Misplaced Pages

#405594

30-440: Straw is an agricultural by-product of cereal plants. Straw may also refer to: Straw Straw is usually gathered and stored in a straw bale , which is a bale , or bundle, of straw tightly bound with twine, wire, or string. Straw bales may be square, rectangular, star shaped or round, and can be very large, depending on the type of baler used. Current and historic uses of straw include: Straw may be fed as part of

60-535: A co-firing rate of 15% in modern IGCC plants. Straw bale gardening is also popular among gardeners who do not have enough space for soil gardening . When properly conditioned, straw bales can be used as a perfect soil substitute. There are several styles of straw hats that are made of woven straw. Many thousands of women and children in England (primarily in the Luton district of Bedfordshire), and large numbers in

90-786: A "filter fence," is a temporary sediment control device used on construction sites to protect water quality in nearby streams, rivers, lakes and seas from sediment (loose soil ) in stormwater runoff . Silt fences are widely used on construction sites in North America and elsewhere, due to their low cost and simple design. However, their effectiveness in controlling sediment can be limited, due to problems with poor installation, proper placement, and/or inadequate maintenance. Silt fences are often installed as perimeter controls. They are typically used in combination with sediment basins and sediment traps , as well as with erosion controls , which are designed to retain sediment in place where soil

120-592: A "living" or green roofs . Craft usages of straw include: Straw bales are sometimes used for sediment control at construction sites. However, bales are often ineffective in protecting water quality and are maintenance-intensive. For these reasons the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various state agencies recommend use of alternative sediment control practices where possible, such as silt fences , fiber rolls and geotextiles . They can also be used as burned area emergency response , as ground cover or as in-stream check dams. The use of straw as

150-557: A carbon-neutral energy source is increasing rapidly, especially for biobutanol . Straw or hay briquettes are a biofuel substitute to coal. Straw, processed first as briquettes , has been fed into a biogas plant in Aarhus University , Denmark, in a test to see if higher gas yields could be attained. The use of straw in large-scale biomass power plants is becoming mainstream in the EU, with several facilities already online. The straw

180-404: A new fence installed. The fence is not designed to concentrate or channel stormwater. The fence is installed on a site before soil disturbance begins, and is placed down-slope from the disturbance area. Sediment is captured by silt fences most often through ponding of water and settling, rather than filtration by the fabric. Sand and silt tends to clog the fabric, and then the sediments settle in

210-422: A storm event, the fabric can be "disturbed" in order to dislodge the fines, and allow clean water to flow through. Depending on the protected watershed and erosion, larger soil particles will settle out, ultimately filling the silt fence to the top of the structure; requiring another silt fence above or below it (creating a new ponding area), or for the silt fence to be removed, the sediment removed or spread out, and

240-425: A straw hat and a mino cape . Straw is used in cucumber houses and for mushroom growing. In Japan , certain trees are wrapped with straw to protect them from the effects of a hard winter as well as to use them as a trap for parasite insects. (see Komomaki ) It is also used in ponds to reduce algae by changing the nutrient ratios in the water. The soil under strawberries is covered with straw to protect

270-499: A variety of reasons, including improper location (e.g. placing fence where it will not pond runoff water), improper installation (e.g. failure to adequately embed and backfill the lower edge of fabric in the soil) and lack of maintenance—fabric falling off of the posts, or posts knocked down. A silt fence top-full of sediment may need maintenance/replacement, but it is a huge success. The fabric may become damaged with holes and tears if construction materials are stored next to or on top of

300-767: Is also used in compostable food packaging such as compostable plates. Packaging made from wheat straw can be certified compostable and will biodegrade in a commercial composting environment. Straw can be pulped to make paper . Rope made from straw was used by thatchers, in the packaging industry and even in iron foundries. Saekki is a traditional Korean rope made of woven straw. The Chinese wore cailu or caixie , shoes and sandals made of straw, well into modernity. Koreans wear jipsin , sandals made of straw. Several types of traditional Japanese shoes, such as waraji and zōri , are made of straw. In some parts of Germany like Black Forest and Hunsrück people wear straw shoes at home or at carnival. Heavy-gauge straw rope

330-423: Is being disturbed by construction processes (i.e., land grading and other earthworks ). A typical fence consists of a piece of synthetic filter fabric (also called a geotextile ) stretched between a series of wooden or metal fence stakes along a horizontal contour level. The stakes are installed on the downhill side of the fence, and the bottom edge of the fabric can be trenched into the soil and backfilled on

SECTION 10

#1732890548406

360-437: Is coiled and sewn tightly together to make archery targets. This is no longer done entirely by hand, but is partially mechanised. Sometimes a paper or plastic target is set up in front of straw bales, which serve to support the target and provide a safe backdrop. Thatching uses straw, reed or similar materials to make a waterproof, lightweight roof with good insulation properties. Straw for this purpose (often wheat straw)

390-445: Is either used directly in the form of bales, or densified into pellets which allows for the feedstock to be transported over longer distances. Finally, torrefaction of straw with pelletisation is gaining attention, because it increases the energy density of the resource, making it possible to transport it still further. This processing step also makes storage much easier, because torrefied straw pellets are hydrophobic. Torrefied straw in

420-448: Is gaining popularity as part of passive solar and other renewable energy projects. Wheat straw can be used as a fibrous filler combined with polymers to produce composite lumber . Enviroboard can be made from straw. Strawblocks are strawbales that have been recompressed to the density of woodblocks, for compact cargo container shipment, or for straw-bale construction of load-bearing walls that support roof-loads, such as

450-406: Is grown specially and harvested using a reaper-binder . Dried straw presents a fire hazard that can ignite easily if exposed to sparks or an open flame. It can also trigger allergic rhinitis in people who are hypersensitive to airborne allergens such as straw dust. [REDACTED] Media related to Straw at Wikimedia Commons Silt fence A silt fence , sometimes (misleadingly) called

480-450: Is quite sharp. The straw-filled mattress, also known as a palliasse , is still used by people in many parts of the world. Rice straw, an agricultural waste which is not usually recovered, can be turned into bioplastic with mechanical properties akin to polystyrene in its dry state. Straw is being investigated as a source of fine chemicals including alkaloids , flavonoids , lignins , phenols , and steroids . In many parts of

510-463: The roughage component of the diet to cattle or horses that are on a near maintenance level of energy requirement. It has a low digestible energy and nutrient content (as opposed to hay , which is much more nutritious). The heat generated when microorganisms in a herbivore's gut digest straw can be useful in maintaining body temperature in cold climates. Due to the risk of impaction and its poor nutrient profile, it should always be restricted to part of

540-537: The United States (mostly Massachusetts ), were employed in plaiting straw for making hats. By the late 19th century, vast quantities of plaits were being imported to England from Canton in China, and in the United States most of the straw plait was imported. A fiber analogous to straw is obtained from the plant Carludovica palmata , and is used to make Panama hats . Traditional Japanese rain protection consisted of

570-404: The diet. It may be fed as it is, or chopped into short lengths, known as chaff . Bee skeps and linen baskets are made from coiled and bound together continuous lengths of straw. The technique is known as lip work. Straw is commonly used as bedding for ruminants and horses. It may be used as bedding and food for small animals, but this often leads to injuries to mouth, nose and eyes as straw

600-426: The fabric due to improper back-filling and inadequate compaction. Some state agencies recommend an installation technique called "static slicing" as an improved method for ensuring effectiveness and longevity of a silt fence system on a construction site. The technique involves inserting a narrow blade into the soil with a wedge-type point on its tip to slightly disrupt the soil upward, while simultaneously inserting

630-490: The fence in a large drainage area, and discourages construction site operators from driving vehicles over the fence. However, an improper installation of a super silt fence can create an inadvertent sediment basin when the filter fabric becomes clogged. This typically causes flooding and increased downstream pollution . Most super silt fence specifications are outdated, requiring the trenching installation method, which has been shown to be highly susceptible to "washing out" under

SECTION 20

#1732890548406

660-406: The form of pellets can be directly co-fired with coal or natural gas at very high rates and make use of the processing infrastructures at existing coal and gas plants. Because the torrefied straw pellets have superior structural, chemical and combustion properties to coal, they can replace all coal and turn a coal plant into an entirely biomass-fed power station. First generation pellets are limited to

690-428: The material into the ground has proven to be the most efficient and most effective installation method because slicing maintains the soil on both sides of the fence, and is conducive to proper compaction—which is critical to performance, as well. In 2000 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) co-sponsored silt fence efficacy field research through its Environmental Technology Verification Program, and in general,

720-406: The report found the static slicing method to be highly effective, and efficient. Silt fence effectiveness is best determined by how many hundreds of pounds of sediment are contained behind a given silt fence after a storm event, and not turbidity, etc. as sediment-retention is the end goal, and not a water-quality measurement used in erosion control, for instance. Silt fences may perform poorly for

750-485: The ripe berries from dirt, and straw is also used to cover the plants during winter to prevent the cold from killing them. Straw also makes an excellent mulch . Straw is resistant to being crushed and therefore makes a good packing material . A company in France makes a straw mat sealed in thin plastic sheets. Straw envelopes for wine bottles have become rarer, but are still to be found at some wine merchants. Wheat straw

780-734: The silt fence fabric into the slot with a moving pivot, while the machine is moving forward. This step is followed by mechanical soil compaction , setting of fence posts, and attaching the fabric. Silt fence fabrics (geotextiles) tested in laboratory settings have shown to be effective at trapping sediment particles. Although there have been few field tests of silt fences installed at construction sites, these tests have shown generally poor results. (Effectiveness testing involved measurements for both total suspended solids and turbidity .) Other studies and articles about silt fence usage and practice document problems with installation and maintenance, implying poor performance. Since 1998, static slicing

810-443: The straw bales are commonly finished with earthen plaster . The plastered walls provide some thermal mass , compressive and ductile structural strength, and acceptable fire resistance as well as thermal resistance (insulation), somewhat in excess of North American building code . Straw is an abundant agricultural waste product, and requires little energy to bale and transport for construction. For these reasons, straw bale construction

840-475: The temporary pond. Some government jurisdictions in the United States recommend or require the use of a reinforced fence, sometimes called a "super" silt fence or an enhanced silt fence, on some construction sites. This design uses filter fabric reinforced by a wire mesh or chain link fence . The metal backing gives the fence increased strength to resist the weight of soil and water which may be trapped by

870-479: The uphill side, although it is quite difficult to move the trenched "spoil" from the downside to the upside of the trench. The design/placement of the silt fence should create a pooling of runoff, which then allows sedimentation to occur. Water can seep through the silt fence fabric, but the fabric often becomes "blocked off" with fine soil particles (all sediment-retention devices have this challenge, and none of them "filter" storm water for very long). A few hours after

900-468: The world, straw is used to bind clay and concrete . A mixture of clay and straw, known as cob , can be used as a building material. There are many recipes for making cob. When baled , straw has moderate insulation characteristics (about R-1.5/inch according to Oak Ridge National Lab and Forest Product Lab testing). It can be used, alone or in a post-and-beam construction, to build straw bale houses . When bales are used to build or insulate buildings,

#405594