Agricultural Waste Biomass

Globally, large amounts of agricultural waste biomasses are produced and used. Organic agricultural waste is also a potential source of energy and using, for example, animal manure for biogas is recognized as a cost-effective mitigation technology for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in agriculture. This chapter presents an overview of the magnitude of the global agricultural waste production, and presents concrete examples of how it is recycled in selected regions. Physiochemical characteristics of the wastes are given as well as the potential use for energy production and bio-product manufacturing. To supply the increased biomass demands, an increased conversion of natural land to cultivated land is inevitable. These land use changes are a concern because of the considerable environmental cost they could involve, particularly if they lead to the expansion of crop production in carbon-rich ecosystems.