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Evaluating Sustainable Practices for Managing Residue Derived from Wheat Straw

Authors: Shanmugam HRaghavan VRajagopal RGoyette BLyu LZhou SAn C


Affiliations

1 Department of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada.
2 Sherbrooke Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2000 College Street, Sherbrooke, QC J1M 1Z3, Canada.
3 Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8, Canada.

Description

Farm leftovers, particularly crop residues, are a key source of renewable energy in Canada. The nation's robust agricultural industry provides ample biomass, derived from forestry and agriculture resources, for energy generation. Crop residues, such as straws and husks, play a crucial role in this biomass reservoir, contributing to biofuel production and greenhouse gas mitigation efforts. Focusing on supply chains, waste management, and emission reduction, this study evaluates the sustainability of wheat straw, an agricultural biomass by-product. The environmental issues of various approaches to managing agricultural biomass were explored. Following an evaluation of biomass features, conversion methods, and economic and environmental advantages, the results show anaerobic digestion to be the most sustainable approach. Four metrics were examined in relation to social elements, and numerous aspects were considered as inputs in the evaluation of transportation costs. The use of electric trucks versus fuel-based trucks resulted in an 18% reduction in total operating costs and a 58% reduction in consumption costs. This study examined CO2 emissions over four different transportation distances. The data indicate that a significant reduction of 36% in kg CO2 equivalent emissions occurred when the distance was lowered from 100 km to 25 km. These findings offer insights for creating practical plans that should increase the sustainability of agricultural biomass leftovers.


Keywords: biomassgreenhouse emissionslife cycle assessmentsupply chainwheat straw


Links

PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38927790/

DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering11060554