Overview of Feed Stock

Pakistan is producing a huge amount of crops residue every year which is then burned in
open fields from farmers in results the emission of huge amount of greenhouse gas, causing
global warming. Similarly there is an enormous amount of LDPE is generated every year
among which only 9% is recycled and remaining stay in the landfills, water bodies and
oceans. These wastes are destroying our ecosystem, disturbing food chain and biodiversity.
Due to which we selected a blended feed to produce some eco-friendly biofuels form these
waste materials. Feedstock is the fundamental material used in numerous industrial
processes for producing goods or energy. It acts as the beginning point for manufacturing by
providing the raw materials or chemicals required to begin and maintain production.
Feedstock can include natural resources such as minerals, agricultural goods, biomass, and
even recycled or waste materials.

There are three Raw Materials mentioned below:

I. Sugarcane Trash.
II. Corn Stover.
III. Waste PET.
I. Sugarcane Trash
Sugarcane trash is the crop residue after harvesting and milling of juice. Some
sugar industries used it as a fuel and some throw it as waste. It can be used for
production of different valuable materials like biofuels. After milling, it contains
some amount juice which is used to produce ethanol by using fermentation
process. This crop residue can also be converted into biofuels by thermal
conversions like gasification or pyrolysis because it consists of many biopolymers
like cellulose, lignocellulose etc. which under goes thermal cracking and gives
products like bio-oil, Syngas and Biochar. It consists of 60% dry leaves and 40%
green tops, as well as fractions of stems, roots, and soil particles. i

II. Corn Stover

Corn Stover is a byproduct of corn grain production. Corn Stover is composed of
the stalk, leaves, sheaths, husks, shanks, cobs, tassels, lower ears and silks. iiThe
 approximate distribution of Stover yield components of the total corn plant dry
matter is given below: 22% stalk; 10.6% leaves; 5.3% sheaths; 4.3% husks; 1.5%
shanks; 7.5% cobs; 0.5% tassels; 0.5% lower ears; and 0.2% silks. iiiThis Stover
can be utilized to produce advanced biofuels or as low-quality emergency cattle
feed for dry seasons. Stover, which is comparable to straw from other cereal
grasses, contributes almost half of a maize crop's output.iv

III. Waste PET:

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a polymer formed via the polymerization of
ethylene glycol with terephthalic acid. PET is primarily utilized for packaging and
textile producers. It is used to package 70% of carbonated soft drinks, fruit juices,
diluted beverages, and bottled water.v PET is the world's most recyclable plastic,
as it is lightweight, inexpensive, strong, safe, and has a lower carbon impact than
alternatives.vi
i
Marcelo A. Pierossi, Fernando C. Bertolani, Chapter 2 - Sugarcane Trash as Feedstock for Biorefineries:
Agricultural and Logistics Issues, Editor(s): Anuj Kumar Chandel, Marcos Henrique Luciano Silveira,
Advances in Sugarcane Biorefinery, Elsevier, 2018, Pages 17-39, ISBN
9780128045343,https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804534-3.00002-1.
ii
https://farm-energy.extension.org/corn-stover-for-biofuel-production/
iii
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/corn_stover_what_is_its_worth
iv
Khanal, Asmita & Manandhar, Ashish & Shah, Ajay. (2019). Physicochemical and Structural
Characteristics of Corn Stover and Cobs After Physiological Maturity. BioEnergy Research. 12.
10.1007/s12155-019-09992-7.
v
Lee Tin Sin, Bee Soo Tueen, 2 - Eco-profile of plastics, Editor(s): Lee Tin Sin, Bee Soo Tueen, Plastics
and Sustainability, Elsevier, 2023, Pages 45-89, ISBN 9780128244890,https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-
12-824489-0.00010-6.
vi
https://www.recycletheone.com/what-is-pet/#:~:text=PET%2C%20or%20PolyEthylene
%20Terephthalate%2C%20is,recyclable%20plastic%20in%20the%20world.