Estimation of potential methane production through the mass balance equations from agricultural biomass in Korea

Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from all organic materials produced by both human and natural activities. Total biomass is amounted to be 58,010 Gg yr⁻¹ from agricultural sector during 2013 in Korea: livestock manure, crop residues, and agro-industrial wastes. Potential methane production from agricultural biomass was calculated based on IPCC guidelines using manipulated equations. The main parameters were emission factor, total waste amount, and physico-chemical properties of each waste to estimate methane production. Calculated total potential methane production from the different categories for livestock, crop residues, and agro-industrial wastes was 502 Gg yr⁻¹ in Korea. Poultry waste generated the highest methane potential with 227 Gg yr⁻¹ followed by 80 Gg yr⁻¹ from cattle waste. For crop residues and agro-industrial wastes, estimated methane production was 1 and 126 Gg yr⁻¹, respectively. Results of this study show that livestock manure gave the highest methane emission in the agricultural sector. With this, more effective management of livestock wastes is necessary to develop and maximize technology on harnessing methane as alternative energy.