Corn kernels

Bulk corn kernels

Kernels on the cob

Corn kernels are the seeds of maize. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable or starch.

One ear of corn contains roughly 800 kernels in 16 rows. One hundred bushels of corn can produce upwards of 7,280,000 kernels. It is quite popular in breakfast cereals and it is a grain that can be eaten raw off the cob. Many people prefer corn on the cob boiled with salt and butter. Maize was first discovered in America where it quickly escalated in popularity. Maize is commonly used in America to make beer. America alone produces 332 million tones of Maize per year. About 40% of that 332 million tones is made into pure alcohol, that is about 130 million tones.

Maize kernels

The kernel of maize has a pericarp of the fruit fused with the seed coat referred to as "caryopsis", typical of the grasses, and the entire kernel is often referred to as the "seed". The cob is close to a multiple fruit in structure, except that the individual fruits (the kernels) never fuse into a single mass. The grains are about the size of peas, and adhere in regular rows round a white, pithy substance, which forms the ear. An ear can commonly hold 600 kernels and be 7 inches (178 millimetres) in length. They are of various colors: blackish, bluish-gray, purple, green, red, white and yellow. When ground into flour, maize yields more flour, with much less bran, than wheat does. It lacks the protein gluten of wheat and, therefore, makes baked goods with poor rising capability.

A genetic variant that accumulates more sugar and less starch in the ear is consumed as a vegetable and is called sweet corn.

Corn kernels are readily available in bulk throughout maize-producing areas. Transportation and packaging of dried clean corn kernels to non-producing areas adds to the cost.

Biomass

Corn kernels are used as pelletized fuel for pellet stoves and furnaces. Corn kernels are a natural pellet, which gives them a huge economic advantage over other man-made biomass pellets and wood pellets.

Bioenergy provides substantial economic, environmental, and security benefits. The use of renewable biomass energy creates additional forms of revenue for farmers and other economic industries. This process also reduces high volumes of waste. It is also worthy to note that this type of energy reduces landfill expenses significantly by disposing of volume waste.

Also, the use of biomass for bioenergy reduces fossil fuel use, therefore preventing large amounts of emissions of greenhouse gasses and harmful pollutants to the environment. Bioenergy is a very domestic energy source because it doesn't depend on imported energy, like oil. Since corn is grown in massive amounts across the world and every continent (other than Antarctica), corn kernels are a very widespread and cheap form of energy.