Assessment of the bioethanol potential of prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.) biomass obtained from regular crops in the province of Almeria (SE Spain)

Abstract

Prickly pear is a widely-known crop in the SE of Spain, where it is currently used for forage, fodder and fruit. Now it is being considered as a potential crop for bioethanol production from its whole biomass. In order to estimate the potential bioethanol production in the province of Almeria (SE-Spain) and the optimal location of bioethanol processing plants, a GIS analysis involving a predictive yield model of prickly pear biomass was undertaken following specific restriction criteria. According to this analysis, the total potential bioethanol production in Almeria would be up to 502,927.8 t dm·year-1 from 100,616 ha maximum that could be cultivated with prickly pear, with a calculated yield ranging between 4.2 and 9.4 t dm·ha-1·year-1. An exclusive suitability analysis and a preferable suitability analysis based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process were performed in order to estimate the optimal location of the subsequent processing plants within Almeria's road network by a discrete location-allocation model.