Biomass Farm Research Articles

Surrogate-assisted Optimization Method for Optimal Dynamic Economic Dispatch including Aggregation Regulation of Wind and Biomass Farms

Surrogate-assisted Optimization Method for Optimal Dynamic Economic Dispatch including Aggregation Regulation of Wind and Biomass Farms

Community social capital in supporting biomass development at The Purwakarta Forest Management Unit, West Java

Biomass plantations are starting to become an option for developing renewable energy sources. Socio-economic problems related to management regulations, trust, and networks in the biomass energy plantations-developing process need to be resolved. This study aims to determine the capacity of community social capital in supporting the development of biomass plantations. The location of the study was at Purwakarta Forest Management Unit (FMU). Data collection was carried out by observation, household surveys using questionnaires, and Focus Group Discussion. Data were analyzed using a descriptive qualitative method. The results show that, in general, the community has strong social capital in building biomass plant partnerships, especially in the aspect of trust. Farmer’s trust in those who assist in the management of biomass plants is relatively high, namely Perhutani, the farmer group leader, and the community leaders. The farmers will be motivated to develop biomass crops if successful examples exist. The social norms and sanctions for farmers in the biomass plant management at Purwakarta FMU are very low, but the community is still obedient to the social norms. The networking ability of farmers is relatively low, so intensive assistance in developing biomass farming must be improved, either in technical assistance or intensive extension.

Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest: Commercialization Challenges for the Renewable Aviation Fuel Industry

A bioenergy summit was organized by Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest (AHB) to debate the barriers to the commercialization of a hybrid poplar biofuels industry for the alternative jet fuels market from the perspective of five years of AHB research and development and two recent surveys of the North American cellulosic biofuels industry. The summit showed that: (1) Growing and converting poplar feedstock to aviation fuels is technically sound, (2) an adequate land base encompassing 6.03 and 12.86 million respective hectares of croplands and rangelands is potentially available for poplar feedstock production, (3) biofuel production is accompanied by a global warming potential that meets the threshold 60% reduction mandated for advanced renewable fuels but (4) the main obstruction to achieving a workable poplar aviation fuels market is making the price competitive with conventional jet fuels. Returns on investment into biomass farms and biorefineries are therefore insufficient to attract private-sector capital the fact notwithstanding that the demand for a reliable and sustainable supply of environmentally well-graded biofuels for civilian and military aviation is clear. Eleven key findings and recommendations are presented as a guide to a strategic plan for a renewed pathway to poplar alternative jet fuels production based upon co-products, refinery co-location with existing industries, monetization of ecosystem services, public-private financing, and researching more efficient and lower-costs conversion methods such as consolidated bioprocessing.

Pemberdayaan Masyarakat melalui Pengembangan Polikultur Bandeng dan Udang di Desa Karangsong, Indramayu, Jawa Barat

Karangsong Village is one of the coastal villages in Indramayu which has a high fishery and marine resources potential, (both capture and aquaculture fisheries). The aquaculture activities in this village were mostly milkfish and prawn cultures. Community development through polyculture activity in this village had been done for 2 years 4 months from December 2012 to April 2015. This activity aimed to improve the community skill, especially milk fish and prawn using polyculture system. Methode used in this activity was training and empowering. The community was trained about pond culture preparation and milk fish and prawn culture methods. The community participated in first year was 4 people, and second year was 9 people. Aid distribution scheme of this program was 1 package for each fish-farmer contained prawn seed, milkfish seed, and fish-prawn feed. Through effectively empowering program, people knowledge, technology, biomass farming, and income (912 million from milkfish farming; 920 million from shrimp farming) were increased.

Long-Term Cultivation of Algae in Open-Raceway Ponds: Lessons from the Field

Sapphire Energy's Columbus Algal Biomass (CAB) Farm uses open pond cultivation with a proprietary harvesting method to produce algal biomass. Its successful construction and operation has demonstrated the critical integration of traditional agricultural techniques with algae cultivation knowledge for algal biomass production. The aim of this article is to describe Sapphire Energy's two primary research sites in New Mexico—CAB Farm and Las Cruces Test Site (LCTS). It focuses on the key contributions and the lessons learned at CAB Farm and LCTS related to the development of algal biomass production technology. In particular, it focuses on how the knowledge gained can inform the next steps forward for producing algal biomass as an agricultural crop.

First report of Maconellicoccus hirsutus Green infestation on Jatropha curcas saplings

In December 2009 and May 2010 an insect pest was observed on Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae) saplings at the Biomass Farm Site, Banthara, of CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, India. On the basis of morphology of the insect pest and symptoms caused on its host, it was identified as Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Homoptera: Coccoidae: Pseudococcidae) synonym Phenacoccus hirsutus Green. This is the first report of the occurrence of M. hirsutus infestation on J. curcas.

Building Bio-based Supply Chains: Theoretical Perspectives on Innovative Contract Design

By 2030, the United States will consume over 300 million tons of forest and agricultural feedstocks for energy production. The supply chain necessary to provide unprecedented quantities of new “bioenergy crops,” however, is fraught with uncertainty. The vertically integrated model currently used by the nascent sector may have limited opportunity for expansion to meet renewable energy mandates. A hybrid structure is likely to emerge as the industry evolves, in which end-users closely cooperate with a large number of heterogeneous producers through long-term contracting rather than as direct owners or operators of biomass farms. This “vertically coordinated” industry model is dependent on a series of biomass supply contracts between end-user and farmer. The “take it or leave it” production contracts offered by end-users represent the archetypal cost- and risk-minimization perspectives common in the fossil fuel-based energy context (e.g., petroleum, coal). These initial offerings lack many of the considerations provided in agricultural-based contracting and are unlikely to engender the level of dedicated energy biomass cultivation needed to meet renewable energy mandates. In response, we propose an alternative Biomass Contract Framework, which incorporates three separate theoretical approaches to contract design with the objective of removing barriers to entry into the market. Incorporating a socioeconomic perspective into the more familiar risk- and cost-minimizing approaches found in contract theory literature will enhance producer ability to maintain existing social networks, while minimizing farmer disincentives to enter into production contracts for novel biomass crops. Our Framework also recognizes end-users’ needs to meet emerging environmental sustainability requirements, even perhaps facilitating “shed-level” coordination.

Environmental and economic analysis of the fully integrated biorefinery

AbstractCellulosic biofuel systems have the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the world's transportation energy requirements. However, realizing this potential will require systems level thinking and scale integration. Until now, we have lacked modeling tools for studying the behavior of integrated cellulosic biofuel systems. In this paper, we describe a new research tool, the Biorefinery and Farm Integration Tool (BFIT) in which the production of fuel ethanol from cellulosic biomass is integrated with crop and animal (agricultural) production models. Uniting these three subsystems in a single combined model has allowed, for the first time, basic environmental and economic analysis of biomass production, possible secondary products, fertilizer production, and bioenergy production across various regions of the United States. Using BFIT, we simulate cellulosic ethanol production embedded in realistic agricultural landscapes in nine locations under a collection of farm management scenarios. This combined modeling approach permits analysis of economic profitability and highlights key areas for environmental improvement. These results show the advantages of introducing integrated biorefinery systems within agricultural landscapes. This is particularly true in the Midwest, which our results suggest is a good setting for the cellulosic ethanol industry. Specifically, results show that inclusion of cellulosic biofuel systems into existing agriculture enhances farm economics and reduces total landscape emissions. Model results also indicate a limited ethanol price effect from increased biomass transportation distance. Sensitivity analysis using BFIT revealed those variables having the strongest effects on the overall system performance, namely: biorefinery size, switchgrass yield, and biomass farm gate price.

Sustainable ethanol: biofuels, biorefineries, cellulosic biomass, flex-fuel vehicles, and sustainable farming for energy independence

Sustainable ethanol: biofuels, biorefineries, cellulosic biomass, flex-fuel vehicles, and sustainable farming for energy independence

Stabilizing global temperature change below thresholds: Monte Carlo analyses with MERGE

Policies may help to keep the anthropogenic temperature change below some critical temperature thresholds. We apply MERGE in a probabilistic risk assessment framework to assess the risk of action versus inaction on climate change. The method applied gives a probabilistic assessment of the associated economic costs and levels of carbon-values and emissions reduction, as well as the needed technological change to restructure the energy system. The study suggests that a set of low-carbon and carbon-free technologies has to be developed and diffused around the world in order to reduce the risk of serious, adverse climate change. Eventually, a mass deployment of biomass farming technologies for bio-fuels and/or hydrogen production, in conjunction with carbon capture and sequestration options, are needed to satisfy the EU threshold of 2°C average atmospheric temperature rise above the pre-industrial temperature levels by the year 2100. However, because this temperature threshold represents a severe target, the global “willingness-to-pay” (WTP) must be significantly improved in relation with present attitudes.

98/03996 A case study of fluidized-bed combustion of wood/coal mixtures. Part A. The effect of wood particle size

Cofiring wood with coal provides many advantages compared to burning each fuel individually. The effects of cofiring these fuels has not been adequately studied. In the present study, debarked silver maple wood was supplied from a short-rotation biomass farm. This fuel was burned simultaneously with high sulfur (3%) Illinois bituminous coal in a small-diameter fluidized bed combustor. Emissions of SO 2 were reduced slightly as the percentage of wood in the mixture was increased. Wood particle size difference had little effect on emissions of oxides of nitrogen. Combustion temperature and excess air level are probably more crucial combustion parameters with respect to SO 2 and NO x emissions generated.

Measurement of Fe2+ ion by coulometry method at incubation of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans.

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans is a chemoautotrophic bacterium that is capable of using Fe2+ oxidation by O2 as the sole source of energy for growth and CO2 fixation. The idea of the solar bacterial biomass farm by using of this bacterium is proposed. The incubation experiment of these bacteria was carried out, and the 9K culture medium as the standard medium for T. ferrooxidans was used. The measurement of Fe2+ in the growth stage was carried out as the first step of the experiments to clarify the possibility of this system. The items of measurement were Fe2+ ion density, pH of the medium, bacterium density and quantity of total organic carbon (TOC). The density of Fe2+ ion in the medium was measured by coulometry method. This method has the following advantage, high accuracy (<1%), easy operation, short measurement time (a few minutes) and small sample quantity (about 0.1 ml). The experimental results show that the Fe 2+ ion density is measured as same as the accuracy of pH measurement. At the final stage of the growth, the pH decreased due to the generation of the iron hydroxide (Fe(OH)3). The bacterium density and TOC slightly increased after that Fe2+ runs short. This result shows that the CO2 fixation speed is slower than Fe2+ oxidation speed. It is shown by the experiment that the growth limit of T. ferrooxidans is caused by the disappearance of the Fe2+ ion. It may be possible that the bacterium density increases by the continuous supply of Fe2+ ion.

Aquatic biomass and carbon dioxide trapping

The technology for growing microalgae as a renewable biomass source can be applied to the production of a diesel fuel substitute (biodiesel). Microalgae are of interest because of their high growth rates and tolerance to varying environmental conditions, and because the oils (lipids) they produce can be extracted and converted to substitute petroleum fuels. Projected global climate change provides a second important rationale for this approach. Climate change has been linked to the accumulation of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels in power plants is the primary contributor to excess carbon dioxide. Inasmuch as the primary nutrient for microalgal growth is carbon dioxide, operation of microalgal biomass farms has emerged as a promising candidate in the search for alternative approaches to ameliorate global climate change. The production of diesel fuel by microalgae requires very large quantities of carbon dioxide as a nutrient. In areas where microalgae fuel farms operate in tandem with fossil fuel plants to scrub carbon dioxide from flue gases, the release of carbon dioxide could be significantly reduced. If the microalgae are used to produce fuel, a mass culture facility reduces by approximately 50% the carbon dioxide emissions from the power plant per million Btu delivered. For example, although coal is ordinarily considered to be the most polluting fossil fuel on the basis of carbon dioxide emitted per amount of energy produced, the incorporation of microalgal ponds with a coal-fired plant would make this fossil fuel less polluting than existing oil- and natural-gas-fired plants. Similar advantages can be achieved for oil- and gas-fired plants. If commodity chemicals are produced from algae instead of fuels, the net carbon dioxide reduction is significantly greater. Commodity chemicals can be used to produce goods with long-term uses such as building materials. Such uses would result in the sequestering of carbon dioxide for long periods. Of the photosynthetic organisms, microalgae are the most productive carbon dioxide users and can fix greater amounts of carbon dioxide per land area than higher plants. Also, maximum productivities of higher plants and trees are restricted to areas with prime soil, water, and climate (primarily the tropics). Plant leaves exist in an aerial environment and are subject to large evaporative moisture losses, which directly inhibit the process of photosynthesis (carbon dioxide uptake). Microalgae in mass culture are not subject to such photosynthetic inhibition because the water content of the culture can be controlled by proper engineering, and saline water can be used if necessary. This difference is the basis for the several-fold higher carbon dioxide absorption capacity of microalgae compared to plants. Initial application of this technology is envisioned for the Desert Southwest of the United States because this area provides high solar radiation and offers flat land that has few competing uses (hence low land costs). Also, there are large saline aquifers with few competing uses in the region. These could provide a suitable, low-cost culture medium for the growth of many species of microalgae.

Natural Gas from Seaweed: Is Near-Term R&amp;D Funding by the U.S. Gas Industry Warranted?

This paper is the result of a study of critical factors the Gas Research Institute needed to consider in deciding whether to continue R and D funding of a Marine Biomass Project (MBP). The mission of this project is to determine the commercial feasibility of large marine biomass farms for methane conversion and to develop such farms if they prove viable. The paper develops a macroanalytic framework for R and D decision making in an innovative but high-cost and high-risk method of natural gas production. It identifies and analyzes principal factors having significant bearing on the US natural gas industry and against this background examines implications for R and D funding of the MBP. The study is based on an extensive review of secondary data sources on the economics and technology of natural gas production supplemented by personal discussions with a number of experts. This paper suggests that decisions on near-term R and D funding of the MBP should be based on careful study of the current, continuing, and projected developments in the US natural gas industry as a whole rather than on narrow and short-term considerations. 16 references, 6 tables.

Economic, environmental, and social advantages of intensively managed short rotation mesquite ( Prosopis spp) biomass energy farms

Constraints to wood-fired power plants larger than 50 MW stem from the inability to obtain sustainable forest by-products within a 100-km (60-mile) haul. Intensively managed biomass farms that produce 16 t ha −1 year −1 (7 dry tons acre −1 year −1) can support a 500-MW generating facility or a large petrochemical plant on a renewable basis with a biomass farm of 22-km (14-mile) radius. Selected strains of arid-adapted nitrogen-fixing trees of the genus Prosopis (mesquite) have achieved yields of 14·5 t ha −1 year −1; in Texas natural Prosopis stands occur on 22 million ha (55 million acres). Prosopis also occurs on semi-arid lands of Africa, South America, and the Far East. Managed biomass farms of Prosopis would be capable of supporting large petrochemical or electrical generating facilities with fuel costs less than either oil, gas, or coal in Texas. Wood-fired conversion facilities produce negligible SO 2, little NO x, and no radioactive waste; the ash can be recycled on biomass farms, which should be less objectionable than strip mines.

Mass cultures of marine algae for energy farming in coastal deserts

This paper provides a description of construction and subsequent operation of a seawater based system for biomass farming of micro-algae. Seawater was pumped through shallow artificial ponds located in coastal areas of Calabria, Italy. We describe pond construction, mixing procedure for micro algae mass cultures, optimization of the carbon and mineral nutrient budget, potential algal yields, methods for harvesting micro-algae, a source of energy to run the seawater pumps, and environmental variables of the pond system under subtropical conditions of Calabria, Italy.

Land use issues in biomass energy planning

Land availability is a key consideration for evaluating the potential of biomass energy. This depends not only on how much land is physically suitable for growing the biomass crop, but also on the environmental implications of an energy farm and the extent to which land can be freed from competing uses. Energy planning should include inventories to realistically assess the amount of land potentially available for biomass production and the trade-offs involved in using such land for biomass farms.

Response : High-Grade Fuels and Biomass Farming

<i>Response</i> : High-Grade Fuels and Biomass Farming

High-Grade Fuels and Biomass Farming

This article analyzes distorted views that Weisz and Marshall have presented on the energetics and economics of ethanol production via biomass fermentation. Their conclusion, that with current technology ethanol production represents a net consumption of fuel, results from use of an unrealistically high processing energy and neglect of energy credit for the distillers' dry grains. Other fallacies were mentioned: failure to use insights available through the second law of thermodynamics; inconsistency of comparing cost of net alcohol fuel production with the market price of other fuels. It was concluded that if allowed to stand unchallenged, they could do serious damage to future research and development. (DP)

High-Grade Fuels from Biomass Farming: Potentials and Constraints

The key parameters controlling the productivity and the cost of net high-grade fuel from a system for biomass agriculture and conversion are analyzed. Performance depends sensitively on a "symbiotic" interaction between agronomy and technology. The conditions for obtaining net productivity and costs are explored for U.S. grain alcohol as a reference point. Currently practiced technology consumes more high-grade fuel than it generates. Some potentials and constraints for future systems, including use of other plant species and conversion systems, are explored.