Husks

Traditionally, husks are used as a fodder additive in livestock and poultry farming. Sunflower husks are rich with pentosans and is used in ground form as an additive to coarse fodder. In bulk, husks are used as a bedding to preserve heat. Use in construction: there are some patented technologies for the production of decorative heat and sound insulation boards. Use of husks in mushroom culturing. Use of husks as a fertilizer and soil enhancer.

Use of husks for generating biogas. Biogas is a gaseous substance produced as a result of anaerobic fermentation of organic substances of various origins (including husks). Biogas can be generated from vegetable and household waste, manure, sewage, etc. After degradation, it's often used as an organic fertilizer. Its main components include 55–70% of methane (CH4), 28–43% of carbon dioxide (CO2), and small content of other gases—e.g., hydrogen sulfide (H2S). On average, 1 kg of a 70% degradable organic substance produces 0.18 kg of methane, 0.32 kg of carbon dioxide, 0.2 kg of water, and 0.3 kg of undecomposable residue. Biogas is used as a fuel to produce electricity, heat, step; or as a motor fuel.

Use of husks as an alternative fuel in boilers. The calorific value of 1 tonne of dry sunflower seed husks is equivalent to 17.2 MJ. Husks appear more efficient than firewood (14.6–15.9 MJ/kg) and lignite, while the husk-fuel equivalent amounts to 0.63. When husks are burned, the volume of carbon dioxide produced doesn't exceed that generated during natural decomposition of wood, while the content of other harmful emissions is negligible. Ash produced during the burning of husks can be used as a fertilizer. Today, there are some boilers made in Russia that employ sunflower seed husks as a fuel.

Husks also found application in the hydrolysis industry. There, ethyl alcohol and fodder yeast are made of derivatives. One tonne of husks can deliver into 32 liters of ethyl alcohol or 100–150 kg of fodder yeast or 100 kg glycerol substitute.