Environmental Friendly Practices Research Articles

Biogas as Fuel for a Fuel Cell System: Investigations and First Experimental Results for a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell

Abstract The environmental benefits related to fuel cells can be enhanced if hydrogen is produced through an environmental friendly practice. Gasification has been widely usied for decades for syngas production from coal, by the so called Integrated Gasification Combined Plants (IGCC), allowing a dramatic emissions reduction, compared to combustion. For these two reasons, several authors have analyzed the possibility of realizing gasification plants coupled with fuel cell systems and, eventually a bottoming cycle. If the gas, however, is produced using a renewable source of energy, such as biomass, the related emissions reduction and fossil fuel preservation represent a further improvement for the environmental performance of the system. In the present study, advantages of an MCFC biogas fueled system is discussed, along with the technical problems related with the integration of the FC section with a Gasifier. Finally, experimental results conducted on a single cell are reported.

Owner’s preferences and government intervention: Monfragüe shire study case

The public have an increasing interest in Dehesa environmental services (recreation, option and existence values). The growing Government incentives on environmental friendly agricultural practices have given a new opportunity for private economics of natural and environmental resources in Dehesa. This work presents the results from a Delphi questionnaire on owners’ preferences and demands of compensations for undertaking environmental conservation and improvement measures in Dehesa of Monfragüe shire. The private owners of Dehesa are investors that have, at the same time, commercial aims and private environmental services autoconsumption preferences. A contingent valuation questionnaire has been applied to a group of Dehesa ’ owners to measure the maximum willingness to pay (WTP) —to accept losses— of commercial capital income against the maintenance of private environmental services autoconsumption. The Delphi results show that owners’attitude is in favour to follow the environmental friendly agricultural practices, when the Government incentives are higher than the losses of commercial capital income plus a risk premium. The value of owners’ autoconsumption measured by the WTP question from the contingent valuation gives an autoconsumption profitability rate from 1% to 5% of the total market value of the Dehesa.

Agriculture et agroalimentaire : technologies de l'information pour garantir la qualit� des produits et le respect de l'environnement

Abstract Presently, due to the social demand, two trends weigh heavily on the agricultural and food production : foodstuff quality enhancement and the search for more environmental-friendly agricultural practices. Agriculture and the food industry are expected to take into account technical, social, economical and environmental factors. To do this means developing adaptability, and to adapt quickly one requires reliable and accurate information. This is why it is developed technologies and methodologies for acquiring and processing information in the agricultural fields and in the food processing plants. In agriculture, our main goals are to collect information from the field and to accurately model the cultivation practices that need to be improved. Embedded sensors are based on artificial vision and microwaves. In artificial vision, the main obstacles to be overcome are heterogenous lighting conditions, the great variability of biological products and the segmentation process (due to overlapping objects). Complex cultivation practices such as pesticide spraying or manuring are either optimised — using fluid mechanics for spraying, balistics for manuring- or replaced by robotic-based techniques. In food processing, research has been carried out on the modelling of the human perception and decision-making when assessing food quality. Powerful investigation techniques such as magnetic nuclear resonance are currently being studied to provide more in-depth knowledge of food products. Low—cost sensors (based on artificial vision, infrared spectroscopy) are developed to allow on-line, non destructive measurement of food characteristics (for instance sugar content in fruit). That implies technology studies (choice of the components, design), modelling (for instance, the light distribution in fruit), and chemometrics. Finally, the decisions of the human operator of food processing lines are modelled by artificial intelligence : fuzzy rules are created using either expert knowledge or fuzzy inference systems. These research methods are consistently applied to relevant and every-day problems. They engender multidisciplinary approaches carried out under heavy constraints (of cost, real-time, robustness) at the crossroads where Engineering, and Biology meet Social demands.

Creating competitive advantage by using environment-friendly building processes

As a result of the oil crisis of the 1970s, energy saving in the construction and operation of buildings has been a strategic issue in the building industry. Energy consumption has a significant impact on the environment in terms of the resulting emissions and by-products. However, energy consumption is not the only building item that impacts on the environment. Other items such as site planning, waste management, selection of materials and design for flexibility, together with energy planning form the agenda for sustainable building practices and are a critical factor in addressing the environmental crisis. As strategic as energy saving has been since the oil crisis, environment-friendly building practices today provide competitive advantage for the firms that embrace them. Based on a case study drawn from Botswana, this paper discusses some environment-friendly building practices and the importance of considering the sustainability of the building at the design stage because decisions made here influence all downstream processes. The paper concludes by emphasizing that, although much progress on environmental improvement has been made as a result of legislation and regulations, these efforts need to be complemented with the contribution of the business sector that is compelled by financial gains in adopting environment-friendly practices.

Environmental Sustainability of Hong Kong's Housing System and the Housing Process Model

A preliminary assessment of the overall environmental sustainability of the existing housing system of Hong Kong is given, and the usefulness of M. Bhatti's building life-cycle model in developing a policy for sustainable housing development is assessed. While it is found that housing development in this highly compact city may not be ecologically sustainable, high-density living does enable some environment-friendly practices. The life-cycle model is instrumental in estimating the overall greenness of the housing processes, and prompts the need for formulating a sustainable housing policy. However, the model itself does not provide a framework for developing such a policy.

The Green Supply Chain: Integrating Suppliers into Environmental Management Processes

IN BRIEFIn business today, companies cannot ignore environmental issues. Increasing government regulation and stronger public mandates for environmental accountability have brought these issues into the executive suite, and onto strategic planning agendas. At the same time, companies are integrating their supply chain processes to lower costs and better serve customers. These two trends are not independent; companies must involve suppliers and purchasers to meet and even exceed the environmental expectations of their customers and their governments. Based on case studies of five companies in the furniture industry, a number of supply chain environmentally‐friendly practices (EFP) are identified. Using accepted qualitative research methods for case‐based research, several primary areas for change to increase purchasing's impact on environmental results are identified: 1. Materials used in product design for the environment 2. Product design processes 3. Supplier process improvement 4. Supplier evaluation 5. Inbound logistics processesThe experiences of these companies illustrate the types of environmentally‐friendly practices used in each of these five areas, and “rules of thumb” which purchasing and supply chain managers can apply. Two additional themes which emerge from this research are the importance of management's commitment to supply chain EFP, and the need to move beyond environmental compliance to achieve a proactive environmentally‐friendly supply chain.

‘Green’ value chain practices in the furniture industry

AbstractThis paper draws on the results of interviews with five environmental managers in the furniture industry to develop a taxonomy of environmentally‐friendly (‘green’) best practices within the operations management value chain. This taxonomy is then extended to develop a group of propositions concerning the role of management in promoting environmentally‐friendly practices. The results suggest that in order to be successful, environmental management strategies must be integrated into all stages of the value chain, which includes all of the processes spanning product design, procurement, manufacturing and assembly, packaging, logistics, and distribution. While the potential for environmental performance improvement in all five of the companies is evident, all of them demonstrated ‘pockets’ of environmentally‐friendly practices (EFP) in different areas of their respective value chain functions. The propositions and results emerging from the analysis also suggests that reacting to regulations is no longer sufficient. World‐class EFP must anticipate and pre‐empt changing environmental regulations and customer expectations, and proactively prepare products, processes and infrastructure for these changes without sacrificing competitive advantage.

Nouvelle PAC et nouveaux projets d'irrigation

New CAP and investments in irrigation facilities In France, there is an increasing trend in irrigated land, especially where there are cereal and oil seed crops. In connection with the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, major changes have affected irrigating farmers. This reform combines a decrease in farm prices with compensatory direct payments and a land set-aside scheme (restricted to professional farm operators). The implementation of the scheme takes into account regional diversity since payments are based on a flat rate per hectare which is determined using a reference yield for each "départements". Besides, special reference yields concerning irrigated crops are set apart in 55 "départements" to reflect the higher yields of irrigated land. Nevertheless there is an upper limit for this compensation, since only land equipped with irrigation facilities by 1992, is considered. The potential behaviour of a representative farmer facing this scheme is derived from a single microeconomic model. There is some evidence that it would not be profitable to develop facilities in order to irrigate more land. This conclusion holds for a drop in price as well as for the upper limit of total subsidy. It is questionable where there is a significant difference between reference and actual yields. A dramatic increase in world prices similar with the increase of 1995 could make profitable investing in irrigation facilities. This scheme involves a top premium part on water input which benefits irrigating farmers. They are entitled with property rights over water resources which are revealed through the payment scheme. Farmers' rights may prevail upon the rights of other categories of water users. This distribution of property rights does not reflect the social value of water in its alternative uses. Thus the CAP reform leads to paying pecuniary externalities, and results in a monetary transfer which benefits intensive cropping systems. This scheme does not benefit low input farming which creates amenities. Such a mechanism supports farm concentration, cost-competitive farming systems while environmental friendly practices are not encouraged.

The role of public extension in introducing environment-friendly farming methods in Turkey

Abstract Public good will towards the investment in research and extension on environment-friendly production practices is the justification for publicly funded extension services. Although there are major environmental problems associated with agricultural production in Turkey, the present role of public extension service to control and reduce adverse environmental effects is minimal. The short term goal of the publicly funded agricultural extension is to establish a control and enforcement system which will ensure that the current production practices cause as little harm as possible to the environment. In the long term, however, publicly provided investment in research and extension on sustainable agricultural systems is necessary. The investments should aim towards ensuring a wholesome food supply for the community whilst maintaining the quality of the environment and natural resources.

Die Rol van die Algemene Praktisyn/ - Huisarts in die Handhawing van 'n Gesonde Omgewing

The Rio de Janeiro earth summit placed new emphasis on the ecological crisis. Some researchers predict that there is about 8 years left before a totality irreversible systems collapse of the earth will occur, unless timely action is taken. This paper summarises the current global and South African status of the ecological crisis, as well as the immediate and future health effects ensuing from it. Both the general and the occupational environment are addressed. As a well informed and respected member of any community, the family physician has a crucial role to play in protecting the environment. Ways of doing this include; active involvement in environmental health matters in a given community; involvement in occupational health at employing institutions, involvement in the development of communities ; sensitivity to environmental causes of ill health and environmental friendly medical practice.

Effects of Temperature, Rainfall and Relative Humidity on Leaf Spot of Jackfruit Seedling and its Eco-friendly Management

Experiments were carried out during 2005-08 to study the effect of weather prevalence of seedling diseases of jackfruit in different areas of Bangladesh and develop an environment friendly disease management practice. Leaf spot causal pathogen Colletotrichum gloeosporioides was identified. Incidence and severity of leaf spot at seedling stage were studied and significant variations were observed depending on weather factors. Occurrence of seedling diseases was significantly influenced by temperature, rainfall and relative humidity. Comparative effectiveness of BAU-biofungicide either alone or in combination with two fungicides viz. Cupravit and Bavistin were evaluated on jackfruit in the nursery. Among the treatments applied, Trichoderma harzianum based BAU-Biofungicide showed best result in controlling leaf spot disease. Keywords: Jackfruit seedling; leaf spot disease; ecofriendly management; BAU-Biofungicide DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/agric.v9i1-2.9487The Agriculturists 2011; 9(1&2): 126-136