Potential of bioethanol production from agricultural wastes in Iran

Abstract

The production of bioethanol from agricultural residues such as wheat, barley, sugar cane, corn and rice in Iran is investigated in this paper. In Iran, agricultural residues are not commonly used for energy application. This paper aims to cover several perspectives on the size of the bioethanol feedstock resource in Iran. Crop residues and sugar cane bagasse are included in feedstock for production of bioethanol. There are approximately 17.86 MT of wasted crops in Iran that can potentially produce 4.91 GL of bioethanol per year. Wheat, sugar cane bagasse, rice, barely and corn are the most favourable bioethanol production source in Iran. Agricultural waste materials can be used for production of bioethanol fuel. Bioethanol can be considered as the optimum alternative fuel for gasoline. Bioethanol is an environmentally friendly fuel and has the potential to provide comparable engine performance results.