scholarly journals ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTIES OF COARSE-ENERGY PLANTS

Author(s):  
Živilė ČERNIAUSKIENĖ ◽  
Egidijus ZVICEVIČIUS ◽  
Algirdas RAILA ◽  
Vita TILVIKIENĖ ◽  
Zofija JANKAUSKIENĖ ◽  
...  

In the world, fossil fuel resources are constantly decreasing and increasing energy use. This leads to wider use of biomass in various industrial areas. Also, for the production of heat and electricity. Depending on the situation of current market, much attention is being paid to increasing the potential of biomass and to ensure the needs of users. Recently, much attention is paid to non-food energy plants, which could be used in thermochemical conversion technologies. These plants must be well adapted to climatic conditions, to grow a high biomass yield, to possess high energy value, easy to use for biofuel production and low environmental impact. Having a high energy potential and promising plants for cultivation in a changing climate conditions can be characterized and these plants: this is Miscantus spp. (namely miscanthus), Artemisia dubia Wall. (mugwort) and Cannabis sativa L. (fiber hemp). The article summarizes long-standing biometric and thermal performance results on Miscantus spp. (namely miscanthus), Artemisia dubia Wall. (mugwort) and Cannabis sativa L. (fiber hemp). In Lithuania climate condition, it is possible to grow from 3.26 to 17.06 t ha-1 of dry biomass per year from the mentioned plants. The calorific value of biomass has a huge influence on assessment of energy potential from plants. After combustion of 1 kilogram of Miscantus spp., Artemisia dubia Wall. and Cannabis sativa L. biomass it stands out on average 18.3±0.06, 18.5±0.66 and 17.43±0.06 MJ of heat, respectively. An equally important property which assesses the suitability of biomass for biofuels is ash content. The average ash content of biomass from Miscantus spp. and Artemisia dubia Wall was 1.51±0.03 % and 2.69±0.33 %, i.e. 2.22 times and 1.25 times lower than Cannabis sativa L.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 02006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Ivanova ◽  
Bohumil Havrland ◽  
Radek Novotny ◽  
Alexandru Muntean ◽  
Petr Hutla

Biomass is doubtless a very significant source of renewable energy being worldwide abundant with high energy potential. This paper deals with assessment energy consumption at especially grinding and briquetting processes, which should result in essential economy of energy at solid biofuel production. Various types of raw materials were used at the experiment such as hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) biomass, two species of Miscanthus (Miscanthus sinensis, Miscanthus x gigantheus) and apple wood biomass. These materials were dried, grinded and pressed by piston press having pressing chamber diameter of 65 mm. Materials were grinded into three fractions (4 mm, 8 mm and 12 mm). Material throughput (kg.h-1) and energy consumption (kWh.t-1) were registered. As to results: the highest throughput at both grinding cases as well as briquetting was found at apple wood biomass; however the energy consumption during briquetting of apple wood was relatively high. The worst results concerning throughput and energy consumption (especially at briquetting) were found at hemp biomass. Nevertheless, briquettes made of hemp had the best mechanical durability. Both Miscunthus species (herbaceous biomass) have very similar parameters and showed quite good relation between throughput and energy consumption at the used machines.


CERNE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graciela Inés Bolzon de Muñiz ◽  
Elaine Cristina Lengowski ◽  
Silvana Nisgoski ◽  
Washington Luis Esteves de Magalhães ◽  
Valcineide Tanobe de Oliveira ◽  
...  

The demand for new energy sources is growing and awakening interest in the use of forest residues. Charcoal was prepared at carbonization temperatures of 500 ºC, 600 °C and 700 °C in order to evaluate the potential use of Pinus sp needles for energy. The anatomical and chemical characteristics of the needles and the charcoal produced were also evaluated. The needles were found to have ash content of 2.32% and gross calorific value of 20.30 MJ/kg. The calorific value increased by 45%, reaching 29.64 MJ/kg, after carbonization carried out at 600 ºC. This value is higher than that for charcoal made from eucalyptus (19.25 MJ/kg) and even coconut husks (23.55 MJ/kg), showing the high energy potential of these needles.


Fermentation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 270
Author(s):  
Ning Zhang ◽  
Terry Walker ◽  
Bryan Jenkins ◽  
Stanley Anderson ◽  
Yi Zheng

Pretreatments are often needed for lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks before either thermochemical or biochemical conversion processes. Our previous research has demonstrated the potential of bioleaching, with its superior capability of removing certain inorganic compounds compared to water leaching, to improve biomass quality for thermochemical conversion in biofuel production. In this study, the bioleaching process was scaled up from 250 mL beakers to be carried out in custom-designed 2.5 L bioreactors. The fungus Aspergillus niger was used in the bioreactors for leaching sorghum straw biomass with an initial ash content of 6.0%. The effects of three operating parameters on leaching efficiency (i.e., residual ash content) were extensively studied, including the fungal mass added to each reactor, leaching time, and glucose concentration in the starting liquid phase. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used for the experiment design. The results showed that the average residual ash content of the sorghum feedstock after bioleaching was significantly lower (3.63 ± 0.19%) than that of the ash content (4.72 ± 0.13%) after water leaching (p < 0.00001). Among the three parameters, glucose concentration in the starting liquid phase had the most significant effect on leaching effectiveness (p = 0.0079). Based on this outcome, subsequent bioleaching experiments yielded reductions in residual ash content to as low as 2.73%.


Author(s):  
Mauro Cepeda Ortiz ◽  
Santiago Morales Flores ◽  
Enrique Villacis

Meche's House is an alternative post-disaster construction, and this is the study of its bioclimatic approach showing that social and post-disaster buildings also need this kind of research. Tropical climate conditions lead to buildings having a high energy consumption for cooling loads. In Ecuador, the energy consumption of the residential area is 28.78% of final demand. Also, there is very little relevant information on the analysis of bioclimatic design in buildings, as well as specific analysis of interior comfort. The carried-out analysis process considered methods of bioclimatic evaluation, which mainly focuses on building the user's comfort. For this reason, in the first place, the site climatic conditions and possible passive intervention strategies were determined. Followed by the evaluation of natural ventilation with which it was possible to evaluate the effectiveness of natural ventilation through simulations in Computational Fluid Dynamics program. Furthermore, thermal comfort analysis using an Energy Plus program is used for comparing the internal temperature ranges versus indoor natural ventilation. Finally, the data is discussed under an adaptive comfort and user perception of satisfaction. This research confirms the need to carry out bioclimatic evaluations of projects conceived under a good line of architectural design, since only in this way will it be possible to demonstrate that the proposed considerations and strategies have positive or negative outcomes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 62-72
Author(s):  
O. Zhukorsky ◽  
O. Nykyforuk ◽  
N. Boltyk

Aim. Proper development of animal breeding in the conditions of current global problems and the decrease of anthropogenic burden on environment due to greenhouse gas emissions, caused by animal breeding activity, require the study of interaction processes between animal breeding and external climatic conditions. Methods. The theoretical substantiation of the problem was performed based on scientifi c literature, statistical informa- tion of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the data of the National greenhouse gas emissions inventory in Ukraine. Theoretically possible emissions of greenhouse gases into atmosphere due to animal breeding in Ukraine and specifi c farms are calculated by the international methods using the statistical infor- mation about animal breeding in Ukraine and the economic-technological information of the activity of the investigated farms. Results. The interaction between the animal breeding production and weather-and-climate conditions of environment was analyzed. Possible vectors of activity for the industry, which promote global warming and negative processes, related to it, were determined. The main factors, affecting the formation of greenhouse gases from the activity of enterprises, aimed at animal breeding production, were characterized. Literature data, statistical data and calculations were used to analyze the role of animal breeding in the green- house gas emissions in global and national framework as well as at the level of specifi c farms with the consid- eration of individual specifi cities of these farms. Conclusions. Current global problems require clear balance between constant development of sustainable animal breeding and the decrease of the carbon footprint due to the activity of animal breeding.


Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 290
Author(s):  
Koffi Djaman ◽  
Curtis Owen ◽  
Margaret M. West ◽  
Samuel Allen ◽  
Komlan Koudahe ◽  
...  

The highly variable weather under changing climate conditions affects the establishment and the cutoff of crop growing season and exposes crops to failure if producers choose non-adapted relative maturity that matches the characteristics of the crop growing season. This study aimed to determine the relationship between maize hybrid relative maturity and the grain yield and determine the relative maturity range that will sustain maize production in northwest New Mexico (NM). Different relative maturity maize hybrids were grown at the Agricultural Science Center at Farmington ((Latitude 36.69° North, Longitude 108.31° West, elevation 1720 m) from 2003 to 2019 under sprinkler irrigation. A total of 343 hybrids were grouped as early and full season hybrids according to their relative maturity that ranged from 93 to 119 and 64 hybrids with unknown relative maturity. The crops were grown under optimal management condition with no stress of any kind. The results showed non-significant increase in grain yield in early season hybrids and non-significant decrease in grain yield with relative maturity in full season hybrids. The relative maturity range of 100–110 obtained reasonable high grain yields and could be considered under the northwestern New Mexico climatic conditions. However, more research should target the evaluation of different planting date coupled with plant population density to determine the planting window for the early season and full season hybrids for the production optimization and sustainability.


2011 ◽  
Vol 347-353 ◽  
pp. 3846-3855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Baniyounes ◽  
Gang Liu ◽  
M. G. Rasul ◽  
M. M. K. Khan

In Australia the future demand for energy is predicted to increase rapidly. Conventional energy resources soaring prices and environmental impact have increased the interest in renewable energy technology. As a result of that the Australian government is promoting renewable energy; such as wind, geothermal, solar and hydropower. These types of energy are believed to be cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Renewable energy availability is controlled by climatic conditions such as solar radiation, wind speed and temperature. This paper aims to assess the potential of renewable energy resources, in particular wind and solar energy in an Australian subtropical region (Central and North Queensland) namely, Gladstone, Emerald, Rockhampton, Yeppoon, Townsville, and Cairns. Analysis is done by using the latest statistical state of Queensland energy information, along with measured data history of wind speed, solar irradiations, air temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure for those sites. This study has also shown that national assessments of solar and wind energy potential can be improved by improving local climatic data assessments using spatial databases of Central and North Queensland areas.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 247
Author(s):  
Aida Albu ◽  
Cristina-Gabriela Radu-Rusu ◽  
Ioan Mircea Pop ◽  
Gabriela Frunza ◽  
Gherasim Nacu

Romania is known among the main European honey producers, due to the variety of landforms as well as the diversity of the flora. Thirty-four honey samples of the acacia, linden and multifloral types, produced in eastern Romania and collected during 2013–2018, were physico-chemically analyzed using methods provided by the national and EU standards. The results of water-insoluble solids, color and refractive index were found to be 0.023–0.131%, 0.3–76.4 mm Pfund and 1.485–1.499, respectively. The moisture content ranged between 15.20% and 20.77%, solid substances content ranged between 79.23% and 84.80% and total soluble substances content ranged between 77.83 °Brix and 83.26 °Brix. The obtained values of specific gravity were from 1.414 to 1.450 g/cm3, pH ranged from 3.673 to 5.503 and free acidity ranged between 2.4 meq and 50 meq kg−1. The ash content and the electrical conductivity varied between 0.030 and 0.543% and 130 and 679 µS cm−1, respectively. Pearsonʹs correlation analysis showed an intense association of the ash content with electrical conductivity (r = 0.81). Our findings reveal the qualitative level of Romanian honey and the variation in quality parameters due to factors such as geographical region, climatic conditions, botanical origin and handling or storage conditions.


2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 1765-1771 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Heubeck ◽  
R. M. de Vos ◽  
R. Craggs

The biological treatment of wastewater could yield high energy fuels such as methane and alcohols, however most conventional treatment systems do not recover this energy potential. With a simple model of the energy yields of various wastewater treatment technologies it is possible to demonstrate how minor shifts in technology selection can lead the industry from being identified as predominantly energy intensive, to being recognised as a source of energy resources. The future potential energy yield is estimated by applying energy yield factors to alternative use scenarios of the same wastewater loads. The method for identifying the energy potential of wastewater was demonstrated for the New Zealand wastewater sector, but can equally be applied to other countries or regions. The model suggests that by using technologies that maximise the recovery of energy from wastewater, the potential energy yield from this sector would be substantially increased (six fold for New Zealand).


Author(s):  
Yuriy Hayda ◽  
◽  
Khrystyna Firman ◽  

In this article analyzes the development of trends of bioenergy crops market development in Ukraine and its current state are analysed. The possibility and feasibility of synergy of mutual development of bioenergy crops market and bio-oil market in Ukraine were noted. The necessity of state support and stimulation of bioenergy crops and different types of biofuels production in Ukraine was stated. A positive trend of growth of planted areas and production of rapeseed in Ukraine was revealed. During the study period (2013-2019) the production of rapeseed was increased by 1.4 times. The greatest energy potential for the production of bioethanol is in the sugar beet subcomplex of the agricultural sector. Over the past few years, the production of sugar beet was at its highest in 2014 (15.7 million tonnes), while the following years saw a decrease in cultivated areas of sugar beet and, consequently, a drop in its gross output - to 8.3 million tonnes in 2020. Significant resource potential for the production of bioethanol also have cereal crops (wheat, rye, barley, maize), the area under which during the last ten years remains relatively stable (14.4-15.3 million ha). Among grain crops the most effective raw material for the production of bioethanol is maize. A positive tendency of biennial growth of planted area under this crop is revealed. The space differentiation of resource base of bioenergy in Ukraine is prominent. The cluster analysis revealed three groups of areas based on the similarity of the energy resources for bioenergy purposes. Two clusters including Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Zhytomyr and Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, Sumy, Kirovograd, Poltava and Kyiv regions should be considered as the most promising areas for concentration of capacities in biofuel production. It is noted that the trajectory of development bioenergetic sector of the country is always conditioned by compromise between compliance with optimal levels of its energy and food security.


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