Potential yields of bio-ethanol from energy crops and their regional distribution in China

Based on the fundamental principle of no effect on the present agricultural structure of planting grain crops for food security and cash crops when developing bio-energy industry in China, the authors calculated the bio-ethanol potential yield by using arable marginal land resources, and the regional distribution of energy crops was also analyzed. The results show that: considering the total quantity of arable marginal land resources used for growing energy crops, the gross potential yield of bio-ethanol exceeds 74 million tons in China. If only considering centralized large areas of reserved land with the greatest potential for arable land exploitation, the potential yield of bio-ethanol is about 21.7 million tons, nearly 41.4% of yearly gasoline consumption in 2006. The potential yield of bio-ethanol in different regions of China is enormously different. Xinjiang Region, Gansu Province, Shandong Province, Jiangxi Province and Ningxia Region are the several areas with the largest bio-ethanol potential in China.