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An Overview and Perspectives of Energy Crop Resources

2007; Chinese Academy of Sciences Geography; Linguagem: Inglês

1007-7588

Huimin Xie, Guo XingQiang,

Biofuel production and bioconversion

Energy crop cultivation plays a crucial role in bioenergy development in the world.Our aim in this paper is to review the researches of energy crops and represent their perspectives.The concept and classification of energy crops are analysed based on the specific condition of China and three groups of starch and sugar crops,oil crops and lignocellulosic crops are discussed.Traditional crops such as cereals and sugarcane(Saccharum officinarum) are the main feedstock to produce fuel ethanol up to date.It has been recognized that cassava(Manihot esculenta),sweet sorghum(Sorghum bicolor) and sugar beet(Beta vulgaris var.altissima) are more potential starch and sugar crops for fuel ethanol production.Annual oil crops such as rapeseed(B.rapa ssp.oleifera),soy bean(Glycine max),Castor bean(Ricinus communis) are the most important ones to produce biodiesel.Woody oil plants,e.g.Chinese pistache(Pistacia chinensis),physic nut(Jatropha curcas),and shiny-leaved yellowhorn(Xanthoceras sorbifolia),will play an important role in biodiesel production in future due to their adaptability to hilly lands.However,compared to traditional row crops,perennial fastgrowing woody plants and rhizomatous grasses,i.e.liginocellulosic crops,have the most characteristics favorable to biomass energy production.General information on sweet sorghum,cassava,switchgrass(Panicum virgatum),miscanthus(Miscanthus spp.),willow(Salix spp.) is represented which have been paid great attention on and well documented as energy crops in the past decades.Energy crop plantation gives rise to environmental concerns and will impose more pressure on arable land producing food for the human.In China,arable land availability is limited due to the huge and increasing population.It is essential to screen plant species and improve crop varieties with high resistance and productivity to grow in marginal lands,which exhibit a great potential for energy crop production.Attention is suggested to be paid to potential species which have high photosynthesis efficiency and cause less soil erosion,and/or those from which vegetable organs are harvested due to a higher harvest index.Perennial woody and herbaceous lingnocellulosic crops which are native in China are expected to play an important role in biomass energy development in the country.Diverse crop species and varieties with harvest seasons in a specific region are as well required to meet the continuous industrial processes of energy conversion.