Bioenergy Recovery from Cotton Stalk

Abstract

Cotton stalk (CS) plant residue left in the field following harvest must be buried or burned to prevent it from serving as an overwintering site for insects such as the pink bollworm (PBW). This pest incurs economic costs and detrimental environmental effects. However, CS contains lignin and carbohydrates, like cellulose and hemicelluloses, which can be converted into a variety of usable forms of energy. Thermochemical or biochemical processes are considered technologically advantageous solutions. This chapter reviews potential energy generation from cotton stalks through combustion, hydrothermal carbonization, pyrolysis, fermentation, and anaerobic digestion technologies, focusing on the most relevant technologies and on the properties of the different products. The chapter is concluded with some comments on the future potential of these processes.

Use of Cotton Apparel Waste as an Energy Source for Biomass Boilers: A Feasibility Study

“…Furthermore, calorific value of the firewood is also significant. Since the density of firewood is high, its tendency for burning and the calorific value becomes low, making inevitable issues in the boiler system [13].…”

“…In other hand, the supply chain of firewood, when there is a considerable distance from the site of acquisition of raw firewood to the utilization site plays an important role in the overall carbon footprint [25]. A case study conducted in Italy, related to life cycle environmental impact of firewood production has elaborated that, off-road long supply chain transport results 58.44% of global warming potential (GWP) and on-road short transport results 6.57% of GWP, expressed in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents [13].…”

“…Furthermore, most of profit in firewood market is retained by transporters despite their small share of engagement in the overall value chain [13]. Farmers and wood harvesters, who represent the largest group in the value chain, receive a very small share from overall profits.…”

“…Mainly, there is an adverse impact for the environment due to the emission of GHG from combustion. Considering the drawbacks arise from firewood as mentioned above, it is ideal to go for an alternative which minimizes the overall impact of combustion and operation of biomass boilers [13,26]. Saidur et al [27] have also stated that, depositions and collections of layers of materials specially ash over the surfaces of boilers is a significant issue.…”

“…Similarly, Nunes et al [8] have also established that, there is a need of conducting a rigorous study to evaluate the possibility and practicability of the use of cotton waste as an energy source for biomass boilers. Al Afif et al [13] have also mentioned that, even it says there is a potential to produce bioenergy by using cotton stalks, more studies are needed to prove the effectiveness of cotton waste utilization. However, when analysing the existing studies focusing on this regard, it can be mentioned that the research efforts available are considerably less in both local and global contexts [8].…”