Potential Evaluation of Bioenergy Production from Maize Crop Based on Water Footprint Approach

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 PhD student in Water Sciences and Engineering – Water Resources, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Renewable Energies and Environment, Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies, University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The development of energy supply from biomass to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has led to a focus on producing important crops from energy perspective which culminated in water consumption increase. Therefore, in this study for analyzing the water and bioenergy nexus, an index called water footprint was used. In this regard, information about maize in the plains of the Khuzestan province was collected. Based on the calculations, it was found that the water footprint of maize crop in the province has an average of 3355.6 m3/ton and the biomass water footprint is equal to 214.9 m3/ton. Moreover, in the study of water footprint of maize biomass, it was found that the highest and the lowest water footprints devoted to Behbahan plain (27.1 m3/GJ) and Abbas Abad plain (10 m3/GJ), respectively. Accordingly, Khuzestan province with an average of 13 m3/GJ, has a better condition in terms of water consumption in compared to countries such as Zimbabwe, Brazil and the United States, with a water footprint of 200, 39 and 18 m3/GJ, respectively. Mapping the biomass energy production potential with the water footprint approach also showed that water footprint in southeastern plains of the province (especially Behbahan, Omidieh, and Hendijan) are in the interval between 12 up to 27.1 m3/GJ and have low priority for biomass production. In contrast, the northern and eastern plains (especially Abbas Abad, Andimeshk, Sidon and Qaleh Tal) with bioenergy water footprints of 10 to 10.9 m3/GJ have high priority to the use of maize biomass for energy production.

Keywords


[1]. Souza GM, Ballester MV, de Brito Cruz CH, Chum H, Dale B, Dale VH, Fernandes EC, Foust T, Karp A, Lynd L, Maciel Filho R. The role of bioenergy in a climate-changing world. Environmental development. 2017 Sep 1;23: 57-64.
[2]. Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21). Available online: http://www.Ren21.Net/ status-of-renewables/global-status-report/ (accessed on 17 Nov 2019).
[3]. Masera OR, Bailis R, Drigo R, Ghilardi A, Ruiz-Mercado I. Environmental burden of traditional bioenergy use. Annual Review of Environment and Resources. 2015 Nov 4;40:121-50.
 
[4]. Ahrens T, Drescher-Hartung S, Anne O. Sustainability of future bioenergy production. Waste Management. 2017, 67, 1–2.
[5]. Pfister S, Koehler A, Hellweg S. Assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption in LCA. Environmental science & technology. 2009 Apr 23;43(11):4098-104.
[6]. Mathioudakis V, Gerbens-Leenes PW, Van der Meer TH, Hoekstra AY. The water footprint of second-generation bioenergy: A comparison of biomass feedstocks and conversion techniques. Journal of cleaner production. 2017 Apr 1;148: 571-82.
 [7]. Gerbens-Leenes PW, Hoekstra AY, Van der Meer TH. The water footprint of energy from biomass: A quantitative assessment and consequences of an increasing share of bio-energy in energy supply. Ecological economics. 2009 Feb 15;68(4):1052-60.
[8]. Mohammadi, A., Yousefi, H., Noorollahi, Y., Sadatinejad, S. Choosing the best province in potato production using water footprint assessment. Iranian journal of Ecohydrology, 2017; 4(2): 523-532. [In Persian]
[9]. Hoekstra AY, Chapagain AK, Mekonnen MM, Aldaya MM. The water footprint assessment manual: Setting the global standard. Routledge; 2011.
[10]. Schyns JF, Vanham D. The Water Footprint of Wood for Energy Consumed in the European Union. Water. 2019 Feb;11(2):206.
[11]. Mekonnen MM, Romanelli TL, Ray C, Hoekstra AY, Liska AJ, Neale CM. Water, energy, and carbon footprints of bioethanol from the US and Brazil. Environmental science & technology. 2018 Nov 14;52(24):14508-18.
[12]. Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural statistics of Agricultural crops products. Ministry of Agriculture Publication. Vol. 1. 2016; 163p. [In Persian]
[13]. Ababaei B, Etedali HR. Water footprint assessment of main cereals in Iran. Agricultural Water Management. 2017 Jan 1;179:401-11.
[14]. Ababaei B, Etedali HR. Estimation of water footprint components of Iran’s wheat production: Comparison of global and national scale estimates. Environmental processes. 2014 Sep 1;1(3):193-205.
[15]. Henteh, Z., Aminian, R. Response of Late Maturing Hybrids Seed Corn to the Application of Potassium Sulfate under Deficit Irrigation, 2017; Nov 2 (42): 283-302. [In Persian]
[16]. Chukalla AD, Krol MS, Hoekstra AY. Green and blue water footprint reduction in irrigated agriculture: effect of irrigation techniques, irrigation strategies and mulching. Hydrology and earth system sciences. 2015 Dec 21;19(12):4877-91.
[17]. Gheewala SH, Berndes G, Jewitt G. The bioenergy and water nexus. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. 2011 Jul;5(4):353-60.
 
Volume 7, Issue 1
April 2020
Pages 121-129
  • Receive Date: 06 November 2019
  • Revise Date: 31 January 2020
  • Accept Date: 31 January 2020
  • First Publish Date: 20 March 2020
  • Publish Date: 20 March 2020