Email: 
Công ty TNHH Máy Sấy Nông Lâm
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Nguyen Thanh Nghi 1, Nguyen Duc Canh 1, Hau Duc Hoa 1, Nguyen Van Hung 2 and Martin Gummert 2
1. Center for Agricultural Energy and Machinery, Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
2. Crop and Environmental Science Division, International Rice Research Institute, Metro Manila 1301, Philippines
Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering B 4 (2015) 614-619
doi:10.17265/2162-5263/2015.11.006
DAVID PUBLISHING
Corresponding author: Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Ph.D., main research field: agricultural engineering.
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Abstract:
Rice straw is a rice by-product, which is currently mostly wasted in Vietnam, in particular in the Mekong delta. At present, the cost of straw gathering is increasing because of the increased use of combine harvesters. High labor cost and lack of labor makes manual collection unfeasible. Farmers therefore often just burn it, which causes pollution, increased greenhouse gas emissions and loss of opportunities to value add. An economic and environmental evaluation and technical field testing of a straw baler with 4 hà/đẩy capacity was therefore conducted in Long An province. During the field testing data on the gathering capacity, fuel consumption, labor requirement and other cost items were collected. The test results showed that the baling cost is US$19.0 per ton of rice straw, the pay-back period of 2.1 years and the internal rate of return of 38%. In addition to the baling cost, the transportation cost varies from US$24 for a distance of 100 km to US$32 for 150 km. The benefits of the machine are not only economical but also include the reduction of field burning.
Key words: Rice straw gathering, technical and economic evaluation, environmental benefits.
