBD oil production. Unfortunately, most hemp growers in 2019 did not achieve their anticipated revenues due to oversupply across the U.S., limited processing capacity and other factors, leading to a sharp decline in planted acres in 2020. This has resulted in an abundance of excess hemp being stored by growers around the state. In addition, there is currently very low demand for the hurd material due to a lack of high-value product applications. Thus, new, high-value products derived from hemp hurd would allow growers to utilize all components of the hemp plant and ultimately increase and stabilize revenue streams.

Cigar wrapper (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is a novel tobacco type that has not been commercially produced in North Carolina. Due to steep declines in flue-cured and burley tobacco production in the state, farmers are searching for alternative tobaccos that might fill this new economic void. Cigar wrapper tobacco is intensively managed, but carries a market value that is roughly 1.5 to 3.5 times greater ($3.37 ������������������ 6.53/lb) than the current prices offered for flue-cured and burley tobacco ($1.87 and $2.00/lb, respectively). The infrastructure and general production knowledge required for this style of tobacco are present in North Carolina; therefore, it is presumed that success with cigar wrapper tobacco can be realized. Formal Extension recommendations focusing on fertilizer application rates and curing methodology are not available, however. Research is warranted to develop recommendations that may foster the success of cigar wrapper tobacco.

Cigar wrapper (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is a novel tobacco type that has not been commercially produced in North Carolina. Due to steep declines in flue-cured and burley tobacco production in the state, farmers are searching for alternative tobaccos that might fill this new economic void. Cigar wrapper tobacco is intensively managed, but carries a market value that is roughly 1.5 to 3.5 times greater ($3.37 ������������������ 6.53/lb) than the current prices offered for flue-cured and burley tobacco ($1.87 and $2.00/lb, respectively). The infrastructure and general production knowledge required for this style of tobacco are present in North Carolina; therefore, it is presumed that success with cigar wrapper tobacco can be realized. Formal Extension recommendations focusing on fertilizer application rates, curing methodology, and enterprise budgets are not available, however. Research is warranted to develop recommendations that may foster the success of cigar wrapper tobacco.

The fuel and electrical energy required for curing is a major and growing cost in the production of flue-cured tobacco. With the recent increases in the cost of curing fuel and electricity, energy costs are approaching, and in some cases have exceeded, $1000 per cure. This situation is clearly untenable and if left unresolved, may shortly result in the wholesale exit of many US flue-cured growers from the industry. We fully understand that the viability of the US flue-cured tobacco industry may hinge on the timely reduction of curing energy costs. Our proposed work is in two parts. First, we will investigate ways to make existing equipment more energy efficient and second, we will investigate the convenient and efficient application of renewable woodchips for curing fuel.

Utilizing funds from a special $107,000 grant from the North Carolina Tobacco Research Commission, a pair of full size, 10 box bulk curing barns were built on the campus of North Carolina State University during the spring of 2007 and successfully tested this summer. The barns we have built are an accumulation and embodiment of as many of the energy, labor, cost and time saving ideas as possible. These are two full-size ten-box barns capable of curing up to 30,000 pounds of green tobacco each in a regular 6-7 day curing schedule. The barns employ a common wall design that saves approximately 50% of the pad space as well as reducing the cost of the barn. The barns have approximately 3 times the insulation of the best commercially available barns. Each barn is equipped with a 15 hp Aero-Vent direct-drive bladed fan capable of moving 20,000 cfm at 1.75 inches of water pressure. Heat for the barn is provided by a wood-fired Taylor Water Stove rated at ½ million Btu/hr. The instrumentation designed into these barns allows us to collect the following data on a continuing basis:weight of the tobacco, the electrical power consumed, the heat required, wet and dry bulb temperatures, air pressure over and under the tobacco and air flow through the curing tobacco. The following are some of the Goals and Objectives we intend to address during the 2008 season with our new facility: A rapid and accurate tobacco ordering system to re-introduce moisture into the cured leaf at the end of the cure is essential the economic use of barns and the production of a quality product. A reduction of electrical energy by the use a variable speed fan which has been shown to reduce electrical use during the cure by as much as 30%. This technology is available but needs to be adapted to curing barns. Establishing the correct location for dry and wet bulb sensors has proven problematic for automatic cuuring systems. We intend to investigate the correct placement of these sensors. As farms expand and the price of equipment falls, wireless communication systems for control and alarm of curing barns are becoming an item desired by many growers. We intend to investigate the systems on the market with an aim of identifying those best suited for different situations.