Abstract
Biomass is a promising source to produce energy or biofuels, chemicals and biobased products in order to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. Fast growing crops are an ideal source of lignocellulosic biomass due to their high cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin content. In this sense, eleven (11) families were selected and compiled in twenty one (21) species according to soil type and crop requirement. Cultivation areas were selected through analyses of the Geographic Information System (SIG by its Spanish acronym) highlighting soil characteristics (mainly as arid and semiarid areas) and crop requirements. Two main groups were defined during this analysis: species established in Colombia and species not yet reported in Colombia. Species established in Colombia were related to family Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiáceas, Myrtaceae and Pinaceae. The estimated area for this crop group was around 1.7 million hectares with an energy potential of 94,677 TJ/year. Meanwhile, species not yet reported in Colombia were related to family Leguminosae, Myrtaceae, Paulowniaceae, Pinaceae and Poaceae. The estimated area for this crop group was around 2.4 million of hectares with an energy potential of 65,525 TJ/year. The energy value achieved for each specie was in the range of 2,000 TJ/year to 10,000 TJ/year, the other species that were out of this range, were not take into account. The main region available to develop these types of crops in Colombia was located in the departments of Cundinamarca, Antioquia, Santander, Quindío, Risaralda, Caldas, Tolima, Valle del Cauca and Nariño. Technologies such as gasification and pyrolysis were identified to be applied to some families as Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Paulowniaceae and Pinaceae, which have around 25% of lignin; obtaining liquid and gaseous fuels. Meanwhile, a high cellulose and hemicellulose content (48% and 64% respectively) in families as Fabaceae, Lamiáceas and Myrtaceae make them viable to be used as a sugar source in biofuel production.
