Bioethanol water footprint: life cycle optimization for water reduction

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Pongpinyopap ◽  
T. Mungcharoen

In Thailand, the Alternative Energy Development Plan has set the target to increase the use of bioethanol to 9.00 million liters per day by 2021. To achieve this goal, both freshwater availability for energy crops and best practices in bioethanol production chain management are very important issues. Therefore, this study integrates water footprint technique with the linear programing approach in order to optimize the operations decision, focusing on water footprint of the bioethanol production chains from both tactical and operational levels. A cradle-to-grave approach is adopted to evaluate the water consumption and pollution in bioethanol production from sugarcane and cassava. The results show that the water footprint of bioethanol consumed in Thailand was about 3.23 × 109, 1.72 × 1010, and 2.49 × 1010 m3 per year in 2010, 2016, and 2021, respectively. The share of agriculture water consumption to the total water footprints of bioethanol was 99% and industrial water consumption was 1%. After applying the linear programing, it was found that the water footprint could be reduced by at least 53%, or 1.33 × 1010 m3, annually. The modeling approach and formulation presented could be used as a tool to reduce water consumption and provide the operation plan of bioethanol production chain.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamideh Nouri ◽  
Sattar Chavoshi Borujeni ◽  
Arjen Hoekstra

<p>The world’s population residing in urban areas grew from 30% in 1950 to about 60% in 2020 and is expected to reach 68% by 2050. As urban areas continue to grow, green spaces in cities are getting ever more treasured. Most cities have adopted strategies to be greener to improve their resilience and livability. To make the best of the benefits offered by urban green spaces, healthy greenness is essential and this means additional water consumption. Water limitation usually results in drying out of green areas in summer, when benefits and services by green spaces are highly demanded (e.g. cooling effect). In the 21<sup>st</sup> century, vulnerability to water shortage is not restricted to dry regions anymore;  water scarcity in the time of need is threatening the livability of cities even in wet regions (i.e. extreme summers in Europe). In this study, we estimate for the first time, to our knowledge, the blue water consumption of urban green spaces. We measure the evapotranspiration of an urban green space using three approaches of in-situ, observational-based and remote sensing, and employ principles of water footprint. We assess the blue and green water footprint of urban greenery to maintain green areas of a city based on their water demand, not the abstracted water or irrigated water. In the case of Adelaide Parklands in Australia, the annual total water footprint is 1114mm, of which 17% consumes in spring, 42% in summer, 27% in autumn, and 14% in winter. The average blue water footprint of the Parklands calculates 0.66 m<sup>3</sup> per square meter per annum. The hot and dry summer causes a high total water footprint compared to the cold and wet winter. This study is transferable to other cities for quantification of blue water consumption of urban green spaces and their water footprint. These findings may help to guide urbanisation priorities to move toward greening cities with no extra pressure on scarce water resources.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 08018
Author(s):  
Alfiana Aulia Firda ◽  
Purwanto

In terms of global water scarcity, the water footprint is an indicator of the use of water resources that given knowledge about the environmental impact of consuming a product. The sustainable use of water resources nowadays bring challenges related to the production and consumption phase of water intensive related goods such as in the agro-industry. The objective of the study was to assessment the total water footprint from soy sauce production in Grobogan Regency. The total water footprint is equal to the sum of the supply chain water footprint and the operational water footprint. The assessment is based on the production chain diagram of soy sauce production which presenting the relevant process stages from the source to the final product. The result of this research is the total water footprint of soy sauce production is 1.986,35 L/kg with fraction of green water 78,43%, blue water 21,4% and gray water 0,17%.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (6) ◽  
pp. 13-19
Author(s):  
Guzel Gumerova ◽  
Georgiy Gulyuk ◽  
Dmitry Kucher ◽  
Anatoly Shuravilin ◽  
Elena Piven

Data of long-term researches (2015–2018) in southern forest-steppe zone of the Republic of Bashkortostan, is justified theoretically and experimentally the mode of irrigation of potatoes on leached chernozems of unsatisfactory, satisfactory and good ameliorative condition of irrigated lands. For the growing periods of potatoes with different heat and moisture supply, the number of watering, the timing of their implementation, irrigation and irrigation norms are established. On lands with unsatisfactory meliorative state the number of irrigation depending on weather conditions of potato vegetation period varied from 0 to 3 (1.5 on average) with average irrigation norm – 990 m3/ha. With satisfactory meliorative state of lands the number of irrigation on average increased from 0 to 4 (2.3 on average) with irrigation norm – 1305 m3/ha. On lands with good meliorative state the number of irrigation was the highest – from 1 to 5 (3 on average) with average irrigation irrigation norm is 1653 m3/ha. It was noted that in the dry periods of potato vegetation the greatest number of watering was carried out (3–5 watering), and in the wet periods (2017) watering was not carried out except for the area with a good reclamation state, where only one irrigation was carried out by the norm of 550 m3/ha. Water consumption of potato was studied in dynamics as a whole during the growing season and the months of the growing season depending on weather conditions of vegetation period and land reclamation condition of irrigated lands, as well as in the control (without irrigation). The lowest total water consumption was in the area without irrigation and averaged 226.8 mm. In irrigated areas, its values increased to 319-353.4 mm. The average daily water consumption varied from 2.12 to 3.3 mm. The highest rates of potato water consumption were observed in June and July, and the lowest – in May and August. In the total water consumption of potatoes on the site without irrigation, the largest share was occupied by atmospheric precipitation and in addition to them the arrival of moisture from the soil. Irrigation water was used in irrigated areas along with precipitation, the share of which was 30.2–46.1 %.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Hyung-Eun An ◽  
Kang Hyun Lee ◽  
Ye Won Jang ◽  
Chang-Bae Kim ◽  
Hah Young Yoo

As greenhouse gases and environmental pollution become serious, the demand for alternative energy such as bioethanol has rapidly increased, and a large supply of biomass is required for bioenergy production. Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant on the planet and a large part of it, the second-generation biomass, has the advantage of not being a food resource. In this study, Sicyos angulatus, known as an invasive plant (harmful) species, was used as a raw material for bioethanol production. In order to improve enzymatic hydrolysis, S. angulatus was pretreated with different NaOH concentration at 121 °C for 10 min. The optimal NaOH concentration for the pretreatment was determined to be 2% (w/w), and the glucan content (GC) and enzymatic digestibility (ED) were 46.7% and 55.3%, respectively. Through NaOH pretreatment, the GC and ED of S. angulatus were improved by 2.4-fold and 2.5-fold, respectively, compared to the control (untreated S. angulatus). The hydrolysates from S. angulatus were applied to a medium for bioethanol fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae K35. Finally, the maximum ethanol production was found to be 41.3 g based on 1000 g S. angulatus, which was 2.4-fold improved than the control group.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 803
Author(s):  
Winnie Gerbens-Leenes ◽  
Markus Berger ◽  
John Anthony Allan

Considering that 4 billion people are living in water-stressed regions and that global water consumption is predicted to increase continuously [...]


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Karandish ◽  
Hamideh Nouri ◽  
Marcela Brugnach

AbstractEnding hunger and ensuring food security are among targets of 2030’s SDGs. While food trade and the embedded (virtual) water (VW) may improve food availability and accessibility for more people all year round, the sustainability and efficiency of food and VW trade needs to be revisited. In this research, we assess the sustainability and efficiency of food and VW trades under two food security scenarios for Iran, a country suffering from an escalating water crisis. These scenarios are (1) Individual Crop Food Security (ICFS), which restricts calorie fulfillment from individual crops and (2) Crop Category Food Security (CCFS), which promotes “eating local” by suggesting food substitution within the crop category. To this end, we simulate the water footprint and VW trades of 27 major crops, within 8 crop categories, in 30 provinces of Iran (2005–2015). We investigate the impacts of these two scenarios on (a) provincial food security (FSp) and exports; (b) sustainable and efficient blue water consumption, and (c) blue VW export. We then test the correlation between agro-economic and socio-environmental indicators and provincial food security. Our results show that most provinces were threatened by unsustainable and inefficient blue water consumption for crop production, particularly in the summertime. This water mismanagement results in 14.41 and 8.45 billion m3 y−1 unsustainable and inefficient blue VW exports under ICFS. “Eating local” improves the FSp value by up to 210% which lessens the unsustainable and inefficient blue VW export from hotspots. As illustrated in the graphical abstract, the FSp value strongly correlates with different agro-economic and socio-environmental indicators, but in different ways. Our findings promote “eating local” besides improving agro-economic and socio-environmental conditions to take transformative steps toward eradicating food insecurity not only in Iran but also in other countries facing water limitations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Trey Dronyk-Trosper ◽  
Brandli Stitzel

AbstractAs water rights and water usage become an ever more important part of municipalities’ and states’ way of life, it becomes important to understand what policies can be effective for encouraging conservation of water. One method that has been employed at various times and throughout numerous communities is to limit outdoor watering days. We use a dataset with over 3 million property-month observations during the 2007–2015 period in Norman, Oklahoma, to identify whether the periodic implementation of mandatory water restrictions reduces water usage. Our data allow us to exploit variance in the timing of these water restriction programs. Our findings indicate that this policy reduces water consumption by 0.7 % of total water consumption. Additionally, we use home assessment prices to identify heterogeneity in this response, finding that high priced homes are more responsive to water use restrictions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 695-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Yen Sun ◽  
Ching-Mai Hsu

Tourism water consumption reflects the dynamics between the visitation volume, economic structure, and water use technology of a destination. This paper presents a structural decomposition analysis that attributes changes of Taiwan’s tourism water footprint into the demand factors of total consumption and purchasing patterns, and production factors of the industry input structure and water use technology. From 2006 to 2011, Taiwan experienced a 48% growth in visitor expenditures and a 74% surge in its water footprint. Diseconomies of scale were observed, with a 1% increase in consumption leading to a 1.5% increase in the tourism water footprint. A strong preference by visitors for water-intensive goods and services and a changing economic structure requiring more water input for tourism establishments and supply chain members contributed to this worrisome pattern. The water requirements received only a minimal offset effect with technological improvements. Decoupling tourism water consumption from economic output is currently unattainable.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Chouraqui ◽  
Simon N. Thornton ◽  
Louise Seconda ◽  
Stavros A. Kavouras

Abstract Hydration is a particular concern for infants and young children due to their greater risk of dehydration. However, studies on their water intakes are scarce. The current survey aimed to analyze total water intake (TWI) in non-breastfed children aged 0.5-35 months compared to the adequate intake (AI) for the same age group set by the EFSA and to examine the different contributors to TWI as well as beverage consumption patterns. Nationally representative data from the Nutri-Bébé cross-sectional survey were used to assess food, beverage, and plain water consumption by age group over three non-consecutive days. With age, median TWI in 1,035 children increased from 732 to 1010 mL/d, without differences between sex, but with a great inter-individual variation, and the percentage of children who did not meet the AI increased from 10% to 88%. Median weight-related TWI decreased from 136.6 to 69.0 mL/kg/d. Among infants, 90% had a ratio of water/energy below the AI, similarly for about 75% of toddlers. Milk and milk products were the main contributors to TWI, while the part of plain water increased gradually to be 25% in the older toddlers, half of which was tap water. The beverage consumption pattern varied in types and timing, with little consumption of juices and sweetened beverages. Vegetables and fruits accounted for 20% of TWI after the age of 6 months. These initial results, showing strong discrepancies between actual and recommended water intakes in young children, should help identify ways to increase children’s water consumption.


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