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This article reflects the results of a study on sustainability of energy crops. Contribution to the reduction of the greenhouse effect and other environmental effects were investigated for the Netherlands. The study assumed that energy crops are grown on set aside or grain land. Generating electricity and/or heat from hemp, reed, miscanthus, poplar and willow have the best prospects. These crops are sustainable and may in the future be economically feasible. Ethanol from winter wheat has the most favourable environmental effects, but is economically not interesting. Liquid fuels from oil seed rape and sugar beet are not very sustainable.
Decentralised bioenergy systems are receiving increasing attention due to the potential ability to support local development, create local employment, and contribute to climate change mitigation. These issues, along with other bioenergy sustainability issues, are reviewed through eighteen international case studies with the objective of identifying opportunities and threats to decentralised bioenergy systems. The case studies were selected based on feedstock type, bioenergy type, production capacity, synergistic alliances, ownership structure and physical locations. This variation was used to provide a basis for evaluating opportunities and threats from different contexts. Commercial viability remains the primary...
There are unconventional fuels that may serve as near term major replacements for conventional mineral oil and natural gas. These include fuels from oil shale and bitumen, liquid fuels from coal, methane from methane hydrates, biofuels and the secondary fuel hydrogen. Here, these fuels will be reviewed as to their presumable stocks and life cycle wastes, emissions and inputs of natural resources. The unconventional fuels are usually characterized by a relatively poor source-to-burner energy efficiency when compared with current conventional mineral oil and gas. Apart from some varieties of hydrogen and biofuel, their life cycles are characterized by relatively large water inputs, emissions, and wastes. The unconventional...
ABSTRACT: This paper reports on the development of a mathematical model for forecasting energy development in the Yellowstone study area for the years 1985 and 2000, and determining the associated economic demands for water, land, labor, capital, and mineral resources. The study was prepared for use by the Missouri River Basin Commission in conducting a comprehensive, “Level B” planning study of the water and related land resources in the Yellowstone River Basin. The study results indicate that the amount of coal development in the Yellowstone study area will depend primarily upon state and federal energy policies and regulations. Policies related to slurry pipeline transportation of coal will be particularly important...
ABSTRACT: This paper reports on the development of a mathematical model for forecasting energy development in the Yellowstone study area for the years 1985 and 2000, and determining the associated economic demands for water, land, labor, capital, and mineral resources. The study was prepared for use by the Missouri River Basin Commission in conducting a comprehensive, “Level B” planning study of the water and related land resources in the Yellowstone River Basin. The study results indicate that the amount of coal development in the Yellowstone study area will depend primarily upon state and federal energy policies and regulations. Policies related to slurry pipeline transportation of coal will be particularly important...
The sustainability of the second-generation biofuels requests to confirm that the energy produced from lignocellulosic biomass is significantly greater than the energy consumed in the process. As lignocellulosic biomass does not affect the food supply, sugarcane bagasse was analyzed as a raw material for second-generation biofuels production. Exergy analysis serves as a unified and effective tool to evaluate the global process efficiency. Exergy analysis evaluates the performance of sugarcane bagasse and its sustainability in the bioethanol production process. In this work, four ethanol production topologies using the typical daily amount of residual biomass produced by the sugar industry were compared. The exergy...
Energy subsidies are widespread around the world but they vary greatly in importance and type of fuel and country. The fossil fuel consumption rate is growing every year and in about 50 years we will have depleted most of our fossil fuel reserves, so it is necessary to find alternative sources of energy before that happens. However, the only solution to this challenge is through investment on energy conservation programmes and renewable energy source. In line with this challenge and confusion on fund appropriate for energy. This paper is aimed at examining the effect of energy subsidy on energy conservation and renewable energy in developing countries. The study intends to quantify and analysis a case study of Trinidad...
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This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas). The Clean and Plentiful Water category in this web service includes layers illustrating the ecosystems and natural resources that filter and regulate water, the need or demand for clean and plentiful water, the impacts associated with water quality, and factors that place stress on water quality and supply. EnviroAtlas allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the conterminous United States. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this web service is located within each web...
Types: Citation; Tags: 12-digit HUCs, Agriculture, Air, Alabama, Alaska, All tags...
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This EnviroAtlas web service supports research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas). The Food, Fuel, and Materials category in this web service includes layers illustrating the ecosystems and natural resources that provide or support the production of food, fuel, or other materials, the need or demand for these items, the impacts associated with their presence and accessibility, and factors that place stress on the natural environment's capability to provide these benefits. EnviroAtlas allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the conterminous United States. Additional descriptive...
Types: Citation; Tags: 12-digit HUCs, Agriculture, Air, Alabama, Alaska, All tags...
For grading different types of renewable energy based electricity generation systems, a figure of merit has been proposed and evaluated. The figure of merit has been obtained by analyzing total energy utilization in constructing and installing the systems and by their respective electricity generation. The gross carbon emission has also been estimated for evaluation of figure of merit. This figure of merit clearly indicates that wind power is the most sustainable source for electricity generation, followed by small hydropower and solar photovoltaics.
Transformational energy and climate policies are being debated worldwide that could have significant impact upon the future of the forest products industry. Because woody biomass can produce alternative transportation fuels, low-carbon electricity, and numerous other "green" products in addition to traditional paper and lumber commodities, the future use of forest resources is highly uncertain. Using the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS), this paper assesses the future of the forest products industry under three possible U.S. policy scenarios: (1) a national renewable electricity standard, (2) a national policy of carbon constraints, and (3) incentives for industrial energy efficiency. In addition, we discuss...
Biofuels world production has increased sharply in recent years. Oil reserves depletion, the oil high price and the confidence in biofuels “carbon neutrality” are the main causes of this phenomenon. However, claims related to the negative consequences of biofuel programs are frequent; mainly those related to the biofuels/food competition and sustainability. This paper aims to contribute for the development of a framework for sustainability indicators as a tool for performance assessment. The most used indicators to measure the biofuels sustainability are: Life Cycle Energy Balance (LCEB), quantity of fossil energy substituted per hectare, co-product energy allocation, life cycle carbon balance and changes in soil...
The objective of this paper is to provide a review on the latest developments on the main initiatives and approaches for the sustainability certification for biofuels and/or bioenergy. A large number of national and international initiatives lately experienced rapid development in the view of the biofuels and bioenergy targets announced in the European Union, United States and other countries worldwide. The main certification initiatives are analysed in detail, including certification schemes for crops used as feedstock for biofuels, the various initiatives in the European Union, United States and globally, to cover biofuels and/or biofuels production and use. Finally, the possible way forward for biofuel certification...
Energy subsidies are widespread around the world but they vary greatly in importance and type of fuel and country. The fossil fuel consumption rate is growing every year and in about 50 years we will have depleted most of our fossil fuel reserves, so it is necessary to find alternative sources of energy before that happens. However, the only solution to this challenge is through investment on energy conservation programmes and renewable energy source. In line with this challenge and confusion on fund appropriate for energy. This paper is aimed at examining the effect of energy subsidy on energy conservation and renewable energy in developing countries. The study intends to quantify and analysis a case study of Trinidad...
Societal concerns about the social and environmental impacts of biofuel production are driving producers to adopt better management practices. Existing certification schemes for sustainable biofuel production are, however, biased towards industrial-scale producers that have the financial capital and economies of scale to meet sustainability and certification objectives. Smallholder farmers in developing countries, by contrast, often lack the means and capacity to do so. Some of the challenges faced by smallholders include high certification costs, insufficient institutional capacity, inadequate financial and social incentives, poor group organization and lack of external support. Drawing lessons from existing certification...
Societal concerns about the social and environmental impacts of biofuel production are driving producers to adopt better management practices. Existing certification schemes for sustainable biofuel production are, however, biased towards industrial-scale producers that have the financial capital and economies of scale to meet sustainability and certification objectives. Smallholder farmers in developing countries, by contrast, often lack the means and capacity to do so. Some of the challenges faced by smallholders include high certification costs, insufficient institutional capacity, inadequate financial and social incentives, poor group organization and lack of external support. Drawing lessons from existing certification...
This article reflects the results of a study on sustainability of energy crops. Contribution to the reduction of the greenhouse effect and other environmental effects were investigated for the Netherlands. The study assumed that energy crops are grown on set aside or grain land. Generating electricity and/or heat from hemp, reed, miscanthus, poplar and willow have the best prospects. These crops are sustainable and may in the future be economically feasible. Ethanol from winter wheat has the most favourable environmental effects, but is economically not interesting. Liquid fuels from oil seed rape and sugar beet are not very sustainable.
This study deals with modeling and analyzing the performance of greenhouses from the power plant through the heating system to the greenhouse envelope using exergy analysis method, the so-called low exergy or LowEx approach, which has been and still being successfully used in sustainable buildings design, for the first time to the best of the author’s knowledge. For the heating applications, three options are studied with (i) a solar assisted vertical ground-source heat pump greenhouse heating system, (ii) a wood biomass boiler, and (iii) a natural gas boiler, which are driven by renewable and non-renewable energy sources. In this regard, two various greenhouses, the so-called small greenhouse and large greenhouse,...
ABSTRACT: This paper reports on the development of a mathematical model for forecasting energy development in the Yellowstone study area for the years 1985 and 2000, and determining the associated economic demands for water, land, labor, capital, and mineral resources. The study was prepared for use by the Missouri River Basin Commission in conducting a comprehensive, “Level B” planning study of the water and related land resources in the Yellowstone River Basin. The study results indicate that the amount of coal development in the Yellowstone study area will depend primarily upon state and federal energy policies and regulations. Policies related to slurry pipeline transportation of coal will be particularly important...
Bioenergy-related water use can intensify existing water stress, increasing the importance of sustainable management of water resources for sustainable bioenergy production and use. This paper presents a review of policies and instruments that can influence how bioenergy production affects water availability and use. It discusses policies and instruments of importance for water use for bioenergy production, considering both biomass production and the subsequent conversion to solid/liquid/gaseous fuels and electricity. Water policies on the biomass production side should focus on ensuring efficient water use. While environmental policy instruments, such as command-and-control approaches, support maintaining specific...
map background search result map search result map EnviroAtlas - Clean and Plentiful Water Metrics for the Conterminous United States EnviroAtlas - Food, Fuel, and Materials Metrics for Conterminous United States EnviroAtlas - Clean and Plentiful Water Metrics for the Conterminous United States EnviroAtlas - Food, Fuel, and Materials Metrics for Conterminous United States