MUHAMMAD FAHAD ANSARI 12IEEM 14

1. Crop
Residues
Utilisation
MUHAMMAD FAHAD ANSARI
12IEEM 14

2. What are Crop Residues?
Crop residues, also referred to as "agricultural waste," non-
photosynthetic vegetation or "farm residue," and are comprised
of stalks, cobs, and other plant parts left behind after
harvesting the crop/crops on the farm they were grown at.
Why are Crop Residues important?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, crop residues
are important because:
When left on the soil's surface, crop residues;
– Protect the soil from wind and water erosion.
– Reduce evaporation by acting as a mulch.
– Their breakdown helps sequester carbon emissions into the
soil.
- This also recycles nutrients.
– Improve the soil's structure and its water retention

3. When removed from the soil, crop residues:
– Do not benefit the soil, but can be used for cellulosic ethanol biofuels as well
as an excellent biomass feedstock for generating "carbon free energy" through
the production of Synthesis Gas from a Biomass Gasification plant.
Biomass supply from crop residues can increase a producer's profits while
maintaining the farm's soil quality as long as the farm's reduced tillage and
partial residue harvest are used appropriately.
The Corn Belt, Great Plains, and West Coast's use of crop residues as a
biomass feedstock is possible with judicious selection of crops and crop
management practices.
Crop residues are probably the lowest cost form of biomass supply, but the
range of costs is wider in the Great Plains than in the Corn Belt. The remaining
regions, including the West Coast, the Delta, and the Southeast, also have
pockets with crop residue supplies and a wide variation in costs.
Crop residues have the potential to displace 12.5 percent of petroleum imports
or 5 percent of electricity consumption in today’s markets. Crop residues also
have growth potential from improving crop productivity and declining livestock
demands for forage. When crop residues (as a biomass feedstock) are
included with some other agricultural sources, biomass supply from crop
agriculture could account for more than 100% of the fuel requirements for our
country's electricity requirementshrough the production of Synthesis Gas from

4. What is "waste to clean energy"?
Waste to Clean Energy, better known as Waste to Energy
, are operations and facilities that produce clean,
renewable energy through the combustion of municipal
solid waste in specially designed power plants equipped
with the most modern pollution control equipment to clean
emissions. Trash volume is reduced by 90% and the
remaining residue is regularly tested and consistently
meets strict EPA standards allowing reuse or disposal in
landfills. There are 89 waste-to-energy plants operating in
27 states managing about 13 percent of America's trash,
or about 95,000 tons each day. Waste to Energy facilities
generate about 2,500 megawatts of electricity to meet the
power needs of nearly 2.3 million homes, and the facilities
serve the trash disposal needs of more than 36 million
people. The $10 billion Waste to Energy industry already
employs more than 7,000 American workers with annual

5. Estimates of Crop Residues
Production in the U.S.
Species 1991 2001
- - - - - - 106 Mg - - - - - -
Cereals 325 367`
Legumes 58 82
Oil Crops 17 20
Sugar Crops 25 14
Tubers 5 5
Total 430 488
(Lal, 2005)

6. Estimates of Crop Residues
Production in the World
Species 1991 2001
- - - - - - 106 Mg - - - - - -
Cereals 2563 2802
Legumes 238 305
Oil Crops 162 108
Sugar Crops 340 373
Tubers 145 170
Total 3448 3758
(Lal, 2005)

7. Crop Residue and
Ecosystem Services
Biofuel Animal Industrial Soil Quality
Feed Raw Material Improvement
Traditional Erosion Control
Agronomic/Biomass
Modern Nutrient Cycling
Productivity and
Liquid
Sustainability
Soil Biodiversity
Biofuels
Water Management
Soil Structure & Tilth
Carbon Sequestration
1. Crop residues have numerous competing uses, such as removal for biofuel production, animal
feed, industrial raw material or returned to soil as an amendment.
2. Soil application of crop residues as amendment is necessary to enhance/maintain soil quality and
sustain agronomic productivity.

8. Competing Uses of Crop
Residues
• Feed
• Fuel
• Fiber
• Construction material

9. Slope-Soil Loss Relations for
Different Mulch Rates (Lal, 1976)
Mulch r Equation Average Relative
Rate (Mg/ha) Loss
0 0.81 Y = 11.8 S1.13 76.60 851
2 0.35 Y = 0.5 S0.87 2.40 27
4 0.57 Y = 0.07 S1.05 0.37 4
6 0.46 Y = 0.01 S1.0 0.09 1
No-till 0.36 Y = 0.01 S0.5 0.09 1

10. Energy in Biomass
One Mg of Corn Stover =
• 280 L of Ethanol
• 15 - 18 GJ of Energy
• 16 x 106 BTU
• 2 Barrels of Diesel
• 3 x 106 KCal
(Lal, 2005)

19. Estimates of Traditional Biofuel Use
in India and Asia in 1995
Country/ Fuel wood Cattle Crop Total
Region Dung Residue Range Average
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tg C yr-1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
India 109 - 409 35 - 108 20 - 67 164 - 584 374
Asia 800 - 930 130 - 200 430 - 565 1360 - 1675 1018
World 1324 - 1615 150 - 410 442 - 707 1916 - 2732 2324

20. Biofuel From Industrial CO2
and SOC Sequestration
Bioenergy
Bioreactors
Algae
Algae
Ethanol
Nutrient-
Biodiesel Residues Enriched &
Biochar/
Biochemicals Compost
Application on Ag. Soils
Cynobacteria
Cynobacteria
Soil Carbon Sequestration

21. Strategic Questions
• Should crop residues be used for carbon
sequestration and soil quality improvement or
producing energy?
• Should the answer to this question be
determined by short-term economics or the
long-term sustainability of natural resources?
• Should the need for fuel override the urgency
to achieve global food security?