Greenhouse gas emission analysis of an Egyptian rice straw biomass-to-energy chain

A common practice in Egypt has been the burning of rice straw, as a measure to prepare agricultural land for follow-up crops. This practice has caused significant greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to aerial pollution. By using straw residue for the production of pellets and shipping these pellets to Europe for co-firing in electricity plants, significant overall emission reductions could be achieved. This study was conducted in the framework of project “Technical and economic feasibility of environmentally safe rice straw disposal and utilization methods for Egypt”. Based on a potential business set-up with three pelletizers, divided over three rice producing regions in Egypt’s Nile Delta, greenhouse gas emissions were quantified for the principal operations in the biomass-to-energy chain. Also expected emission reductions were calculated, in comparison with the use of fossil fuels.