Sishui county, in Jining city, Shandong province has turned corn stalks into wealth by making corn stalks into biomaterial carbon and electricity, which protects the environment and benefits the public.

Wu Tongyuan, a local villager, doesn't need to worry about how to deal with the corn straws this year. Wu said that he can exchange one ton of straws for the equal quantity straw charcoal with subsidization.

There's a straw storage and processing center in town, which exchanges and sells straw charcoal. The calorific value of straw charcoal is only half of a coal, but the purchase price is only one fifth of coal. 

The emission load of straw charcoal equals the natural gas after burning. So with the production line, 10,000 tons of (annual) capacity requires 1,333 hectares of corn straw, said Wang Huifan, deputy director of the Sishui Economic and Information Bureau. 

The local enterprise also achieved technological breakthroughs to make one machine meet a town’s processing needs.

This year, Sishui county has become the pilot county for the promotion and application of biomass energy in Shandong. Five local villages and towns have come together to set up a straw charcoal processing center which will provide affordable clean energy for 5,000 locals this winter. And the whole county coverage is expected to be achieved within three years.

Qi Jianbo, vice director of Sishui county, said instead of burning straws, farms can now use straws as a substitute for clean heating in winter, which boasts both great economic and ecological value.