A comparison on potential of ligno-cellulosic biomass for ethanol production from halophyte species in desert regions Case study: Atriplex leucoclada and Suaeda vermiculata

World reserves of petroleum are being consumed rapidly and expected to exhaust by the middle of this century. This realization has led to the introduction of various grades of ethanol supplemented fuel. However, ethanol demands met from sources used for food may cause food shortage. This necessitates exploiting saline lands to produce non-food ligno-cellulosic biomass which, may be converted into ethanol without compromising human food production. Halophytes which produce plenty of biomass using saline resources (water and soil) may be an important alternative especially in desert regions. In current study, Atriplex leucoclada and Suaeda vermiculata were collected from Fars, Hormozgan, Khozestan and Semnan provinces and ligno-cellulosic composition was investigated. According to the results, Atriplex leucoclada has the potential as bio-ethanol crops. It is a perennial species and resistant to salinity, with high growth rates to produce ligno-cellulosic biomass of good quality (25-29% cellulose, 22-25% hemi-cellulose, and less than 8 % lignin).