Biomass Energy Production Research Articles

An assessment of circular economy interventions in the peach canning industry

This research identifies and assesses the added value of Circular Economy (CE) to the industrialized production of canned peaches in Greece through the valorisation of the peach kernel, as current supply chain (SC) configurations often overlook it. To this end, this study maps the SC, records manufacturing processing inputs and outputs, and reviews relevant CE interventions that can be applied. The identified interventions are then assessed at an economic, environmental and social level via analyzing economic indicators, conducting a Life Cycle Assessment, and providing a critical discussion on the possible social impacts. Specifically, four scenarios are compared for the case of a canning facility with an annual processing capacity of 10,000 tons of peaches, including: (i) no valorisation to of the peach kernel, (ii) utilization of the peach kernel to generate energy from combustion, (iii) use of the peach kernel to extract oil, and (iv) peach kernel processing for producing both energy and peach oil. The results indicate that all identified CE interventions are advantageous, with the combination of biomass energy and peach oil production being the preferable scenario resulting in a 6.22% increase of the Gross Profit Margin (due to lower energy cost and added revenue from the peach oil) and 16.58% reduction of CO2 emissions (due to the reduced use of crude oil). Notably, peach oil production can be a viable investment for industries that do not have the capital to invest in a biomass plant. Regarding the social aspects, this reconfiguration could benefit farmers by supporting their income under the assumption that the derived profits are distributed fairly. This research contributes to the extant body of circular SC operations literature by assessing an emerging value chain through reconfiguring an established manufacturing network.

Green Economy—Green Jobs in the Context of Sustainable Development

Europe is in the middle of an energy crisis, exacerbated in large part by skyrocketing gas costs. Renewable energy is critical in this environment for decreasing Europe’s reliance on imported energy; boosting renewables in Europe requires a ‘New Energy Compact’—a coordinated effort throughout Europe to build more renewable energy capacity. The purpose of this research is to examine the structure of renewable energy production in Romania between 2010 and 2020, as well as the green employment produced by the renewable energy sector in Romania between 2010 and 2019. Using the Markov chain approach, it was predicted that in 2025, the hydropower industry’s employees would account for the biggest proportion of the overall average number of workers engaged in the renewable energy production sector in Romania (74.68%). Solar energy production employees will account for 14.31% of the average number of workers in the renewable energy production sector, biomass energy production employees will account for 5.8%, and wind energy production employees will account for 5.2% of the average number of workers in the green energy sector.

Systems knowledge for sustainable soil and land management

While soils and land are pivotal elements of many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and societal challenges, they face degradation and reduction of related functions and services worldwide. Societal demands on soils and land are increasing, including contributions to climate change mitigation and adaptation, ecosystem services, biodiversity and biomass production for food, feed, fiber and energy. This adverse combination of reducing capacities and increasing demands requires rapid transition towards sustainable soil and land management that mitigates trade-offs and creates synergies. Likewise, a transformation of soil and land research is required to scientifically support the sustainable transformation.Based on a literature analysis combined with engagement of soil and land scientists, we developed a systemic research framework for sustainable soil and land management to support the implementation of the Horizon Europe Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”. The framework summarizes soil and land related topics into six societal challenges and associates them with eight knowledge types that outline integrated research for development and implementation of sustainable soil and land management. We propose that research should be aligned with living labs and lighthouses to leverage local solutions, innovation, training and education. We outline the role of experimentation, data analysis, assessment, modelling and the importance of research for institutions, governance and policy support. For encouraging a swift transition towards a systems approach for sustainable soil and land management, we concluded that among all knowledge types, those addressing socio-economic interrelations with soil health and related policies currently represent the biggest bottleneck.

Assessing the potential for unaccounted emissions from bioenergy and the implications for forests: The United States and global

AbstractDevelopment of the bioenergy sector is being actively pursued in many countries as a means to reduce climate change and fulfill international climate agreements such as the Paris Agreement. Although biomass for energy production (especially wood pellets) can replace carbon‐intensive fossil fuels, its net greenhouse gas impact varies, and the production of wood pellets can also lead to intensification in forest harvests and reduction of forest carbon stocks. Additionally, under specific conditions, emissions associated with imported biomass feedstocks may be omitted from national accounts, due to incompatibilities in accounting approaches. We assessed the risks and potential scale of emissions omitted from accounts (EOA) among key trading regions, focusing on the demand for wood pellets under different levels of climate mitigation targets. Our results suggest that the global production of wood pellets would grow from 38.9 to 120 Mton/year between 2019 and 2050 in a scenario that limits global mean temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre‐industrial levels. A large portion of this occurs in North America (36.8 Mton/year by 2050), Europe (47.6 Mton/year by 2050), and Asia (23.3 Mton/year by 2050). We estimate that in a 1.5°C scenario, global EOA associated with international trade of wood pellets has the potential to reach 23.81 MtCO2eq/year by 2030 and 69.52 MtCO2eq/year in 2050. Emissions resulting from European biomass energy production, based on wood pellet imports from the United States, may reach 11.68 MtCO2eq/year by 2030 and 33.57 MtCO2eq/year in 2050. The production of wood pellet feedstocks may also present a substantial carbon price arbitrage opportunity for bioenergy producers through a conjunction of two distinct GHG accounting rules. If this opportunity is realized, it could accelerate the growth of the bioenergy industry to levels that harm forests’ function as a carbon sink and omit actual emissions in national and global accounting frameworks.

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.

Biomass Energy Resource – Future of Global Power Production

The population of the planet continues to rise rapidly. As a result, the percentage of global energy consumption is growing significantly. Methods of biomass briquettes and BDH (Biomass District Heating) with the biomass energy source has the attributes of fossil fuel while also being able to stored, renewed and transported. While conventional power sources are non-renewable and results in pollution. Thus, countries are setting up biomass power plants for developing an eco-friendly process for power production. This study states the new age technologies for biomass energy production, their economic and environmental benefits along with the capacity of these large plants to provide employment in bulk. The limitations of biomass energy are also stated along with how India, a developing country is coping with the installment of the newest technologies. Thus, replacing the fossil fuels in the upcoming dawns for a better environment.

Nitrogen deficiency results in changes to cell wall composition of sorghum seedlings

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] has been gaining attention as a feedstock for biomass energy production. While it is obvious that nitrogen (N) supply significantly affects sorghum growth and biomass accumulation, our knowledge is still limited regarding the effect of N on the biomass quality of sorghum, such as the contents and structures of lignin and other cell wall components. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of N supply on the structure and composition of sorghum cell walls. The cell walls of hydroponically cultured sorghum seedlings grown under sufficient or deficient N conditions were analyzed using chemical, two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance, gene expression, and immunohistochemical methods. We found that the level of N supply considerably affected the cell wall structure and composition of sorghum seedlings. Limitation of N led to a decrease in the syringyl/guaiacyl lignin unit ratio and an increase in the amount and alteration of tissue distribution of several hemicelluloses, including mixed linkage (1 → 3), (1 → 4)-β-d-glucan, and arabinoxylan. At least some of these cell wall alterations could be associated with changes in gene expression. Nitrogen status is thus one of the factors affecting the cell wall properties of sorghum seedlings.

Experimental Studies of Structural and Technological Parameters of a Downdraft Gasifier Based on Plant Biomass

The relevance of the study is conditioned upon the need to develop and implement structural and technological solutions to improve the efficiency of the chemical and thermal conversion of biomass into combustible gas. Within the framework of the above, the authors of this paper have designed a downdraft gasifier running on plant biomass. The presented research links the heat quantity received from the utilisation of syngas produced during the gasifier operation cycle with the parameters of the gas blow regime and the physico-chemical properties of biomass. For an in-depth study of the influence of the gas blow regime on the yield and calorific value of syngas produced from biomass, the authors introduce the concept of the blow coverage quality coefficient. This coefficient describes the quality of the cross-section coverage of the gasification chamber neck with gas currents of the tuyere zone. The purpose of this study is to establish the influence of the blow coverage quality coefficient, the volume of blow gases and the void ratio of the bulk biomass layer on the heat quantity received from syngas produced during the gasifier operation cycle. A multi-factor experiment was planned and performed, which relates the dependent factor to variables, and the corresponding response surfaces were constructed. The research findings are that the maximum value of the heat quantity received from the utilisation of syngas produced during the one-hour gasifier operation cycle was 519 MJ. This value is achieved with 0.8 blow coverage quality coefficient and a blow gas volume of 47.4 m3/h and 46.75% void ratio of the bulk biomass layer. The measurement results are highly consistent with the calculated data. The coefficient of determination was R2=0.983. The practical value of this study is to substantiate the rational design and technological parameters of the downdraft biomass gasifier operation, which will increase the efficiency of biomass energy production. The findings presented in this study can be used both to design new gasifiers and to improve the efficiency of the available ones

Combustion Characterisation of Bituminous Coal and Pinus Sawdust Blends by Use of Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis

The cocombustion of coal and pinus sawdust waste is an economically viable and sustainable option for increasing the share of biomass in energy production. This technology also has the potential to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from existing coal fired power plants. The thermal synergistic effects of cocombusting Hwange bituminous coal (HC) with Pinus sawdust (PS) were thus investigated using thermogravimetric analysis. Fuel blending mass ratios of 100HC, 90HC10PS, 80HC20PS, 70HC30PS, and 100PS under an oxidative atmosphere at three different heating rates of 5, 12.5, and 20 °C/min were used for the experimental setup. Zero to negative synergy was generally observed for the mass loss curves (TG) at different blending ratios. Generally positive synergy was observed with relation to rate of mass loss curves (DTG) for the 80HC20PS and 70HC30PS fuel blends only. The ignition index increased with blending ratio by an average of 42.86%, whilst the burnout index showed a maximum increase of 14.6% at 20 °C/min. However, the combustion index representative of stability showed a decreasing trend generally for all the heating rates. No combustion index produced a linear variation with temperature, though upon evaluation, an optimum mass ratio of 20% pinus sawdust was suggested. The chosen optimum blending ratio demonstrated increased ignition and burnout indexes whilst maintaining the stability of combustion at a reasonable range.

Phytoplankton diversity affects biomass and energy production differently during community development

Abstract Biodiversity determines the productivity and stability of ecosystems but some aspects of biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships remain poorly resolved. One key uncertainty is the inter‐relationship between biodiversity, energy and biomass production as communities develop over time. Energy production drives biomass accumulation but the ratio of the two processes can change during community development. How biodiversity affects these temporal patterns remains unknown. We empirically assessed how species diversity mediates the rates of increase and maximum values of biomass and net energy production in experimental phytoplankton communities over 10 days in the laboratory. We used five phytoplankton species to assemble three levels of diversity (monocultures, bicultures and communities) and we quantify their changes in biomass production and energy fluxes (energy produced by photosynthesis, consumed by metabolism, and net energy production as their difference) as the cultures move from a low density, low competition system to a high density, high competition system. We find that species diversity affects both biomass and energy fluxes but in different ways. Diverse communities produce net energy and biomass at faster rates, reaching greater maximum biomass but with no difference in maximum net energy production. Bounds on net energy production seem stronger than those on biomass because competition limits energy fluxes as biomass accumulates over time. In summary, diversity initially enhances productivity by diffusing competitive interactions but metabolic density dependence reduces these positive effects as biomass accumulates in older communities. By showing how biodiversity affects both biomass and energy fluxes during community development, our results demonstrate a mechanism that underlies positive biodiversity effects and offer a framework for comparing biodiversity effects across systems at different stages of development and disturbance regimes. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Performance Analysis of Biomass Energy using Machine and Deep Learning Approaches

Nowadays, fossil fuels such as petroleum, diesel and coal are being used as an energy source in every modern machinery but these are non-renewable and available in certain domain of nature only. Additionally, excess use of such fuels can cause environmental pollutions, damage of human inhaling process and increase the dependency on other oil rich countries. These challenges could be avoided by using Biomass Energy, which is clean and renewable. Precisely, Biomass Energy is based on hydrocarbon materials which could come from both animal and plant derivatives. There are three forms of Biomass Energy: (i) Gases-methane, ethane etc.; (ii) Liquid-ethanol, biodiesel etc., and (iii) Solid-biochar and activated carbon. These energies are acknowledged for cost effectiveness, renewable nature and less emerging pollutants as compared to fossil fuels. At the present time, these renewable Biomass Energies are useful to operate large number of advanced machines, along with which, the challenge isto estimate the production of Biomass Energy from the available biomass sources without hampering the biodiversity. Therefore, in this study Machine and Deep Learning algorithms are used to calculate the Biomass Energy. Moreover, this work introduces number of Machine and Deep Learning approaches to compute the Biomass Energy production along with Machine Learning tools to analyze the performance of Biomass Energy.

Calcium ions-effect on performance, growth and extracellular nature of microalgal-bacterial symbiosis system treating wastewater

Microalgal-bacterial symbiosis (MABS) system treating wastewater has attracted great concern because of its advantages of carbon dioxide reduction and biomass energy production. However, due to the low density and negative surface charge of microalgae cells, the sedimentation and harvesting performance of microalgae biomass has been one limitation for the application of MABS system on wastewater treatment. This study investigated the performance enhancement of microalgae harvesting and wastewater treatment contributed by calcium ions (i.e., Ca2+) in the MABS system. Results showed that a low Ca2+ loading (i.e., 0.1 mM) promoted both COD and nutrients removal, with growth rates of 11.95, 6.53 and 1.21% for COD, TN and TP compared to control, and chlorophyll a was increased by 64.15%. Differently, a high Ca2+ loading (i.e., 10 mM) caused removal reductions by improving the aggregation of microalgae, with reduction rates of 34.82, 3.50 and 10.30% for COD, NH4+-N and TP. Mechanism analysis indicated that redundant Ca2+ adsorbed on MABS aggregates and dissolved in wastewater decreased the dispersibility of microalgae cells by electrical neutralization and compressed double electric layer. Moreover, the presence of Ca2+ could improve extracellular secretions and promoted flocculation performance, with particle size increasing by 336.22%. The findings of this study may provide some solutions for the enhanced microalgae biomass harvest and nutrients removal from wastewater.

Energy properties of Eucalyptus benthamii wood based on tree age and region in Guarapuava, Paraná state, Brazil

This study aimed to evaluate the properties of Eucalyptus benthamii wood for bioenergy purposes. Trees were sampled in five diametric classes and used to evaluate properties of the wood according to three ages (5, 6 and 7 years) in three regions of E. benthamii production in Parana state, southern Brazil. The basic density, proximate analysis, gross calorific value and net calorific value, and energy density were determined. For evaluation of the energy properties, 27 composite samples were used, which represented tree classes of minimum, medium and maximum diameter. The variables were statistically analysed under the effect of tree age and region. Basic density was positively affected by age, and this effect was reflected in energy density of the wood. The interaction of Region 1 with trees of age seven years identified the best conditions for biomass energy production from this source. As there were no significant differences in the immediate chemical analysis and the calorific value for either factor evaluated, we suggest that plantation managers could reduce the cutting cycle without compromising the energy efficiency of these forests.

The added value of satellite observations of methane forunderstanding the contemporary methane budget

Surface observations have recorded large and incompletely understood changes to atmospheric methane (CH4) this century. However, their ability to reveal the responsible surface sources and sinks is limited by their geographical distribution, which is biased towards the northern midlatitudes. Data from Earth-orbiting satellites designed specifically to measure atmospheric CH4 have been available since 2009 with the launch of the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). We assess the added value of GOSAT to data collected by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which have been the lynchpin for knowledge about atmospheric CH4 since the 1980s. To achieve that we use the GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemistry transport model and an inverse method to infer a posteriori flux estimates from the NOAA and GOSAT data using common a priori emission inventories. We find the main benefit of GOSAT data is from its additional coverage over the tropics where we report large increases since the 2014/2016 El Niño, driven by biomass burning, biogenic emissions and energy production. We use data from the European TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument to show how better spatial coverage and resolution measurements allow us to quantify previously unattainable diffuse sources of CH4, thereby opening up a new research frontier.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 1)’.

Improved Production of Xylanase in Pichia pastoris and Its Application in Xylose Production From Xylan

Xylanases with high specific activity has been focused with great interest as a useful enzyme in biomass utilization. The production of recombinant GH11 xylanase (MYCTH_56237) from Myceliophthora thermophila has been improved through N-terminal signal peptide engineering in P. pastoris. The production of newly recombinant xylanase (termed Mtxyn11C) was improved from 442.53 to 490.7 U/mL, through a replacement of α-factor signal peptide with the native xylanase signal peptide segment (MVSVKAVLLLGAAGTTLA) in P. pastoris. Scaling up of Mtxyn11C production in a 7.5 L fermentor was improved to the maximal production rate of 2503 U/mL. In this study, the degradation efficiency of Mtxyn11C was further examined. Analysis of the hydrolytic mode of action towards the birchwood xylan (BWX) revealed that Mtxyn11C was clearly more effective than commercial xylanase and degrades xylan into xylooligosaccharides (xylobiose, xylotriose, xylotetraose). More importantly, Mtxyn11C in combination with a single multifunctional xylanolytic enzyme, improved the hydrolysis of BWX into single xylose by 40%. Altogether, this study provided strategies for improved production of xylanase together with rapid conversion of xylose from BWX, which provides sustainable, cost-effective and environmental friendly approaches to produce xylose/XOSs for biomass energy or biofuels production.

Elephantgrass, a tropical grass for cutting and grazing

Elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum. syn. Cenchrus purpureus) is one of the most important forage plants worldwide, cultivated in almost all tropical and subtropical regions due to its high potential for dry matter production, nutritional value, acceptability by different animal species and categories, vigor, and persistence. It has shown great potential for biomass energy production and other forms of non-forage use. This study aimed to review the current knowledge about the cultivation and use elephantgrass focused on pasture and silage. The study also describes the main morphological, genetic, and cytogenetic characteristics of the species, and methods and strategies for obtaining improved cultivars. The release of dwarf type cultivars for grazing and cultivars with high-yield potential for silage has increased the interest in the cultivation of elephantgrass in the beef and dairy cattle production.

Revisiting the biomass energy-economic growth linkage of BRICS countries: A panel quantile regression with fixed effects approach

This study revisits the relationship between biomass energy and economic growth for the case of BRICS countries by adopting a newly introduced method: panel quantile regression with fixed effects via the method of moments. By applying this novel estimator based on the dataset from 1990 to 2017, our research provides a more detailed view of the heterogeneous impact of biomass energy production on different levels of economic growth of the BRICS countries. Specifically, our analysis results disclose that the influence of biomass energy production is insignificant at the 5th quantile, but it is positive and significant at the remaining quantiles. The impact of biomass energy extraction is also increasing gradually as quantile levels of economic growth increase. In addition to the above results, we also use the Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test to confirm the bidirectional causal nexus between economic growth and biomass energy. These results are the basis for us to make some policy recommendations for BRICS countries.

ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMICAL SUBSTATIATION OF PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN

Hydrogen production from biomass may become one of the leading areas of bioenergy in Ukraine soon.Currently, the main direction of biomass energy production in Ukraine is the production of thermal energy for distributed heat supply of enterprises and private households by burning biomass of wood and agricultural origin. Nowadays in Ukraine, there is a technology for the production of biohydrogen. We calculated the environmental and economic effects of hydrogen production as a source of energy. We have come up with the following conclusion that if there is a demand for the final product, hydrogen production will be attractive from economic standpoint and will not require a green tariff or other support from the government.The market price of biohydrogen will be $ 4-5 per kg and will be comparable to that which the European Union aims to achieve.We assume that hydrogen may be a cleaner source of energy for end users, especially in the transport sector in the future.One of the main issues of Ukraine's possible participation in Europe's hydrogen energy program as a supplier and producer of renewable hydrogen is the possibility of its technically safe and cost-effective transportation to EU countries.As the main hypothesis considered transportation of hydrogen using the gas transmission system of Ukraine as part of a mixture with natural gas. Calculations show that, of course, obtaining energy from hydrogen, even in mass production, will be more expensive than alternative traditional and non-traditional methods. The development of this technology, in any case, is promising in terms of the development of energy independence and environmental development of states. The effect of scale in mass production of hydrogen energy should also work, which will significantly reduce the cost of this technology.

Evaluation of cadmium and arsenic effects on wild and cultivated cardoon genotypes selected for metal phytoremediation and bioenergy purposes

Cynara cardunculus L. is a multipurpose crop, characterized by high production of biomass suitable for energy purposes and green chemistry. Taking advantage of its already demonstrated ability to grow in polluted environments that characterize many world marginal lands, the aim of this work was to investigate the response of different cardoon genotypes to exposure to cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) pollution, in order to use this crop for rehabilitation of contaminated sites and its biomass for energy production. In this study, seeds of two wild cardoon accessions harvested in rural and industrial Sicilian areas and of a selected line of domestic cardoon were used, and the grown plants were spiked with As and Cd, alone or in combination, at two different concentrations (500 and 2000 μM) and monitored for 45 days. The growth parameters showed that all the plants survived until the end of experiment, with growth stimulation in the presence of low concentrations of As and Cd, relative to metal-free controls. Biomass production was mostly allocated in the roots in As treatment and in the shoots in Cd treatment. Cd EXAFS analysis showed that tolerance to high concentrations of both metals was likely linked to complexation of Cd with oxygen-containing ligands, possibly organic acids, in both root and leaf biomass with differences in behaviour among genotypes. Under As+Cd contamination, the ability of the plants to translocate As to aboveground system increased also showing that, for both metal(loid)s, there were significant differences between genotypes studied. Moreover, the results showed that Cynara cardunculus var. sylvestris collected in an industrial area is the genotype that, among those studied, had the best phytoextraction capability for each metal(loid).

Duration of forest fertilization effects on streamwater chemistry in a catchment in central Sweden

Demands for forest biomass production for energy, construction and carbon storage purposes are increasing, and therefore measures to increase tree growth are required. One potential measure is nitrogen (N) fertilization, as N is usually the most growth-limiting nutrient in boreal forests and partly due to decreasing atmospheric N deposition in northern Europe in recent decades. However, N fertilization can have adverse effects, such as soil acidification and N leaching, particularly nitrate leaching via streamwater flow. To mitigate the acidification risk, dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) is added to N fertilizer boron (B) as increased tree growth hamper tree uptake of this essential micronutrient.This study examined the effects of forest fertilization on streamwater chemistry in the 45 ha Swedish catchment Risfallet (RF), around 80% of which was treated with fertilizer. That was rather exceptional, as most previous catchments studied have had <50% treated area, which may give weaker treatment signals. A paired catchment method combined with the control area and calibration period technique was applied to evaluate leaching effects from forest fertilization.Effects over 7.5 years were compared with previously reported initial effects in the first year, in order to assess the duration of fertilization effects on surface water. High excess outflow of N over five years was detected, with 20% of the applied amount leached and with nitrate dominating total nitrogen. Excess outflow of Ca and Mg was highest in the first year. Effects on pH were limited, with calculated untreated pH on 5.9 being on average 0.4 units lower during the first six months and then remaining at 0.2 units lower.Recommended could be to mainly fertilize well-drained soil, avoid wet areas and open streams. Consider the hydrological conditions while weather would be more hazardous to foresee.