[GSBN] Baling thoughts

[Derek Roff]

The amount of available sugars and other easily accessible 
carbohydrates in corn and sugar cane stalks, even after processing, 
is likely to be a lot higher than for straw or hay.  That would make 
me worry about losing bales and buildings to mildew, rot, and other 
micro-organisms, as well as insects, rodents, and most 
catastrophically, spontaneous combustion.

Research indicates that baled straw from cereal grains does not 
spontaneously combust.  In commercial hay bales, sometimes made from 
the same cereal grains harvested earlier in the growth cycle, 
spontaneous combustion is a serious concern.  That tells me that 
straw and hay each lie close to the threshold for spontaneous 
combustion risk, and anything more nutritious and digestible than 
straw could be a fire risk.  I would worry about spontaneous 
combustion during transport and storage of the bales, and even after 
construction, in properly plastered walls.

Derek



--On Tuesday, February 3, 2009 8:51 AM -0700 Mark Jensen 
<markj at redfeather.org> wrote:

>
>
> Greetings everybody,
>
>
>
> I was in a meeting yesterday with a man who would like to see
> sustainable housing in his home land of Kenya. He mentioned that
> they grow a lot of wheat and rice there, however he asked if I had
> heard of baling sugar cane or corn stalks. I have not heard of
> anybody doing this, but have any of you heard of this or have any
> thoughts of the plausibility of doing such. I'm thinking the culm
> might be just too big for a baler. I would love to hear your
> thoughts.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
>
>
> Mark Jensen
>
> Construction Program Director
>
>
>
> Red Feather Development Group
>
> PO Box 907
>
> Bozeman, MT 59771-0907
>
> T: (406)585-7188
>
> F: (406)585-7187
>
>
>
> markj at redfeather.org   www.redfeather.org
>
>
>
> -Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
>
>
>
>
>
>



Derek Roff
Language Learning Center
Ortega Hall 129, MSC03-2100
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
505/277-7368, fax 505/277-3885
Internet: derek at unm.edu