Evaluation of potential amounts of crop straw available for bioenergy production and bio-technology spatial distribution in China under ecological and cost constraints

A comprehensive evaluation model is built to analyze the potential of straw resources and suitability distribution of technology in China under environment and cost constraints. First, from the perspective of soil erosion prevention, soil organic carbon maintenance, and long-term crop yield, the ecological return amount of straw in different provinces is calculated using scenario design, literature review, and analytic hierarchy process. These processes, combined with technical and economic parameters of different technologies, are employed to analyze the appropriate spatial distribution of straw -fired generation (SFC), biomass gasification power generation (BGPG), cellulose ethanol technology (CEP), and biomass briquette fuel (BBF) under different policy and technological progress scenarios from the project level. The changes in planting area, crop unit yield, and wage are also considered in the evaluation; the obtained results indicate the following. First, if priority is given to agricultural ecological environment, the amount of straw available is less than that determined by the existing research, i.e., approximately 2.48 x 10(8), 1.55 x 10(8), and 8.68 x 10(7) t under low, medium, and high return scenarios, respectively. Second, Inner Mongolia is not suitable for planning any projects, and planned projects should compensate for the local agricultural ecological environment. Third, under the current policy and technical level scenario, resources for the BBF and CEP projects should be employed to prioritize the SFC and BGPG projects. Fourth, in combination with China's current poverty alleviation policies, the planning of biomass energy projects in Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guizhou should be prioritized because of their lower labor cost. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.