https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364032124003770

The Cotton Molecular Genetic Improvement Innovation Team around Fuguang Li at the Cotton Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has put forward a precise practical application plan and an economically feasible implementation plan for their high-value-added use and industrialization of cotton stalks.

China’s cotton production in 2023 was 5.618 million tons, which produced about 28 million tons of stalks. However, at present, most of the cotton stalks are directly returned to the fields or burned, resulting in problems such as resource waste and environmental pollution.

Cotton stalks are mainly made of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. These components can be converted into high value-added products such as biological materials, biochemicals and biofuels. The study systematically explains the chemical structure of cotton stalks and systematically summarizes research into synthesizing cotton stalks into three types of high value-added products: biological materials, biochemicals and biofuels. By contrasting various conversion methods, it has put forward a plan to maximize the value of cotton stalks.