Download or read book Analysis of Bioenergy Crops as a Production Alternative for a Representative East Tennessee Beef and Crop Farm written by Andrew Preston Griffith and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States has increased its emphasis on energy independence and has developed legislation that promotes the development of alternative energy sources. One potential energy source being studied is the perennial cellulosic feedstock switchgrass. Switchgrass is currently being produced for experimental purposes and not on a commercial scale. The first objective of this research was to evaluate, under risk, the switchgrass contract incentives that could encourage a representative farmer in Monroe County, Tennessee to produce switchgrass. The second objective was to evaluate, under risk, the contract type and terms that would induce a representative farmer to produce switchgrass. Net returns and variability of net returns (risk) for traditional enterprises and switchgrass contracting alternatives on three different soil types were analyzed using stochastic dominance methods. Corn was found dominant on the more productive Dunmore and Dewey soils and cow-calf production was found dominant on the less productive Dandridge soil for traditional enterprises. Results indicate spot market prices based on switchgrass' energy equivalency to wholesale gasoline would not encourage production. Results suggest that the UT Biofuels Initiative contract would provide enough revenue and risk protection to encourage production on poorer soils such as Dandridge soil, but additional revenue sources were favorable to encouraging more production based on risk behaviors. Contracts with spot market prices and Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) provisions required additional revenue from electricity and European carbon credits (ECX) to support production on lower quality soils. A quadratic programming model was used to determine the risk efficient mix of traditional enterprises and switchgrass contracting alternatives on the representative farm. Results suggest that the base UT contract would induce switchgrass production on the poorer Dandridge soil for risk neutral and risk averse producers. The UT contract with ECX and BCAP with electricity and ECX induced risk averse producers to grow slightly more switchgrass on the Dandridge soil than the UT contract without ECX and BCAP. Expected revenue contracts paying $75/dry ton with ECX and $35/dry ton with BCAP and ECX were beneficial in spurring production on the higher quality Dunmore and Dewey soils.
Download or read book Handbook of Bioenergy Crop Plants written by Chittaranjan Kole and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2012-03-22 with total page 876 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the world’s population is projected to reach 10 billion or more by 2100, devastating fossil fuel shortages loom in the future unless more renewable alternatives to energy are developed. Bioenergy, in the form of cellulosic biomass, starch, sugar, and oils from crop plants, has emerged as one of the cheaper, cleaner, and environmentally sustainable alternatives to traditional forms of energy. Handbook of Bioenergy Crop Plants brings together the work of a panel of global experts who survey the possibilities and challenges involved in biofuel production in the twenty-first century. Section One explores the genetic improvement of bioenergy crops, ecological issues and biodiversity, feedstock logistics and enzymatic cell wall degradation to produce biofuels, and process technologies of liquid transportation fuels production. It also reviews international standards for fuel quality, unique issues of biofuel-powered engines, life-cycle environmental impacts of biofuels compared with fossil fuels, and social concerns. Section Two examines commercialized bioenergy crops, including cassava, Jatropha, forest trees, maize, oil palm, oilseed Brassicas, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane, and switchgrass. Section Three profiles emerging crops such as Brachypodium, diesel trees, minor oilseeds, lower plants, Paulownia, shrub willow, sugarbeet, sunflower, and sweet potato. It also discusses unconventional biomass resources such as vegetable oils, organic waste, and municipal sludge. Highlighting the special requirements, major achievements, and unresolved concerns in bioenergy production from crop plants, the book is destined to lead to future discoveries related to the use of plants for bioenergy production. It will assist in developing innovative ways of ameliorating energy problems on the horizon.
Download or read book Exploring the Feasibility of Bioenergy Crop Production with a Multi analytical Approach written by Sandhya Nepal and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bioenergy crops can provide a reliable and adequate supply of biomass feedstocks to support the bioenergy industry. However, commercial scale production of bioenergy crops has not been established to meet the increasing energy demand for the bioenergy industry. Thus, there is a need to explore the full potential of bioenergy crop production to support energy generation. This dissertation examined the feasibility of bioenergy crop production in the southern United States with a case study from Kentucky. For the feasibility of bioenergy crop production, I (1) analyzed trade-offs among the major components of bioenergy crop production, (2) assessed landowners' willingness to promote bioenergy crops and, (3) evaluated potential bioenergy policies and prioritized them based on their effectiveness to support the promotion of sustainable bioenergy production. I used multiple approaches including a multi-objective optimization model, a questionnaire survey, and an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model, to examine the feasibility of bioenergy production. The trade-off analysis highlighted potential opportunities and risks in bioenergy production. Even though there were suitable lands for growing bioenergy crops, the production was not economically beneficial. Further, higher bioenergy production generated concerns for negative impact on the environment. Thus, results from the trade-off analysis showed a need to find the best balance among the trade-offs for better production decisions. The landowner survey indicated that they were relatively more willing to grow bioenergy crops themselves than rent their land to others. Current land management practices and socio-economic and environmental factors affected their land use decisions about bioenergy crop production. Finally, my policy analysis highlighted that policies that incorporate environmental conservation are key to establishing bioenergy crops. In addition, consideration should also be given to efficient technological support while designing specific policy to promote bioenergy production. Overall, results from the whole study can be useful to design effective policies, develop outreach activities, and support technological investments that would promote bioenergy crop production in ways that are economically efficient as well as compatible with social, and environmental factors.
Download or read book Potential Environmental Impacts of Bioenergy Crop Production written by United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment and published by Congress. This book was released on 1993 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Genetic Improvement of Bioenergy Crops written by Wilfred Vermerris and published by Springer. This book was released on 2010-10-29 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ethanol as an alternative fuel is receiving a lot of attention because it addresses concerns related to dwindling oil supplies, energy independence, and climate change. The majority of the ethanol in the US is produced from corn starch. With the US Department of Energy’s target that 30% of the fuel in the US is produced from renewable resources by 2030, the anticipated demand for corn starch will quickly exceed the current production of corn. This, plus the concern that less grain will become available for food and feed purposes, necessitates the use of other feedstocks for the production of ethanol. For the very same reasons, there is increasing research activity and growing interest in many other biomass crops. Genetic Improvement of Bio-Energy Crops focuses on the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass, which includes corn stover, biomass from dedicated annual and perennial energy crops, and trees as well as a number of important biomass crops. The biomass is typically pretreated through thermochemical processing to make it more amenable to hydrolysis with cellulolytic enzymes. The enzymatic hydrolysis yields monomeric sugars that can be fermented to ethanol by micro-organisms. While much emphasis has been placed on the optimization of thermo-chemical pretreatment processes, production of more efficient hydrolytic enzymes, and the development of robust microbial strains, relatively little effort has been dedicated to the improvement of the biomass itself.
Download or read book Energy Crops written by Nigel G. Halford and published by Royal Society of Chemistry. This book was released on 2011 with total page 443 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It also gives an historical perspective and introduces the ethical issues.
Download or read book The Alliance of Bioenergy Production and Organic Farming written by Torsten Siegmeier and published by kassel university press GmbH. This book was released on 2016-01-01 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Current global energy needs and the effort to substitute fossil fuels have led to extensive production of biomass in agricultural systems for purposes of renewable energy generation. At the same time, energy cropping poses new threats to the sustainability of land use systems. Large-scale industrialized farming in general and intensive energy crop production in particular are increasingly drawing criticism from various stakeholders for their negative external effects. Organic farming systems alleviate the environmental burden of agricultural production by minimizing negative this food-energy-climate nexus a large-scale conversion of agricultural area to organic management seems infeasible. Against this backdrop, this dissertation examined interrelations and connections of organic agriculture and biomass energy systems in regard to three dimensions: (i) Scientific interest and publication structure, (ii) research topics and contents, and (iii) systemic implications of integrated bioenergy and organic farming systems in the case of farm biogas production in Germany.
Download or read book Bioenergy Feedstocks written by Malay C. Saha and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-04-03 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bioenergy and biofuels are generated from a wide variety of feedstock. Fuels have been converted from a wide range of sources from vegetable oils to grains and sugarcane. Second generation biofuels are being developed around dedicated, non-food energy crops, such as switchgrass and Miscanthus, with an eye toward bioenergy sustainability. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics looks at advances in our understanding of the genetics and breeding practices across this diverse range of crops and provides readers with a valuable tool to improve cultivars and increase energy crop yields. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics opens with chapters focusing primarily on advances in the genetics and molecular biology of dedicated energy crops. These chapters provide in-depth coverage of new, high-potential feedstocks. The remaining chapters provide valuable overview of breeding efforts of current feedstocks with specific attention paid to the development of bioenergy traits. Coverage in these chapters includes crops such as sorghum, energy canes, corn, and other grasses and forages. The final chapters explore the role of transgenics in bioenergy feedstock production and the development of low-input strategies for producing bioenergy crops. A timely collection of work from a global team of bioenergy researchers and crop scientists, Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics is an essential reference on cultivar improvement of biomass feedstock crops.
Download or read book Sustainable Intensification of Organic and Low Input Agriculture through Integrated Bioenergy Production written by Benjamin Blumenstein and published by kassel university press GmbH. This book was released on 2017-01-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Both global food and energy systems are increasingly faced with major challenges regarding food security and non-fossil energy provision, respectively. Organic or low-input agriculture as well as bioenergy production may contribute to securing rising food and energy needs. However, low-input agricultural systems are challenged for their lower productivity compared to high-input systems. Moreover, bioenergy systems are often criticized for their unsustainable high-input cropping systems. Consequently, innovative approaches are needed to optimize both sectors. A promising strategy may be the integration of organic or low-input agricultural systems with agricultural bioenergy production with the objective to increase both productivity and sustainability of land use systems. This dissertation examines the opportunities and risks of integrated bioenergy production in organic and low-input agricultural systems, based on the example of two bioenergy technologies, anaerobic digestion (AD) and integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass (IFBB), by assessment of their structural framework conditions, systematic implications, as well as economic and risk performance. In a final step, the role of integrated agricultural bioenergy production within the context of the so-called sustainable intensification is debated.
Download or read book Industrial Crops written by Von Mark V. Cruz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-11-17 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The volume on Industrial Crop Breeding will be part of the series, Handbook of Plant Breeding. This volume will focus on the emerging area of plant breeding for sustainable production of transportation fuels and bio based products using the current advances in the field. The book is scheduled to consist of a total number of 30 chapters divided into four sections. The sections will emphasize crops being considered for different challenge areas including oil crops for biodiesel; sugar, starch and cellulosic crops for biofuel; crops for bio products and issues and future prospects. A chapter introducing the first three sections will also be included. Outstanding scientists for each crop species are proposed as senior authors, who may invite co-authors to contribute part of a chapter to provide additional expertise or perspective. The proposed authors will represent various national and international institutions to get a more diverse view on the topic and somehow get a global view on the common issues that researchers on industrial crops are facing. The book will comprise primarily of specific issues, available germplasm, breeding techniques, and potential geographical areas of production pertaining to individual crops being considered for industrial uses. We hope to encourage the proposed authors of new crops to provide an estimate of the crop readiness for commercial development and discuss the limitations. This book will be will be of interest and envisioned to serve as an updated reference to researchers in both academic and industrial setting, to students and teachers of plant breeding and to policy makers who are looking for alternative solutions to dependency on imported petroleum products.
Download or read book Energy Crop Farmer Education and Consortium Development written by Wisconsin Energy-Crop Farmer Education and Consortium Development Project and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bioenergy Crops for Ecosystem Health and Sustainability written by Alex Baumber and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-02-22 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The growing of crops for bioenergy has been subject to much recent criticism, as taking away land which could be used for food production or biodiversity conservation. This book challenges some commonly-held ideas about biofuels, bioenergy and energy cropping, particularly that energy crops pose an inherent threat to ecosystems, which must be mitigated. The book recognises that certain energy crops (e.g. oil palm for biodiesel) have generated sustainability concerns, but also asks the question "is there a better way?" of using energy crops to strategically enhance ecosystem functions. It draws on numerous case studies, including where energy crops have had negative outcomes as well as well as cases where energy crops have produced benefits for ecosystem health, such as soil and water protection from the cropping of willow and poplar in Europe and the use of mallee eucalypts to fight salinity in Western Australia. While exploring this central argument, the volume also provides a systematic overview of the socio-economic sustainability issues surrounding bioenergy.
Download or read book Using Energy Crops for Biofuels or Food The Choice written by Annoula Paschalidou and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-10 with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book performs a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis to examine the current food crisis and how it relates to the use of crops for energy. It analyses how energy crops may help solve humankind’s environmental changes and summarises the economic and practical changes of cultivating and utilising energy crops. Two of humanity’s greatest challenges are the need for more food production as well as growing demands for energy. Biofuel cultivation has been identified as a solution to growing energy use, and biomass power plants offer a rare renewable energy source that requires only basic technology. In this context, a dilemma arises concerning whether energy crops should be used for energy or to help remedy the food crisis. SWOT analysis allows us to organise and weigh different pros and cons against each other in terms of economics, job creation, environmental impacts, the climate change agenda, and European Union (EU) directives that promote biofuels over fossil fuels. By pursuing this approach, the book helps researchers and decision-makers cut through the many competing arguments in connection with this complex subject.
Download or read book Bioenergy Cropping Systems on Marginal Land written by Stephanie Lyn Smith and published by ProQuest. This book was released on 2009 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Socio economic Study of Bioenergy Crop Adoption in North East Scotland written by Christopher Brown and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change has become the most important global environmental problem we face today. Agriculture, forestry and the land use sector not only contribute to national economies but also provide a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as a carbon store, contributing approximately 20% but removing about 16%. Energy crops and associated increases in soil carbon sequestration from different ground covers through various land management strategies are examples of approaches that could be adopted to reduce GHG emissions. A number of these options have an associated economic cost to the land manager and it is important to understand what is economically and socially viable by understanding the link between energy crop adoption and a range of socio-economic factors. Agent-based modelling (ABMs) has been identified as providing a promising approach to integrate social, economic and biophysical processes. In the past these areas of research have been mainly studied separately but now there is an urgent need to address these areas in a combined way. Economic rationalisation is fundamental to farmers' decision-making, although not wholly representative and non-economic factors were identified. The estimated GHG mitigation potential of bioenergy crops at current adoption levels is modest when taking Scotland's national GHG emissions into account, however, more significant when considering the agricultural sector in isolation. This contribution can only increase with improved management practices and policy designed to encourage adoption and improve energy security. This work will contribute to a greater understanding of bioenergy land use strategies. This project used North East Scotland as the case study, with raw data collated by questionnaire, however, conclusions drawn add to the broader understanding of the link between socio-economic activity, bioenergy adoption and GHG emissions.
Download or read book The Potential of Producing Bioenergy Crops on Conservation Reserve Program Land in Missouri Iowa Nebraska and Kansas MINK Region to Mitigate Carbon Dioxide Emissions written by Loise N. Wambuguh and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concerns about global warming and climate change have generated increasing interest in development of bioenergy crops as a potential source of low-carbon energy. The goal of this research was to quantify environmental and economic effects of using the U.S. CRP land to produce large-scale bioenergy crops. The APEX model was used to evaluate the potential of switchgrass and hybrid poplar production to provide biomass feedstock, sequester soil carbon, and simultaneously provide other environmental co-benefits including improvement of soil and water quality in the MINK region. The environmental results indicate that the level of biomass yields and change in soil organic carbon differ with type of bioenergy crop, soil type, climatic conditions, and cultural management. Converting CRP land into bioenergy crop production and adopting conservation management practices significantly reduced sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus loading into water bodies relative to traditional food crop production under conventional and conservation tillage practices. Results on economic effects of reverting CRP land into traditional crop production show a decline in prices of major U.S. commodities and federal government saving of nearly $ 1.7 billion annually on CRP rental payments. Putting some cropland currently under tradition crop production to produce conservation buffers has insignificant impact on commodity prices. Quantified information on environmental and economic effects of producing large-scale bioenergy crops assist policymakers develop sustainable and balance of energy-agriculture-environmental policies.
Download or read book Next generation Biofuels written by Adaora Okwo and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biofuels, including ethanol and biodiesel, are important components of energy policy in the U.S. and abroad. There is a long history of ethanol production from corn (maize) in the United States and from sugarcane in Brazil. However, there has been a push for greater use of next-generation biofuels (including those derived from cellulosic feedstocks) to mitigate many of the environmental and potential food system impacts of large scale biofuel production. :Farmer willingness to grow biomass crops and ensuring adequate feedstock supply are two important challenges impeding large scale commercialization of next-generation biofuels. The costs of transporting bulky, low density biomass will be substantial. Consequently, in the near term, the economic success of next-generation biofuels will hinge on the supply of locally available biomass. As such, agricultural contracts are expected to be an important tool in overcoming the feedstock acquisition challenge. The broad objective of this study is to understand the effect of contracting for non-food energy crops (cellulosic feedstocks) on the agricultural landscape via the displacement of commodity (food) crops on productive cropland. :We develop an analytical framework for evaluating the design and use of two different contract structures for securing cellulosic feedstock in a representative supply chain with a biorefinery and farmer. We study the dynamics of scarce land and indirect competition from commodity market production on a biorefinery's equilibrium pricing strategy and the resultant supply of cellulosic biomass. And we consider its sensitivity to various production characteristics and market conditions. :We develop a method for quantifying the biorefinery's tradeoff between profit margins and competing for land in order to secure the requisite feedstock for biofuel production. And we characterize the loss of efficiency in the decentralized system, relative to a vertically integrated system, that can be attributed to the need to compete for the farmer's scarce land resource versus that which results from the biorefinery's desire to make a profit. :Then we extend our framework to consider multi-year contracts for biomass production and evaluate the importance of land quality, yield variability and contract structure on a farmer's willingness to accept a contract to produce cellulosic feedstock as well as the resulting impact on the agricultural landscape through the displacement of commodity crops. Using switchgrass production in Tennessee as a case study, we develop feedstock supply curves for each contract structure considered and evaluate the conditions and contract prices at which land devoted to various field crops would be displaced by switchgrass based on field trials of switchgrass production in Tennessee and recent USDA data on crop prices and production.
