Bioenergy from Cotton Industry Wastes: A review and potential

Abstract

Current estimates for world cotton production are about 25 million tonnes and accounting for 50 million tons of biomass waste. The options for utilising cotton biomass wastes include composting, gasification, pyrolysis, fermentation (ethanol), anaerobic digestion and direct incineration. Solid cotton gin waste cannot be directly reused on-farm due to farm hygiene risks. Composting either on-farm or at the gin is an accepted method for pathogen disinfection and pesticide degradation, although this option may face the problem of small market demand and possible disease concerns. On the other hand, on-farm cotton residues are fundamental for minimising losses in soil carbon, organic carbon cont..