Agricultural waste in Libya as a resource for biochar and methane production: An analytical study

Abstract

This study aims to analyse the possibility of exploiting agricultural waste in Libya to produce biochar and methane gas, and to evaluate the technical, economic and environmental aspects associated with this technology. In this study, the focus was on seven agricultural projects located in the Libyan desert, where these projects contain many varieties of Crops. A region with a total area of 5.36×106 ha was explored from Benghazi to Dernah eastward including the Green Mountain (Libya). For literary analysis, peer-reviewed scientific publications for 2018-2023 were selected from reliable bibliometric databases Scopus, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, since these databases have the greatest coverage of peer-reviewed publications. To study the biomass potential of the region, the Bioenergy Tool developed by IRENA was used. The study showed that agricultural residues available in Libya can be used Libya, such as grain straw, palm trees, and others, in the production of biochar and methane gas, using pyrolysis techniques to convert agricultural waste into biochar and methane gas. The study indicates that this technology can be cost-effective and environmentally effective, and that many environmental and economic benefits can be achieved, such as improving air quality, increasing agricultural land productivity, and providing new job opportunities.