Chen, Guangnan and Sandell, Gary and Yusaf, Talal and Baillie, Craig (2013) Evaluation of alternative energy sources for cotton production in Australia. In: SEAg 2013: Innovative Agricultural Technologies for a Sustainable Future, 22-25 Sept 2013, Barton, Western Australia.
Abstract
Agriculture requires energy as an important input. In this paper, the potential of traditional and alternative energy sources for agriculture and cotton production in Australia is evaluated. It is found that in the cotton growing regions of Australia, the preferred alternative energy sources may be solar or bioenergy, rather than wind energy. The potential of biofuels and bioenergy production from cotton by-products is also assessed. It is found that cottonseed has the potential to produce up to 100 ML of cottonseed biodiesel per year or 500 L per ha or up to about 3 times of cotton direct on-farm fuel demand. The annual ethanol and methane biogas production via fermentation or digester bioconversion of cotton stalk waste is up to 80 ML ethanol or 30 million m3 methane biogas. The drying energy demand of cotton ginning operation can be largely provided by the combustion energy of gin trash which is readily available at the ginning sites, avoiding the current reliance on LPG or natural gas.
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| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Commonwealth Reporting Category E) (Paper) |
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| Refereed: | Yes |
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | © 2013 Engineers Australia. |
| Faculty / Department / School: | No Faculty |
| Date Deposited: | 04 May 2017 05:15 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Sep 2017 04:03 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | agriculture, cotton, energy, biofuels, bioenergy |
| Fields of Research : | 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences > 0701 Agriculture, Land and Farm Management > 070108 Sustainable Agricultural Development |
| URI: | http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/31998 |
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