Rice straw for energy and value-added products in China: a review

Ahmed Alengebawy, Yi Ran, Nirmal Ghimire, Ahmed I. Osman*, Ping Ai*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

44 Citations (Scopus)
243 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The rise of global waste and the decline of fossil fuels are calling for recycling waste into energy and materials. For example, rice straw, a by-product of rice cultivation, can be converted into biogas and by-products with added value, e.g., biofertilizer, yet processing rice straw is limited by the low energy content, high ash and silica, low nitrogen, high moisture, and high-quality variability. Here, we review the recycling of rice straw with focus on the global and Chinese energy situations, conversion of rice straw into energy and gas, biogas digestate management, cogeneration, biogas upgrading, bioeconomy, and life cycle assessment. The quality of rice straw can be improved by pretreatments, such as baling, ensiling, and co-digestion of rice straw with other feedstocks. The biogas digestate can be used to fertilize soils. The average annual potential energy of collectable rice straw, with a lower heating value of 15.35 megajoule/kilogram, over the past ten years (2013–2022) could reach 2.41 × 109 megajoule.

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages32
JournalEnvironmental Chemistry Letters
Early online date15 Jun 2023
DOIs
Publication statusEarly online date - 15 Jun 2023

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