Before the invention of a combine harvester, corn was picked on the ear and threshed later. This led to an availability of corn cobs and many uses were found. A renewed interest in the heat/energy value of the cob has increased the focus on harvesting corn cobs. A corn cob separation system was developed and installed on a single pass biomass harvesting combine. The system included a blower and two fans and the combine was capable of harvesting grain only, grain and stover, and grain and cobs. The cob separation system was evaluated using a stationary test with earcorn and stover bales with minimal field testing to validate the lab tests. The stationary tests evaluated 5 different separation zone configurations, 2 blower speeds, and 2 fan speeds. Cob purity averaged 71% and the collection efficiency averaged 84% with fan power consumption of 20 and 36 kW and blower power consumption of 3.1 and 5.3 kW. Field tests showed cob purity averages of 84% while the collection efficiency averaged 76%.
","abstract_html":"<p>Before the invention of a combine harvester, corn was picked on the ear and threshed later. This led to an availability of corn cobs and many uses were found. A renewed interest in the heat/energy value of the cob has increased the focus on harvesting corn cobs. A corn cob separation system was developed and installed on a single pass biomass harvesting combine. The system included a blower and two fans and the combine was capable of harvesting grain only, grain and stover, and grain and cobs. The cob separation system was evaluated using a stationary test with earcorn and stover bales with minimal field testing to validate the lab tests. The stationary tests evaluated 5 different separation zone configurations, 2 blower speeds, and 2 fan speeds. Cob purity averaged 71% and the collection efficiency averaged 84% with fan power consumption of 20 and 36 kW and blower power consumption of 3.1 and 5.3 kW. Field tests showed cob purity averages of 84% while the collection efficiency averaged 76%.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Johnson, Jeremiah"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ENG)","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Stuart J. Birrell"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-01-01","date_published":"2010-01-01","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:38:57Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-81"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-81","href":"https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-81","code":true}]},{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11241/"],"render_values":[{"text":"archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11241/","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/25447","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Stuart J. Birrell"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ENG)"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Johnson, Jeremiah"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2018-08-11T17:02:36.000"]},{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2020-06-30T02:34:19Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-06-30T02:34:19Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2010-01-01"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11241/"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-81"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/25447"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Before the invention of a combine harvester, corn was picked on the ear and threshed later. This led to an availability of corn cobs and many uses were found. A renewed interest in the heat/energy value of the cob has increased the focus on harvesting corn cobs. A corn cob separation system was developed and installed on a single pass biomass harvesting combine. The system included a blower and two fans and the combine was capable of harvesting grain only, grain and stover, and grain and cobs. The cob separation system was evaluated using a stationary test with earcorn and stover bales with minimal field testing to validate the lab tests. The stationary tests evaluated 5 different separation zone configurations, 2 blower speeds, and 2 fan speeds. Cob purity averaged 71% and the collection efficiency averaged 84% with fan power consumption of 20 and 36 kW and blower power consumption of 3.1 and 5.3 kW. Field tests showed cob purity averages of 84% while the collection efficiency averaged 76%.
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