Agricultural and Forest Residues

Generation, Utilization and Availability

by Auke Koopmans and Jaap Koppejan
Wood Energy Conservation Specialists, RWEDP

Biomass energy is an important source of energy in most Asian countries. Substantial amounts of fuelwood, charcoal and other biomass energy such as agricultural residues, dung and leaves are used by households and industries. The main household applications are cooking and heating whereas industrial applications range widely. Besides these 'heating' applications, biomass fuels are also used for power generation, for example the widespread use of bagasse in the sugar industry (steam and electricity).

A lot of biomass fuels are available as by-product from other activities, such as saw milling and agricultural crop production. This document provide an overview of estimates on the production of such residues as well as some rough estimates of other uses (actual and potential) for such residues. This paper was presented at the Regional Consultation on Modern Applications of Biomass Energy which was held from 6-10 January 1997 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Table of Contents
1.	Introduction
2.	The Resource Base
3.	Demand for the Resources
4.	Concluding Remarks
Annexes:
1.	Estimates of Residue to Product Ratio
2a.	Estimated Amount of Crop Residues Generated in Asia (1997)
2b.	Estimated Amount of Wood Residues Generated in Asia (1997)
3.	Production and Consumption of Crop Residues (1995)

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