An assessment of feasibility and potential of gaseous biofuel production from agricultural/animal wastes: a case study

Abstract

The increased wastes in the agricultural sector is a domino effect of population growth and the growing demand for food that have put pressure on the agricultural and livestock farming sectors for more production. Biomass is currently a major source for replacing fossil fuels driven by their future depletion and current environmental impacts as a result of their unbridled consumption. Anaerobic digestion of biomass is a known technology effective in producing gaseous biofuels. The study comprehensively reviews the potential of producing gaseous biofuels from agricultural residues including sugarcane, apple, sugarbeet, wheat, potato, rice, barley, alfalfa, grapes, corn, and dates and also from animal wastes including livestock and poultry manure and slaughterhouse wastes (e.g., blood and rumen) in Khuzestan Province, as the hub of Iranian agriculture. These wastes are a known concern of farmers and cannot be put to proper use. One of the best ways to use the above-mentioned wastes is to turn them into biofuels such as biogas. The study results revealed that agricultural wastes could produce over 830 million m3 of biogas, 400 million liters of biobutanol, and 345 million m3 of biohydrogen. The livestock farming sector of Khuzestan is also capable of producing 6 million tons of livestock feces and 0.34 million tons of chicken manure that can be the feedstock for producing 380 million m3 of gaseous biofuel. In addition, slaughterhouse wastes are also another source that can produce around 1030 million m3 of biogas. According to the results, by managing wastes both from the agricultural and livestock sectors in this province, the potential of biogas production can be used for generation of more than 4 TW/year of electricity. The findings of the present investigation could assist policy-makers in making decisions aimed at taking advantage of these renewable resources.