Abstract
Shaanxi Province is an important agricultural province in western China. Its profit-oriented management of crop residues remains a concern in the agriculture sector. Aiming to accelerate the valorization of agricultural straw and offer potential solutions for profit-oriented use of crop residues in Shaanxi, this study estimated the quantity of resources and collectable amount of crop straw by using the grain-to-straw ratio, analyzed the carbon emission reduction potential considering biochar energy and soil uses with the help of a life cycle assessment (LCA) model, and calculated the economic benefits of biochar production using waste and abandoned straw in Weinan (a city of Shaanxi). The theoretical resources and collectible amount of crop straw in Shaanxi showed an overall growth trend from 1949 to 2021, reaching 1.47 × 107 and 1.26 × 107 t in 2021 respectively. In 2021, straw from corn, wheat, and other grains accounted for 94.32% of the total straw. Among the 11 cities in Shaanxi, Weinan had the largest straw resources of 2.82 × 106 t, Yulin had the largest per capita straw resources of 0.72 t/person, and Yangling had the highest resource density of 7.60 t/hm2. The total carbon emission reduction was 3.11 × 104 t under scenario A with crop straw used for power generation. The emission reduction ranged from 1.25 × 107 to 1.27 × 107 CO2e t under scenario B with biochar production for energy and soil use. By using waste and abandoned straw in Weinan for biochar production, carbon emissions could be reduced by up to 2.07 × 105 t CO2e. In terms of the economic benefit from straw pyrolysis, the actual income was estimated to range from 0.67 × 108 to 1.33 × 108 ¥/a with different carbon prices. This study sheds light on the economic and environmental benefits of agricultural straw valorization through pyrolysis in Shaanxi, and provided an important basis for promoting the agricultural straw utilization in view of its potential for carbon emission reduction.
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We sincerely thank all individuals who volunteered to participate in this study.
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This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Nos. 32172679 and 31902122].
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Jianchun Zhu: conceptualization, supervision, investigation, data curation, writing and editing original draft. Chuanwen Yang: investigation, data curation, editing and writing original draft. Mengyuan Qiao: investigation, writing original draft. Tianyu Zhao: investigation, plotting, writing original draft. Kevin Emmanuel Scriber II, Kuok Ho Daniel Tang, Hailong Wang, Zengqiang Zhang, Junting Pan, Xiuna Ren, and Ronghua Li: review and editing.
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Highlights
• Quantity and spatial-distribution of straw resources in Shaanxi, China were estimated.
• Potentials of straw biochar production and carbon emission mitigation were analyzed.
• Economic and environmental benefits of agricultural straw pyrolysis were assessed.
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Zhu, J., Yang, C., Qiao, M. et al. Potential and benefits of biochar production: crop straw management and carbon emission mitigation in Shaanxi Province, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-31936-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-31936-8