Biomass Energy Use Research Articles

The Relationship between GDP and Biomass Energy Per Capita in Sub-Saharan Africa

The relationship between traditional biomass energy consumption and economic growth is examined in 15 Sub-Saharan Africa countries based on available World Bank data for the period of 1990–2019, in terms of biomass energy per capita and real GDP per capita. Three sets of countries, showing different relations of GDP and biomass are discussed. On one hand, the largest set of countries shows increasing GDP and increasing biomass use per capita. On the other hand, the next largest set of countries shows increasing GDP and decreasing biomass use per capita. There is also a small set of countries with decreasing GDP, with examples of both increasing and decreasing biomass use per capita. For most of these countries we find a positive relationship between biomass energy consumption and GDP, per person. The results indicate that biomass energy use does not necessarily fall with increasing GDP, and also that several countries have introduced successful measures to reduce biomass use.

Relationship between Household Dynamics, Biomass Consumption, and Carbon Emissions in Pakistan

Over the years, the household sector has become an important energy consumer and the main source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The rural household sector has significant potential for emission reduction due to its heavy reliance on traditional fuels and technologies. A great number of academic studies have been undertaken to analyze patterns of household energy and their determinants around the globe, particularly in developing countries. However, little is known about the association between household dynamics and patterns of energy (biomass vs. non-renewable) use. This study aims to analyze the relationship between different household dynamics, such as household size, income, climate, availability of resources, markets, awareness, consumption of energy, and carbon emissions. The study uses the STIRPAT model to investigate the impact of income, household size, housing dimensions, clean energy, and market accessibility on energy consumption. The findings of the study reveal that biomass energy accounts for the majority of household energy consumption and dung has the highest share in total household energy consumption (39.11%) The consumption of biomass increased with the size of the household and decreased with the level of income. A 1 kgoe increase in biomass consumption resulted in a 15.355 kg increase in CO2 emissions; on the other hand, a 1 kgoe increase in non-renewable-energy consumption resulted in just a 0.8675 kg increase in CO2 emissions. The coefficients of housing unit size, distance from the LPG market, and livestock were the primary determinants for choosing any fuel. Having knowledge of modern cookstoves, clean energy, and the environmental impact of fuels reduced the consumption of both energy sources. Furthermore, it was found that households with a greater reliance on biomass emitted higher quantities of carbon compared to those with a low reliance on biomass. Based on the results of the study, it can be stated that a reduction in the use of biomass and non-renewable energy is possible with adequate interventions and knowledge.

The Impact of Household Cooking Fuel Choice on Healthcare Expenditure in Ghana

This study investigates the impact of household cooking fuel choice on household healthcare expenditure as well as the socioeconomic and demographic factors that influence household healthcare expenditure. We employed the Tobit regression technique and data from the sixth and seventh rounds of the Ghana Living Standards Survey conducted in 2012/13 and 2016/17, respectively. The results indicate that in 2012/13, relative to households using wood as cooking fuel, households using charcoal and liquefied petroleum gas are 54.40 and 115.09 percentage points less likely to spend on healthcare services. However, the figure reduced to 28.15 and 103.25 percentage points in 2016/17 attributable possibly to a reduction in biomass energy use resulting from government liquefied petroleum gas promotion programs which helped households transition to the use of cleaner fuels. Age, education, illness reporting of the household head, total household expenditure, household size, and region of residence were found to be the determinants of household healthcare expenditure. Policy choices should focus on the use of cleaner fuel options including sustaining and extending the rural liquefied petroleum gas promotion program as well as reducing the use of dirty fuels.

Nexus between biomass energy and economic growth: evidence from the next eleven countries.

In recent years, biomass energy tends to be one of the important sources of renewable energy in the world. The main objective of current research is to evaluate the impact of biomass energy on the economic growth of NEXT-11 economies. The data used in "the study is based on panel data of NEXT-11 covering the period 1990 to 2019. The included variables are GDP, biomass energy (BE) school enrollment gross ratio (SEGR; trade openness (TO; population growth (PG; and CO2 emission (CO2)." For estimation, this study applied the fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) approaches. The results of FMOLS and DOLS analysis indicate a statistically significant and positive relationship among all the variables in our sample of nations. According to the findings, an increase in biomass energy use tends to positively affect economic growth. To meet the challenge of global warming, these countries need to increase their technical development and inventions as well as they need to improve biomass energy use.

A Review of Trends in the Energy Use of Biomass: The Case of the Dominican Republic

This review examines the use of residual biomass as a renewable resource for energy generation in the Dominican Republic. The odology includes a thorough examination of scientific publications in recent years about logistics operations. The use of mathematical models can be beneficial for the selection of areas with a high number of residual biomass and processing centers; for the design of feedstock allocation; for the planning and selection of the mode of transport; and for the optimization of the supply chain, logistics, cost estimation, availability of resources, energy efficiency, economic performance, and environmental impact assessment. It is also essential to consider the exhaustive analysis of the most viable technological solutions among the conversion processes, in order to guarantee the minimum emissions of polluting or greenhouse gases. In addition, this document provides a critical review of the most relevant challenges that are currently facing logistics linked to the assessment of biomass in the Dominican Republic, with a straightforward approach to the complementarity and integration of non-manageable renewable energy sources.

How the Use of Biomass for Green Energy and Waste Incineration Practice Will Affect GDP Growth in the Less Developed Countries of the EU (A Case Study with Visegrad and Balkan Countries)

Combustible renewable energy can be an effective instrument to confirm sustainable development in reducing CO2 emissions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in developing countries. However, connecting to some developing regions, the main research question is to what extent, in EU post-communist fast-developing countries (Visegrad Countries/Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland), will meeting the climate change preferences affect the use of biomass for energy and waste incineration, and how will this affect GDP growth? In addition, of course, what the Balkan countries can learn from this is also very important. The study investigates the relationship between GDP per capita, CO2 emissions, and Combustible Energy and Waste Consumption (CEWC). According to the Hausman test, the regression model along with random effect is the appropriate method for panel-balanced data as of 2008 to 2020 concerning Balkan countries. The data was divided into three categories: 10 Balkan countries, 4 countries without access to the sea (Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Macedonia), and Visegrad countries. The study discovered a substantial positive influence of CEWC on GDP per capita and a significant negative influence of CO2 emissions. The cointegration test confirms the cointegration of all three variables. This means that all three variables have a long-term relationship concerning the sense of each three forms of the chosen panel. The Granger causality findings shows the variables have a two-way causative relationship. The biomass energy use can dramatically hamper GDP growth in Visegrad and less developed Balkan countries without sea water, due to low energy productivity and a lack of technical innovation. The study recommended that instead of using energy production from simple biomass, these countries can use other circular, platform-based models to prevent unexpected rises in CO2 emissions and achieve Green House Gas (GHG) reductions. Therefore, this should be given more attention when setting climate and renewable energy policy targets, because they can significantly slow down economic growth.

Use of Dynamic Time Warping for Description of Combustion Process in a Biomass Boiler

Abstract The efficient biomass energy use is a key prerequisite for the implementation of renewable energy development strategies on a regional level. For the highly efficient energy use in the combustion process, it is necessary to properly regulate the process based on its precise description. The paper aim is to evaluate whether dynamic time warping (DTW) methods can be used for this description, as well as for the recognition of the specific operating state of a biomass boiler. For the DTW analysis, operating records of more than 10 hours of a laboratory biomass boiler (P = 25 kW) were used, including an emission analysis, for which the operating modes were intentionally alternated in order to identify the stable and transient states of boiler operation. Based on the results, it can be stated that the identical partial operating sections of the controlled variables can be reliably identified in the operating variables of boiler by means of the DTW method, since its manifestations of operating regulation showed compliance with the given operating state, and it is possible to identify a partial quantity for estimating the total operating boiler state.

The dynamic impact of biomass and natural resources on ecological footprint in BRICS economies: A quantile regression evidence

Many emerging economies, including the BRICS economies, are having difficulty meeting the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) objectives. Consequently, this research discusses the creation of an SDG framework for the BRICS economies, which can be utilized as a model for other blocs. To achieve this purpose, this research probes into the effect of biomass energy usage on ecological footprint in the BRICS economies between 1992 and 2018, considering the roles of gross capital formation, natural resources, and globalization. The novel Methods of Moments-Quantile-Regression (MMQR) approach with fixed effects is used, the outcomes of which reveal that in all quantiles (10th to 90th), globalization and biomass energy use mitigate environmental degradation, whereas economic growth, natural resources, and gross capital formation contribute to environmental degradation. The present research applied a series of techniques such as panel FMOLS, and DOLS, FE-OLS, the outcomes of which disclosed that globalization and biomass energy utilization help mitigate environmental degradation, while economic growth, natural resources, and gross capital formation improve environmental degradation. On the basis of the study’s findings, we suggest a shift in energy policies away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy alternatives by taking measures regarding the innovation of biomass to improve conversion efficiency.

The development of UK CCUS strategy and current plans for large-scale deployment of this technology

For over 20 years, carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) has been recognised as a useful tool to help reduce UK national emissions. Over this period the target reduction in greenhouse gas emission rates for 2050 has increased, from 60% to 100%, i.e. net zero. This has led to change in the role envisaged for CCUS, from initially just cutting emissions on coal power plants by around 50%, to the point where capture and secure sequestration of all fossil CO2 emissions is required, either directly at source or indirectly via carbon dioxide removal from the air (CDR). Additional CDR, either through the use of biomass energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) or direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS), will also be required to compensate for other UK greenhouse gas emissions. Potentially over 100 MtCO2/yr of CCUS is needed by 2050. Current UK plans are to establish four CCUS clusters by 2030, capturing and storing a minimum of 10 MtCO2/yr from industry, power, hydrogen production and, potentially, CDR. The UK has a large amount of secure storage capacity for CO2 in geological formations a kilometre or more below the sea bed in the North Sea and the Irish Sea.

Use Of Sugarcane Biomass In Brazil

Recently, the use of biomass energy has been growing worldwide on an accelerated trajectory, with the prospect of staying among the main renewable energy sources for the coming decades, along with wind and solar energy. Brazil is the largest producer of sugarcane on the planet and the second-largest producer of ethanol. But in addition to sugar, first-generation ethanol, and vinasse (for ferti-irrigation), other by-products and process residues from the plants (such as bagasse, filter cake, vinasse, straw, and sugarcane tip) can be used for the production of thermal and electric energies and also second-generation ethanol and biogas fuels. In this context, this paper presents the current scenario of sugarcane biomass in Brazil, discussing issues involving the use of sugar-alcohol by-products for bioenergy and biofuel production. Furthermore, a study on the reuse of sugarcane bagasse fibers for the production of eco-composite material is also presented. Finally, the concepts of biomass energy are described from a bibliographic survey and the previous experiences of the authors.

Optimizing biomass energy production at the municipal level to move to low-carbon energy

In this article, we seek to analyze the regional energy policy in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, with a particular focus on the potential for developing renewable energy from biomass. The article aims to build a mathematical model of the regional energy system, related to the strategy of sustainable development in the region. Taking into account the potential for biomass development and the sustainability criteria, this paper presents a case study of sustainable regional energy planning and implementation in the selected region in Poland. An example of optimizing biomass for renewable use at the municipal level is valuable, as the use of biomass energy requires knowledge of landscapes, energy options, and different stakeholder perspectives. Thus, “energyscapes,” a complex spatial and temporary combination of energy supply, demand, and infrastructure within the landscape, can be very useful in this context. Ongoing research contributes to the development of knowledge on promoting renewable energy sources at the local level and supporting a fair transition to low-carbon energy through energy citizenship and the development of sustainable low-carbon communities at the regional level.

Potencijal reindustrijalizacije Republike Srbije uz korišćenje biomase kao obnovljivog vida goriva

In the context of the current geopolitical situation and energy uncertainty, the aim of the paper is to affirm the use of biomass as a domestic energy source and to point out guidelines for its proper and efficient use. According to the official data of the Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Serbia, biomass represents by far the greatest potential for renewable energy in the country. Over 60% of the estimated potential of renewable energy in the Republic of Serbia belongs to biomass (not counting large hydropower plants). The possibility of energy use of biomass, further, does not depend on weather conditions, time of day or season, unlike other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy. In addition to this and other advantages that biomass as the only carbon - CO2 - neutral renewable fuel has, it should be noted that facilities for the conversion of energy from biomass through combustion are relatively technologically simple and can be produced entirely in our country. If these facilities were used in district heating systems with the possibility of using thermal energy for technological processes in the cultivation and processing of agricultural products even out of the heating season, the potentials and effects of biomass utilization would increase. Facilities for processing and finishing agricultural products (such as dryers) can also be largely produced in the Republic of Serbia. Advantages and the degree of utilization of biomass as a renewable energy source are even more pronounced when used in cogeneration plants. When all the above is considered, it can be concluded that the use of biomass can take a significant place in the overall reindustrialization of our country, which will be discussed in more detail in this paper. The paper also points out some of the obstacles to the realization of these efforts as well as examples of good practice.

Experimental Study of Design and Implementation of Small-Scale Biogas Digest System

The main purpose of this study is to design and implement a small-scale biogas digest system, which can provide a certain amount of natural gas (N.G.). The percentage of methane gases emissions according to the various research studies is around 25% of the total emission gases of the waste materials. For all industrialized nations, food waste costs approximately $680 billion/year. The dramatic increase in population and the waste of organic and non-organic materials lead to the use of biomass energy as the source of the renewable energy system to produce a natural gas (N.G.), which can be utilized in cooking or commercialized for the public. The burn out of the waste and the garbage materials causes tremendous pollution and global warming; however, utilizing the Biogas Digest System (BDS) will stop polluting the surrounding environment. The amount of natural gases production was measured for various atmospheric conditions. The important findings of this study are the amount of N.G., which can be increased by mixing two different types of organic waste materials.

Bioenergy and biofuel production from biomass using thermochemical conversions technologies—a review

<abstract> <p>Biofuel and bioenergy production from diverse biomass sources using thermochemical technologies over the last decades has been investigated. The thermochemical conversion pathways comprise dry processes (i.e., torrefaction, combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis), and wet processes (i.e., liquefaction, supercritical water gasification, and hydrothermal carbonisation). It has been found that the thermochemical processes can convert diverse biomass feedstocks to produce bioenergy sources such as direct heat energy, as well as solid, liquid and gaseous biofuels for instance biochar, bio-oil and syngas. However, some of these processes have limitations that impede their large-scale utilisation such low energy efficiency, high costs, and generation of harmful chemicals that cause environmental concerns. Efforts are being made extensively to improve the conversion technologies in order to reduce or solve these problems for energy efficiency improvement. In this review, the emerging developments in the thermochemical techniques for producing biofuel and bioenergy from biomass are presented and evaluated in terms of their technological concepts and projections for implementation. It is suggested that an integration of torrefaction or hydrothermal carbonisation with combustion and/or gasification may optimise biomass energy use efficiency, enhance product quality, and minimise the formation of noxious compounds.</p> </abstract>

Bioenergy potential of agricultural phytomass production in Slovakia

Biomass is a highly versatile renewable energy source used on a global scale. The paper discusses the current state of biomass energy use in the EU and Slovakia. Residual biomass was found as a key feedstock for the European bioeconomy. Slovakia is one of the most forested and rural countries in the EU. Therefore, biomass energy has the highest technical potential from all renewables in Slovakia. The main objective of the paper was to evaluate the phytomass production of the selected crops and their energy potential in individual self-governing regions of Slovakia. It is focused on the production of usable post-harvest residues theoretically used for energy purposes from the following studied main crops: wheat, rye, oats, barley, maize, potatoes, oilseed rape and sugar beet. The results show the estimated production of usable post-harvest residues of the selected crops and their energy potential in individual self-governing regions in Slovakia in 2019. The total production of usable post-harvest residues from the studied crops was 4,854,017 t and their estimated energy potential was 68 PJ. This amount of energy would cover 10% of the total energy consumption in Slovakia. The top three productive crops were maize, wheat, and sugar beet. Maize had the highest energy potential of 28.1 PJ, followed by wheat at 19 PJ and sugar beet at 14.2 PJ. The highest yields of post-harvest residues, as well as energy potential, were found in the Nitra region.

Analysis of Agricultural Biomass Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Evidence from China.

China is a large agricultural country, where agricultural activities and rural life cause a large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the process of crop growth, production, and processing, a large number of crop straws and agricultural wasted products are produced, which become one of the important sources of biomass resources. However, few detailed studies focused on the potential of China's agricultural biomass energy conversion and carbon emission reduction, and fewer studies proposed GHG emission reduction strategies from the perspective of making full use of China's agricultural waste resources. In this study, the quantity calculation index of agricultural biomass energy was given, and the GHG emission reduction potential calculation index of agricultural biomass energy was constructed, with which the amount of GHG emissions caused by agricultural waste use in China was measured and the potential of GHG emission reduction caused by agricultural waste use would be easily speculated. Based on the statistical data of China, the quantity and GHG emission reduction potential of agricultural biomass resources in China in the recent 10 years (2009∼2018) were clarified. According to the research, the amount of agricultural waste equivalent to standard coal in China from 2009 to 2018 reached 280,0711 million tons. If all these resources were used to replace coal, a total of 4,474,483 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions could be saved. Assuming that these wastes are anaerobic, carbonized, or fully burned as fuel, CH4 emissions could be reduced by up to 12.024 million tons and N2O emissions by up to 185,000 tons. It can be seen that the effective utilization of agricultural biomass resources can replace coal, reduce backwardness such as land burning, and then reduce CO2, CH4, N2O, and other greenhouse gas emissions, and promote the realization of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.

Biyokütle Enerji Kullanımı Açısından İran ve Türkiye’nin Karşılaştırılması

Biomass energy has some advantages such as sustainability, availability from local resources and no adverse effects on the environment. Biomass energy is also an important goal for countries aiming for environmentally friendly sustainable energy production and development. Iran and Turkey are two neighbor countries in the region and they have social, economic and political relations presently as happened in the past. Although both countries have development efforts, the most important issue stands out as energy supply and security. In this respect, the aim of the study is to compare the biomass energy use of both countries other than non-renewable energy sources, and to reveal the efforts and potentials in this regard.

Outlook for the biomass energy sector in Mozambique: Policies and their challenges

To overcome the negative impacts of unsustainable exploitation of forest resources, the Mozambican government has been trying to regulate the supply and demand of biomass, the main source of energy for the majority of the population. This paper reviews policies implemented in Mozambique aimed at increasing domestic energy production while promoting a sustainable use of biomass. Despite the efforts to reduce the level of biomass energy use, it remains the most attractive to local populations and, therefore, still has great importance in the national energy mix. Thus, rather than looking at woodfuels as an environmental problem, regulations should also recognise the dependence of local communities on these resources. Firewood remains the main energy source in rural areas, and approximately 0.36% of the forest in Mozambique is lost every year. The replacement of firewood and charcoal by other renewable sources of energy is still far from reality. Charcoal production continues to be carried out in traditional low-yield ovens and the levels of forest degradation are still alarming. As such, improvements to the existing regulation framework are still needed.

Sentinel-2 Time Series Analysis for Identification of Underutilized Land in Europe

Biomass and bioenergy play a central role in Europe’s Green Transition. Currently, biomass is representing half of the renewable energy sources used. While the role of renewables in the energy mix is undisputed, there have been many controversial discussions on the use of biomass for energy due to the “food versus fuel” debate. Using previously underutilized lands for bioenergy is one possibility to prevent this discussion. This study supports the attempts to increase biomass for bioenergy through the provision of improved methods to identify underutilized lands in Europe. We employ advanced analysis methods based on time series modelling using Sentinel-2 (S2) data from 2017 to 2019 in order to distinguish utilized from underutilized land in twelve study areas in different bio-geographical regions (BGR) across Europe. The calculated parameters of the computed model function combined with temporal statistics were used to train a random forest classifier (RF). The achieved overall accuracies (OA) per study area vary between 80.25 and 96.76%, with confidence intervals (CI) ranging between 1.77% and 6.28% at a 95% confidence level. All in all, nearly 500,000 ha of underutilized land potentially available for agricultural bioenergy production were identified in this study, with the greatest amount mapped in Eastern Europe.

Algae Biomass as a Potential Source of Liquid Fuels

Algae biomass is perceived as a prospective source of many types of biofuels, including biogas and biomethane produced in the anaerobic digestion process, ethanol from alcoholic fermentation, biodiesel synthesized from lipid reserve substances, and biohydrogen generated in photobiological transformations. Environmental and economic analyses as well as technological considerations indicate that methane fermentation integrated with bio-oil recovery is one of the most justified directions of energy use of microalgae biomass for energy purposes. A promising direction in the development of bioenergy systems based on the use of microalgae is their integration with waste and pollution neutralization technologies. The use of wastewater, another liquid waste, or flue gases can reduce the costs of biofuel production while having a measurable environmental effect.