China's biomass energy reserves and development prospects

main content:

  • 1. China's forestry biomass energy raw materials are abundant
  • 2. Use marginal land to grow non-food energy crops
  • 3. Wastes from agriculture and forestry
  • 4. The development prospects of China's biomass energy
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    1. China's forestry biomass energy raw materials are abundant

     China's forestry biomass energy raw materials are abundant

    According to experts, China has broad prospects for the development of forestry biomass energy. Among the oil plants that have been investigated, there are more than 150 plants with a seed oil content of more than 40%, and there are more than 10 arbor and shrub species that can be cultivated and utilized on a large scale. At present, as the development and utilization of biodiesel, there are more mature tree species such as jatropha, pistacia, glabra, aronia, and tung tree. 

    China has huge resource advantages and potentials for the development of forestry biomass energy. The abundant marginal land resources such as woodland and sandy land can be developed into a base for forestry biomass energy in a planned way. Making full use of these resources to develop material energy is of great significance to improving China's energy structure, reducing dependence on fossil energy, and ensuring national energy security. 

    In November 2006, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the State Forestry Administration issued the Implementation Opinions on the Development of Biomass Energy and Biochemical Fiscal and Tax Support Policies to implement a risk fund system and flexible loss for the development of the biomass energy industry and biochemical industry. In the subsidy mechanism, the state provides appropriate subsidies to the leading enterprises in the raw material bases of biomass energy and biochemical production and the demonstration enterprises of industrialization technology. During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, forestry biomass energy will eventually reach the pattern of forest and oil integration from raw material cultivation, processing and production to sales. 

    More and more companies are turning their attention to biodiesel. Large groups such as COFCO, CNPC, and CNOOC have invested in biodiesel projects to build multiple energy forest bases. A few days ago, the State Forestry Administration and China National Petroleum Corporation signed an agreement to jointly build the first batch of forestry biomass energy bases in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces starting in 2010.

    2. Use marginal land to grow non-food energy crops

     Use marginal land to grow non-food energy crops

    Less arable land is one of China's basic national conditions. China has a large number of marginal land such as mountains, tidal flats, and saline-alkali land. Planting energy crops on marginal land where it is difficult to grow food will provide sufficient raw materials for biomass energy, such as sweet sorghum, cassava and other non-food crops. In the 1970s, China successfully tried planting Jerusalem artichoke on a large area of ​​tidal flats in Shandong and other places. The yield was over 10,000 catties per mu, and the fructose content exceeded that of sugar cane. The prospects for cassava cultivation in the southern mountainous areas are also very broad.

    3. Wastes from agriculture and forestry

     Wastes from agriculture and forestry

    Wastes from agriculture and forestry (including organic wastes from urban industries) can be used as raw materials for bioenergy. China produces 500 million tons of grain and nearly 700 million tons of straw every year. It is also one of the main raw materials of bioenergy. At present, our country already has the technology of using straw to make biofuel. Anhui Fengyuan Group, a major bioenergy producer in China, has successfully broken through the key technology of using straw to produce ethanol fuel. At present, the experiment has achieved phased results. This year, a pilot project with an annual output of 300 tons of straw to produce fuel ethanol will be completed. Since the price of straw is only a fraction of that of corn, the production cost will be greatly reduced. Some people predict that using this most economical raw material will produce the new gasoline that China needs most. The University of Science and Technology of China has also realized the “turning of straw into oil”, using the “biomass pyrolysis liquefaction technology” to successfully produce bio-oil from various agricultural and forestry wastes such as wood chips, rice husk, corn stalks and cotton stalks, which can be directly used as fuel.

    In addition, livestock and poultry manure in agricultural production, dead branches and rotting leaves in forests, urban industrial organic waste, kitchen waste discarded in urban life, surplus dumped swill, etc., all organic matter can be transformed into Bioenergy. At present, China has a large number of biodiesel projects with a capacity of less than 10,000 tons, and most of them are the extraction of kitchen waste and the oil in the remaining swill as biological raw materials. In summary, we can see that the birth material can have great development prospects in China.

    4. The development prospects of China's biomass energy

    The development prospects of China's biomass energy

    ① Biomass energy will still be one of the main energy sources in China’s rural areas for a certain period of time

    At present, more than 600 million people in China live in rural areas. Since the 1980s, China’s economic reforms have led to rapid development of the rural economy, and the amount, variety and structure of energy consumption in rural areas have also undergone tremendous changes. . The total rural energy consumption increased from 328 million tons of standard coal in 1980 to 924 million tons of standard coal in 2008, an increase of 1.8 times, and biomass energy still accounts for about 40% of the rural life energy structure. This shows that biomass energy will still play a very important role for a long time to come

    ②Biomass fuel will partially replace fossil energy

    At present, China has become the second largest country in energy consumption in the world, and is one of the countries with the fastest growth in global energy consumption, and has become a major energy consumer and importer. According to predictions by relevant experts, by 2020, China’s GDP may reach 5 trillion U.S. dollars, and its energy demand will reach more than 3 billion tons of standard coal, of which oil and natural gas imports will exceed 300 million tons. Therefore, from the perspective of energy security and ecological environment, the Chinese government will also use biomass as a raw material for high-grade energy conversion to reduce dependence on oil and natural gas, increase energy self-sufficiency, and slow down greenhouse gas emissions. , To protect the earth on which we live.

    ③Biomass power generation will occupy a certain share in the future power structure

    Biomass power generation technology is mainly divided into two types direct combustion power generation and gasification power generation. Direct combustion power generation technology is similar to traditional coal-fired technology, and it has basically reached a mature stage. Due to its low risk, this technology has entered the stage of commercial application in many countries around the world. Biomass gasification power generation technology can achieve higher efficiency and is currently in the early stages of commercialization. There are also examples of applying gasification equipment to mixed combustion for power generation. Biomass and coal mixed combustion power generation technology is not very complicated, has great development potential, and can quickly reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions. It is expected that more power plants in many countries, including China, will adopt this technology. In addition, the use of biogas power generation and municipal solid waste pyrolysis gasification power generation are also being used more and more widely.

    ④The production of energy plants will give agriculture new connotations

    Energy plant refers to the general term of cultivated plants for the purpose of providing fuel raw materials or providing fuel oil. Biofuels extracted from energy crops are low in sulfur, do not increase CO2 emissions, have less environmental pollution than fossil energy, are safer than nuclear energy, and are more widely used than wind energy and geothermal energy, and can be degraded. Therefore, energy plants have become a hot spot for international development and are called green energy sources.