Napier grass commonly also known as Elephant grass is a tropical wild grass that grows in the African grasslands. Over the years, Napier grass has primarily been used for grazing: as a fodder crop. Napier grass is actually the most important fodder crop in East Africa and other parts of the world. Napier grass is produced in Africa. Introduced and cultivated to India, Burma, Oceania, America and Asia. In addition, it is actually the most important fodder crop in East Africa and other parts of the world.
Napier grass has strong ecological adaptability. Generally, it can withstand a high temperature of 37.9°C and a cold and dry climate of 1-2°C in winter, and relative humidity of 20%-25%, without death.
Napier grass can grow in sand and clay and has strong resistance to soil acidity. It is planted in red soil with a pH value of 4-5. It is better than Sudan grass, Guatemala friction grass, Kennedy grass, sorghum, corn, sugar cane, and other feeds. The crop is highly adaptable.
Applications of Napier Grass Pellets
Napier grass pellets can be poultry animal feed
The Napier grass is usually directly fed to the animals or cut into smaller pieces and fed to the poultry animals like cow, goat, sheep, pig, and so on. However, farmers can also make Napier grass pellets and feed them to the animal. By combining other ingredients, Napier grass feed pellets are healthier and with more nutrients and will remain edible for a long time.
Napier grass is an excellent forage for animals
Napier grass is named after elephants like to eat. It is easy to plant, has good palatability, and has higher nutritional value than ordinary plants. It is a good feed for wild and domestic animals. Elephant grass is mostly used as green mowing fodder, and can also be silaged or modulated into hay. Soft elephant grass has better palatability, and soy is generally added to silage and hay to improve its palatability and digestibility. Therefore, planting elephant grass in a large area is one of the effective ways to solve the shortage of feed.
Napier pellets can also be used in production of fuel
Napier grass as a source of fuel can provide about 4400kcal per kilogram (18.4MJ per kilogram). Being a high yield plant, Napier grass is a good resource of biomass raw materials for fuel production. Napier grass is more efficient as a raw material for the fuel production compared to other raw materials. This is because it requires low input of nutrients/fertilizer, it is high yield but with low cost, it requires no special care or pesticide and it are easy to grow.
How to Make Napier Grass Pellets for Fuel
Generally, you can use a grass pellet machine to make elephant grass into pellets. After the elephant grass is put into the machine, the grass powder will be stirred and squeezed during the process of pelleting. The pellets come out of the sieve. Napier grass not only contains all kinds of nutrients necessary for livestock but also contains crude fiber that can maintain the health of ruminant livestock. This cannot be replaced by grain and other feeds. High-quality elephant grass can fully meet the nutritional needs of ordinary livestock.
For making Napier grass pellets for fuel, the farmer requires a complete pellet plant for this procedure. Freshly harvested Napier grass is turned into pellets by undergoing the following procedure:
1.First the Napier grass is dried. Fresh Napier grass contains a lot of moisture. Its moisture content is 75%. However, for pellet production the moisture content has to be 10%. Hence, the Napier grass has to be dried. It is dried by leaving it under the sun for an hour or two.
2.The dry Napier grass is crushed. The grass is usually 4 meters tall and cannot be handled while that tall. It has to be crushed into smaller sizes no longer than the hole diameter of pellet mills. The Napier grass is crushed using a cutting machine or using a farm knife to cut it into smaller pieces manually. If the Napier grass is a lot simply use the crushing machine which makes the work easier and faster.
3.Pelleting. This is entirely done by the pellet mills. The farmer fills the crushed Napier grass into the pellet mill. The pellet mill then mixes the crushed Napier grass and molds it into small pellets. The better the pellet mill, the better the pellets. So when purchasing a wood pellet machine looks out for quality. It is advisable to purchase pellet mills from known brands and one that has a proven track record of making quality Napier grass pellets.
4.Cooling the pellets. The pelleting process is exothermic. It involves a lot of friction hence producing a lot of heat. Hence, the produced pellets are hot and soft. The pellets need to be cooled in order to harden; this increases their durability. Running cold water over the pellets cools them. Simply place the pellets in a container and run cold tap water to cool them.
5.Packaging and storage. After cooling, the farmer can put the pellets in bags then store in a cool and dry place. The pellets are high density hence making storage and transportation easy.
文章定位：
