AVAILABILITY OF RICE AND CORN HARVEST WASTE FOR ETHANOL PRODUCTION

Abstract

Panama is one of the countries with limited surfaces to expand its agricultural border. The implementation of the law that creates the incentives for the biomass and biofuels production moved the use of sugarcane as raw material for ethanol production. Nevertheless the sugarcane harvest is only done four months during the dry season. During the remaining eight months the bio refinery will have to use another source of carbohydrates. With the purpose of determining the offer of crop residues for lignocellulosic ethanol a poll was done about the use of corn stover and rice straw.  It was found that in the zone 46 481 hectares are cultivated between rice and corn. Around 60% and 53% of the producers would sell the stubble of rice and corn, respectively. The offer rice and corn harvest waste for the production of lignocellulosic ethanol in the area is 71 097 t of dry matter per year or 194 t/day, wich capacity would correspond to a pilot plant or a demonstrative plant.