Search results for "energy crop"
showing 10 items of 35 documents
Agricultural feedstocks of two Brassica oilseed crops and energy cogeneration with pure vegetable oil for a sustainable short agro-energy chain in Si…
2018
Abstract Potential energy feedstocks from conventional agriculture usually include pure vegetable oil (PVO) and agricultural/forest residues. Their uses can represent a starting point for the development of short agro-energy chains in the south areas of the Mediterranean region. This paper focused on testing and awareness raising of biofuel production for the cogeneration of electricity and heat from PVO of two Brassica oilseed crops in Sicily (Italy). The main aims of this study were: i) to evaluate the agronomic performance of rapeseed (Brassica napus L. var. oleifera D.C.) and Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun) in semi-arid climate condition; ii) to analyze the quality of PVO…
Towards food, feed and energy crops mitigating climate change
2011
Agriculture is an important source of anthropogenic emissions of the greenhouse gases (GHG), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and crops can affect the microbial processes controlling these emissions in many ways. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of plant–microbe interactions in relation to the CH 4 and N 2 O budgets and show how this is promoting new generations of crop cultivars that have the potential to mitigate GHG emissions for future agricultural use. The possibility of breeding low GHG-emitting cultivars is a paradigm shift towards sustainable agriculture that balances climate change and food and bioenergy security.
Forecasting the volatility of biofuel feedstock prices: the US evidence
2019
Given that, nowadays, 40% of the US corn crop is used for biofuel production, there is a growing concern that the rise in biofuel production might lead to an increase in food prices. However, it is also obvious that significant growth in biofuel use has minimized the demand for fossil fuel and has hence reduced the volume of carbon emissions. It is therefore crucial to model corn market volatility precisely because such an estimate could play a vital role in stabilizing food and biofuel market prices. For this purpose, we consider using the information content of the corn implied volatility (CIV) index to predict the corn futures market return volatility. Using symmetric and asymmetric GARC…
Reed canary grass transportation costs – Reducing costs and increasing feasible transportation distances
2009
Abstract Reed canary grass is used in several heat and power plants in Finland and it is estimated that about 70–80 plants could utilise reed canary grass as a co-firing fuel. Long-distance transport of reed canary grass forms a significant share of the production and delivery costs. Reed canary grass can be transported in bales or as loose matter. The density of the matter and shape of the bales influence the load-size and the cost. At present it is impossible to obtain the full load-bearing capacity of a lorry even with bales, and with light bulk matter the obtainable load is less than one-third of the load-bearing capacity of a lorry. By using Orkel local-baler it has been possible to ob…
Screening boreal energy crops and crop residues for methane biofuel production
2008
Abstract The purpose of the study was to screen potential boreal energy crops and crop residues for their suitability in methane production and to investigate the effect of harvest time on the methane production potential of different crops. The specific methane yields of crops, determined in 100–200 d methane potential assays, varied from 0.17 to 0.49 m 3 CH 4 kg −1 VS added (volatile solids added) and from 25 to 260 m 3 CH 4 t ww −1 (tonnes of wet weight). Jerusalem artichoke, timothy-clover grass and reed canary grass gave the highest potential methane yields of 2900–5400 m 3 CH 4 ha −1 , corresponding to a gross energy yield of 28–53 MWh ha −1 and ca. 40,000–60,000 km ha −1 in pas…
Assessment of the ecotoxicity of phytotreatment substrate soil as landfill cover material for in-situ leachate management
2019
Phytotreatment capping in closed landfills is a promising, cost-effective, in situ option for sustainable leachate treatment and might be synergistically coupled with energy crops to produce renewable energy (e.g.: biodiesel or bioethanol). This study proposes to use 0.30 m of soil as growing substrate for plants cultivated on the temporary cover of closed landfills. Once the leachate phytotreatment process is no longer required, 0.70 m of the same soil would be added to attain the final top cover configuration. This solution would entail saving the costs of excavation and backfilling. However, worsening of the initial soil quality due to potential contaminant transfer from the liquid to th…
Storing energy crops for methane production: Effects of solids content and biological additive
2007
The effect of storage on chemical characteristics and CH4 yield (taking into account loss of VS during storage) of a mixture of grasses and ryegrass, ensiled as such (low solids content) and after drying (medium and high solids) with and without biological additive, were studied in field and laboratory trials. Up to 87% and 98% of CH4 yield was preserved with low solids grass (initial TS 15.6%) and high solids ryegrass (initial TS 30.4%), respectively, after storage for 6months, while under suboptimal conditions at most 37% and 52% of CH4 yield were lost. Loss in CH4 yield was mainly due to VS loss, presumably caused by secondary fermentation as also suggested by increasing pH during storag…
Biogas from energy crops--optimal pre-treatments and storage, co-digestion and energy balance in boreal conditions.
2008
The objective of this research was to evaluate the biogas production from crops in boreal conditions, focusing on the optimal pre-treatment and storage methods, co-digestion and energy balance of farm-scale crop based biogas plants. Alkaline treatments offered some potential for improving the methane yield from grass and sugar beet tops. The results show that the CH4 yield of energy crops can be maintained by appropriate ensiling conditions for even after 11 months in ambient conditions. The CH4 yield was best preserved with wet grass mixture without additives. Co-digestion of manure and crops was shown to be feasible with feedstock volatile solids (VS) containing up to 40% of crops. The hi…
Two-Stage Anaerobic Digestion of Energy Crops: Methane Production, Nitrogen Mineralisation and Heavy Metal Mobilisation
2006
Energy crops (willow, sugar beet and grass silage) were digested in pilot scale two-stage anaerobic digesters. The specific methane yields obtained were 0.16, 0.38 and 0.39 m3 kg(-1) added volatile solids (VSadded) for willow, sugar beet and grass, respectively, corresponding to yearly gross energy yields of 15, 53 and 26 megawatt-hours (MWh) per hectare. With grass and sugar beets as substrate, 84-85% of the harvestable methane was obtained within 30 days. In pilot scale two-stage digestion of willow and sugar beet, 56 and 85% of the laboratory scale methane yields were obtained, but digestion of grass in two-stage reactors yielded 5% more methane than digestion in laboratory scale complet…
Water need of Energy Crops – one of the environmental problems of Poland
2010
The government policy updates of Poland are presented, showing legal and financial instruments for governing bioenergy developments. The strategy for renewable energy must be co-ordinated with the strategy of water management in the country. The water needs are given for cool climate and extensive agriculture of Central and Eastern Europe which are few times lower than for hotter condition of Southern Europe. Despite this the rain would be not enough for water supply of most of the energy crops.