Achieving high biomass yields of cover crops has been a challenge to the success of Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices in the Eastern Cape (EC). A study was conducted to evaluate strategies for optimizing cover crop biomass production. Trials were carried out to screen summer and winter cover crops, as well as evaluate intercropping patterns and planting dates for biomass, weed suppression and subsequent maize yield under irrigation. Four summer legume cover crop species were evaluated under a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) design. The cover crops were fertilized with 13.34 kg ha-1 of N, 20 kg ha-1 P and 26.66 kg ha-1 K. In the 2008/09 summer season a maize crop was superimposed on the 2007/08 screening trial under no-till. The crop was fertilized with 60 kg ha-1 of N. An intercropping trial was conducted over two seasons as a way of investigating the best way of incorporating cover crops into farmers cropping systems. This was done bearing in mind the limitation of resources such as land. The trial evaluated 3 factors laid as a 2 x 2 x 3 factorial arranged in a split-plot design. The main factor was cover crop planting date (planting at maize planting or 2 weeks after maize planting). The sub plot factor was intercropping pattern (strip intercropping and between row intercropping). A trial was also conducted to evaluate the effect of planting date (End of April and mid May) and four winter legume cover crop species on cover crop biomass, weed suppression and maize grain yield. The experiment was laid out as a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated 3 times. In the subsequent summer season a maize crop was superimposed on the winter trial to test the residual effects of the cover crop species. Another study was conducted to evaluate winter cereal cover crop species for biomass accumulation, weed suppression and subsequent maize grain yield. The cover crops as well as a weedy fallow control plot treatments were laid out as a Randomised Complete Block Design replicated 3 times. In the subsequent summer season a maize crop was superimposed on the site under no-till to evaluate the residual effect of the cover crops on maize. The results showed sunhemp, cowpea and lablab as the best cover crops with high biomass and weed suppression whilst mucuna was the least. Sunhemp consistently yielded higher cover biomass averaging 11200 kg ha-1 over the two seasons whilst mucuna had a consistently lowest average biomass yield of 4050 kg ha-1. These cover crops were above the critical 6 t ha-1 for effective weed suppression. There was a significant (p<0.01) relationship of cover crop dry weight and weed dry weight in both seasons. Subsequent maize grain yield was significantly higher in the sunhemp plots (64.2 %) than the weedy fallow plot. Mucuna, lablab and cowpea had maize grain yield increases of 16.6%, 33% and 43.2% respectively. Intercropping cover crops at maize planting yielded higher cover crop dry weights than a delay in intercropping cover crops. A delay in intercropping resulted in significantly higher average maize grain yield of 4700 kg ha-1 compared to intercropping at maize planting (3800 kg ha-1) and sole maize (4300 kg ha-1) over the two seasons. Strip intercropping also yielded higher (5000 kg ha- 1) average maize grain yield compared to row intercropping (3600 kg ha-1) and sole maize (4300 kg ha-1). There was a significant (p<0.05) relationship between cover crop dry weight in the 2007/08 season and maize grain yield in the 2008/09 season. Early planting grazing vetch gave the highest biomass yield of 8100 kg ha-1 whilst early planted red clover had the lowest biomass of 635 kg ha-1. Low weed dry weights were also obtained from the early planted grazing vetch as opposed to the other treatments. There was a significant (p<0.001) relationship of cover crop dry weight and weed dry weight. In the subsequent 2008/09 summer season early planted grazing vetch had the highest maize yield of 7500 kg ha-1 which was 56.3 % more than the weedy fallow plot had 4800 kg ha-1. The weedy fallow plot also had high weed infestation than the cover crop plots. There were significant (p<0.01) relationships between cover crop dry weight and maize grain yield, winter weed dry weight and maize grain yield and summer weed dry weight and maize grain yield. The results also showed triticale (13900 kg ha-1) as the best winter cover crop for biomass production. Italian ryegrass (6500 kg ha-1) produced the least amount of biomass. In The subsequent maize crop white oats gave highest maize grain yield (6369 kg ha-1) which was 33 % more than the weedy fallow plot (4784 kg ha- 1). There were also significant (p< 0.01) relationships of maize grain yield and winter weed dry weight, maize grain yield and summer growing weeds. The various studies demonstrated that there is opportunity for high biomass production under small scale farmers irrigated conditions using cover crops both in winter and summer. Best bet cover crops were sunhemp, cowpea and lablab for summer and triticale, white oats, barley, Italian ryegrass and grazing vetch for winter. Cover crops can also be incorporated into farmers cropping systems as sole crops or intercrops within the maize based cropping systems. Strip intercropping can be used by farmers as a way of introducing cover crops. Critical to achievement of high biomass is the time of planting cover crops with high biomass when planting is done early. A 2 week delay in strip intercropping cover crop into maize can be used as a way of incorporating cover crops into farmers cropping systems with minimal maize yield reduction.

The thesis, through experimental and numerical investigations reports on the work related to packed bed reactors in co-current configuration for biomass gasification. This study has extensively focused on the gasification operating regimes and addressing the issues of presence of tar, an undesirable component for engine application. Systematically, the influence of fuel properties on the gasification process has been studied using single particle analysis and also in packed bed reactors. Studies related to the effect of fuel properties - size, surface area volume ratio and density on the reactor performance are addressed. The influence of these parameters on the propagation rate which indirectly influences the residence time, tar generation, gas compositions is explicitly elucidated. Most of the reported work in literature primarily focuses on counter-current configurations and analysis on propagation flame front/ignition mass flux and temperature profiles mostly under the combustion regime. In this work, flame propagation front movement, bed movement and effective movement for a co-current packed bed reactor of different reactor capacities and a generalized approach towards establishing ‘effective propagation rate’ has been proposed. The work also reports on the importance of particle size and sharing of air from the top and through nozzles on tar generation in the open top down draft reactor configuration. Firstly, pyrolysis, an important component of the thermochemical conversion process has been studied using the flaming time for different biomass samples having varying size, shape and density. The elaborate experiments on the single particle study provides an insight into the reasons for high tar generation for wood flakes/coconut shells and also identifies the importance of the fuel particle geometry related to surface area and volume ratio. Effect of density by comparing the flaming rate of wood flakes and coconut shells with the wood sphere for an equivalent diameter is highlighted. It is observed that the tar level in the raw gas is about 80% higher in the case of wood flakes and similar values for coconut shells compared with wood pieces. The analysis suggests that the time for pyrolysis is lower with a higher surface area particle and is subjected to nearly fast pyrolysis process resulting in higher tar fraction with low char yield. Similarly, time for pyrolysis increases with density as observed from the experimental measurements by using coconut shells and wood flakes and concludes the influence on the performance of packed bed reactors. Studies on co-current reactor under various operating conditions from closed top reactor to open top reburn configuration suggests improved residence time reduces tar generation. This study establishes, increased residence time with staged air flow has a better control on residence time and yields lower tar in the raw gas. Studies on the influence of air mass flux on the propagation rate, peak temperature, and gas quality, establishes the need to consider bed movement in the case of co-current packed bed reactor. It is also observed that flame front propagation rate initially increases as the air mass flux is increased, reaches a peak and subsequently decreases. With increase in air mass flux, fuel consumption increases and thereby the bed movement. The importance of bed movement and its effect on the propagation front movement has been established. To account for variation in the fuel density, normalized propagation rate or the ignition mass flux is a better way to present the result. The peak flame front propagation rates are 0.089 mm/s for 10 % moist wood at an air mas flux of 0.130 kg/m2-s and while 0.095 mm/s for bone-dry wood at an air mass flux of 0.134 kg/m2-s. These peak propagation rates occur with the air mass flux in the range of 0.130 to 0.134 kg/m2-s. The present results compare well with those available in the literature on the effective propagation rate with the variation of air mass flux, and deviations are linked to fuel properties. The propagation rate correlates with mass flux as ̇ . during the increasing regime of the front movement. The extinction of flame propagation or the front receding has been established both experimentally supported from the model analysis and is found to be at an air mass flux of 0.235 kg/m2-s. The volume fraction of various gaseous species at the reactor exits obtained from the experiment is 14.89±0.28 % CO2, 15.75±0.43 % CO and 11.09±1.99 % H2 respectively with the balance being CH4 and N2. The model analysis using an in-house program developed for packed bed reactor provide a comprehensive understanding with respect to the performance of packed bed reactor under gasification conditions. The model addresses the dependence on air mass flux on gas composition and propagation rate and is used to validate the experimental results. Based on the energy balance in the reaction front, the analysis clearly identifies the reasons for stable propagation front and receding front in a co-current reactor. From the experiments and modelling studies, it is evident that turn-down ratio of a downdraft gasification system is scientifically established. Both the experimental and the numerical studies presented in the current work establishes that the physical properties of the fuel have an impact on the performance of the co-current reactor and for the first time, the importance of bed movement on the propagation rate is identified.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Agricultural Economics)) --University of Limpopo, 2016. / Refer to document

Seed-oil based biodiesel production particularly biodiesel production from the nonedible oil seed bearing plant - Jatropha curcas L. - is a key strategic direction outlined in the biofuels strategy of the Government of Ethiopia. The main objective underlying the strategy include substitution of imported diesel oil used in the road transport sector while at the same time contributing to the local and global greenhouse gasses (GHG) reduction efforts. In this study the environmental benefits and costs of production and use of Jatropha biodiesel in the road transport sector of Ethiopia is assessed using a life cycle analysis (LCA) methodology. The analysis focused on determining the potential environmental impacts and net non-renewable energy saving potential of biodiesel from Jatropha oil-seeds using the following metrics: (i) Net Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction, and (ii) Net Energy Balance (NEB) relative to diesel oil. The study shows that the net GHG emissions reduction potential of Jatropha Methyl Ester (JME) is highly influenced by the magnitude of initial carbon loss occurring in the process of conversion of different land uses to Jatropha plantation, and less so on other unit processes of JME production system analysed. The NEB of JME relative to use of diesel oil per functional unit of one GJ is less sensitive to impacts of land use change and is generally positive. Where no land use change impacts is considered, or where Jatropha is grown on lands with low carbon stock such as grasslands, substitution of diesel oil with JME in Ethiopia can provide GHG emission reduction of about 43%, and for each MJ of JME produced the nonrenewable energy requirement will be 0,38 MJ. Production of JME by converting lands with high above ground, below ground and/or soil carbon stocks such as shrub lands or well stocked forest lands will result in net loss of carbon and require ecological carbon payback time of 50 to hundreds of years. The impact of introducing and use of JME-diesel oil blends by Anbassa City Bus Services Enterprise (ACBSE) bus fleets shows that, displacement of diesel oil with JME that have positive GHG reduction potential, will also contribute to the reduction of air pollutants and improvement of ambient air quality in Addis Ababa. Two key recommendations of this research work are that to ensure environmental sustainability of biodiesel production from Jatropha seeds (i) land availability and land suitability assessment for estimating the potential available land for Jatropha (and other oil-seed bearing plants) shall be conducted, and (ii) minimum requirements on GHG reduction and NEB requirements on biodiesel shall be established. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

Aphthona spp. flea beetles were released in the Little Missouri National Grasslands (LMNG) in western North Dakota in 1999 to control leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.). The changes in soil seed bank composition and leafy spurge density were evaluated on two ecological sites five (2004) and ten years (2009) after Aphthona spp. release to monitor the effectiveness of the insects on weed control and associated change in plant communities. In 2009, leafy spurge stem density averaged 2 and 9 stems m-2 in the loamy overflow and loamy sites, respectively, compared to 110 and 78 stems m-2, respectively, in 1999 and 7 and 10 stems m-2, respectively, in 2004. Leafy spurge constituted nearly 67% of the loamy overflow seed bank in 1999 compared to 17% in 2004 and 2% in 2009. In the loamy seedbank, the weed represented nearly 70% in 1999 compared to approximately 11% in 2004 and 15% in 2009. As leafy spurge was reduced, native species diversity and seed count increased ten years following Aphthona spp. release. High-seral species represented 17% of the loamy overflow seedbank in 2009, an increase from 5% in 1999. However, Kentucky bluegrass, a non-target weedy species, increased over 250% in the loamy overflow seedbank from 2004 to 2009. The reestablishment of native plant species has often been slow in areas where leafy spurge was controlled using Aphthona spp. A bioassay was completed to evaluate native grass establishment when grown in soil from Aphthona spp. release and non-release sites throughout North Dakota. Native grass production was not affected when grown in soil collected from established Aphthona spp. sites (1.5 g per pot) compared to soil without insects (1.6 g per pot). The cause of reduced native grass production in sites with Aphthono spp. previously observed is unknown but may have been due to a chemical inhibition caused by the insects within the soil that no longer exists. The native warm-season switchgrass (Ponicum virgotum L.) may be an alternative to corn for efficient biofuel production; however, control of cool-season grassy weeds has been a problem in switchgrass production. Various herbicides were evaluated for smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) and quackgrass [Elymus repens (L.) Gould] control in an established switchgrass stand near Streeter, ND and a weed-infested field in Fargo, ND. Switchgrass yield was higher than the control 14 mo after treatment (MAT) when aminocyclopyrachlor or sulfometuron were applied early in the growing season, but no treatment provided satisfactory long-term grassy weed control. Herbicides were reevaluated at increased rates for smooth bromegrass or quackgrass control in Fargo. Sulfometuron provided 99% smooth bromegrass control when applied at 280 g ha-1 in the fall but injured other grass and forb species as well. Sulfometuron would likely be injurious to switchgrass and could not be used for biofuel production. Aminocyclopyrachlor did not injure other grass species but only reduced smooth bromegrass control by 76% when applied at 280 g ha-1 in the fall. No treatment provided satisfactory long-term quackgrass control.

My business project is focused on foundation of a company using renewable resources to produce energy. I will compare individual variants of manufacturing energy using renewable resources and I will decide, which alternate I use for realization of my projekt.

This project is primarily focused on improving the storage stability of bio-oils or pyrolysis oils by varying feedstock, reactor, and storage conditions. Pyrolysis oil is a complex medley of oxygenated chemicals (aliphatic and aromatic) that are well known to undergo unstable polymeric reactions (auto-catalyzed) if suitable additives are not utilized. These reactions can be severely detrimental to the long-term storage stability of pyrolysis oils. Hence, a detailed investigation was conducted in four phases namely: 1) pyrolysis oil production 2) additive prescreening 3) concentration optimization and 4) stability testing. During the first phase a lab-scale semi-continuous auger reactor is utilized to produce 16 pyrolysis oils. The reactor variables include pyrolysis temperature and vapor residence time. The feed stocks include pine wood, pine bark, oak wood, and oak bark. During the second phase a range of chemical additives (26) are prescreened to obtain three best performing additives. Anisole, glycerol, and methanol are consequently utilized to perform concentration optimization studies during the third phase. Viscosity, water content, and pH of pyrolysis oils are timely measured to assess the accelerated storage stability of pyrolysis oils during the phases 2-3. During the fourth phase, pyrolysis oils produced from three different reactor systems (lab-scale auger, large-scale auger, and entrained flow) were tested for their storage stability. Viscosity, water content, pH, density, and acid value are timely measured to assess the ambient and accelerated storage stability of pyrolysis oils during phase 4. Extrinsic variables such as light and filtration are utilized during the experimental testing of phase 4. The rheological data (Newtonian/non-Newtonian) enhanced the understanding of pyrolysis oil storage stability both qualitatively and quantitatively. The stability performance of a chemical additive is very much dependent on the concentration and its organic functional group. Consequently, alcohols fared above all the other functional groups in stabilizing the pyrolysis oils. Glycerol is observed to have special blending and homogenizing properties compared to all other additives. Feedstock seems to be the single most important factor affecting storage stability of pyrolysis oils. Consequently, pine wood resulted in the most stable pyrolysis oil whereas pine bark resulted in the least stable pyrolysis oil.

No description available.

近年來，隨著能源價格不斷飆漲以及溫室氣體大量排放造成的氣候異常變化，引起世界各國對於提高能源使用效率與加強溫室氣體排放管制的重視。溫室氣體大多由化石燃料燃燒所產生。因此，一般被視為能耗較高的發電、鋼鐵、水泥以及石化等產業，遂成為眾所矚目而被要求加強溫室氣體排放管制的主要產業。未來的產業發展規劃，必需兼顧經濟與環保，否則必將被世界潮流所淹沒。 因應全球溫室氣體排放管制趨勢，就台灣經濟發展面、財政建設面、環境永續經營面等層面考量分析，現階段石化產業之發展應對產業競爭力及環境保護做更多且更審慎的考量。於產業競爭力部分，建議中油開放民營，並運用部份釋股取得的資金，一方面引進先進的製程技術及進行設備更新，提升企業競爭力；另一方面整合國內仰賴台灣中油公司供料且在各產品領域擁有數十年營運經驗的中下游業者，建構泛中油體系的石化經營團隊。如此泛中油體系與國內另一石化產品鏈已相當完整的台塑體系，形成兩大石化體系，互為良性競爭。於環境保護方面，則建議我國應終止國光石化投資案，降低溫室氣體排放量，並藉提升廠商製程效率減少能耗，如此將使經濟發展及環境保護得以兼顧，亦達成原興建國光計畫之目的。 而未來台灣石化產業發展策略，技術發展需長期向下扎根，產品則朝高值化、精緻化發展，開發低能耗、低污染之替代能源，提升產品的附加價值，並將大宗石化耗能的產品移往海外能源低廉的地區，持續提升產業競爭力，並達成溫室氣體減少排放為目標。如是，台灣在環境保護日益重視之趨勢下，石化產業也得以永續發展。 / The high energy cost and the unusual climate change due to increasing green house gases（GHG）emission in recent years have attracted the global attentions and called for improvement of energy utilization efficiency and enhancement of GHG emission control. GHG are mostly produced by the combustion of fossil fuels. And the higher energy consumption industries such as power generation, steel, cement and petrochemical industries are thus strongly requested to reduce GHG emission. Economic development and environmental protection both are needed to be equally evaluated in the planning of future industry development. Taking petrochemical industry as an example, many of its mid-stream and down-stream products have become an unseparable part and of our daily life. In Taiwan, it has been over half century since the establishment of petrochemical industry, and now become top 10 petrochemical production countries in the world. The production value of petrochemical-related industries are very close to 4 trillion NT dollars, about 30% of total production value of domestic manufacturing sectors. Petrochemical industry and electronic industry are the two strong arms in supporting national economic growth. As a very important industry in Taiwan, however, the intensity of its GHG emission is only next to steel industry. The significant technology improvement in petrochemical industry has been achieved since the installation of the existing refinery, naphtha crackers and many petrochemical mid-stream production plants in Taiwan. It is well recognized that the GHG emission will be greatly reduced if the advanced technologies are introduced and the old facilities are revamped. Therefore, the writer would like to address a different approach toward KuoKuang Petrochemical Project which the government is giving an impetus to its execution. Here the writer would propose Taiwan CPC company, the state-owned petroleum company and the leader of Kuokuang Petrochemical Project, to become privatized after asset re-evaluation and collect some government capital from privatization through issuance of part of its shares to the open market. The capital thus collected can be used for enterprise reform. The important items of the enterprise reform include but not limited to introduction of the advanced technologies, revamping of existing facilities and establishment of a new well-integrated petrochemical conglomerate through mutual investment between Taiwan CPC and the mid-stream companies that rely raw material supplies from Taiwan CPC. From viewpoints of both economy and environment, government policy of implementation of KuoKuang Petrochemical Project is worthy for reconsideration. Formation of a CPC-lead petrochemical conglomerate would also benefit the current petrochemical companies that rely on raw material supplies from Taiwan CPC as their operation efficiencies would improved from business intergration. The newly formed conglomerate would be more powerful in further business development and more competitive in world market. They would have more resources to explore their potential in advanced technology development, in new business fields such as biomass energy, solar energy and so on. The CPC-lead petrochemical conglomerate would be able to enchance its competitiveness to another domestic petrochemical giant, Taiwan Formosa Group, and other petrochemical giants in the global market.

O presente trabalho foi desenvolvido para avaliar o potencial de utilização de um reator anaeróbico fabricado em PEAD Polietileno de Alta Densidade, produzido pelo processo de rotomoldagem em substituição aos reatores convencionais construídos em concreto e alvenaria, trabalhando em regime de batelada e enterrados no solo. Os estados de tensões e deformações foram avaliados utilizando o programa de Elementos Finitos ABAQUS versão 6.5 e a malha dos nós utilizando o programa MSC PATRAN 2005 formando 7329 nós e 2004 elementos, em uma malha otimizada para as regiões de maior curvatura (pontos concentradores de tensão). O carregamento é formado com uma pressão interna do biogás de 5 kPa acrescido da carga hidrostática de biomassa de 6000 kgf em uma fundação elástica calculada pela razão tensão/recalque a partir do Módulo de Elasticidade equivalente do solo (Esolo). Comparando o estado de tensões avaliado durante o carregamento foi possível constatar que a maior tensão obtida no elemento mais crítico para a utilização mais provável do reator atingiu o valor de 7,46 MPa (não supera 40% do menor valor de resistência à tração e ao cisalhamento do PEAD de 20 MPa) e a maior razão de deformação dR/R foi de 1.0%. O caso mais crítico avaliado foi quando o reator está enterrado, totalmente vazio, em solo com Esolo = 1,55 MPa e o material com EPEAD = 1550 MPa e com uma sobrecarga superficial no terreno de 20kN/m2 gerando uma tensão de 17,80 MPa no elemento 1955 (atingindo 89% do menor valor de resistência à tração e ao cisalhamento do PEAD igual a 20 MPa). Os resultados obtidos comprovam que o reator produzido em PEAD substitui com vantagens os modelos fabricados em concreto ou alvenaria, suportando a pressão interna do biogás e a carga de biomassa. / The present work was developed to evaluate the potential of uses of an anaerobic reactor manufactured in HDPE High Density Polyethylene produced by the rotomolding process in substitution to the conventional reactors built in stonemasonry, working in a batch regime and buried in the soil. The state of tensions and the deformations were assessed using the program of Finite Elements ABAQUS version 6.5 and the mesh of the knots using the program MSC PATRAN 2005 forming 7329 knots and 2004 elements, in an optimized mesh for the areas of larger curvature (tension concentrator points). The loading is formed with an internal pressure of the biogas of 5kPa added of biomass hydrostatic load of 6000 kg in an elastic foundation calculated by the ratio pressure/settling starting from the Module of equivalent Elasticity of the soil (Esolo). Comparing the state of tensions assessed during the loading was possible to verify that the largest tension obtained in the most critical element goes the most probable utilization of the reactor, reached the value of 7, 46 MPa (it doesn't surpass 40% of the smallest resistance value to the traction and to the shearing strain of HDPE of 20 MPa) and the largest ratio of dR/R deformation was of 1.0%. The most critical assessed case was when the reactor is buried in soil with Esolo = 1,55 MPa and material with EPEAD = 1550 MPa, totally empty and with a superficial overload in the land of 20kN/m2 generating a tension of 17,80 MPa in the element 1955 (reaching 89% of the smallest resistance value to the traction and the shearing strain of a 20 MPa HDPE). The obtained results confirmed that the reactor produced in HDPE substitutes with advantages the models manufactured in stonemasonry, supporting the internal biogas pressure and the biomass load.