Patent ID: 9655300
Date: 2017-05-23
CPC Classifications: A01D

Claim:
1. A method for collecting biomass, comprising: harvesting biomass with a combine in a first pass, wherein a first portion of the biomass is separated from a second upper portion of the biomass; flattening the first portion on top of a ground and into a bed formation, and depositing the second upper portion of the biomass in a windrow overlying the flattened first portion; baling the deposited second upper portion of the biomass in a second pass baling, wherein a bail of the second upper portion comprises no more than 4 percent by weight of materials foreign to the biomass; preparing and pre-treating the bales to form a pre-treated material; treating and fermenting the pre-treated material to produce a fermentation product comprising ethanol; and distilling the fermentation product to recover the ethanol; the second pass baling comprising collecting about 15 to 30 percent of the biomass.