Insight into Energy Production and Consumption, Carbon Emissions and Agricultural Residues Resources Available for Energy and Environmental Benefits in China

Agricultural residues are readily available and inexpensive renewable resources in China and can be utilized for reducing China’s reliance on fossil fuels and CO 2 emissions. This study conducted a systematic study of energy production and consumption, CO 2 emissions, and agricultural residues available for energy and environmental benefits in China. The gap between the domestic production and consumption of energy in China was large. China’s energy consumption structure was dominated by coal over the past thirty years, which was strongly linked the increasing CO 2 emissions in China. China has abundant agricultural residues resource, most of which were utilized as soil amendments, animal feeds, substrates in mushroom cultivation, and industrial materials. The usable agricultural residues for energy were estimated to be about 226.9 million tons in 2020. If those usable agricultural residues would be converted into bio-oil and biochar through pyrolysis, it could not only replace about 102 million tons of crude oil, but also sequestrate about 209 million tons of CO 2 -equivalent. It is expected that the results from this study can promote the application of agricultural residues in potential of energy production and carbon sequestration. Statement of Novelty In this study, the energy production and consumption, CO 2 emissions, and pyrolysis conversion of agricultural residues resources for energy and environmental benefits in China were comprehensively investigated. The highlights are listed as follows: (1) Gap between energy production and consumption in China became larger and larger; (2) CO 2 emissions has significantly increased by three times during the past three decades; (3) Total collectable agricultural residues annually reached 0.96 billion tons; (4) Usable agricultural residues for energy annually reached 227 million tons; (5) Pyrolysis of agricultural residues is effective for energy and environmental benefits.