The Latest Research On How To Make Cotton Straw "Turn Waste Into Treasure"

It was learned from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences that the cotton molecular genetic improvement innovation team of the Institute of Cotton Research of the Academy systematically summarized the latest progress of cotton straw as a bio based material, proposed targeted transformation strategies and economically feasible implementation plans, and provided guidance and reference for the high-value utilization and industrialization development of cotton straw. Relevant research results were recently published in the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Review.

In 2023, China's cotton output will be 5.618 million tons. Calculated according to the ratio of grain to grass of 1:5, China will produce about 28 million tons of cotton straw in 2023. However, at present, most of the cotton straw is directly returned to the field or burned, resulting in resource waste and environmental pollution.

"Cotton straw is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, which can be converted into high-value products such as bio based materials, chemicals and biofuels. However, there is little research on the nature of cotton straw, the challenges faced by the synthesis of high-value products from cotton straw and countermeasures, so it is urgent to propose new ideas for high-value utilization of cotton straw."

The research systematically described the chemical structure of cotton straw, and systematically summarized the research progress in the synthesis of three types of high-value products, namely, bio based materials, bio based chemicals and biofuels, from cotton straw.

In addition, by comparing different transformation methods, the researchers proposed the optimal cotton straw value-added strategy. For example, cotton straw is used to produce bio based plates, cotton straw hulls are used to produce cellulose materials, and thermochemical methods are used to convert cotton straw into biofuels.

Not only that, the study carried out economic and technical analysis on different transformation cases, and proposed to improve the economic feasibility of cotton straw utilization by combining multiple products.