Bioeconomy Institute

GIS Modeling of Corn Stover Collection and Processing in Northern Iowa

This study uses Geographic Information Systems technology to identify collection sites and processing plant locations in Northern Iowa for the transportation, storage, and processing of corn stover. An existing railway is the starting point of the analysis. The collection facilities and processing plant could be located along the Iowa Northern Railway. Site suitability analysis is developed based on three main models: agronomic productivity potential, environmental costs, and construction costs. The analysis is developed including the following steps: (i) revision of the literature; (ii) elaboration of the criteria selection; (iii) identification of the study area based on transportation network analysis; (iv) reclassification of input spatial layers based on a common scale; (v) overlaying the reclassified spatial layers with equal weights to generate the three main models; and (vi) overlaying the main models using different weights to generate different alternative scenarios--integration models. A pluralistic approach is adopted, presenting seven different scenarios as alternatives to locate the collection sites and the processing plant. An evaluation of the modeling results, made through a site visit, proves that many of the selected potential sites have great existing infrastructure, together with high values from the modeling procedures. This visit also warns to the fact that some of the selected potential collection sites are not characterized by large quantities of open space, essential feature needed.

Principal Investigators:

Monica A. Haddad, Iowa State University

Paul F. Anderson, Iowa State University

Participating and/or Sponsoring Organizations:

Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Iowa Northern Railway Company
Mells Industries