Energy crops

The EU directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Directive 2009/28/EC) sets a mandatory minimum target for the use of fuels produced using renewable energy sources of 10% of total petrol and diesel consumption in the transport sector by the year 2020. In addition, it states that production of renewable fuels should be consistent with sustainable development and must not endanger biodiversity. In the INTERREG IVA Southern Finland–Estonia Sub-programme, efforts towards finding ...

Phytoremediation is a holistic approach and can be used in large scale to remediate the contaminatedland resources. Although the concept of phytoremediation is few decades old and has been applied on awide range of pollutants, but their sustainability is still questioned at various scientific forums. Therefore,it is the need of the hour to remediate our valuable resources with due considerations for future gen-erations. Such a synergistic bonding by using potential energy crops in phytoremediation programswould be useful to generate new bioenergy resources along with the remediation of contaminated soil.There are several energy crops in the world, but four promising and dedicated energy crops i.e.Mis-canthus, Ricinus, Jatropha, Populushave primarily considered in this review to accomplish energydemands with their phytoremediation potential. These four energy crops also act as potential carbon sinkand offer an additional profit as carbon tax credits.In recent time we have been able to improve our understanding in phytoremediation, but use ofenergy plants were not considered so far to make this venture socio-economically acceptable to thesociety. The present review provides a strategy for linking energy crops in phytoremediation to resolvethe sustainability issues and effectively solve the challenges of ever increasing contaminated sites andbiofuel demands now and for future.

Sorghum Bagasse in recent years has emerged as a promising feedstock for production of biofuels and value-added products following various biological conversion pathways. However, adequate conservation is critical for utilising Sorghum Bagasse as a feedstock for fuel production around the year in bioenergy plants. Therefore, this study aims to examine the pressure drop as a function of airflow velocity and construct Shedd's curves for energy Sorghum Bagasse. The ambition was to facilitate large-scale drying systems for biomass conservation. The Bagasse was prepared by extracting the juice from the harvested sorghum and passing through a juicing machine. Afterwards, it was manually chopped and stored on a wooden platform having 2.44 m2 area in a 55-gallon drum at a depth of 0.57 m. The airflow velocities (0.24–1.32 ms−1) caused a pressure drop (9.96–346.23 Pa) across the empty drum. The different pressure drop in the drum containing Sorghum Bagasse (19.92–263.25 Pa) was due to various airflow velocities (0.043–0.799 ms−1). Pressure drop was further increased with increasing airflow velocity, and it was found in line with the values of pressure drop for ear and shelled corn, as reported in ASABE standards. Shedd's curves for Sorghum Bagasse samples were developed, as these curves can be used for designing large-scale aeration systems for chopped energy sorghum. The whole production chain of biofuel by conserving biomass can be improved by the findings of this work, thus allowing the biomass to be used more economically around the year in bioenergy plants.

Tarım atıkları,  orman atıkları ve enerji bitkileri olarak adlandırılan biyokütle kaynaklarının oldukça geniş kullanımı vardır. Bunlardan organik atıklar gübre, ormancılık ve orman endüstrisinden ağaç atıkları, gıda ve kağıt endüstrisi kalıntıları, belediyelerin yeşil kalıntıları, kanalizasyon çamuru, yıllık kısa rotasyonlu ağaçlıklar (okaliptüs, kavak, söğüt), çayır, şeker bitkileri (şeker kamışı, pancar, süpürge darısı), nişasta mahsülleri (mısır, buğday) ve yağlı mahsüller (zeytin, soya, ayçiçeği, yağ şalgamı, palmiye yağı) atıkları olarak sınıflanabilir. Biyokütle tabanlı bu malzemeler, hem doğrudan biyokütle, hem de biyoyakıt olarak enerji üretimi amaçlı kullanılmaktadır. Ağaç ve diğer tarımsal kalıntılar, endüstride buhar ve elektrik üretmek üzere kojenerasyon santralı yakıtı olarak yakılmakta ve ayrıca mesken ve ticari bina ısıtması amacıyla da kullanılmaktadır. Modern biyokütle enerjisi kullanımına geçilmesi ülke ekonomisi ve çevre kirliliğini önleme açısından önem taşımaktadır.

Birçok ülke bugün kendi ekolojik koşullarına göre en uygun ve en ekonomik tarımsal ürünlerden enerji bitkisi olarak alternatif enerji kaynağı sağlamaktadırlar. Türkiye de tarımsal potansiyeli ile, ekolojik tarımsal yapıya sahip ülkeler arasındadır. Türkiye’de enerji ormancılığı yönünden ekonomik değeri yüksek ve hızlı büyüyen yerli ağaç türleri arasında, akkavak, titrek kavak, kızılağaç, kızılçam, meşe, dişbudak, fıstık çamı, karaçam, sedir ve servi ağalarını saymak mümkündür. Burada kavak, söğüt gibi oldukça fazla su isteyen ağaçların yanı sıra, oldukça kurak alanlarda yetişebilecek ağaçlara da önem verilmesi gerekmektedir. Enerji tarımı üretimine yönelik olarak, gerek Avrupa’da gerek ülkemizde modern biyokütle çevrim teknolojilerinin de kullanıldığı, çalışmalar küçük ölçekli olarak uzun yıllar önce başlamıştır. Bunlara örnek olarak mischantus ve tatlı sorgum, arundo donax bitkileri üzerinde yapılan çalışmalar gösterilebilir. Enerji tarımında ülkemizde henüz çok tanınmayan dünya da ise yavaş yavaş yaygınlaşmaya başlayan C4 enerji bitkileri arasında en çok yetiştiriciliği yapılan Fil Çimeni (Miscanthus), Tatlı Sorgum (Sweet sorghum), Dallı Darı (Switchgrass) 'dır. Biyokütle kaynakları olarak biyokütle, enerji bitkileri, enerji ormanları ve bunlardan türetilen yakıtların kullanılması ile ayrıca, hava kirliliğinden büyük ölçüde etkilenen bir çok şehirde, kükürt dioksit ve benzeri zararlı gazların büyük ölçüde azalacağı da açıktır.

Bu çalışmada, genel biyokütle ve gazlaştırma bilgisi verilmeye çalışıldıktan sonra farklı enerji tarımı bitkilerinin gazlaştırma metodu ile değerlendirilerek syngaz üretimi ve syngazdan da elektrik ve ısı enerjisi üretim metodları farklı örnekleri içeren gazlaştırma teknolojileri tanıtılmaya çalışılacaktır. Gazlaştırma metodu ile biyokütleden ve enerji bitkilerinden  enerji üretimi İspanya, İtalya, İsviçre, Japonya, Almanya, A.B.D. gibi ülkelerde kullanılan sistemlerdir. Avrupa’da uzun yıllardan beri çalıştırılan farklı güçlerdeki biyokütle yataklı gazlaştırıcı tesisleri örnek olarak gösterilebilir. İspanya, İtalya, Fransa ve Bulgaristan’da çalıştırılan akışkan yataklı gazlaştırıcılarla biyokütle 5MWe güçlü gazlaştırıcılar enerji bitkileri için teknolojik ve ekonomik biçimde tasarlanarak bu çalışmada tanıtılacaktır.

Life cycle assessment Energy demand Greenhouse gas emissions Bioenergy Miscanthus sinensis X giganteus Please cite this article as: Murphy F, et al. Miscanthus production and processing in Ireland: An analysis of energy requirements and environmental impacts. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2013; 23: 412-20, http://dx.

The performance of two 464-L high rate algal ponds (HRAPs) treating 20- and 10-folds diluted swine manure at 10 days of hydraulic residence time was evaluated under continental climatic conditions in Castilla y Leon (Spain) from January to October. Under optimum environmental conditions (from July to September), both HRAPs supported a stable and efficient carbon and nitrogen oxidation performance, with average COD and TKN removal efficiencies of 76 ± 11% and 88 ± 6%, respectively, and biomass productivities ranging from 21 to 28 g/m2 d. Nitrification was identified as the main TKN removal mechanism at dissolved oxygen concentrations higher than 2 mg/L (accounting for 80–86% of the TKN removed from January to May and for 54% from July to September). On the other hand, empirical evidences of a simultaneous nitrification–denitrification process were found at dissolved oxygen concentrations lower than 0.5 mg/L (high organic loading rates). However, despite the achievement of excellent COD and nitrogen oxidation performance, phosphorous removal efficiencies lower than 10% were recorded in both HRAPs probably due to the high buffer capacity of the piggery wastewater treated (absence of abiotic pH-mediated View the MathML source precipitation). Finally, a detailed monitorization of the dynamics of microalgae population revealed that the combination of moderate temperatures/solar irradiances and high organic loading rates, prevailing during late spring and summer, supported higher microalgae diversities than those found during winter conditions.

The energy requirement for biomass comminution and the resulting particle physical properties are important factors to study logistic components, select equipment, and assess the overall efficiency of feedstock supply-conversion chain. In this study, mechanical size reduction of Miscanthus (Miscanthus giganteus), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), willow (Salix babylonica), and energy cane (Saccharum spp.) was carried out using a commercial-scale hammer mill, a bench-scale Retsch SM2000 knife mill and a Retsch SK100 hammer mill. The results showed that the specific energy consumption of biomass comminution and the aperture sizes of the milling screens were related in power-law forms. Biomass moisture significantly influenced comminution energy consumption, especially for finer size reduction. Given a specific milling screen, the Retsch SK100 hammer mill was found more energy efficient than the SM2000 knife mill. This was mainly attributed to the higher motor speed and axial feeding mechanism of the hammer mill. The particle sizes after comminution were found inversely proportional to the bulk densities of all four energy crops used in experiments. In addition, the comminution ratio, being the ratio of the final mean particle size and the original mean particle size, was proportional to energy consumption for all four energy crops. The bulk densities for 4-mm and smaller Miscanthus and switchgrass particles were higher than those of the original bale. Particle size and surface area estimates using commonly used ANSI/ASAE Standards S424.1 and 319.4 were highly sensitive to particle size distributions and shapes. Further studies on standardization of particle size and surface area estimates are needed.

The EU directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Directive 2009/28/EC) sets a mandatory minimum target for the use of fuels produced using renewable energy sources of 10% of total petrol and diesel consumption in the transport sector by the year 2020. In addition, it states that production of renewable fuels should be consistent with sustainable development and must not endanger biodiversity. In the INTERREG IVA Southern Finland – Estonia Sub-programme, efforts towards finding solutions to the tasks set by the EU were undertaken in co-operation with Finnish and Estonian researchers.
The purpose of the ”From Waste to Traffic Fuel” (W-Fuel) project was to promote the sustainable production and use of biogas using locally-sourced biodegradable waste materials from the food and beverage industry and the agricultural and municipal sectors. The ultimate aim of the project was to upgrade the biogas (produced based on anaerobic digestion of biodegradable wastes, sludge, manure, slurry and energy crops) to biomethane with a methane content similar to natural gas, to be further used as transport fuel with the aim of reducing traffic-borne emissions, in particular CO2. The project combined waste, energy and traffic solutions in order to decrease emissions, costs and the use of materials.
Six case areas in southern Finland and northern Estonia were selected. The two case areas in Estonia were the counties of Harju and Lääne-Viru in northern Estonia. The project aimed to promote waste and sludge prevention and to commence biogas production and its subsequent upgrading to biomethane for use as a renewable fuel. The project promoted regional businesses and employment in waste treatment and ‘green energy’ production. On basis of the gathered data, the biogas potentials and prerequisites of each case county were analysed. Furthermore, the environmental, economic and other regional effects of the different options were compared. By developing research-based feasibility plans, the project partners provided solutions for public and private companies, local governments and research institutes.
The project was implemented in close co-operation with municipal waste and sewage companies as well as stakeholders in industry and the agricultural and transport sectors. This report presents the project results for Estonia.

Recent increases in production of crop-based (or first-generation) biofuels have engendered increasing concerns over potential conflicts with food supplies and land protection, as well as disputes over greenhouse gas reductions. This has heightened a sense of urgency around the development of biofuels produced from non-food biomass (second-generation biofuels). This study reviews the economic potential and environmental implications of production of second-generation biofuels from a variety of various feedstocks. Although secondgeneration biofuels could significantly contribute to This paper-a product of the Environment and Energy Team, Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the department to analyze economic, social and environmental impacts of biofuels. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at http://econ.worldbank.org. The author may be contacted at [email protected]. the future energy supply mix, cost is a major barrier to increasing commercial production in the near to medium term. Depending on various factors, the cost of secondgeneration (cellulosic) ethanol can be two to three times as high as the current price of gasoline on an energy equivalent basis. The cost of biodiesel produced from microalgae, a prospective feedstock, is many times higher than the current price of diesel. Policy instruments for increasing biofuels use, such as fiscal incentives, should be based on the relative merits of different types of biofuels.

A detailed reliability assessment was made of electricity generation systems in Spain that are based on Brassica carinata cultivation. The assessment considers the following chain of energy generation: biomass cultivation and harvesting, transportation and electricity generation in biomass power plants (10, 25 and 50 MW). Flue gas desulphurisation systems have been included for larger plants following the criteria of the Spanish legislative framework. Six scenarios were analysed in accordance with the following aspects: two crop distributions around the power plant and three power plant sizes. The results show that the cost of biomass delivered at the power plants ranges from 107.81 to 112.54 V Mg À1 dry basis.