Introduction and context: global biomass resources - Biomass as Energy Source: Resources, Systems and Applications - page 13

Table 1.7. Oil content in seed of different crops.

Seed yield Oil content

Name Latin name [t/ha] [%]

Abyssinian kale Crambe abyssinica 2-3.5 30-45

Bird rape Brassica rapa 1-2.5 38-48

Indian mustard Brassica juncea 1.5-3.3 30-40

Coconut palm Cocos nucifera 4.2 36

Coriander Coriandrum sativum 2.0-3.0 18-22

Gold of pleasure Camelina sativa 2.3 33-42

Groundnut Arachis hypogea 2 45-53

Hemp Cannabis sativa 0.5-2.0 28-35

Jojoba Simmondsia chinensis 2.1 48-56

Oil palm Elaeis guineensis 30 26

Olive Olea spp. 1.0-12 40

Rape Brassica napus 2.0-3.5 40-50

Safflower Carthamus tinctorius 1.8 18-50

Soybean Glycine max 2.1 18-24

Spurge Euphorbia latyris 1.5 48

Sunflower Helianthus annuus 2.5-3.2 35-52

White mustard Sinapis alba 1.5-2.5 22-42

1.4 ANIMALIAN BIOMASS AND ALGAE

1.4.1 Animalian food
When we think of biomass, we normally think of crops. Still, meat from different animals, fish
and insects is very important especially to give us protein. Cow, pig, sheep and hen are the most
common, but at least 1400 types of insects are also used as food, especially in tropical countries in
Africa, Asia and SouthAmerica (Nyström, 2012). To produce 1 kg of beef 10 kg fodder is needed,
while 10 kg fodder may produce 9 kg of insects. In Thailand, grasshoppers are common as food.
In Cambodia tarantel spider are fried and eaten. In China, many different types are eaten as seen
in Figure 1.4. At the Wageningen University in Holland, a study over greenhouse gas emissions
from cows versus insects was done recently. It concluded that the greenhouse gas emission is
much less, because insects are cold blooded and thus do not waste energy on heating, which also
avoids production of methane and other greenhouse gases.
FAO is presenting an overview of available livestock resources in the report World Livestock
2011, Livestock in food security (McLeod 2011). The authors have made predictions of how
much livestock that will be needed per 1 billion people today and in the future. The figures are
seen in Table 1.8.
What we can see fromTable 1.8 is that pig and poultry are the most important apart from dairy
today, but poultry meat is predicted increase the most. This has an advantage as less energy is
needed to produce one kg hen compared to one kg cow.
For a young cow (250 kg) it may be as seen below. The figures are in MJ/day respectively g
protein/day:

Unit MJ Protein [gSRP]

Total nutrients 49.5 416

4 kg hay 35.2 320

1.3 kg oats 14.4 107