Agro Fossil Free - Annual biomass variation of agriculture crops and forestry residues, and seasonality of crop residues for energy production in Mexico

Descripción general

Biomass residues from agricultural crop and timber production may be a feasible option for energy production due to their social and environmental benefits. This paper presents an assessment of the annual biomass variation of crop and forestry residues, their availability and potential for energy production purposes. The monthly variation in the availability of primary crop residues is also evaluated. This study further shows the spatial distribution of residues and identifies the areas, where larger amounts are available by techniques of geographic information system. It is estimated that 87.94 megatons of dry matter per year (Mt DM/yr) of residues are generated from agriculture crops, of which 37.54 Mt DM/yr could be available for the production of energy and/or biofuels. Primary and secondary available crop residues contribute to 30.53 Mt DM/yr and 7.01 Mt DM/yr, respectively. Overall, 95.8% of the total available residues come mainly from maize (43.3%), sorghum (25.5%) and sugarcane (18.1%), followed by wheat (6.3%), barley (1.6%) and beans (1.0%). Total energy potential is estimated at 670.3 PJ/yr, of which 542.5 PJ/yr from primary residues and 127.8 PJ/yr from secondary residues. Forestry residues account for about 1.42 Mt DM/yr with an energy potential of 30.72 PJ/yr. Most of the available crop residues are located in 10 municipalities and the forest residues in another 10 different municipalities. Seasonality of agriculture residues indicates that the large availability of residues is mainly found in January, May, June, November, and December.