Journal of Energy Bioscience 2025, Vol.16, No.4, 172-181 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/jeb 172 Case Study Open Access Case Study on Energy Crop Development: Sweet Potato for Biogas in Rural China Zhang Qian, Wenzhong Huang Biomass Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resouces, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding email: wenzhong.huang@hitar.org Journal of Energy Bioscience, 2025, Vol.16, No.4 doi: 10.5376/jeb.2025.16.0017 Received: 22 May, 2025 Accepted: 30 Jun., 2025 Published: 11 Jul., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Qian and Huang, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Qian Z., and Huang W.Z., 2025, Case study on energy crop development: sweet potato for biogas in rural China, Journal of Energy Bioscience, 16(4): 172-181 (doi: 10.5376/jeb.2025.16.0017) Abstract This study mainly talks about how sweet potatoes are used as energy in rural China, especially for biogas production. In addition to being a common food and industrial raw material, sweet potatoes can actually be used as energy crops. Studies have found that different varieties of sweet potatoes vary greatly in their gas production and methane production capabilities. Some varieties, such as Laranjeiras and BRS Cuia, can produce more biogas, which shows that sweet potatoes are still reliable as energy. In southern China, people can rotate sweet potatoes with corn. This method can bring energy benefits, economic benefits and environmental benefits at the same time. In this way, you can increase net energy output, make more money, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If sweet potatoes are fermented with animal manure, more biogas will be produced, which is more cost-effective. This is very helpful for the development of a circular economy in rural areas. If the sweet potato waste is treated with heat treatment before fermentation, it can also produce a lot more gas. This also makes the fermentation process faster and shorter. As an energy crop in rural areas, sweet potatoes not only allow farmers to use their own energy, reduce damage to the environment, but also increase income. For promoting sustainable development in rural China, sweet potatoes are a promising choice. Keywords Sweet potato; Energy crops; Biogas; Rural sustainable development; China 1 Introduction As the demand for energy in rural China grows, it is important to find a sustainable and cost-effective energy solution. In many rural areas, the supply of traditional energy cannot keep up, pollution is serious, and the cost of energy is high. Therefore, it is particularly urgent to develop local renewable energy, which can not only improve the living conditions of farmers, but also help drive economic development (Tang et al., 2022). Biogas is a relatively clean energy source. It can not only solve the problem of insufficient energy in rural areas, but also make good use of agricultural waste, reduce environmental pollution, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is very helpful for achieving sustainable development in rural areas (Tang et al., 2022; Montoro et al., 2025). Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is a common food and industrial crop in China, and its production is also high worldwide (Liu, 2011). In recent years, sweet potatoes have been considered suitable for energy production, especially for biogas production, due to their high yield, strong adaptability and rich biomass (De Paula Batista et al., 2019; Tang et al., 2022). Studies have found that different sweet potato varieties and planting methods perform well in terms of biomass yield, energy efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Especially in southern China, the economic and environmental benefits of growing sweet potatoes are obvious (Tang et al., 2022). In addition, if sweet potato waste is first treated by thermochemical methods, it can produce more biogas and methane, which also makes the energy value of sweet potatoes higher (Catherine and Twizerimana, 2022). This study mainly wants to systematically see whether sweet potatoes can be promoted as a biogas energy crop in rural China. We will do several things: first, evaluate the gas production capacity and energy efficiency of different sweet potato varieties and sweet potato waste; second, see if it has any benefits in terms of economy, environment and emission reduction; third, study how to optimize the sweet potato biogas production process and how to promote this practice. We hope that these analyses can provide some scientific support for the development of renewable energy in rural China and give policymakers some useful suggestions.
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