Table 1.
Some of the lignocellulosic residues produced by different industries and potential for ethanol production
| Lignocellulosic Wastes | Annual production | Potential contribution to ethanol production (billion litre/year) | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Agricultural Wastes1 | Trillion grams/year (Tg/y) | ||
| Corn stover | 203.62 | 58.6 | 12 |
| Barley straw | 58.45 | 18.1 | 12 |
| Oat straw | 10.62 | 2.78 | 12 |
| Rice straw | 731.34 | 204.6 | 12 |
| Wheat straw | 354.35 | 103.8 | 12 |
| Sorghum straw | 10.32 | 2.79 | 12 |
| Bagasse | 180.73 | 51.3 | 12 |
| Subtotal | 1549.42 | 442.0 | |
| Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) | Million metric tons (million MT) | ||
| USA (2001) | 208 | 13.7 2 | 13 |
| China (1998) | 127 | 8.3 3 | 14 |
| Canada (2002) | 30.5 | 2 4 | 15 |
| Animal Wastes5 | |||
| In Canada (2001) | 177.5 | 16 | |
| In USA (1995) | 160 | 17 |
1 Average values from 1997 to 2001 have been used to calculate world agricultural waste production 12. 2-4Potential contribution of MSW in USA, China and Canada in 2001, 1998 and 2002 respectively, assuming a conservative yield of 66 L of ethanol/MT of MSW 13-15. 5The fiber content (including cellulose and hemicellulose) of cattle manure, for example, is 52.6% (dry biomass basis). These sugars can be hydrolyzed and fermented to produce ethanol but the utilization of animal manures is more complicated due to its high protein content 16,17.