Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, cilt.4, sa.5, 2012 (SCI-Expanded)
Energy security and energy independency are vital components of economic stability and national security. The largest portion of the energy currently used in Turkey is derived from petroleum, 92 of which is imported. Besides depending on other countries' non-renewable energy resources, petroleum consumption brings environmental problems as well. One fuel that has the potential to match the convenient features of petroleum is ethanol, produced from lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, the annual bioethanol potential of Turkey from major crop residues (wheat, barley, and rice straw; maize, cotton, and sunflower stalks) was estimated. Approximately, 21 × 10 6 tons of dry lignocellulosic biomass residue (excluding the amount to prevent soil erosion and animal feed) from these crops was available for conversion to bioethanol in 2011. Wheat and barley straw account for 54 and 22 of the total crop residue, respectively. The total lignocellulosic biomass could produce up to 6.10 Gl of bioethanol per year. The potential bioethanol production could replace 4.39 Gl of gasoline per year when bioethanol is used in E85 fuel for a midsize passenger vehicle. The estimations suggest that bioethanol production from only wheat and barley straw would be more than sufficient to replace total annual gasoline consumption in Turkey. Furthermore, Turkey can export approximately 1.8 Gl gasoline equivalent of bioethanol per year. These findings indicate that Turkey has a massive potential to be a zero-petroleum import country. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.