Abstract
This paper aims to estimate the potential to use biomass for energy provision in Mexico for today and the two decades to come. Therefore, a novel approach is developed and applied for relevant biomass resources considering technical aspects as well as sustainability constraints. The results of this approach shows that Mexico has a significant potential of biomass for energy production (2,228 PJ/a on average), which represents roughly 48 % of the total final energy consumption by 2010. Based on the official outlooks, it is expected that in the coming two decades, this potential might slightly increase (2,453 PJ/a in 2030 on average), since the biogas potential from organic residues from municipalities and livestock (i.e., animal manure) might rise due to the increase in food production for the growing population. On the other hand, the land available for energy crops production and the provision of forestry wood residues are expected to decrease due the same premise. Additionally, this method offers the opportunity to present the results in a high spatial disaggregation. This is essential to develop strategies and scenarios of an increased use of biomass because bioenergy is usually a source for local and decentralized energy provision. In addition, the methodology proposed here may hold true for other countries with a considerable lack of primary data.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
References
Energy National Balance (2010) (Balance Nacional de Energía 2010), Ministry of Energy, Undersecretary of Energy Planning and Technological Development, 2011
The National Statistics, Geography and Informatics Institute of Mexico (INEGI) Census of Population and Housing 1980–2010
British Petroleum Statistical Review of World Energy June 2011, BP, http://www.bp.com/
SENER (2012a) Publications, Ministry of Energy of Mexico, http://www.sener.gob.mx/
SENER (2011a) Oil products prospectives 2011–2025 (Prospectivas de los petroliferos 2010–2025, Mexico) Ministry of Energy, 2012
SENER (2011e) Renewable Energy Prospectives 2011–2025 Mexico, (Prospectivas de energiarenovables 2011–2025 Mexico), Ministry of Energy, 2012
SENER (2011b) Natural gas prospective 2011–2025 (Prospectiva gas natural 2010–2025, Mexico), Ministry of Energy, 2012
SENER (2011c) Liquefied Petroleum Gas prospective 2011–2025, (Prospectiva gas licuado 2010–2025 Mexico), Ministry of Energy, 2012
SENER (2011d) Electricity Sector prospective (Prospectiva del Sector Electrico 2010–2025, Mexico), Ministry of Energy, 2012
SENER (2012b) National Energy Strategy 2012–2026 (Estrategia Nacional de Energía),Ministry of Energy, 2013
Kaltschmitt M, Hartmann H (eds) (2001) Energie aus Biomasse. Springer, Berlin
Masera O et al (2006) The bioenergy in Mexico (La bioenergía en México. Un catalizador del desarrollo sustentable). Red Mexicana de Bioenergía and Comisión Nacional Forestal
CIEco (Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas) (2008) Análisis integrado de las tecnologías, el ciclo de vida y la sustentabilidad de las opciones y escenarios para el aprovechamiento de la bioenergía en México
ESRI (2011) ArcGIS Editor. 10 ed., Environmental Systems Research Institute. Geographic Information System Software.
Batzias FA, Sidiras DK, Spyrou EK (2005) Evaluating livestock manures for biogas production: a GIS based method/ Renewable Energy 30
BEE Harmonization of biomass resource assessment, Vol 1: Best Practices and Methods Handbook. 2, Enschede, The Netherlands, BTG Biomass Technology Group
SIAP SAGARPA (2012) The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food http://www.siap.gob.mx/
INEGI (2012) Statistical and Geographical data base, Land use maps, vector data. The National Statistics, Geography and Informatics Institute of Mexico, www.inegi.gob.mx
Bio top (2009) Biofuels Assessment on Technical Opportunities and Research Needs for Latin America, Task 2.1. Feedstock production in Latin America
NERC (2008) Manure Production and Bedding Used Calculator, Northeast Recycling Council
Information and Advisory Service on Appropriate Technology (2000) Biogas digest. German agency for technical cooperation, Eschborn
SFA SAGARPA (2011) Long term perspective for the farming sector of Mexico 2011–2020, (Perspectivas de largo plazo para el sector agropecuario de México 2011–2020), The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food
SIAP SAGARPA (2010) Directorio Nacional de Rastros http://www.campomexicano.gob.mx/portal_siap/Integracion/EstadisticaBasica/Pecuario/Rastros/sec cedos.pdf , The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food
Signorini M, Civit S, Bonilla M, Cervantes M, Calderón M, Pérez A, Espejel M, Almanza C (2006) Evaluación de riesgos de los rastros y mataderos municipales
EPASTRIVE (2005) Programe 2007–2013, Enhanced Nitrogen Removal for Slaughterhouses WasteWater Using Novel Technologies (Environmental Protection Agency)
Filipe Carlos DM (1998) McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Biological Wastewater Treatment, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded, ISBN 9780824789190
Information and Advisory Service on Appropriate Technology. Biogas digest. German agency for technical cooperation, Eschborn; 2000
Formentini DF, Fracaro GP, Costanzi RN, Nelson Samuel Souza M, Marques CA (2011) Electricity generation from biogas of poultry slaughterhouse biomass in Matelandia – Brazil, World Renewable Energy Congress, Linköping Sweden
SAGARPA (2011) Statistical Data base, The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales)
EPA (2008) AP-42, Fifth Edition, Volumen I, Section 2.4, Estimating Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills, United States Environmental Protection Agency
Aguilar-Virgen Q, Armijo-de Vega C, Taboada-Gonzalez PA (2009) Captura de biogás del relleno sanitario de Ensenada B.C. Encuentro de Expertos en Residuos Solidos, Abril
Caresana F, Comodi G, Pelagalli L, Pierpaoli P, Vagni S (2011) Energy production from landfill biogas: An italian case, Volume 35, Issue 10, 15 October, Pages 4331–4339
Themelis NJ, Ulloa PA (2007) Methane generation in landfills. Renew Energy 32:1243–1257
Victor Gutierrez Avedoy (2006) Diagnóstico Básico para la Gestión Integral de Residuos, SEMARNAT, INE, ISBN: 968-817-803-9
CONAGUA (2006) Estadísticas del agua en México, edición 2011, National Water Commission of Mexico
Monroy O, Fama G, Meraz M, Montoya L, Macarie H (2000) Anaerobic digestion for wastewater treatment in Mexico: state of the technology
Metcalf and Eddy Wastewater engineering: Treatment and Reuse/, Inc-4th ed/ revised by George Tchobanoglous, Franklin L. H. david Stensel
Duncan Mara and Nigel Horan (2000) Handbook of Water and Wastewater Microbiology, ISBN: 978-0-12-470100-7
The Water Agenda (2030) National Water Commission of Mexico (CONAGUA), 2011, http://www.conagua.gob.mx/
Linden DR, Clapp CE and Dowdy, RH (2000) Long-term corn grain and stover yields as a function of tillage and residue removal in east central Minnesota, Soil & Tillage Research 56
Valdez-Vazquez I, Acevedo-Benitez JA, Hernandez-Santiago C (2010) Distribution and potential of bioenergy resources from agricultural activities in Mexico. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Frank Rosillo-Calle, peter de Groot and Sarah L. Hemstock (2000) The biomass Assessment Handbook
Lora ES, Andrade RV (2009) Biomass as energy source in Brazil, Renewable Sustainable Energy Review
IPCC (2007) Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change, 9.4.3.2 Global Forest sectoral modeling
CONAFOR (2012) Sistema Nacional de información Forestal http://www.cnf.gob.mx:8080/snif/portal/zonificacion
INE (2006) National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGHGI) for the period 1990–2002. the Ecology Institute Mexico, INE (spanish)
IPCC (2003) Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry. Land Use Change, and Forestry(LULUCF) 2003
de Jong B, Anaya C, Masera O et al (2010) Greenhouse gas emissions between 1993 and 2002 from land-use change and forestry in Mexico. For Ecol Manag 260(10):1689–1701
Nicolae Scarlat, Viorel Blujdea, Jean-Francois Dallemand (2011) Assessment of the availability of agricultural and forest residues for bioenergy production in Romania, Biomass and Bioenergy, Volume 35, Issue 5, May
Panichelli L, Gnansounou E (2008) GIS modeling of forest wood residues potential for energy use based on forest inventory data: methodological approach and case study application
Forest strategic program for Mexico (2025) CONAFOR, National Forestry Commission of Mexico 2005
FRA (2010) Mexico Forest Resources Assessment, FAO, 2010, www.fao.org/forestry/fra
SEMARNAT (2012) Anuarios Forestales 2007–2012 http://www.semarnat.gob.mx/temas/gestionambiental/forestalsuelos/Paginas/anuarios.aspx
INEGI (2012) El Directorio Estadístico Nacional de Unidades Económicas, http://www3.inegi.org.mx/sistemas/mapa/denue/default.aspx
FAO (1990) Energy conservation in the mechanical forest industries. Rome, Italy. ISBN 92-5-102912-1
Dercan B, Lukic T, Bubalo-Zivkovic M, Durdev B, Stojsavljevic R, Pantelic M (2012) Possibility of efficient utilization of wood waste as a renewable energy resource in Serbia, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
FAO (2009) Global demand for wood products, State of the World’s Forests 2009 Rome, Italy
FAO's views on Bioenergy, publications and reports, http://www.fao.org/bioenergy/en/
Dafang Z, Dong J, Lei L, Yaohuan H (2011) Assessment of bioenergy potential on marginal land in China. Renew Sust Energ Rev 15:1050–1056
Liu TT, McConkey BG, Ma ZY, Liu ZG, Li X, Cheng LL (2011) Strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats analysis of bioenergy production on marginal land. Energ Procedia 5:2378–2386
CONABIO, Use land Publications, the National Commission for Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity http://www.biodiversidad.gob.mx/publicaciones/
INIFAP, Annual Report 2009, Buffel grass in in the National Institute for Agricultural, Livestock and Forestry Research of Mexico, Especial Publications No. 5
INEGI (2009) VIII Censo Agrícola, Ganadero y Forestal 2007. (INEGI, Agricultural Census 2007)
SAGARPA (2012) ethanol and biodiesel production http://www.bioenergeticos.gob.mx/ (spanish)
Carina Edith Delgado Caballero, José René Valdez Lazalde, Aurelio Manuel Fierros González, Héctor Manuel de los Santos Posadas 1 y Armando Gómez Guerrero, Area aptitude for Eucalyptus plantations analytic hierarchy process vs. Boolean algebra, Rev. Mex. Cien. For:. Vol. 1. Núm. 1
Luis Ugalde and Osvaldo Pérez (2001) Mean Annual Volume Increment of Selected Industrial Forest Plantation Species. Forest Plantations Thematic Papers, FAO
Galera FM (2000) Los algarrobos las especies del género prosopis (algarrobos) de América Latina con especial énfasis en aquellas de interés económico, FAO. SECYT
Meza S, R.y E, Osuna L (2003) Módulo del Proyecto Nacional de Mezquite en el Campo Experimental Todos Santos en Baja California Sur. INIFAP-CIRNO
Ward Chesworth (2008) Encyclopedia of Soil Science, ISBN 978-1-4020-3995-9, Springer
Bioenergy Feedstock Development Programs (2010) Oak Ridge National Laboratory USA, https://bioenergy.ornl.gov/papers/misc/energy_conv.html
Pimentel D (ed) (2008) Biofuels, Solar and Wind as Renewable Energy Systems, Springer Science Business Media B.V.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Electronic supplementary data which shows the overall spatial distribution of the biomass potential in Mexico can be found in the online version.
ESM 1
(JPEG 369 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rios, M., Kaltschmitt, M. Bioenergy potential in Mexico—status and perspectives on a high spatial distribution. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 3, 239–254 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-013-0085-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-013-0085-3