A Study on Agricultural by-products for Biomass-to-energy Conversion and Korean Collecting Model

Abstract

The worldwide interest in renewable energy has been growing over the last few decades because of the environmental destruction and abnormal climate caused by the use of fossil fuel. Accordingly, the demand to convert agricultural by-products that are discarded in Korea to bioenergy is increasing, but the absence of a collection system for agricultural by-products and low economic efficiency are significant obstacles. This study referred to the literature of previous studies for the selection of agricultural by-products that can be practically utilized. Sweet potatoes, corn, beans, peppers, sesame seeds, sesame, and peanuts were selected as the main agricultural products that can produce usable by-products. Persimmon, pears, grapes, peaches, and apples were selected as a fruit tree by-product. As a result, the amount of potential energy from the selected crops was calculated to be 1,222,243 TOE, which can be converted 51.9% of the energy consumption in agriculture. The by-product harvesting model, which is suitable for Korea, was presented. This assists in the expect utilization of agricultural by-products for biomass energy production in the Republic of Korea.