Biomass Energy Use Research Articles

Goals to Meet the 2100 Global Warming Target: Evolution or Green Revolution?

Fossil fuels are the main contributor to global warming and add about 9.3 Giga tonnes (109 ) of Carbon [GtC] (34.2 GtCO2 ) to the atmosphere each year. Deforestation adds an additional 1.4 GtC (5.1 GtCO2 ). Population increase is a principal driver of deforestation. Tempering population increase is therefore essential for meeting the global warming target of the Paris Agreement by 2100. With more effective family planning programs, 163 million ha of forests, containing 16 GtC, valued at an estimated $40 billion could be saved from being converted to subsistence agriculture. Improving agricultural productivity, especially in the subsistence sector, would avoid additional significant forest loss. Fossil fuel consumption can at the same time be reduced in part through efficiency measures, and especially by greatly expanding the use of renewable energy. While renewable energy from water, wind and solar have a major role to play, biomass is currently the most important renewable fuel. Expanding its use requires improvements in intermediate and end-use efficiency and an expansion in the use of bioenergy in its gaseous, liquid and solid forms. Increased use of biomass energy from sustainably managed sources could facilitate more investment in forests and increase the capture of carbon. A program to plant trees on 0.9 billion ha of land could capture more than 205 GtC in wood and soils. These measures would greatly assist in keeping the global temperature increase to 1.50 C above the pre-industrial level, ensuring that the world remains habitable and environmentally sustainable. The latest 6th Intergovernmental Report on Climate Change, (IPCC 2021), reiterates the seriousness of the problem and says that decisive action is needed.

Performance test of vertical dryer hybrid for drying Tuna fish

Drying is the stage of processing tuna to extend the fish's shelf life until it is consumed. In general, fishers are drying the processed salted fish under direct sunlight. During the rainy season, conventional drying under the sun is impossible to inhibit the drying process; therefore, a mechanical dryer is needed. A greenhouse dehydrator (GHE) using a combination of solar and biomass energy is the right choice. The purpose of this study was to test the performance of the Vertical Dryer Hybrid to dry tuna. Drying is done by placing the tuna sample on four drying racks, then observing the moisture content, air humidity, solar irradiation, and the use of biomass energy. During 35 hours of observation, the GHE Vertical Dryer reduced the water content of tuna from 70.8% to 13.3% initial water content with average solar irradiation of 280.2 W / m2. The dryer's highest temperature during the drying process is 67°C, with an average of 46.7°C. The highest temperature in the environment is 37°C, with an average of 33.3°C. The highest RH in the dryer during the drying process is a 75% average of 43.8%, the highest RH in the environment is 79%, with 61.2%. The full use of bio-charcoal during drying is 5.5 kg, with the amount of energy obtained is 155.87 MJ, and the total solar energy obtained is 88.613 MJ with a total energy total of 244.49 MJ.

O aplicație a metodei balanței lemnului în România

Analiza fluxurilor de lemn este importantă pentru orice evaluare a sustenabilității de utilizare a resursei forestiere. Au fost analizate în acest studiu fluxurile de lemn brut din România în 2017, pornind de la un scenariu de consum bazat pe capacitatea maximă de procesare instalată. Balanța resurselor lemnoase consideră utilizarea lemnului ca materie primă și a produselor secundare din lemn (deșeuri generate în procesare), care pot fi utilizate ca intrări pentru utilizarea ulterioară în sectorul prelucrării lemnului sau al energiei. Rezultatele studiului arată că, la o capacitate maximă de procesare (scenariu ipotetic), consumul intern al României ar fi de 46 de milioane m3 pe an, din care 49% este reprezentat de consumul de energie, majoritar în gospodării. Capacitatea maximă instalată a industriei de prelucrare a lemnului este de 18,7 milioane m3. Diferența dintre producția internă și consumul aparent ajunge la 23 de milioane de m3, o estimare similară cu cea oferită de JRC Europe pentru 2015. Sunt necesare cercetări suplimentare pentru a îmbunătăți modelul propus de balanță a lemnului prin obținerea de date cât mai apropiate de consumul real din industria de prelucrare a lemnului. Studiul recomandă necesitatea de re-evaluare a politicilor publice de trasabilitate a lemnului și a elaborării unor politici mai prudente în privința utilizării biomasei forestiere pentru producția industrială de energie.

Energetic Balance of Biogas and Fertilizing Potential of Digestate from Anaerobic Digestion of Manihot Utilissima

Optimal scale production of biogas from the anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic wastes (OWs) as substrates has become one of stimulating environment-friendly procedures to foster the replacement of fossil energies by renewable ones. AD of OWs generated from households is desirable as an effective method to fight against environmental pollution effects of the latter in developing countries. Notably in Africa where each year there are more than 600,000 premature deaths following the use of solid biomass energy (especially charcoal). Yet, if assessing the potential of biogas production, that is, biochemical methane potential (BMP) has played a prominent role in the choice of substrates, in the other hand the evaluation of the optimal ratio between the quantity of variety OWs and the amount of energy to be produced has not received several attentions. The latter is valuable not only for energetic productivity but also for profitability. Thus, in this report, an energetic balance between the amount of leaves and stems of Manihot Utilissima (MU) annually produced as well as the energetic potential of their biogas were investigated. Cow manure (CM) was employed as inoculum, under mesophilic conditions of the collection sites: Ngaba and Ndjili in Kinshasa City Province (KCP), Congo DR, where the leaves and stems of MU are among the most generated wastes. Furthermore, we evaluated the fertilizing potential of digestates from the AD of the leaves and stems by their Carbon/Nitrogen (C/N) ratios.
 The annual energetic potentials of biogas produced were estimated to be 1.362 ± 0.028 109 kWh for the leaves and 0.337 ± 0.006 109 kWh for the stems. These were associated to the energy needs for the KCP households corresponding to the use of charcoal. The latter was evaluated to be 166 103 tons for leaves and 41 103 tons for the stems of MU, respectively.
 The fertilizing potential of digestates from the AD of the leaves and stems of MU assessed by their C/N ratios were determined to be 5 and 10, respectively; indicating that they are favorable for the cultivation of vegetables and fruit trees in KCP soils (C/N~5) but also optimal for the organisms, soil conditioning and could improve the soils hydraulic conductivity (C/N~10).

Multimode-ultrasound and microwave assisted natural ternary deep eutectic solvent sequential pretreatments for corn straw biomass deconstruction under mild conditions

Mild and effective pretreatments are essential to deconstruct lignocellulosic biomass so as to reuse cellulose content for value-added products. In this study, sequential multimode-ultrasound and microwave with natural ternary deep eutectic solvent (NATDES) pretreatments were used to deconstruct corn straw and optimized factors such as NATDES, ultrasonic, and microwave parameters. Results indicated that the ultrasound-NATDES or microwave-NATDES pretreatment could remove 37.86% and 52.36% lignin, respectively. When using sequential multimode-ultrasound and microwave assisted NATDES pretreatment, the delignification efficiency increased to 61.50%, and the cellulose content increased from 34.70% to 76.08%. In addition, the delignification of sequential multimode-ultrasound and microwave assisted NATDES pretreatment (under the mild conditions of microwave heating at 60 °C and 60 min) increased to 57.39%, and the cellulose content increased to 59.98%, too. This highlighted the effect of the combined ultrasound and microwave technology. Finally, the microstructural changes of mercury intrusion porosimeters, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform mid-infrared spectroscopy were conducted to confirm the effectiveness of this method to deconstruct corn straw. A mechanism of the deconstruction of corn straw biomass in NATDES with the assistance of the sequential multimode-ultrasound and microwave heating was proposed. This research could open a window for future use of biomass energy by deconstructing lignocellulosic biomasses using environmentally friendly pretreatment methods.

Indoor air quality in rural Southwestern Uganda: particulate matter, heavy metals and carbon monoxide in kitchens using charcoal fuel in Mbarara Municipality

The use of biomass energy over open fires in sub-Saharan Africa is rampant yet it is associated with air pollution. Information on the contribution of common biomass like charcoal to indoor air pollution in Uganda is scarce; therefore, kitchen-indoor air in charcoal fueled kitchens was characterized for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), heavy metals and carbon monoxide content in Mbarara Municipality Western Uganda. PM2.5 was measured using University of California Berkeley Particle and Temperature Sensor (UCB-PATS), heavy metals were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) and carbon monoxide was measured using a portable, battery-operated, data-logging Drager Pac 7000. In the kitchens assessed, the mean 24-h concentration for PM2.5 was 0.449 mg/m3 in the wet season and 0.526 mg/m3 in the dry season; CO was 41.52 ppm, and all concentrations were higher than the World Health Organization 24-h Air Quality Guideline for PM2.5 of 0.024 mg/m3 and CO of 6.340 ppm. Heavy metals in particulate matter were in concentration ranges of 1.012–9.820 μg/m3 Fe, 0.012–0.092 μg/m3 Cr, 0.060–10.750 μg/m3 Zn, 0.048–0.300 μg/m3 Cu, 0.004–0.052 μg/m3 Pb and ND—0.004 μg/m3 Cd. All mean metal concentrations were lower than recommended exposure levels by EPA although chronic exposure is a risk to health. Kitchen ventilation and size were found to significantly influence indoor pollutant levels; charcoal fuel significantly contributed to indoor air pollution and is therefore a risk factor to human health.

Life cycle assessment of mulch use on Okanagan apple orchards: Part 2 - Consequential

Wood and bark chip mulch has been shown to reduce net orchard greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on an Okanagan Valley (British Columbia, Canada) apple orchard. However, this benefit was shown to be outweighed by the (attributional) life cycle impacts associated with mulch production. The current study expanded the scope of prior investigations to perform a consequential life cycle assessment of the impacts of increasing wood chip/bark mulch use in the production of apples on Okanagan orchards. This assessment included the impacts of the orchard system as well as other current alternative uses of wood chip/bark mulch which included bioenergy production and paper manufacturing. Many environmental impact categories were examined including human toxicity, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, depletion of abiotic resources (elements, ultimate reserves), photochemical oxidation, ozone layer depletion, terrestrial ecotoxicity, acidification potential, climate change, eutrophication, land use – land competition, and energy use (including non-renewable: fossil, nuclear, primary forest; and renewable: biomass, geothermal, solar, water and wind). One scenario was modelled to represent the case in which no mulch was used on orchards (only used for alternative products). A second model was created to represent the marginal impacts of adding the amount of mulch to an apple orchard necessary to produce 1 kg of apples (0.575 kg bark and 0.144 kg wood chips). These amounts of bark and wood chips were assumed to be taken away from their current alternative uses (co-generation for bark and paper production for wood chips), thereby decreasing the amount of electricity and heat produced by bark by 0.653 kWh electricity and 0.653 MJ heat, and the amount of paper produced by wood chips by 0.144 kg paper. In turn, these amounts of electricity, heat and paper were assumed to be produced by their marginal production technologies – hydro-electric generation for electricity, natural gas for heat, and recycled paper for paper production. Finally, the scenarios were modelled assuming the marginal market for co-generation from bark was in Washington, USA rather than the Okanagan, as a sensitivity analysis.The results did not show a clear environmental benefit to either using or not using mulch on orchards. In the scenario in which bark mulch was assumed to be used either on apple orchards or for co-generation in British Columbia, impacts in 14 categories (including climate change, eutrophication, acidification, all toxicities, land use and some renewable energy use) were lower when mulch was used on the orchard, and results for 5 categories (including some non-renewable and renewable resources/energy use) were higher. When bark mulch was assumed to be used either on orchards or for co-generation in Washington, terrestrial ecotoxicity, land use, biomass and solar energy use were lower when mulch was used on the orchard, and all others (15 categories) were higher. There was a large amount of uncertainty in the model, coming from data variability, data quality and impact assessment uncertainty. Overall, the orchard system played a significant role in the impact assessment results, and was the main contributor to the overall uncertainty. Based on these results, mulch use on orchards cannot be recommended to reduce environmental impacts, but the marginal impacts of using mulch warrant further investigation.

The contribution of the anthropogenic impact of biomass utilization on ecological degradation: revisiting the G7 economies.

The debate on ecological matters that relate to the biomass emissions nexus has gained prominence and different scholars have suggested various forms of policy directions to tackle the menace. This study seeks to contribute to this subject by examining the impact of biomass energy use on carbon dioxide pollution in the G7 economies context. Thus, to this end, we employed energy usage and GDP measured as economic growth which adds factors that can influence pollution for annual time-frequency between1995 and 2016 for the case of G7 economies. The present study adds to the extant literature by the adoption of the novel econometric techniques such as the panel cross-section augment ARDL and common correlated estimate mean group (CCEMG) to evaluate the impact of biomass energy on pollutants. The empirical results from all the techniques show that biomass energy consumption significantly and negatively correlates to CO2 emissions meaning that it helps to reduce pollution in the long run. On the other hand, there is a significant positive relationship between energy use and pollutants implying that the primary energy use is not favorable for environmental sustainability over the sampled period. Finally, the results proved that GDP increases CO2 emissions in the long run with respect to the G7 context. Thus, validating the growth-induced pollution hypothesis in G7 blocs. On causality relationship, we observe a unidirectional causal relationship between these variables: biomass and pollutants, pollutants and output, biomass and output, biomass and energy use, and output and energy use. While there was a bidirectional causality between energy use and pollutant, these results suggest policy implication for the G7 countries which indicates that stakeholders should give much attention to technological know-how and energy mix particularly biomass energy which is environmentally friendly as well as more paradigm shift to renewables.

Association between maternal sociodemographic characteristics and Compliance to Clean Cookstove use in Rural Ghana

Background/Aim: The use of cleaner technologies and efficient biomass energy is an appropriate strategy to mitigate global climate, health risks, and help in attaining the sustainable development goal’s (SDG’s) target on access to reliable, affordable, and modern energy services by 2030. We evaluated the association between maternal sociodemographic characteristics and compliance to clean cookstove use in a rural setting in Ghana. Methods: This was a cluster-randomised intervention trial conducted among 890 women in the Kintampo North Municipality and Kintampo South District of Ghana, West Africa. Twenty-two rural communities were randomized to one of 2 efficient biomass interventions: BioLite (527 women from 13 communities) and LPG (361 women from 9 communities). Study fieldworkers visited participant homes weekly and documented use of intervention stoves. For each participant, compliance was computed as the number of visits for which assigned clean cookstove was used divided by the total number of visits made to that individual. Fractional logit model was used to assess the association between sociodemographic characteristics of study participants and compliance with efficient biomass use. Results: Overall compliance to clean cookstove use ranged from 0% (no clean cookstove use) to 100% (all clean cookstove use). Compliance was significantly higher for participants who used LPG compared to those who used Biolite (0.98% vs. 0.88%, p-value <0.001). In an unadjusted analysis, participants with any form of education were less likely to comply with the use of clean cookstove compared to those with no formal education. Traders had significantly lower compliance compared to farmers (3.2% CI: 0.3% to 6.2%; p-value: 0.033). Compared to the poorest, less poor and least poor were significantly less likely to comply to clean cookstove use. Conclusions: Socio-demographic factors play a role in the adoption of cleaner cooking methods. Understanding these factors can help in providing targeted interventions on cleaners fuel use.

Feasibility of Biomass Energy Use Considering Economic Factors and CO2 Reduction in the Island

Feasibility of Biomass Energy Use Considering Economic Factors and CO2 Reduction in the Island

Thermo-economic assessment of a hybrid tri-generation system making simultaneous use of biomass and solar energy

In this work, a tri-generation system is proposed that relies on a biomass-gasification-based externally fired gas turbine (EFGT) generator and an array of solar flat-plate collectors. A LiBr-water-based absorption cooling (VAR) system utilizes the waste heat of a 100-kW power generator as well as solar thermal energy of a 200 sq. m. solar collector to run a vegetable cold store of 200 metric ton capacity. A domestic water-heating system is also integrated with the unit that recovers low-temperature thermal energy to produce 150 tons of hot water daily. The power generator shows its maximum electrical efficiency of 27.5% at 1100 °C turbine inlet temperature and 10 pressure ratio. The maximum efficiency of solar collector is found to be 48%. The overall energetic efficiency of the tri-generation system varies in the range of 59 to 76%, while the overall exergetic efficiency varies in the range of 19 to 26.5%. The components of EFGT generator show high exergetic efficiencies, about 93% for air compressor and about 90% for GT, whereas the solar thermal system shows the poor exergetic performance of about 17%. Based on economic analysis of the proposed plant, the effective price of electricity is estimated as 0.068 USD/kWh without any subsidy, but considering 50% capital subsidy the price is estimated as 0.04 USD/kWh. The discounted payback period is found to be 10.8 years without any capital subsidy, but when 50% subsidy is considered, the payback period is reduced to 5 years.

Sugarcane Industry Waste Recovery: A Case Study Using Thermochemical Conversion Technologies to Increase Sustainability

The sugarcane industry has assumed an increasingly important role at a global level, with countries such as Brazil and India dominating the field. However, this causes environmental problems, since the industry produces large amounts of waste, such as sugarcane bagasse. This by-product, which is energetically partially recovered in sugar mills and in the pulp and paper industry, can make a significant contribution to the general use of biomass energy, if the usual disadvantages associated with products with low density and a high moisture content are overcome. From this perspective, thermochemical conversion technologies, especially torrefaction, are assumed to be capable of improving the fuel properties of this material, making it more appealing for potential export and use in far-off destinations. In this work, sugarcane samples were acquired, and the process of obtaining bagasse was simulated. Subsequently, the bagasse was dried and heat-treated at 200 and 300 °C to simulate the over-drying and torrefaction process. Afterward, product characterization was performed, including thermogravimetric analysis, elemental analysis, calorimetry, and energy densification. The results showed significant improvements in the energy content, from 18.17 to 33.36 MJ·kg−1 from dried bagasse to torrefied bagasse at 300 °C, showing that despite high mass loss, there is potential for a future value added chain for this waste form, since the increment in energy density could enhance its transportation and use in locations far off the production site.

Performance of Biodrying Process based on Temperature Profile and Cumulation

The biodrying process of solid waste is an approach to the use of biomass energy, where solid waste is dried using the heat generated from aerobic degradation of organic matter. Temperature profile and cumulation of the solid waste biodrying process are the success factors in drying solid waste. The reactor used is made of plywood with dimensions of (30 × 30 × 100) cm equipped with a heat sink using Thermoshield Universal to minimize heat loss. Aeration discharge at the biodrying process reactor is 0.023 m3/kg/h. The results showed a maximum temperature of 61°C produced from the bottom layer of the biodrying reactor (addition of 6 l / min air flow) on the first day at 10:00 pm. Cumulation temperature in the bottom layer of the biodrying reactor for 21 days of research reached 186.9°C. This value is a source of heat generated from the decomposition of waste under aerobic conditions. Based on the three layers, it can be concluded that the bottom layer produces higher temperature cumulation than the top or middle layer. This research can be a reference for determining temperature monitoring points and knowing Temperature cumulation generated from the waste decomposition process using biodrying technology.

THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY USING IMPROVED COOKING STOVES FOR RURAL HOUSEHOLDS

Majority of the rural people from developing countries are dependent on agriculture sector and the major source of energy is traditional biomass. Due to radical climate changes, their dependency on traditional biomass and agriculture sector increases their vulnerability and deteriorates the environment as well. Therefore, this study attempts to highlight the potential of using renewable energy options to reduce this vulnerability. The focus of present research is the efficient utilization of solar energy and biomass using improved cooking stoves. Additionally, the vulnerability can be reduced by optimizing solar energy utilization and enhanced individuals' adaptive capacity with the use of improved cooking stoves. The environmental benefits of the use of improved cooking stoves through solar energy are also discussed. It is concluded that the efficient use of biomass and solar energy reduce individuals' susceptibility and improve their socio-economic status, education, health and climate change as well. These findings provide the guidelines to the regulators that they should enhance their focus towards renewable energy to reduce this vulnerability. Keywords: Health Benefits, Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Biomass. Climate ChangeJEL Classifications: Q26; Q54DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10216

A logistical and economical approach to coordinating a biomass supply chain, including energy characteristics

The use of biomass energy is increasingly widespread among industries. There is a growing demand for the purchase of biomass aiming at the generation of thermal and electric energy, as in the case of the sugar and energy sectors, pulp and paper and wood panels. The aim of this article is to analyze a biomass supply chain considering the offer, distance and energy characteristics of biomass. The demand for biofuel is from a panel industry located in the Metropolitan Region of Sorocaba. The final cost was calculated based on price quotes, freights and energy properties of each biomass. The biomasses chosen for analysis were: sawdust, wood chips, briquettes, firewood, standing eucalyptus forest (log) and rice husks. It was found that the largest supply of biomass at the lowest cost is in the distances between 50 km and 250 km. The best materials were wood chips and eucalyptus log. Freight was not a determining factor in the final cost of biomass, even for the longest distances. It was concluded that the chip and the log had advantages for different distances.

Sustainability of Forest-Based Bioenergy—A Case Study of Students Surveyed at a University in Finland

With the increasing use of forest biomass, concerns about negative impacts have been raised in the debate. The aim of this study was to find out the attitude of university students towards the energy use of forest-based biomass and how different areas of sustainable forest operations were addressed. The survey was conducted over two years (2018–2019) with both full-time students at university and distance learning students who study alongside their work. Background information such as gender, nationality and field of study was collected from students. Most of the students currently considered the energy use of forest biomass to be sustainable. Many replies stressed that the situation could change if the use of forests is increased from the present circumstances. The main factors mentioned that led to forest-based bioenergy being sustainable were positive felling balance, compliance with forest certification, use of waste fractions and implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) directive, while the loss of biodiversity, over-exploitation of forests, C debt and the cascading principle were factors that led to forest-based bioenergy being unsustainable. Student background variables had no effect on responses except for the field of study.

Can clean biomass energy use lower CO2 emissions in African economies? Empirical evidence from dynamic long-run panel framework.

This paper seeks to answer an empirical question of whether clean biomass energy consumption lowers CO2 emissions while controlling for technical innovation in eight selected countries from Africa for the 1980-2015 period. The countries which are chosen based on availability of data on biomass energy and technological innovation include Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Mauritius, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Zambia. Applying pooled mean group, mean group, and dynamic fixed effect panel estimators, the results indicate that clean biomass energy use decreases CO2 emission in the long run. But the effect of biomass energy consumption on CO2 emission is insignificant in the short run. The findings imply that CO2 emission can be reduced by increasing clean biomass energy in the energy mix of these countries. Similarly, environmental quality and economic growth can be achieved simultaneously by increasing the share of biomass energy in large-scale production process. Furthermore, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), which hypothesizes an inverted U-shaped relationship between CO2 emission and economic growth, was validated in the long run. This suggests that the EKC pattern is only observed in the long run. Thus, as part of recommendation from this study, policy makers in these countries should formulate more policies that will enhance clean biomass energy production and its usage to substitute significant percentage of fossil fuel use in production process.

Викoристaння енергії біомаси для теплозабезпечення кoмунально-побутових об’єктів господарства

The rise in energy prices and the deterioration of the ecological state of the environment, as a result of the growing consumption of fossil fuels, are prompting humanity to use biomass for energy needs. The agricultural complex is the main biomass producing industry. The transition of the heat supply system to a new basis, namely, to the use of biomass energy for the needs of communal and household facilities of farms, requires new methods for calculating the volume of the energy yield of an alternative source of heat supply based on crop waste, will ensure their more rational use. One of the problems for the effective use of an alternative source of heat supply based on crop waste is the development of a methodological approach to determine its volume for the heating season, taking into account the calorific properties. The purpose of the work is the effective use of an alternative source of heat supply based on crop waste by developing a methodological approach to determine the potential of energy harvest from crop waste, their volumes for the heating season, taking into account the calorific properties and the selection of technological equipment. The effective use of an alternative source of heat supply was carried out due to the rational use of the structure of the cultivated areas of the farm and the determination of the volume of fuel for the heating period, taking into account its calorific value according to ISO 1928: 1995 IDT, DSTU ISO 1928: 2006 "Solid mineral fuels. Determination of the highest calorific value by the method of combustion in a calorimetric bomb and the calculation of the net calorific value". According to the research results, one of the promising and relevant directions for the effective use of the potential of an alternative source of heat supply is proposed, namely the combination of the use of straw and gas compressed into bales. The structure of the fields from which you can harvest 2 crops - food and energy - is presented. With the calorific value of straw 10501 kJ/kg and the volume of its combustion 12.130 centners, the heating period is 162 days, which leads to the replacement of natural gas in the amount of 42 thousand m3/year.

Scenario Analysis of Renewable Energy–Biodiversity Nexuses Using a Forest Landscape Model

The introduction of renewable energy (RE) in harmony with nature is essential for building a sustainable society. However, the poorly designed introduction of RE can cause conflicts between energy production and biodiversity conservation. This study conducted a scenario analysis to evaluate potential conflicts in the nexuses between energy and biodiversity for a case study area, the Bekambeushi River watershed located in northeastern Japan. The increasing rate of pastureland abandonment resulting from a decreasing farmer population is a source of great uncertainty in this area. Two alternative sources of RE were selected to utilize these abandoned pasturelands, each taking a contrasting approach to meet targets stipulated by regional energy plans, thereby implying different ecological consequences at the landscape level. Thirty-one RE introduction cases were simulated, comprising a range of pastureland abandonment expansion speeds and ratios of solar photovoltaic (PV) plant installation to biomass energy use. These were superimposed using two IPCC representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios, 2.6 and 8.5, resulting in 62 cases that were summarized as three scenarios based on the RE supply–demand balance and the ecological impacts. The LANDIS-II model was used to simulate these scenarios from 2016 to 2100. The results indicate that both the rate of pastureland abandonment and the ratio of the two RE sources had a large impact on changes in tree species diversity and the habitat suitability of raptorial birds. Abandoned pastureland converted to tree biomass energy production shifted to pioneer species-dominated forest. The plant species composition of transitional forests varied between the climate scenarios. The higher temperature of the RCP 8.5 scenario toward 2100 prevented the establishment of Betula platyphylla and altered tree species diversity and the habitat suitability of Ketupa blakistoni blakistoni. Biomass energy utilization produced less energy than the demand but increased the three ecological indicators. Solar PV systems provided more energy than the regional demand, but the three ecological indicators decreased. However, an appropriate mixture of the two RE sources satisfied the regional energy demand and maintained ecological conditions. Our results suggest that land–energy planning should consider energy–biodiversity nexuses to a strike balance between decarbonization and biodiversity conservation.

Large Scale Shrub Biomass Estimates for Multiple Purposes.

With the increase of forest fires in Portugal in recent decades, a significant part of woodlands is being converted into shrubland areas. Background: From an ecological point of view, woodlands and shrublands play an essential role, as they not only prevent soil erosion and desertification, but also contribute to soil protection, habitat preservation and restoration, and also increased biodiversity for carbon sequestration. Concerning the shrublands, the assessment of their biomass is essential for evaluating the fuel load and forest fire behavior and also beneficial for obtaining estimates of carbon and biomass for energy use. Methods: In this study, we collected data about the potential shrub biomass accumulation along fifteen years in former burnt areas within North Portugal. Results: The achieved results showed that for a post-fire period ranging from one to 15 years, the accumulated shrubs’ biomass ranged from 0.12 up to 28.88 Mg ha−1. The model developed to estimate the shrub biomass using the time after a fire (age) as a predictor variable presented a high adjustment to data (p-value of the F statistic <0.01 and R2 = 0.89), allowing estimating shrub biomass regeneration within former burnt areas with an RMSE of 3.31 Mg ha−1. Conclusions: This paper provides practical information on the availability and assessment of shrub biomass in North Portugal, highlighting the suitability of shrubs as potential sources of biomass.