Biomass Energy Potential From Agricultural Residues in Egypt

Abstract

Agriculture wastes are renewable sources that are available year-round and can be used as economically and environmentally alternative sources of energy. Therefore, properly managing these agricultural wastes in an environmentally sustainable manner will provide low-cost energy sources, reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and their effects on climate change. Therefore, it is important to investigate novel alternative approaches for exploiting these potentially important agricultural resources in Egypt. The study aimed to identify the type and potential quantity of field crop wastes in the four Primary Regions in Egypt. In this study, the annual amounts of dry matter of field crops grown in Egypt were calculated using the residue: product ratio for each crop and the annual net potential of crop residues. The calorific values of the various agricultural residues were used to calculate the energy potential of crop residues available in each region. The results showed that the biomass potential from field crop wastes available for use in bioenergy generation in Egypt is about 50% of the total crop residues. About 18% of these crop residues are used directly as organic Fertilizer or soil conditioning. The other 32% of crop residues are used as animal feed or wasted. Based on the 2019 crop production year statistics in Egypt, it was found that the total calorific value of the available crop residues as an energy source is about 158 PJ.