Imagine the smell of baking corn muffins wafting through a house on a cold winter day. One Penn State professor believes this sensory feast could soon be achieved without ever turning on the stove.

Dennis Buffington, professor of agricultural and biological engineering, has developed a chart that determines whether burning corn is more cost effective than using traditional propane for fuel.

Buffington said the combination of high propane prices this fall and the decreasing value of corn makes the food a cost effective fuel.

"In late 2000, corn had a value of about $2 per bushel and propane cost about $1.30 per gallon," Buffington said. "On the basis of combustion values, it's cheaper in this case to burn corn."

Burning corn is an environmentally friendly alternative to propane, coal and oil, and the public should be willing to use it, "if it can be done cleanly," said Heidi Appel, an instructor of biology and a research associate in entomology.

Buffington foresees the burning of corn in residential homes and small commercial businesses, as well as in farm buildings. He said users should consider having two different burners for an easy switch between corn and traditional fuels.

"The process is geared to farmers who have a supply of corn and can't sell it. Plus, corn of lesser quality can still be used productively," he said.

There are, however, negative aspects of burning corn.

"You need to do some homework to find out how much it will cost to make the transition. Additional expenses include burner modifications and handling and storage facilities for the corn," Buffington said.

In addition to equipment modifications, the very process of thinking of a food source as a source of energy poses problems for some consumers.

"Some people out there say you should not be burning corn when there are hungry people in the world. But agriculture is more than producing food. If corn is cheaper, then burn corn," he said. "Corn is a renewable resource which we can plant again year after year. For each gallon of propane we use, there is one less gallon in the world's supply."

Among the general population, burning corn is not a well-known practice.

"I've heard of fermenting it as automobile fuel, but never straight burning," said Chris Miller (freshman-chemical engineering).

Though he does not believe society will ever be completely free of its dependence on fossil fuels, Buffington thinks corn and other agro-fuels will have an increasingly large role in the future.

"We just need to keep our eyes open for all avenues, all opportunities," he said.