Water footprint approach in measuring the potential of bioenergy production from agricultural products

Abstract Promoting the supply of energy from biomass to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases has resulted in focusing on the production of important products from the perspective of energy and ultimately, increasing water consumption. Therefore, in the present study, an index called water footprint was used to investigate the link between water and bioenergy. For this purpose, information related to grain maize crops was collected in the study plains of Fujian province in eastern China. Based on the calculations, it was found that the water footprint of maize products in the province was equal to 3,728 m3/ton on average, and the water footprint of its biomass was estimated to be 219.6 m3/ton. Moreover, the investigation of the water footprint of maize biomass energy showed that the highest and lowest water footprints per unit of energy are found in Ningde and Zhangzhou, respectively. It was also found that the plains of Zhangzhou, Ningde and Xiamen have little priority for biomass production because the water footprint of their biomass energy is less than 900 MJ/m3. On the other hand, Nanping and Putian plains with bioenergy water footprints between 1,500 and 1,800 MJ/m3 have high priority for using maize biomass for energy production.