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[en] Sustainable bioenergy systems are, by definition, embedded in social, economic, and environmental contexts and depend on support of many stakeholders with different perspectives. The resulting complexity constitutes a major barrier to the implementation of bioenergy projects. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the potential of Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) to facilitate the design and implementation of sustainable bioenergy projects. Four MCA tools (Super Decisions, DecideIT, Decision Lab, NAIADE) are reviewed for their suitability to assess sustainability of bioenergy systems with a special focus on multi-stakeholder inclusion. The MCA tools are applied using data from a multi-stakeholder bioenergy case study in Uganda. Although contributing to only a part of a comprehensive decision process, MCA can assist in overcoming implementation barriers by (i) structuring the problem, (ii) assisting in the identification of the least robust and/or most uncertain components in bioenergy systems and (iii) integrating stakeholders into the decision process. Applying the four MCA tools to a Ugandan case study resulted in a large variability in outcomes. However, social criteria were consistently identified by all tools as being decisive in making a bioelectricity project viable

[en] The perspective by Haberl et al (2013 Environ. Res. Lett. 8 031004) entitled ‘Bioenergy: how much can we expect for 2050?’ is timely and valuable. It deals with an important subject since contrasting views on the subject make it very difficult for policy makers to adopt policies that would allow ‘production and consumption of energy at sustainable levels’, in the words of the authors. It is therefore very important to sort out from the abundant literature on the issue which are the facts and which are the biases and preferences. (perspective)

[en] Sustainable non-food cropping systems for arable land are being studied intensively both in Scandinavia and elsewhere in Europe to find alternatives, in which the need for economic subvention would be lower than the export subsidies for grain or other food products. The area of arable land available for non-food cultivation is about 1 million hectares in Finland and 20 - 30 million hectares in the European Communities. In addition to conventional crops and afforestatation, it is possible to grow energy plants (willow, poplar, miscanthus, etc.) and agrofibre plants in these areas. Cultivation of energy willows or other corresponding plants of less than 5 m in height is usually not considered afforestation, as a willow field can easily be retaken into agricultural use with certain reservations (e.g., covered drains can be clogged) This article gives a survey of the alternatives for the utilization of non-food cropping systems

[en] Four Taiwanese native Miscanthus floridulus lines, collected at altitudes of 260, 500, 1000, and 1500 m were cultivated in 2009 and 2010. The plant height and tiller numbers of four M. floridulus lines increased gradually along with the growing time. These M. floridulus lines had the tallest plant height and most tiller number after these species were planted 210 days. Line 3, which was collected at the altitude of 1000 m, had the ability to grow at low temperature. Line 3 M. floridulus had the highest plant height, tiller number, fresh and dry yields than other three lines. Fresh and dry yields of Line 3 were positively correlated to the plant height, tiller number, and leaf width, but showed no correlation with the leaf length. The correlation between agronomic traits and climatic data was also studied. Results can be used as a model for developing a non-food crop-based energy production system in the future. -- Highlights: → Miscanthus floridulus collected at 1000 m altitude had the highest plant height, tiller number, fresh and dry yields. → Fresh and dry yields of were positively correlated to the plant height, tiller number, and leaf width. → Fresh and dry yields showed no correlation with the leaf length. → The accumulative rainfall, temperature, radiation, and exposure time to radiation were positively correlated to the plant height, leaf length and leaf width.

[en] A hierarchical control strategy is formulated for coordination of hydro and biomass electric energy cogeneration with two hierarchical coupled problems. The first problem under consideration concerns long-term strategies for hydroelectric system and forest development, so as to obtain a target biomass output yearly. The second problem schedules hydroelectric and biomass-powered plants to meet loads over a mid-term horizon, such that the use of either hydro or biomass resources are minimized. An optimal control and optimization methods are proposed for tile coordination of hydro and biomass electric energy cogeneration

[en] In this paper in vivo fluorescence of chlorophyll a became used as a parameter of total phytoplankton biomass

[en] The palm oil industry plays an important role in the creation of waste to wealth using the abundant oil palm biomass resources generated from palm oil supply chain i.e. upstream to downstream activities. The oil palm biomass and other palm-derived waste streams available are oil palm trunks (felled), fronds (felled and pruned), shell, mesocarp fibers, empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm oil mill effluent (POME), palm kernel expelled (PKE), palm fatty acid distillates (PFAD), used frying oil (UFO), residual oil from spent bleaching earth (SBE) and glycerol. For 88.5 million tonnes of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) processed in 2008, the amount of oil palm biomass generated was more than 25 million tones (dry weight basis) with the generation of 59 million tonnes of POME from 410 palm oil mills. Oil palm biomass consists of mainly lignocellulose materials that can be potentially and fully utilized for renewable energy, wood-based products and high value-added products such as pytonutrients, phenolics, carotenes and vitamin E. Oil palm biomass can be converted to bio energy with high combustible characteristics such as briquettes, bio-oils, bio-producer gas, boiler fuel, biogas and bio ethanol. Oil palm biomass can also be made into wood-based products such as composite and furniture, pulp and paper and planting medium. The recovery of phenolics from POME as valuable antioxidants has potential drug application. Other possible applications for oil palm biomass include fine chemicals, dietary fibers, animal feed and polymers. There must be a strategic and sustainable resource management to distribute palm oil and palm biomass to maximize the use of the resources so that it can generate revenues, bring benefits to the palm oil industry and meet stringent sustainability requirements in the future. (author)

[en] Biomass has been used as a fuel source for centuries, but mainly in the production of low grade heat. However, it can be used as a fuel for power generation, a particular advantage for remote rural areas rich in agricultural wastes but with weak or no grid connection as it avoids the need for importing fossil fuels. Likewise factories producing suitable such wastes, i.e. sugar mills and paper mills, have the possibility of reducing their energy bills by replacing the fossil fuels used to produce process steam and imported electricity with an on-site co-generation scheme

[en] The increasing interest in biomass, as a renewable source of energy, is stimulating a search for suitable biomass resources as well as the development of technologies for their effective utilization. This work concentrated on characteristics of processes occurring during pyrolytic gasification of upgraded food industry residues, namely residue from industrial production of liquid coffee, and assessed its suitability for conversion in an allothermal gasifier. The influence of several operating parameters on product composition was examined with three different laboratory-scale reactors, studying the primary pyrolysis and secondary pyrolysis of nascent volatiles, and the steam gasification of char. The experimental results show that a high degree of conversion of UCG into volatiles and gases (up to 88% C-basis) can be achieved by fast pyrolysis even at temperatures as low as 1073 K. In addition, the degree of conversion is not influenced by the presence or concentration of steam, which is an important factor in allothermal gasification. Mathematical simulation of an allothermal gasifier showed that net cold-gas efficiency as high as 86% can be reached