United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Coastal Plains Soil, Water, and Plant Research Center, 2611 W Lucas St Florence, SC 29501, USA.
Bioresour Technol. 2010 Mar;101(6):2014-25. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2009.10.037. Epub 2009 Nov 24.
Biofuels are a major topic of global interest and technology development. Whereas bioenergy crop production is highly dependent on water, bioenergy development requires effective allocation and management of water. The objectives of this investigation were to assess the bioenergy production relative to the impacts on water resource related factors: (1) climate and weather impact on water supplies for biomass production; (2) water use for major bioenergy crop production; and (3) potential alternatives to improve water supplies for bioenergy. Shifts to alternative bioenergy crops with greater water demand may produce unintended consequences for both water resources and energy feedstocks. Sugarcane and corn require 458 and 2036 m(3) water/m(3) ethanol produced, respectively. The water requirements for corn grain production to meet the US-DOE Billion-Ton Vision may increase approximately 6-fold from 8.6 to 50.1 km(3). Furthermore, climate change is impacting water resources throughout the world. In the western US, runoff from snowmelt is occurring earlier altering the timing of water availability. Weather extremes, both drought and flooding, have occurred more frequently over the last 30 years than the previous 100 years. All of these weather events impact bioenergy crop production. These events may be partially mitigated by alternative water management systems that offer potential for more effective water use and conservation. A few potential alternatives include controlled drainage and new next-generation livestock waste treatment systems. Controlled drainage can increase water available to plants and simultaneously improve water quality. New livestock waste treatments systems offer the potential to utilize treated wastewater to produce bioenergy crops. New technologies for cellulosic biomass conversion via thermochemical conversion offer the potential for using more diverse feedstocks with dramatically reduced water requirements. The development of bioenergy feedstocks in the US and throughout the world should carefully consider water resource limitations and their critical connections to ecosystem integrity and sustainability of human food.
生物燃料是全球关注和技术发展的主要课题。虽然生物能源作物的生产高度依赖水，但生物能源的发展需要有效地分配和管理水资源。本研究的目的是评估生物能源生产对与水资源相关因素的影响：（1）气候和天气对生物质生产用水的影响；（2）主要生物能源作物生产的用水量；（3）改善生物能源供水的潜在替代方案。转向需水量更大的替代生物能源作物可能会对水资源和能源原料产生意想不到的后果。甘蔗和玉米生产每立方米乙醇分别需要 458 和 2036 立方米的水。为了满足美国能源部的十亿顿愿景，玉米谷物生产的用水量可能会从 8.6 增加到 50.1 立方千米。此外，气候变化正在影响全球的水资源。在美国西部，融雪径流提前发生，改变了水资源的供应时间。过去 30 年来，干旱和洪水等极端天气比过去 100 年发生得更频繁。所有这些天气事件都影响生物能源作物的生产。替代水资源管理系统可能会部分缓解这些事件，这些系统为更有效地用水和保护水资源提供了潜力。一些潜在的替代方案包括控制排水和新一代牲畜废物处理系统。控制排水可以增加植物可用的水量，同时改善水质。新的牲畜废物处理系统有可能利用处理后的废水来生产生物能源作物。通过热化学转化转化纤维素生物质的新技术具有使用更多样化的原料并大幅减少用水量的潜力。美国和世界各地生物能源原料的开发应仔细考虑水资源的限制及其与生态系统完整性和人类粮食可持续性的关键联系。
