Rice straw for energy and value-added products in China: a review

The rise of global waste and the decline of fossil fuels are calling for recycling waste into energy and materials. For example, rice straw, a by-product of rice cultivation, can be converted into biogas and by-products with added value, e.g., biofertilizer, yet processing rice straw is limited by the low energy content, high ash and silica, low nitrogen, high moisture, and high-quality variability. Here, we review the recycling of rice straw with focus on the global and Chinese energy situations, conversion of rice straw into energy and gas, biogas digestate management, cogeneration, biogas upgrading, bioeconomy, and life cycle assessment. The quality of rice straw can be improved by pretreatments, such as baling, ensiling, and co-digestion of rice straw with other feedstocks. The biogas digestate can be used to fertilize soils. The average annual potential energy of collectable rice straw, with a lower heating value of 15.35 megajoule/kilogram, over the past ten years (2013–2022) could reach 2.41 × 10 9 megajoule.