Availability Of Agricultural Residues Research Articles

A resource-based and institutional theory-driven model of large-scale biomass-based bioethanol supply chains: An emerging economy policy perspective

The wide-spread dependence of transportation sector on the ever-depleting and greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels when burnt has raised considerable energy security and environmental concerns. Consequently, countries around the world have positioned biofuels as a center stage alternative to fossil fuels in their national policies to provide energy security and carbon emission control. In this regard, the paper conducts a feasibility assessment of setting-up large-scale supply chain of bioethanol (i.e., a biofuel variant) based on the regional availability of agricultural residues. Critical resources and capabilities requirements and governance attributes for bioethanol supply chains are explored using the resource-based view and institutional theory lenses. An agricultural residues (as biomass inputs) based bioethanol supply chain (BESC) model is proposed to incorporate the economic and environmental optimality considerations for an agro-climatic region. A case study of the Punjab State in India is used as an application of the proposed BESC model. Findings suggest that sustainable BESC configurations can be achieved differently for different agricultural residues. Comparative analyses, trade-off scenarios, and sustainability assessments of various agricultural residues-based BESC configurations are conducted. The policy implications of the priority areas are discussed within the bounds of India's biofuel policy.

Impact of change in cropping pattern on bioenergy system design: Analysis and stochastic optimization

The availability of agricultural residues as feedstock for lignocellulosic biorefinery systems is uncertain due to changes in cropping pattern. This work first analyses the impact of change in cropping pattern on biorefinery systems considering both single and multi-feedstock systems. Subsequently, stochastic optimization is performed to generate a resilient design. For a case study of ethanol production in India, the deterministic single feedstock system was much less economical than the multi-feedstock system, with an associated ethanol cost of ₹89/l ($1.2/l) and ₹56/l ($0.76/l), respectively. The resilient design for the multi-feedstock system resulted in an ethanol cost of ₹55/l ($0.75/l) and showed up to 60% lesser variation as compared to the deterministic design. Changes in cropping pattern were shown to primarily impact the feedstock procurement and transportation expenses. The results imply that the expected cropping pattern changes must be taken into account while designing biorefinery systems.

Optimisation of Logistic Model Using Geographic Information Systems: A Case Study of Biomass-based Combined Heat & Power Generation in China

Biofuel large-scale application was constrained due to cost control. In order to reduce biofuel production cost and increase profitability, long-term strategy (strategic) and medium-term strategy (tactical) combined logistic model were assessed in this study. Geographic information system has been integrated into logistic model to minimize the effect of uncertainty on logistic modelling accuracy, with aims of transferring uncertainty problem to be certain. Combined heat and power generation plant as a case study present in logistic model, which provide a method in plant location and capacity selection criteria; logistic model design; and interaction between logistic model and local conditions. The logistic plan with compression as a pre-treatment technology has the optimal profitability performance, their properties affect the selection of the transport route, especially optimal for a lower availability of agricultural residues. With increased availability, torrefaction turns to more efficiency biomass pre-treatment technology due to storage cost significant reduction. With geographic information system transportation route assistance, logistic model transportation cost and CO2 emission has a 0.02% and 0.01% reduction.

Modeling the ecosystem service of agricultural residues provision for bioenergy production: A potential application in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy)

Agro-ecosystems have large potentials for supporting human well-being and local development, also by providing large amounts of organic matter for bioenergy generation. The use of agricultural residues was proposed as a possible solution to support energy transition, while avoiding conflicts for the use of agricultural land destined to food production.The present work uses an Ecosystem Services (ES) approach to map and estimate the potential availability of agricultural residues (potential ES supply) in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy), where high productive croplands are present. The map was overlapped with the bioenergy plants currently present in the region (ES demand) that could be sustained by residues, considering a buffer area of 10 km radius for a sustainable supply chain and under the assumption of using only the 25% of total residues. Additionally, suitable areas for bioenergy development were mapped by means of a hotspot analysis.The results showed that the Emilia-Romagna region has a large availability of agricultural residues to be potentially used for bioenergy generation. The 82.4% of the total installed power of biogas plants and the whole installed power of those using woody biomasses may be supported by using agricultural residues. When considering buffer areas for sustainable supply chains, agricultural residues could meet the 95% and 50% of total demand from biogas and solid biomasses plants, respectively. However, competition for agricultural residues among bioenergy plants could arise because of the overlap of their buffer zones. Moreover, hotspot analysis revealed large suitable areas for the development of environmental and cost-effective biogas plants.Contrasting ES supply and demand may unveil unexplored forms of sustainable development in agro-ecosystems, thus contributing to a more rational use of agricultural production which supports renewable energies without competing for the agricultural land.

Potencial biotecnológico de residuos vegetales para producir Pleurotus ostreatus en zonas rurales de Campeche

El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar los principales residuos vegetales disponibles en sistemas agrícolas de pequeños productores y utilizarlos como sustratos para el cultivo de dos cepas de Pleurotus ostreatus (CP 50 y CP 753) en condiciones de laboratorio. Se aplicaron 184 cuestionarios en 13 comunidades rurales Campeche, México. Se evaluó la disponibilidad de los residuos agrícolas (t MS ha-1) en cultivos de maíz, calabaza chihua, frijol x-pelón y especies arbóreas. La selección de los residuos vegetales se evaluó en el cultivo de cepas de Pleurotus ostreatus. Las variables evaluadas en el cultivo de pleurotos fueron: colonización del sustrato, aparición de primordios, eficiencia biológica, tasa de colonización y tasa de producción. Los resultados se analizaron con estadística descriptiva y un diseño experimental de bloques al azar. La disponibilidad (t MS ha-1) de los residuos vegetales fue maíz (10.7), calabaza chihua (14) y frijol x-pelón (17.36). La CP-753 en rastrojo de frijol presentó los tiempos más cortos con 12 y 15 días en colonización y aparición de primordios, mientras que la CP-50 inoculada en fruta de pixoi fue la menos eficiente. El sustrato rastrojo de frijol inoculado con la cepa CP-753 presentó la mejor eficiencia biológica con valores de 102.75 ±7.48 y una tasa de producción de 5.13 g día-1. La mayoría de los productores encuestados tienen interés en utilizar los residuos vegetales que se generan en los solares o traspatios como alternativas productivas utilizando estrategias agroecológicas que aporten a la generación de ingresos económicos durante gran parte del año.

Towards sustainability of lactic acid and poly-lactic acid polymers production

Lactic acid (LA) is a platform chemical which can be produced biotechnologically on agricultural residues, wastes and by-products and further used for production of biodegradable, biocompatible LA polymers. These polymers are mostly used for high-end applications but they have potential for much wider application with decrease in production costs. Available technologies and strategies are reviewed in order to point out the issues, challenges and solutions relevant to increase sustainability and competitiveness of LA production on agricultural residues and wastes. Data on chemical composition, regional and seasonal availability of agricultural residues, wastes and by-products are lacking to provide predictable and effective combining for LA production. Precision agriculture, remote sensing and integration with data on chemical composition can help in better planning and more adequate exploitation of available sources in future. Novel pretreatments for the most abundant lignocellulosic feedstocks, which allow utilization of carbohydrates in LA production and side streams like lignin in other biorefineries are needed. Integration of pretreatment, hydrolysis and fermentation under non-sterile conditions or open fermentation mode should enable easier scale up and decrease energy consumption and costs without sacrificing LA purity. Capital investments in improvement of the available technologies are high. Support from policy makers stimulating production of LA polymers from second and third generation feedstocks will help in research, development and faster adoption on larger scale. For production of LA polymers with tailored properties, it is essential to choose the most productive method for LA production and separation from these complex substrates. The shift in research interest from LA polymerization towards “green” processing of LA polymers products is occurring and that will be the additional driving force for the field in future.

Assessment and Characterization of Agricultural Residues

This paper deals with the estimation of availability of agricultural residues in Karnataka state and experimental characteristic analysis of these residues. Estimation of agricultural residues in Karnataka state shows that three agricultural residues chilli stalk, redgram stalk and soyabean stalk are major contributors, generating residues about 10 lakh tonnes per year. The characteristic analysis includes elemental analysis (CHNSO) and Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). These agricultural residues having the moisture 4 to 7% which is within range of gasification and carbon 46 to 49% gives better energy. The lower nitrogen 3% and negligible sulfur content will reduce the pollution.

Waste and residue availability for advanced biofuel production in EU Member States

The EU is adopting policy measures to promote the use of advanced biofuels for transport made from sustainable sources including wastes and residues. As Member States prepare to implement these policy changes, they will need to understand if they have sufficient resource to meet an advanced biofuel target. This study assesses the availability of agricultural residues, forestry residues, and biogenic wastes that could potentially be used for advanced biofuel production in EU Member States at the present and projected to 2020 and 2030. This analysis incorporates specific information on agricultural, forestry, and waste production, management practices, and environmental risks in each Member State in order to model the amounts of residues needed to preserve soil quality and that are utilized in other industries; we exclude these quantities in order to determine the sustainable biomass potential that can be achieved without significant adverse impacts on the environment or biomass markets. We find that most EU Member States are likely to have more than enough sustainably available feedstock to meet the advanced biofuel requirement, and a majority may have more than 10 times the necessary amount. While this study does not assess economic viability of advanced biofuel production, from a resource perspective, the target appears to be achievable in most Member States. Some countries, including Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, and Slovenia, may need to import either feedstock or advanced biofuel from neighboring countries to meet the target.

Cellulosic ethanol production from agricultural residues in Nigeria

Nigeria′s Biofuels Policy introduced in 2007 mandates a 10% blend (E10) of bioethanol with gasoline. This study investigates the potential for the development of a cellulosic ethanol industry based on the availability of agricultural residues and models the number of commercial processing facilities that could be sited in the six Geo-political zones. The potential for cellulosic ethanol production from agricultural residues in Nigeria is 7556km3 per annum exceeding the mandate of 10% renewable fuel required and providing the potential for 12 large- and 11 medium-scale processing facilities based on the use of a single feedstock. Cassava and yam peelings provided in excess of 80% of the process residues available with enough feedstock to supply 10 large-scale facilities with a fairly even distribution across the zones. Sorghum straw, millet straw and maize stalks represented 75% of the potential resource available from field residues with the potential to supply 2 large- and 7 medium-scale processing facilities, all of which would be located in the north of the country. When a multi-feedstock approach is used, this provides the potential for either 29 large- or 58 medium-scale facilities based on outputs of 250 and 125km3 per annum respectively.

Biorefinery study of availability of agriculture residues and wastes for integrated biorefineries in Brazil

Brazil has a great potential for use renewable raw materials in biorefineries. It is one of the largest producers of agricultural and animal commodities, which produce large amounts of residues and wastes. These agricultural residues and animal waste can be effectively transformed to energy and other products in systems similar to a ethanol refinery where an integrated process involves conversion for biomass into fuel, energy and chemicals, integrated in the context of a biorefinery. The objective of this work is the determination of the actual availability of main agricultural residues and animal wastes generated in Brazil and of their generation potential index and their prospects for 2020. The results indicate that the sugarcane has the highest agronomic availability, reaching 157 million tons of fresh material and an estimated reuse potential of 19.6 million tons (dry basis), followed by soybeans, rice, maize, orange, wheat, cotton, cassava and tobacco.

Assessment of the availability of agricultural residues on a zonal basis for medium- to large-scale bioenergy production in Nigeria

The major agricultural crops grown in Nigeria are millet, yam, cassava, sorghum, rice, groundnut and maize. In terms of area grown (2001–06) the cereals were dominant with sorghum being the major crop grown followed by millet, maize and rice. Agriculture residue availability was based on the 6 zones in Nigeria and included both field residues and processing residues. A number of different scenarios were evaluated whereby Scenario 1 looked at the total potential availability of field residues, Scenario 2 took account of existing uses while Scenario 3 looked at a collection efficiency of 50% of the residues available from Scenario 2.The total amount of agricultural residue available each year was 55.9 Tg per year which equates to a potential energy value of 657.01 PJ. Field residues were the most abundant feedstock available i.e. 38.4 Tg annually compared with 17.4 Tg from processing residues which equated to 452.33 and 204.68 PJ of potential energy respectively. A large proportion of field residue availability (85%) was in the 3 northern zones which represented in excess of 80% of the land area and cereal crops accounted for 88% of field residues available. When competing uses for field residues were included in the analysis under Scenario 2 then the total amount of field residue available was 21.2 Tg which equates to an energy potential of 248.78 PJ. Under Scenario 3 where a collection efficiency of 50% was used residue availability for medium- to large-scale bioenergy production was 10.6 Tg equating to an energy potential of 124.39 PJ.

Amount, availability and potential uses for energy of agricultural residues in Mainland China

AbstractBased on the agricultural production statistics in 2006, an assessment of the amount and availability of agricultural residues in Mainland China has been carried out. The total quantities produced of agricultural residues (including crop residues and agroindustrial residues) in Mainland China are up to 800 million tons per annum. And more than 500 million tons of agricultural residues per annum are available for energy use in Mainland China. An attempt to describe the potential uses for energy of agricultural residues has also been made.

Assessment of availability and costs of some agricultural residues used as feedstocks for biomass gasification and briquetting in India

An assessment of the availability of agricultural residues as raw materials for biomass gasification and briquetting in India has been made with due consideration to their seasonal and geographical availability dimensions. An attempt to estimate the costs of agricultural residues has also been made.

96/03441 - Energy management through maintenance

Woodfuel is an important source of fuel energy in Kenya, constituting about 75% of the total energy consumed. The rural population relies almost entirely on fuelwood which has become increasingly difficult to obtain. In this study a questionnaire was used to establish the form and quantity of fuel used and the types of stoves used in rural households within Nyeri, Wanguru in Embu and Muhoroni in Kisumu. Forty households in Nyeri and 30 in each of the other two areas were randomly selected for the study. The availability of agricultural residues for use as fuel and the possibility of using briquettes for cooking were established. It was found that all the households have a 3-stone cooking stove in which they burn fuelwood or agricultural residues. Cowdung is used in Embu but not in Nyeri and Kisumu. The degree to which the population relies on agricultural residues for fuel varies among the villages. In Nyeri, most of the agricultural residues are either fed to cattle or left in the field. In Embu only a few of the houses use maize cobs and stalks. However, the rural population in Muhoroni rely heavily on sugarcane residues for their cooking fuel. In general, 15–35% of a household's income is spent on fuel though this does not take into account the time spent gathering fuel.

Energy consumption in three rural Kenyan households: A survey

Woodfuel is an important source of fuel energy in Kenya, constituting about 75% of the total energy consumed. The rural population relies almost entirely on fuelwood which has become increasingly difficult to obtain. In this study a questionnaire was used to establish the form and quantity of fuel used and the types of stoves used in rural households within Nyeri, Wanguru in Embu and Muhoroni in Kisumu. Forty households in Nyeri and 30 in each of the other two areas were randomly selected for the study. The availability of agricultural residues for use as fuel and the possibility of using briquettes for cooking were established. It was found that all the households have a 3-stone cooking stove in which they burn fuelwood or agricultural residues. Cowdung is used in Embu but not in Nyeri and Kisumu. The degree to which the population relies on agricultural residues for fuel varies among the villages. In Nyeri, most of the agricultural residues are either fed to cattle or left in the field. In Embu only a few of the houses use maize cobs and stalks. However, the rural population in Muhoroni rely heavily on sugarcane residues for their cooking fuel. In general, 15–35% of a household's income is spent on fuel though this does not take into account the time spent gathering fuel.