Chinese researchers increase biogas yield from rice straw by 65 percent

In China, researchers say that they have developed a process to increase the conversion rate of rice straw into biogas by 65 percent. More than 230 million tonnes of rice straw are left over from harvests each year, but to date rice straw has proved resistant in the conversion process. The researchers pretreated rice straw with sodium hydroxide to increase the results from anaerobic digesters. The scientific team said that three pilot facilities have been built using the technology.
FAO officials noted in Senate testimony that rice prices are going through a bubble phase, noting also that wheat prices have dropped by 50 percent and corn was showing signs of entering a price decline phase. FAO economist Abbassian added that “Rice is an exception. Perhaps one could qualify it as a sort of a bubble. It’s a thin market. We have five exporters. Three of them don’t want to sell anything. Obviously prices go through the roof. But the moment one of them decides to open up the border, perhaps it collapses,” Abbassian said in attributing a 500 percent increase in rice prices due to hoarding.

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