Bioethanol Production from Rice Straw: Economic Drivers and Environmental Challenges in Egypt

Abstract

Abstract The uncontrolled burning of agricultural residues, results in excessive release of CO2 which is the main contributor to the climate change. This practice which is widely adopted particularly in developing countries, presents severe adverse impacts on public health and environment. Utilization of agricultural residues for bioethanol production presents the second generation (G2) for biofuels production. The aim of the current work is to provide technical and financial aspects of bioethanol production from agricultural residues. The technical aspect is emphasized on rice straw (RS) as a feedstock for production, as it is the feedstock most available in abundant quantities for large scale applications. For a facility handling 100,000 t/y rice straw under Egyptian condition the total investment costs have been estimated to be about $115 million with the cost of bioethanol produced estimated to be about $1.2/L. The economic drivers for establishing large scale bioethanol production are addressed in view of the pressure exerted for mitigating environmental challenges associated with the excessive use of fossil fuel.