Is crop residue a waste?

Reducing and off setting anthropogenic emission of CO2 by fossil fuel combustion is a major global issue because of the threat of climate change associated with rapid increase in atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2). Renewable sources of energy and production of biofuel energy is an important strategy of global significance for reducing CO2 from the atmosphere. In 1999, President Clinton called for the United States to increase annual energy production from renewable resources by 2030 (Federal Register, 1999). In 2003, President George W. Bush set a national goal to reduce greenhouse gas intensity of the U.S. economy by 18 percent by 2012 (U.S. Department of State, 2003). The greenhouse gas intensity is defined as the ratio of the greenhouse gas emitted (expressed as C equivalent) per real gross domestic product. Consequently, the importance of bioenergy is widely recognized, and the sources of biomass to be used as a feedstock for biofuel production are being enthusiastically pursued. It is in this regard that crop residues are being considered as a potential feedstock for bioenergy production. To be economically and ecologically viable, gains in energy from a potential biomass source must outweigh the energy use in production and collation …