WorldWideScience

Sample records for willow biomass crops

  1. Life cycle assessment of a willow bioenergy cropping system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heller, M.C.; Keoleian, G.A.; Volk, Timothy A.

    2003-01-01

    The environmental performance of willow biomass crop production systems in New York (NY) is analyzed using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The base-case, which represents current practices in NY, produces 55 units of biomass energy per unit of fossil energy consumed over the biomass crop's 23-year lifetime. Inorganic nitrogen fertilizer inputs have a strong influence on overall system performance, accounting for 37% of the non-renewable fossil energy input into the system. Net energy ratio varies from 58 to below 40 as a function of fertilizer application rate, but application rate also has implications on the system nutrient balance. Substituting inorganic N fertilizer with sewage sludge biosolids increases the net energy ratio of the willow biomass crop production system by more than 40%. While CO 2 emitted in combusting dedicated biomass is balanced by CO 2 adsorbed in the growing biomass, production processes contribute to the system's net global warming potential. Taking into account direct and indirect fuel use, N 2 O emissions from applied fertilizer and leaf litter, and carbon sequestration in below ground biomass and soil carbon, the net greenhouse gas emissions total 0.68 g CO 2 eq. MJ biomassproduced -1 . Site specific parameters such as soil carbon sequestration could easily offset these emissions resulting in a net reduction of greenhouse gases. Assuming reasonable biomass transportation distance and energy conversion efficiencies, this study implies that generating electricity from willow biomass crops could produce 11 units of electricity per unit of fossil energy consumed. Results form the LCA support the assertion that willow biomass crops are sustainable from an energy balance perspective and contribute additional environmental benefits

  2. Willow trees from heavy metals phytoextraction as energy crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Šyc, Michal; Pohořelý, Michael; Kameníková, Petra; Habart, Jan; Svoboda, Karel; Punčochář, Miroslav

    2012-01-01

    Phytoextraction ability of some fast growing plant species leads to the idea of connecting biomass production with soil remediation of contaminated industrial zones and regions. This biomass will contain significant amount of heavy metals and its energetic utilization has to be considered carefully to minimize negative environmental impacts. This study was focused on potential disposal methods of willow trees contaminated by heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) with the emphasis on energetic utilization of biomass. Composting seems to be suitable pre-treatment method resulting in decrease of heavy metals leachability and biomass weight reduction. The possibility of willow trees application for energetic purposes was investigated and consequently incineration tests of willow trees samples in fluidized bed reactor were realized. Distribution of selected heavy metals in different ash fractions and treatment methods of produced ashes were studied as well. -- Highlights: ► Composting is an appropriate pre-treatment method for phytoextraction crops. ► Fluidized bed combustion is suitable disposal method of phytoextraction crops. ► Ashes from phytoextraction crops combustion cannot be used as fertilizers.

  3. Community outreach and education: key components of the Salix consortium's willow biomass project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volk, T.A.; Edick, S.; Brown, S.; Downing, M.

    1999-01-01

    This project facilitates the commercialization of willow biomass crops as a locally grown source of renewable energy. The challenge is to simultaneously optimize production and utilization technology, develop farmer interest and crop acreage, and establish stable and reliable markets. The participation of farmers and landowners, businesses, and local and regional governments in the process is essential for success. A three-phased approach elicits this participation: focused outreach and education, active involvement of potential producers of willow biomass crops, and the development of a user-friendly economic and business model that can be used by a variety of stakeholders. Barriers to commercialization have been identified, such as misconceptions about the production system and crop, assurances of a stable and reliable market for the material, and indications that the equipment and infrastructure to grow and process willow biomass crops are in place. Outreach efforts have specifically addressed these issues. As a result target audiences' responses have changed from passive observation to inquiries and suggestions for active participation. This shift represents a significant step towards the goal of making willow biomass crops a viable source of locally produced fuel. (author)

  4. Closed Loop Short Rotation Woody Biomass Energy Crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brower, Michael [CRC Development, LLC, Oakland, CA (United States)

    2012-09-30

    CRC Development LLC is pursuing commercialization of shrub willow crops to evaluate and confirm estimates of yield, harvesting, transportation and renewable energy conversion costs and to provide a diverse resource in its supply portfolio.The goal of Closed Loop Short Rotation Woody Biomass Energy Crops is supply expansion in Central New York to facilitate the commercialization of willow biomass crops as part of the mix of woody biomass feedstocks for bioenergy and bioproducts. CRC Development LLC established the first commercial willow biomass plantation acreage in North America was established on the Tug Hill in the spring of 2006 and expanded in 2007. This was the first 230- acres toward the goal of 10,000 regional acres. This project replaces some 2007-drought damaged acreage and installs a total of 630-acre new planting acres in order to demonstrate to regional agricultural producers and rural land-owners the economic vitality of closed loop short rotation woody biomass energy crops when deployed commercially in order to motivate new grower entry into the market-place. The willow biomass will directly help stabilize the fuel supply for the Lyonsdale Biomass facility, which produces 19 MWe of power and exports 15,000 pph of process steam to Burrows Paper. This project will also provide feedstock to The Biorefinery in New York for the manufacture of renewable, CO2-neutral liquid transportation fuels, chemicals and polymers. This project helps end dependency on imported fossil fuels, adds to region economic and environmental vitality and contributes to national security through improved energy independence.

  5. Predictive models of biomass for poplar and willow. Short rotation coppice in the United Kingdom

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brewer, A.C.; Morgan, G.W.; Poole, E.J.; Baldwin, M.E.; Tubby, I. (Biometrics, Surveys and Statistics Division, Forest Research, Farnham (United Kingdom))

    2007-07-01

    A series of forty-nine experimental trials on short rotation coppice (SRC) were conducted throughout the United Kingdom using a selection of varieties of poplar and willow with the aim of evaluating their performance for wood fuel production under a representative range of UK conditions. Observations on the crops and on a range of site and climatic conditions during the growth of the crops were taken over two three-year cutting cycles. These observations were used to develop a suite of empirical models for poplar and willow SRC growth and yield from which systems were constructed to provide a- priori predictions of biomass yield for any site in the UK with known characteristics (predictive yield models), and estimates of biomass yield from a standing crop (standing biomass models). The structure of the series of field trials and the consequent approach and methodology used in the construction of the suite of empirical models are described, and their use in predicting biomass yields of poplar and willow SRC is discussed. (orig.)

  6. Development of an applied black willow tree improvement program for biomass production in the south

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randall J. Rousseau; Emile S. Gardiner; Theodor D. Leininger

    2012-01-01

    The development of rapidly growing biomass woody crops is imperative as the United States strives to meet renewable energy goals. The Department of Energy has indicated that biomass is a prime source for renewable energy for the southern United States. Black Willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) is a potential bioenergy/biofuels crop for dedicated short-...

  7. Selection of Willows (Salix sp. for Biomass Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davorin Kajba

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background and Purpose: Willows compared with other species are the most suitable for biomass production in short rotations because of their very abundant growth during the first years. Nowadays, in Croatia, a large number of selected and registered willow clones are available. The main objective of the research should be to find genotypes which, with minimum nutrients, will produce the maximum quantity of biomass. Material and Methods: Clonal test of the arborescent willows include the autochthonous White Willow (Salix alba, interracial hybrids of the autochthonous White Willow and the English ‘cricket’ Willow (S. alba var. calva, interspecies hybrids (S. matsudana × S. alba, as well as multispecies hybrids of willows. Average production of dry biomass (DM∙ha-1∙a-1 per hectare was estimated in regard to the clone, survival, spacing and the number of shoots per stump. Results: The highest biomass production as well as the best adaptedness and phenotypic stability on testing site was shown by clones (‘V 374’, ‘V 461’, ‘V 578’ from 15.2 - 25.0 t∙DM∙ha-1∙a-1 originated from backcross hybrid S. matsudana × (S. matsudana × S. alba and by one S. alba clone (‘V 95’, 23.1 - 25.7 t∙DM∙ha-1∙a-1. These clones are now at the stage of registration and these results indicate significant potential for further breeding aimed at biomass production in short rotations. Conclusions: Willow clones showed high biomass production on marginal sites and dry biomass could be considerably increased with the application of intensive silvicultural and agro technical measures. No nutrition or pest control measures were applied (a practice otherwise widely used in intensive cultivation system, while weed vegetation was regulated only at the earliest age.

  8. A stochastic analysis of the decision to produce biomass crops in Ireland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clancy, Daragh; Breen, James P.; Thorne, Fiona; Wallace, Michael

    2012-01-01

    There is increasing interest in biomass crops as an alternative farm activity. However farmer concerns about the production and financial risks associated with growing these crops may be impeding the actual rates of adoption. The uncertainty surrounding risky variables such as the costs of production, yield level, price per tonne and opportunity cost of land make it difficult to accurately calculate the returns to biomass crops. Their lengthy production lifespan may only serve to heighten the level of risk that affects key variables. A stochastic budgeting model is used to estimate distributions of returns from willow and miscanthus in Ireland. The opportunity cost of land is accounted for through the inclusion of the foregone returns from selected conventional agricultural activities. The impact on biomass returns of bioremediation is also examined. The Net Present Values (NPVs) of various biomass investment options are simulated to ascertain the full distribution of possible returns. The results of these simulations are then compared using their respective Cumulative Distribution Functions (CDFs) and the investments are ranked using Stochastic Efficiency with Respect to a Function (SERF). While the distributions of investment returns for miscanthus are wider than those of willow, implying greater risk, the distribution of willow returns is predominantly to the left of zero indicating that such an investment has an extremely high probability of generating a negative return. The results from the SERF analysis show that miscanthus generally has higher certainty equivalents (CEs), and therefore farmers would be more likely to invest in miscanthus rather than willow. -- Highlights: ► We develop a stochastic budgeting model to capture uncertainty in key variables. ► Farmers with higher levels of risk aversion would be unwilling to invest in biomass crops. ► Miscanthus has a greater probability of making a profit than willow. ► Bioremediation can help to offset

  9. Impacts of paper sludge and manure on soil and biomass production of willow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quaye, Amos K.; Volk, Timothy A.; Hafner, Sasha; Leopold, Donald J.; Schirmer, Charles

    2011-01-01

    Land application of organic wastes to short rotation woody crops (SRWC) can reduce the environmental impacts associated with waste disposal and enhance the productivity of biomass production systems. Understanding the potential impacts of organic amendments however, requires the examination of changes in soil characteristics and plant productivity. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of paper sludge and dairy manure on biomass production of shrub willow (Salix dasyclados SV1) and to determine the impacts of these amendments on soil chemical properties. Treatments included urea, dairy manure and paper sludge separately and in combination, and a control. These materials were applied in the summer of 2005 to two fields of SV1 at different stages of growth: An old field with one year old shoots on a 10 year old root system and a young field which was beginning regrowth after being coppiced at the end of its first growing season. Foliar nutrient concentrations and soil chemical properties were analyzed at the end of the second growing season after treatment application to determine plant response to the fertilization regimes and to determine the effects of fertilization on soil characteristics. Fertilization did not increase biomass production in either field. However, application of the N-poor paper sludge did not reduce yield either. In general, fertilization did not influence soil or foliar chemistry, although there were some exceptions. The lack of response observed in this study is probably related to the nutrient status of the site or losses of applied nutrients. -- Highlights: → The fertilization treatments did not have any significant effect biomass production. → Application of paper sludge did not reduce willow biomass yield in both fields. → Foliar N concentration of willow crops in this study is in the range considered for optimal growth. → The limited response of foliar nutrients to fertilization indicates that the site was not limited by

  10. High yielding biomass genotypes of willow (Salix spp.) show differences in below ground biomass allocation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cunniff, Jennifer; Purdy, Sarah J.; Barraclough, Tim J.P.; Castle, March; Maddison, Anne L.; Jones, Laurence E.; Shield, Ian F.; Gregory, Andrew S.; Karp, Angela

    2015-01-01

    Willows (Salix spp.) grown as short rotation coppice (SRC) are viewed as a sustainable source of biomass with a positive greenhouse gas (GHG) balance due to their potential to fix and accumulate carbon (C) below ground. However, exploiting this potential has been limited by the paucity of data available on below ground biomass allocation and the extent to which it varies between genotypes. Furthermore, it is likely that allocation can be altered considerably by environment. To investigate the role of genotype and environment on allocation, four willow genotypes were grown at two replicated field sites in southeast England and west Wales, UK. Above and below ground biomass was intensively measured over two two-year rotations. Significant genotypic differences in biomass allocation were identified, with below ground allocation differing by up to 10% between genotypes. Importantly, the genotype with the highest below ground biomass also had the highest above ground yield. Furthermore, leaf area was found to be a good predictor of below ground biomass. Growth environment significantly impacted allocation; the willow genotypes grown in west Wales had up to 94% more biomass below ground by the end of the second rotation. A single investigation into fine roots showed the same pattern with double the volume of fine roots present. This greater below ground allocation may be attributed primarily to higher wind speeds, plus differences in humidity and soil characteristics. These results demonstrate that the capacity exists to breed plants with both high yields and high potential for C accumulation. - Highlights: • SRC willows are a source of biomass and act as carbon (C) sinks. • Biomass allocation was measured in 4 willow genotypes grown in two UK field sites. • The greatest yielding genotype had the greatest below ground biomass at both sites. • Below ground biomass allocation differed by up to 10% between genotypes and 94% between sites. • Environment e.g. wind

  11. The development of short-rotation willow in the northeastern United States for bioenergy and bioproducts, agroforestry and phytoremediation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volk, T.A.; Abrahamson, L.P.; Nowak, C.A.; White, E.H.; Smart, L.B.; Tharakan, P.J.

    2006-01-01

    Research on willow (Salix spp.) as a locally produced, renewable feedstock for bioenergy and bioproducts began in New York in the mid-1980s in response to growing concerns about environmental impacts associated with fossil fuels and declining rural economies. Simultaneous and integrated activities-including research, large-scale demonstrations, outreach and education, and market development-were initiated in the mid-1990s to facilitate the commercialization of willow biomass crops. Despite technological viability and associated environmental and local economic benefits, the high price of willow biomass relative to coal has been a barrier to wide-scale deployment of this system. The cost of willow biomass is currently $3.00GJ -1 ($57.30odt -1 ) compared to $1.40-1.90GJ -1 for coal. Yield improvements from traditional breeding efforts and increases in harvesting efficiency that are currently being realized promise to reduce the price differential. Recent policy changes at the federal level, including the provision to harvest bioenergy crops from Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land and a closed-loop biomass tax credit, and state-level initiatives such as Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) will help to further reduce the difference and foster markets for willow biomass. Years of work on willow biomass crop research and demonstration projects have increased our understanding of the biology, ecophysiology and management of willow biomass crops. Using an adaptive management model, this information has led to the deployment of willow for other applications such as phytoremediation, living snow fences, and riparian buffers across the northeastern US. (author)

  12. Wood biomass: The potential of willow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    White, E.H.; Abrahamson, L.P.

    1991-10-01

    Experiments were established in central New York State in spring, 1987, to evaluate the potential of Salix for wood biomass production using ultrashort-rotation intensive-culture techniques. Five selected willow clones and one hybrid poplar clone planted at 1 x 1 foot spacing were tested for biomass production with annual coppicing. This report presents results of this research as of December 31, 1990. (VC)

  13. Biomass production in willows. What did we know before the energy crisis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perttu, K L [ed.

    1984-12-01

    The biological foundations of biomass with willows originate in the experiences from basket willow husbandry. This was an established discipline in Europe in the 18th century. Problems concerning site preparation, selection of clones, planting as cuttings, spacing, weed control, rotation time, harvesting and coppicing vigour with respect to the longevity of the stand, were practically solved at the research level and already in practice. The yield potential of basket willow and willows for hoop production as well as yield figures from field experiments were quite high also according to present-day biomass willow experiments. An explanation of this could be the much higher stand densities than has been customary in current willow experiments. Although many practical questions got their answers in basket willow husbandry, open questions still remain. The basket willow era gave only little experience on willow production in peatlands; actually peatsoils were almost avoided. Knowledge of nutrient require ments and fertilization was also rather elementary. These aspects must therefore be established for biomass production. Control of weeds in the establishment phase of the willow husbandry was solved by manual work. Since this is a labour intensive method which is no longer possible, a more modern weed control needs to be developed for current husbandry. As a whole it is a task for related research to attach proper optimization of cultural techniques to suitable willow clones in order to attain and maintain as high a production level as was the case in the old basket willow husbandry. With 25 refs.

  14. Results from software based empirical models of and standing biomass for poplar and willow grown as short rotation coppice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baldwin, M.E.; Morgan, G.W.; Brewer, A.C. (Forest Research Biometrics, Surveys and Statistics Division, Forest Research, Wrecclesham (United Kingdom))

    2007-07-01

    Statistical analysis was used to create a model for estimating the quantity of biomass produced by crops of poplar and willow grown as short rotation coppice. This model was converted into a software system as described here. The software is currently available for scientific demonstration. (orig.)

  15. The influence of a Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff on the decision to produce biomass crops in Ireland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clancy, D.; Breen, J.P.; Thorne, F.; Wallace, M.

    2012-01-01

    A target of 30 per cent substitution of biomass for peat in the three peat fired power stations from 2015 has been set by the Irish Government. However, a knowledge gap exists on the extent to which Irish farmers would actually choose to grow these crops. An extension of the Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff (REFIT) scheme to include the co-firing of biomass with peat in electricity generation would enable the power stations to enter into Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). These offer a fixed price to farmers for biomass feedstock. The decision to adopt biomass is represented as a constrained problem under certainty with the objective of profit maximisation. The results showed that the price offered under a PPA has a large effect on the economic returns from biomass crops. The price that the power stations previously estimated they would be able to pay, at €46 and €48 per tonne for willow and miscanthus, respectively, was used as a starting point. At this price the number of farmers who would choose to adopt biomass production is insufficient to achieve the national co-firing target. The target could be achieved at €70 and €65 per tonne for willow and miscanthus, respectively. - Highlights: ► We model the decision of Irish farmers to produce biomass crops. ► Current prices will lead to insufficient adoption to achieve policy targets. ► REFIT mechanism can succeed in meeting policy goals. ► Willow prices need to increase by approximately 27 per cent. ► Miscanthus prices need to increase by approximately 8 per cent.

  16. GIS-BASED location optimization of a biomass conversion plant on contaminated willow in the Campine region (Belgium)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voets, Thomas; Neven, An; Thewys, Theo; Kuppens, Tom

    2013-01-01

    The Campine region is diffusely contaminated with heavy metals like cadmium. Since traditional excavation techniques are too expensive, phytoremediation is preferred as a remediation technique. In a previous study, the biomass potential from phytoremediation of contaminated agricultural land in the Campine region in Belgium was assessed. Based on recently upgraded figures of willow potential from phytoremediation on agricultural land in the seven most contaminated municipalities of the Belgian Campine region, the current paper uses GIS-knowledge to investigate which of three previously identified locations is most suitable for a biomass plant, taking into account the spatial distribution of the contaminated willow supply and the total cost of willow transport. Biomass transport distance from the centroid of each contaminated agricultural parcel to each of the three potential biomass plant locations was determined following Euclidian distance calculations and distance calculations over the existing road network. A transport cost model consisting of distance fixed and distance dependent biomass transport costs was developed. Of the locations identified, the Overpelt Fabriek site results in the lowest biomass transport distance and costs. When willow allocation for each parcel occurs based on the nearest potential plant location, transport costs are on average 23% lower than when all biomass is transported to the single Overpelt Fabriek site location. Therefore, when only considering transport costs, installing a smaller plant at each of the three potential plant locations would be less expensive than when installing a single biomass plant at the Overpelt Fabriek site. -- Highlights: ► Overpelt Fabriek site most attractive for time frames considered. ► Average tortuosity factor in Campine region between 1.27 and 1.42. ► Share of willow transport costs in willow supply costs 21%. ► Optimal allocation of willow results in lower transport costs

  17. Willow wood production on radionuclide polluted areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodkin Oleg I.

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: One of the key environmental problems in Belarus is effective use of agricultural lands contaminated by radionuclide due to the Chernobyl disaster. The alternative method to traditional agricultural crops is fast growing willow cultivation. It is possible to use biomass of willow as renewable energy source. The goal of our investigation was the estimation of environmental aspects of willow wood production on polluted areas. The field study experiments (2007-2010 were conducted at Krichev district of Mogilev region in eastern Belarus. This region characterized by high level of Cs-137 contamination as well as high level of heavy metals pollution. In the first stage of experiments, the concentration of cesium-137 in different parts of willow biomass had been measured and transfer factor calculated. The measuring had been done for leaves, roots, and wood. To control cesium-137 accumulation in willow biomass we apply different types (nitrogen N, phosphorus P and potassium K and dose of fertilizer. The experiments show that potassium mineral fertilizer is the key factor for radionuclide accumulation control. The optimal dose of potassium is 90 kg per hectare. On the base of experimental results the model of cesium-137 accumulation in the wood for a 21 year has been developed. In accordance with calculation to the end of willow cultivation (21 year concentration of cesium-137 in wood will not be higher than permitted even with the level of cesium-137 contamination in the soil 1480 kBq/m2 (maximum 140 kqB/m2 with permitted level for firewood is 740 Bq/kg.. The concentration of cesium-137 in the roots increases gradually and get maximum in 21 year (3000 kqB/m2. Our results confirm that in the sum about 0.8 million hectares of radionuclide polluted arable lands partly excluded from agricultural practice in Belarus could be used for willow biomass production.

  18. Yield and Water Quality Impacts of Field-Scale Integration of Willow into a Continuous Corn Rotation System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zumpf, Colleen; Ssegane, Herbert; Negri, Maria Cristina; Campbell, Patty; Cacho, Julian

    2017-07-01

    Agricultural landscape design has gained recognition by the international environmental and development community as a strategy to address multiple goals in land, water, and ecosystem service management; however, field research is needed to quantify impacts on specific local environments. The production of bioenergy crops in specific landscape positions within a grain-crop field can serve the dual purpose of producing cellulosic biomass (nutrient recovery) while also providing regulating ecosystem services to improve water quality (nutrient reduction). The effectiveness of such a landscape design was evaluated by the strategic placement of a 0.8-ha short-rotation shrub willow ( Seemen) bioenergy buffer along marginal soils in a 6.5-ha corn ( L.) field in a 6-yr field study in central Illinois. The impact of willow integration on water quality (soil water, shallow groundwater leaching, and crop nutrient uptake) and quantity (soil moisture and transpiration) was monitored in comparison with corn in the willow's first cycle of growth. Willows significantly reduced nitrate leachate in shallow subsurface water by 88% while maintaining adequate nutrient and water usage. Results suggest that willows offer an efficient nutrient-reduction strategy and may provide additional ecosystem services and benefits, including enhanced soil health. However, low values for calculated willow biomass will need to be readdressed in the future as harvest data become available to understand contributing factors that affected productivity beyond nutrient availability. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  19. Characterising willows for biomass and phytoremediation: growth, nitrogen and water use of 14 willow clones under different irrigation and fertilisation regimes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weih, Martin; Nordh, N.-E.

    2002-01-01

    Fourteen clones of willow (Salix spp.) were characterised in terms of growth, nitrogen and water-use efficiency under different irrigation and fertilisation treatments. Cuttings of willow clones, some commercially introduced and others new material, were pot-grown outdoors in Central Sweden under four experimental treatments in a full-factorial design. The experiment covered the period from bud-break until leaf abscission and the experimental conditions included two irrigation and two fertilisation regimes. The growth of the clones was evaluated in terms of relative growth rate and total biomass production of whole plants and shoots. Nitrogen (N) economy was studied by means of N productivity, N accumulation and N losses by leaf abscission. Water economy was analysed with respect to intrinsic water-use efficiency (foliar carbon isotope ratio; δ 13 C) and the capacity of leaves to retain water (relative water content). Significant differences between clones were found in nearly all parameters measured and the clones varied in the responses to the experimental treatments (clone x factor interaction effects). Thus, clone ranking often changed depending on the experimental treatment. The results are discussed with respect to clone selection for different willow applications such as biomass production and phytoremediation, and willow growth performance under different water and nutrient availabilities. The growth-physiological characterisation of young willows in the short term (several months) is regarded as a suitable approach for pre-selection of promising clones prior to extensive field evaluation

  20. Sampling procedure in a willow plantation for chemical elements important for biomass combustion quality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Na; Nielsen, Henrik Kofoed; Jørgensen, Uffe

    2015-01-01

    clone ‘Tordis’, and to reveal the relationship between sampling position, shoot diameters, and distribution of elements. Five Tordis willow shoots were cut into 10–50 cm sections from base to top. The ash content and concentration of twelve elements (Al, Ca, Cd, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Si, and Zn......Willow (Salix spp.) is expected to contribute significantly to the woody bioenergy system in the future, so more information on how to sample the quality of the willow biomass is needed. The objectives of this study were to investigate the spatial variation of elements within shoots of a willow......) in each section were determined. The results showed large spatial variation in the distribution of most elements along the length of the willow shoots. Concentrations of elements in 2-year old shoots of the willow clone Tordis were fairly stable within the range of 100–285 cm above ground and resembled...

  1. A genetic linkage map of willow (Salix viminalis) based on AFLP and microsatelite markers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hanley, S.; Barker, J.H.A.; Ooijen, van J.W.; Aldam, C.; Harris, S.L.; Ahman, I.; Larsson, S.; Karp, A.

    2002-01-01

    The genus Salix (willow) contains a number of species of great value as biomass crops. Efforts to breed varieties with improved biomass yields and resistances to pests and diseases are limited by the lack of knowledge on the genetic basis of the traits. We have used AFLP and microsatellite markers

  2. Evaluating the impact of three incentive programs on the economics of cofiring willow biomass with coal in New York State

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tharakan, P.J.; Volk, T.A.; Lindsey, C.A.; Abrahamson, L.P.; White, E.H.

    2005-01-01

    Plantations of fast-growing willow shrubs are being promoted as a source quality biomass feedstock for bioenergy and bioproducts in New York State (NY). In the near-term, cofiring of the feedstock--in combination with other woody biomass--with coal in existing utility power boilers is considered to be the most promising conversion method for energy generation. Despite the clear technological viability and associated environmental benefits, cofiring of willow has not been widely adopted. The relatively high production cost of the willow feedstock, which is over twice that of coal, is the primary reason for this lack of interest. Taxes that account for some of the social costs of using coal and/or incentives that appropriate value for some of the social benefits of using willow are essential for eliminating most or the entire current price differential. This paper presents an integrated analysis of the economics of power generation from cofiring willow biomass feedstock with coal, from the perspective of the grower, aggregator and the power plant. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the relative impact of a green premium price, a closed-loop biomass tax credit, and payments to growers under the proposed Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) harvesting exemption policy. The CRP payments reduced the delivered cost of willow by 36-35%, to $1.90 GJ -1 and $1.70 GJ -1 , under current and increased yield conditions, respectively. These prices are still high, relative to coal. Other incentives are required to ensure commercial viability. The required levels of green premium price (0.4-1.0 cents kWh -1 ) and biomass tax credit (0.75-2.4 cents kWh -1 ) vary depending on whether the incentives were being applied by themselves or in combination, and whether current yield or potential increased yields were being considered. In the near term, cofiring willow biomass and coal can be an economically viable option for power generation in NY if the expected overall beneficial effects

  3. Evaluating growth effects from an imidacloprid treatment in black willow and eastern cottonwood cuttings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luciano de Sene Fernandes; Ray A. Souter; Theodor D. Leininger

    2015-01-01

    Black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) and eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartram ex Marsh.), two species native in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, have importance in short rotation woody crop (SRWC) systems for biomass production (Ruark 2006).

  4. Biomass production potentials in Central and Eastern Europe under different scenarios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dam, J. van; Faaij, A.P.C.; Lewandowski, I.; Fischer, G.

    2007-01-01

    A methodology for the assessment of biomass potentials was developed and applied to Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC). Biomass resources considered are agricultural residues, forestry residues, and wood from surplus forest and biomass from energy crops. Only land that is not needed for food and feed production is considered as available for the production of energy crops. Five scenarios were built to depict the influences of different factors on biomass potentials and costs. Scenarios, with a domination of current level of agricultural production or ecological production systems, show the smallest biomass potentials of 2-5.7 EJ for all CEEC. Highest potentials can reach up to 11.7 EJ (85% from energy crops, 12% from residues and 3% from surplus forest wood) when 44 million ha of agricultural land become available for energy crop production. This potential is, however, only realizable under high input production systems and most advanced production technology, best allocation of crop production over all CEEC and by choosing willow as energy crops. The production of lignocellulosic crops, and willow in particular, best combines high biomass production potentials and low biomass production costs. Production costs for willow biomass range from 1.6 to 8.0 EUR/GJ HHV in the scenario with the highest agricultural productivity and 1.0-4.5 EUR/GJ HHV in the scenario reflecting the current status of agricultural production. Generally the highest biomass production costs are experienced when ecological agriculture is prevailing and on land with lower quality. In most CEEC, the production potentials are larger than the current energy use in the more favourable scenarios. Bulk of the biomass potential can be produced at costs lower than 2 EUR/GJ. High potentials combined with the low cost levels gives CEEC major export opportunities. (author)

  5. Accelerating the commercialization of biomass energy generation within New York State

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Proakis, G.J. [New York State Technology Enterprise Corp., Rome, NY (United States); Vasselli, J.J. [Syracuse Research Corp., North Syracuse, NY (United States); Neuhauser, E. [Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., Syracuse, NY (United States); Volk, T.A. [State University of New York, Syracuse, NY (United States)

    1999-07-01

    A significant obstacle to establishing a commercially viable, self-sustaining willow biomass industry is the initial capital investment required to establish the crop. One approach to overcoming this challenge is an incentive program to reduce the initial capital investment costs for landowners. This study quantifies the start-up investment costs, economic development impact, and environmental pollution reduction benefits associated with the creation of a biomass energy industry in New York State. The study recommends the creation of a state-sponsored revolving loan fund that would be used by landowners to finance the cost of establishing willow biomass crops. (author)

  6. Willow clones with high biomass yield in short rotation coppice in the southern region of Tohoku district (Japan)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitsui, Yu; Seto, Shoko; Nishio, Mari; Minato, Kazuya; Ishizawa, Kimiharu; Satoh, Shigeru

    2010-01-01

    The present study was conducted to select willow (Salix spp.) clones with a high potential for use as biomass energy crops in the southern region of Tohoku district in Japan. Cuttings of 8 willow clones were planted on an abandoned farmland near Sendai (av. annual temp., 10.9 o C) in March 2006, grown throughout the year and cut back in late December 2006 to resprout from the remaining stools in March 2007. The biomass yield in December 2007, after the first growing season, was highest in Salix pet-susu clone KKD, followed by Salix pseudolinearis clone FXM and Salix sachalinensis clone SEN. The biomass yield on December 2008, after the second growing season, was again highest in clone KKD followed by clone FXM, S. pet-susu clone HB471 and S. sachalinensis clone SEN; the average annual yield of dry mass after the second growing season being 3.09, 2.58, 2.17 and 1.85 kgDM plant -1 for the clones in this order. Plant growth form differed among the clones. Clones FXM and SEN had several shoots of almost uniform base diameter, whereas clones KKD and HB471 showed plagiotropic growth with one thick and several thin shoots. The calorific values of dried stem segments were similar among clones, ranging from 18.7 to 19.1 kJ g -1 . The dried stem segments contained 78.9-81.2 wt.% hollocellulose, 27.2-32.3 wt.% lignin and 2.1-4.0 wt.% extractives with ethanol-benzene, depending on clones. Based on these results, we could select four clones (KKD, FXM, HB471 and SEN) suitable for biomass production by SRWC in this area.

  7. Phytoextraction of heavy metals by willows growing in biosolids under field conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laidlaw, W S; Arndt, S K; Huynh, T T; Gregory, D; Baker, A J M

    2012-01-01

    Biosolids produced by sewage treatment facilities can exceed guideline thresholds for contaminant elements. Phytoextraction is one technique with the potential to reduce these elements allowing reuse of the biosolids as a soil amendment. In this field trial, cuttings of seven species/cultivars of Salix(willows) were planted directly into soil and into biosolids to identify their suitability for decontaminating biosolids. Trees were irrigated and harvested each year for three consecutive years. Harvested biomass was weighed and analyzed for the contaminant elements: As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Hg, Pb, Ni, and Zn. All Salix cultivars, except S. chilensis, growing in soils produced 10 to 20 t ha(-1) of biomass, whereas most Salix cultivars growing in biosolids produced significantly less biomass (metals from biosolids, driven by superior biomass increases and not high tissue concentrations. The willows were effectual in extracting the most soluble/exchangeable metals (Cd, 0.18; Ni, 0.40; and Zn, 11.66 kg ha(-1)), whereas Cr and Cu were extracted to a lesser degree (0.02 and 0.11 kg ha(-1)). Low bioavailable elements, As, Hg, and Pb, were not detectable in any of the aboveground biomass of the willows. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  8. Energy farming in Dutch desiccation abatement areas. Effects on break-even biomass price

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Londo, M.; Dekker, J.; Vleeshouwers, L.; De Graaf, H.

    1999-09-01

    Measures in Dutch nature areas to combat desiccation of nature areas often have effects on surrounding agricultural lands, or buffer areas. Generally, these soils become moister, which can lead to lower yields for most common crops. Cultivation of the flooding-tolerant energy crop willow may be an alternative. In this study, the performance of willow production is compared to that of grass for roughage, in buffer areas as well as in a hydrologically optimal situation. Financial consequences are evaluated by calculating the biomass price that makes willow equally competitive to grass (break-even). The effect of high groundwater tables on yields of both crops is estimated using the agro-hydrological model SWAP. The calculated price that gives break-even between willow and grass is lower on wet soils than in a hydrologically optimal situation. At a groundwater table class of II, a groundwater situation quite common in buffer areas, this break-even price is 20% lower. The physical yield of willow is lower than its optimum, but grass yields decrease stronger, making willow more competitive. The biomass price in a hydrologically optimal situation, as calculated in this study, is comparable to values found in other studies. However, this comparison is complicated by differences in assumptions in the cost calculations, and by the fact that grass as roughage has less value added than food crops such as potatoes and wheat. This study contains considerable uncertainties with respect to the data used and the methodology. A sensitivity analysis shows that several parameters with a strong influence on the biomass price have low uncertainties. An uncertain value with strong influence is the optimal willow yield, which could not be estimated on practical data. Methodological limitations of the study, both in the economic comparison between willow and grass and in the yield estimations, are also discussed. 50 refs

  9. Enzymatic Saccharification of Shrub Willow Genotypes with Differing Biomass Composition for Biofuel Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle J. Serapiglia

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available In the conversion of woody biomass feedstocks into liquid fuel ethanol, the pretreatment process is the most critical and costly step. Variations in biomass composition based on genetic differences or environmental effects have a significant impact on the degree of accessibility accomplished by pretreatment and subsequent sugar release by enzymatic hydrolysis. To evaluate this, biomass from 10 genetically diverse, genotypes of shrub willow (Salix spp. was pretreated with a hot-water process at two levels of severity, hydrolyzed using a combination of two commercial enzyme cocktails, and the release of hexose and pentose monomers was quantified by HPLC. Among the genotypes selected for analysis, cellulose content ranged from 39 to 45% (w/w and lignin content ranged from 20 to 23% (w/w at harvest. Differences in the effectiveness of the pretreatment process were observed among the various willow genotypes. Correlations were identified between total sugar release and % cellulose and % lignin content. There was a significant effect of pretreatment severity on polysaccharide accessibility, but the response to pretreatments was different among the genotypes. At the high severity pretreatment ‘SV1’ was the least recalcitrant with sugar release representing as much as 60% of total biomass. These results suggest that structural, as well as chemical characteristics of the biomass may influence pretreatment and hydrolytic efficiency.

  10. Evaluation of biomass quality of selected woody species depending on the soil enrichment practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stolarski, Mariusz J.; Krzyżaniak, Michał; Załuski, Dariusz; Niksa, Dariusz

    2018-01-01

    Perennial energy crops are a source of the bio-mass used to generate energy. The aim of this study was to determine the chemical and thermophysical parameters of short rotation woody crops (black locust, poplar and willow), depending on soil enrichment practice (mineral fertilisation, lignin and mycorrhiza), in three- and four-year harvest cycles. In the study, the thermophysical properties and elemental composition of the biomass were determined. All analyses were performed in trip-licate according to the standards. The fresh black locust biomass had the lowest moisture content, which resulted in the best lower heating value (10.16 MJ kg-1, on average) in the four-year harvest cycle. The poplar biomass had the greatest higher heating value, fixed carbon, carbon and ash content, the highest concentrations of which were found in the biomass in which lignin was applied (2.00% d.m.). On the other hand, the willow biomass contained the lowest concentrations of ash and fixed carbon. Soil enrichment significantly differentiated the quality parameters of black locust, poplar and willow. This effect is of particular importance to those who grow and use biomass as a fuel.

  11. Some environmental impacts of short rotation willow coppice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slater, F.M.; Hodson, R.W.; Randrson, P.F.; Lynn, S.F.

    1997-01-01

    Short rotation willow coppice is a relatively new crop in upland Britain, and particularly in Environmentally Sensitive Areas the conservation and environmental effect of biomass crops needs to be evaluated. Investigations of sewage-sludge-treated plots in mid-Wales show that, because weed control was inadequate, recovery of the flora to its semi-natural precultivated state was rapid within and between experimental plots. Soil invertebrates responded to temporal stimuli before all else. Foliar-feeding invertebrates were greater in plots which had added fertilizer. Following cultivation voles were generally lost from the ploughed areas but field mice remained. Birds were studied in more extensive areas of short rotation coppice in central England and the assemblage of species was found to be similar to those found in conventional coppice but with a foreshortened successional sequence. The conservation value of short rotation willow coppice lies mainly in the abundant foliar invertebrates that provide a rich source of food for small passerine birds, particularly summer migrants. It also provides good cover for game birds - and their predators. (author)

  12. Genetics of phenotypic plasticity and biomass traits in hybrid willows across contrasting environments and years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berlin, Sofia; Hallingbäck, Henrik R; Beyer, Friderike; Nordh, Nils-Erik; Weih, Martin; Rönnberg-Wästljung, Ann-Christin

    2017-07-01

    Phenotypic plasticity can affect the geographical distribution of taxa and greatly impact the productivity of crops across contrasting and variable environments. The main objectives of this study were to identify genotype-phenotype associations in key biomass and phenology traits and the strength of phenotypic plasticity of these traits in a short-rotation coppice willow population across multiple years and contrasting environments to facilitate marker-assisted selection for these traits. A hybrid Salix viminalis  × ( S. viminalis × Salix schwerinii ) population with 463 individuals was clonally propagated and planted in three common garden experiments comprising one climatic contrast between Sweden and Italy and one water availability contrast in Italy. Several key phenotypic traits were measured and phenotypic plasticity was estimated as the trait value difference between experiments. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping analyses were conducted using a dense linkage map and phenotypic effects of S. schwerinii haplotypes derived from detected QTL were assessed. Across the climatic contrast, clone predictor correlations for biomass traits were low and few common biomass QTL were detected. This indicates that the genetic regulation of biomass traits was sensitive to environmental variation. Biomass QTL were, however, frequently shared across years and across the water availability contrast. Phenology QTL were generally shared between all experiments. Substantial phenotypic plasticity was found among the hybrid offspring, that to a large extent had a genetic origin. Individuals carrying influential S. schwerinii haplotypes generally performed well in Sweden but less well in Italy in terms of biomass production. The results indicate that specific genetic elements of S. schwerinii are more suited to Swedish conditions than to those of Italy. Therefore, selection should preferably be conducted separately for such environments in order to maximize biomass

  13. Biomass yield and fuel characteristics of short-rotation coppice (willow, poplar, empress tree)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maier, J.; Vetter, R. [Institute for Land Management Compatible to Environmental Requirements, Muellheim (Germany)

    2004-07-01

    In two pedo-climatic different regions in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg three shortrotation coppices willow, poplar and empress tree were tested with regard to their biomass productivity on arable land and to their properties for energetic use. Between 8 and 13 tons of dry matter per hectare and year could be produced under extensive cultivation conditions, over 15 tons with irrigation. Due to their composition, it can be assumed that their use as solid fuel in a biomass combustor is just as unproblematic as with forest timber. (orig.)

  14. Fiber length and pulping characteristics of switchgrass, alfalfa stems, hybrid poplar and willow biomasses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ai, Jun; Tschirner, Ulrike

    2010-01-01

    Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), alfalfa stems (Medicago sativa), second year growth hybrid poplar (Populus) and willow (Salix spp.) were examined to determine fiber characteristics, pulping behavior and paper properties. Alfalfa stems and switchgrass both showed length weighted average fiber length (LWW) of 0.78 mm, a very narrow fiber length distribution and high fines content. Willow and hybrid poplar have lower fines content but a very low average fiber length (0.42 and 0.48 mm LWW). In addition, the four biomass species showed distinctly different chemical compositions. Switchgrass was defibered successfully using Soda and Soda Anthraquinone (AQ) pulping and demonstrated good paper properties. Both fast-growing wood species pulped well using the Kraft process, and showed acceptable tensile strength, but low tear strength. Alfalfa stems reacted very poorly to Soda and Soda AQ pulping but responded well to Kraft and Kraft AQ. Pulps with tensile and tear strength considerably higher than those found for commercial aspen pulps were observed for alfalfa. All four biomass species examined demonstrated low pulp yield. The highest yields were obtained with poplar and switchgrass (around 43%). Considering the short fibers and low yields, all four biomass types will likely only be used in paper manufacturing if they offer considerable economic advantage over traditional pulp wood.

  15. Environmental influence of willow coppice systems on farm land

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ledin, S.

    1997-01-01

    As for all cultivated crops, there are numerous environmental influences when growing willows. These influences are connected with additions to the soil, management measures and changes caused by the developing crop. As a perennial crop with good root penetration into the soil, high water use and efficient nutrient uptake over a long growing season, short rotation forests with willows have an influence on the environment that differs from the influence of annual farm crops. Also the landscape is affected differently by the dense willow stand with a height of seven meters before harvest. There is usually less use of herbicides in the perennial woody crop. Due to larger amounts of litter from the willow plantation and no tillage, there is with time an increase of the humus content in the soil. In relation to this, the soil fauna, using organic material for food, prosper in the short rotation forest. Considerably more cadmium is taken up by the willows than by conventional annual crops. This could be used to clean the soil of cadmium, but more knowledge is needed for the optimisation of this procedure. Willows are usually efficient in taking up nutrients, including nitrogen, but when used as vegetation filters it is important to assess the actual ability of a stand to take up N. This ability varies considerably with the development stage of the plantation and also with site conditions. (au) 30 refs

  16. Agricultural Residues and Biomass Energy Crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2016-06-01

    There are many opportunities to leverage agricultural resources on existing lands without interfering with production of food, feed, fiber, or forest products. In the recently developed advanced biomass feedstock commercialization vision, estimates of potentially available biomass supply from agriculture are built upon the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Long-Term Forecast, ensuring that existing product demands are met before biomass crops are planted. Dedicated biomass energy crops and agricultural crop residues are abundant, diverse, and widely distributed across the United States. These potential biomass supplies can play an important role in a national biofuels commercialization strategy.

  17. European energy crops overview. Country report for Denmark

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Statens Planteavlsforsoeg, Tjele Denmark; Statens Jordbrugstekniske Forsoeg, Horsens Denmark

    1996-06-01

    Biomass constitutes a significant contribution to the Danish energy production and is a major tool in increasing the contribution from renewables. So far the focus has been on utilizing existing biomass residues like straw and forest residues and not energy crops. The government has agreed to carry out a demonstration and development programme on energy crops in order to analyse aspects of economy, energy, environment, nature conservancy and comerciality. Several plant species have been investigated for their potential as energy crops and overview information in presented on buchina, sunflower, knotweed, Jerusalem artichoke, false flax, reed Canary grass and corn cockle. More detailed descriptions are given on willow, Miscanthus, energy grain (grain whole crop) and rape which have been most intensively investigated. Rape has been the energy crop grown on the largest scale (40-50,000 ha) but the oil has not been used for energy purposes in Denmark. A research programme on the development of a low input production system for non-food rape is currently conducted. The perennial crops willow and Miscanthus are grown with low input of fertilizer and pesticides and are considered environmentally friendly. Willow-SRC is used as fuel at district heating plants, both commercially and for feasibility studies. Full-scale tests have been carried out on Miscanthus combustion in farm heating plant constructed for straw firing, and on co-combustion with coal at power stations. Grain whole crop (energy grain) has been combusted at a district heating plant, a CHP-plant and a power station. Co-combustion with coal was carried out at a CFB-boiler. Concerning ethanol based on energy crops, only a few activities are in progress. (EG) 89 refs.

  18. Concentrations of Chemical Elements in Willow Biomass Depend on Clone, Site and Management in the Field

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Na; Jørgensen, Uffe; Lærke, Poul Erik

    2016-01-01

    Eight willow (Salix) clones (Inger, Klara, Linnea, Resolution, Stina, Terra Nova, Tora, Tordis) were planted on two soil types in Denmark. The biomass quality was evaluated after 3 years of growth by measuring differences in concentrations of 14 elements associated with ash behavior during combus...

  19. Selection of ectomycorrhizal willow genotype in phytoextraction of heavy metals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrynkiewicz, Katarzyna; Baum, Christel

    2013-01-01

    Willow clones are used for the phytoextraction of heavy metals from contaminated soils and are usually mycorrhizal. The receptiveness of willow clones for mycorrhizal inoculum varies specific to genotype; however, it is unknown if this might have a significant impact on their efficiency in phytoextraction of heavy metals. Therefore, a model system with mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal willows of two different genotypes--one with usually stronger natural mycorrhizal colonization (Salix dasyclados), and one with lower natural mycorrhizal colonization (S. viminalis)--was investigated for its efficiency of phytoextraction of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn) from contaminated soil. Inoculation with the ectomycorrhizal fungus Amanita muscaria significantly decreased the biomass of leaves of both inoculated willow clones, and increased or had no effect on the biomass of trunks and roots of S. dasyclados and S. viminalis, respectively. The concentrations of heavy metals in the biomass of S. dasyclados were in general higher than in S. viminalis irrespective of inoculation with the ectomycorrhizal fungus. Inoculation with A. muscaria significantly decreased the concentration of Cu in the trunks of both Salix taxa, but did not affected the concentrations of other heavy metals in the biomass. In conclusion, stronger receptiveness of willow clones for mycorrhizal inoculum was correlated with an increased total extraction of heavy metals from contaminated soils. Therefore, this seems to be a suitable criterion for effective willow clone selection for phytoremediation. Increased biomass production with relatively constant metal concentrations seems to be a major advantage of mycorrhizal formation of willows in phytoremediation of contaminated soils.

  20. Establishment and Early Growth of Willow at Different Levels of Weed Competition and Nitrogen Fertilization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edelfeldt, Stina; Lundkvist, Anneli; Forkman, Johannes

    2016-01-01

    To evaluate the effects of weed competition and nitrogen fertilization on the early growth performance of willow, cuttings of the clone Tora (Salix schwerinii x S. viminalis) were planted in buckets together with model weeds (spring barley or white mustard) sown 15, 26, and 30 days after willow...... gave higher willow biomass production in willow with weeds sown after 26 or 30 days. Type of model weed had no effect on willow performance. Weed biomass and maximum shoot height were higher in weeds planted without willows compared to the willow-weed mixtures. A high nitrogen level gave more weed...... biomass when planted without willows and in the willow-weed mixture with weeds sown after 15 days. We conclude that for the given high density of willow, competition from weeds emerging soon after willow planting had strong effect on early production. Furthermore, if there is a risk of weed infestation...

  1. Biomass for energy from field crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zubr, J.

    1988-01-01

    On the basis of a field experiment, selected crops were evaluated for feasibility in producing biomass applicable as raw material for fuels. Both the main products and byproducts of the crops were investigated in the laboratory for qualitative characteristics and were subjected to methanogenic fermentation under mesophilic conditions. The biogas energy potential and gross energy potential were determined. Under the climatic conditions of Northern Europe, sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) was found to be a superior energy crop. White cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Capitata), rhubarb (Rheum rhaponticum) and comfrey (Symphytum asperum) can be considered as potential crops for biomass. The agrotechnical and the economic aspects of the biomass production are being subjected to further investigation.

  2. Bioenergy from willow. 1995 Annual report, November 1987--December 1995

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    White, E.H.; Abrahamson, L.P.

    1997-07-01

    Experiments were established at Tully, New York, by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, in cooperation with the University of Toronto and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, to assess the potential of willows for wood biomass production. Specific objectives included determining the effects of clone type, fertilization, spacing, cutting cycle, and irrigation on biomass production. Production was high, with willow clone SV1 yielding nearly 32 oven dry tons per acre (odt ac{sup -1}) with three-year harvest cycle, irrigation, and fertilization. Clone type, fertilization, spacing, cutting cycle, and irrigation all significantly affected biomass production. Willow clone-site trials planted at Massena, and Tully, NY in 1993 grew well during 1994 and 1995, but some clones in the Massena trial were severely damaged by deer browse. Several new cooperators joined the project, broadening the funding base, and enabling establishment of additional willow plantings. Willow clone-site trials were planted at Himrod, King Ferry, Somerset, and Tully, NY, during 1995. A willow cutting orchard was planted during 1995 at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Saratoga Tree Nursery in Saratoga, NY. Plans are to begin site preparation for a 100+ acre willow bioenergy demonstration farm in central New York, and additional clone-site trials, in 1996.

  3. Above- and Belowground Development of a Fast-Growing Willow Planted in Acid-Generating Mine Technosol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guittonny-Larchevêque, M; Lortie, S

    2017-11-01

    Surface metal mining produces large volumes of waste rocks. If they contain sulfide minerals, these rocks can generate a flow of acidic water from the mining site, known as acid mine drainage (AMD), which increases trace metals availability for plant roots. Adequate root development is crucial to decreasing planting stress and improving phytoremediation with woody species. However, techniques to improve revegetation success rarely take into account root development. An experiment was conducted at a gold mine in Quebec, Canada, to evaluate the establishment ability over 3 yr of a fast-growing willow ( Sx64) planted in acid-generating waste rocks. The main objective was to study root development in the soil profile and trace element accumulation in leaves among substrates varying in thickness (0, 20, and 40 cm of soil) and composition (organic carbon [OC] and alkaline AMD treatment sludge). Trees directly planted in waste rocks survived well (69%) but had the lowest productivity (lowest growth in height and diameter, aerial biomass, total leaf area, and root-system size). By contrast, the treatment richer in OC showed the greatest aerial biomass and total leaf area the first year; the thicker treatment resulted in the greatest growth in height and diameter, aboveground biomass, and root-system size in both the first and third years. Willow root development was restricted to soil layers during the first year, but this restriction was overcome in the third year after planting. Willow accumulation factors in leaves were below one for all investigated trace metals except for zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and strontium. For Cd and Zn, concentrations increased with time in willow foliage, decreasing the potential of this willow species use for phytostabilization, despite its ability to rapidly develop extensive root systems in the mine Technosol. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  4. Economic analysis of biomass crop production in Florida

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rahmani, M.; Hodges, A.W.; Stricker, J.A.; Kiker, C.F. [University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

    1997-07-01

    Favorable soil and climate conditions for production of biomass crops in Florida, and a market for their use, provide the essentials for developing a biomass energy system in the State. Recent surveys showed that there is low opportunity cost land available and several high yield herbaceous and woody crops have potential as biomass crops. Comparison of biomass crop yields, farmgate costs, and costs of final products in Florida and other states show that Florida can be considered as one of the best areas for development of biomass energy systems in the United States. This paper presents facts and figures on biomass production and conversion in Florida and addresses issues of concern to the economics of biomass energy in the State. (author)

  5. Economic analysis of biomass crop production in Florida

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahmani, M.; Hodges, A.W.; Stricker, J.A.; Kiker, C.F.

    1997-01-01

    Favorable soil and climate conditions for production of biomass crops in Florida, and a market for their use, provide the essentials for developing a biomass energy system in the State. Recent surveys showed that there is low opportunity cost land available and several high yield herbaceous and woody crops have potential as biomass crops. Comparison of biomass crop yields, farmgate costs, and costs of final products in Florida and other states show that Florida can be considered as one of the best areas for development of biomass energy systems in the United States. This paper presents facts and figures on biomass production and conversion in Florida and addresses issues of concern to the economics of biomass energy in the State. (author)

  6. Biomass supply from alternative cellulosic crops and crop residues: A spatially explicit bioeconomic modeling approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso; Swinton, Scott M.; Izaurralde, César R.; Manowitz, David H.; Zhang, Xuesong

    2011-01-01

    This paper introduces a spatially-explicit bioeconomic model for the study of potential cellulosic biomass supply. For biomass crops to begin to replace current crops, farmers must earn more from them than from current crops. Using weather, topographic and soil data, the terrestrial ecosystem model, EPIC, dynamically simulates multiple cropping systems that vary by crop rotation, tillage, fertilization and residue removal rate. EPIC generates predicted crop yield and environmental outcomes over multiple watersheds. These EPIC results are used to parameterize a regional profit-maximization mathematical programming model that identifies profitable cropping system choices. The bioeconomic model is calibrated to 2007–09 crop production in a 9-county region of southwest Michigan. A simulation of biomass supply in response to rising biomass prices shows that cellulosic residues from corn stover and wheat straw begin to be supplied at minimum delivered biomass:corn grain price ratios of 0.15 and 0.18, respectively. At the mean corn price of $162.6/Mg ($4.13 per bushel) at commercial moisture content during 2007–2009, these ratios correspond to stover and straw prices of $24 and $29 per dry Mg. Perennial bioenergy crops begin to be supplied at price levels 2–3 times higher. Average biomass transport costs to the biorefinery plant range from $6 to $20/Mg compared to conventional crop production practices in the area, biomass supply from annual crop residues increased greenhouse gas emissions and reduced water quality through increased nutrient loss. By contrast, perennial cellulosic biomass crop production reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved water quality. -- Highlights: ► A new bioeconomic model predicts biomass supply and its environmental impacts. ► The model captures the opportunity cost of switching to new cellulosic crops. ► Biomass from crop residues is supplied at lower biomass price than cellulosic crops. ► Biomass from cellulosic crops has

  7. Drying characteristics of willow chips and stems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gigler, J.K.; Loon, van W.K.P.; Seres, I.; Meerdink, G.; Coumans, W.J.

    2000-01-01

    In supply chains of willow (Salix viminalis) biomass to energy plants, drying is advisable in order to enable safe long-term storage, increase boiler efficiency and reduce gaseous emissions. To gain insight into the drying process, drying characteristics of willow chips and stems were investigated

  8. Biomass power for rural development. Technical progress report, Phase 2, July 1--September 30, 1998

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neuhauser, E.

    1999-01-01

    The project undertaken by the Salix Consortium is a multi-phased, multi-partner endeavor. Phase 1 focused on initial development and testing of the technology and forging the necessary agreements to demonstrate commercial willow production. The Phase 1 objectives have been successfully completed: preparing final design plans for two utility pulverized coal boiler for 20 MW of biopower capacity; developing fuel supply plans for the project with a goal of establishing 365 ha (900 ac) of willow; obtaining power production commitments from the power companies for Phase 2; obtaining construction and environmental permits; and developing an experimental strategy for crop production and power generation improvements needed to assure commercial success. The R and D effort also addresses environmental issues pertaining to introduction of the willow energy system. Beyond those Phase 1 requirements, the Consortium has already successfully demonstrated cofiring at Greenidge Station and has initiated development of the required nursery capacity for acreage scale-up. In Phase 2 every aspect of willow production and power generation from willow biomass will be demonstrated. The ultimate objective of Phase 2 is to transition the work performed under the Biomass Power for Rural Development project into a thriving, self-supported energy crop enterprise.

  9. The silviculture, nutrition and economics of short rotation willow coppice in the uplands of mid-Wales

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heaton, R J; Randerson, P F; Slater, F M

    2000-07-01

    The potential of short rotation coppice as a biomass crop on land over 250m (the uplands) of mid Wales was studied. The results found in this study indicate that growing short rotation coppice willow in the uplands is a viable proposition with regard to establishment success and yields. In the event of a secure wood chip market in Wales, returns to the grower would be comparable to those from sheep production. (author)

  10. Will energy crop yields meet expectations?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Searle, Stephanie Y.; Malins, Christopher J.

    2014-01-01

    Expectations are high for energy crops. Government policies in the United States and Europe are increasingly supporting biofuel and heat and power from cellulose, and biomass is touted as a partial solution to energy security and greenhouse gas mitigation. Here, we review the literature for yields of 5 major potential energy crops: Miscanthus spp., Panicum virgatum (switchgrass), Populus spp. (poplar), Salix spp. (willow), and Eucalyptus spp. Very high yields have been achieved for each of these types of energy crops, up to 40 t ha −1  y −1 in small, intensively managed trials. But yields are significantly lower in semi-commercial scale trials, due to biomass losses with drying, harvesting inefficiency under real world conditions, and edge effects in small plots. To avoid competition with food, energy crops should be grown on non-agricultural land, which also lowers yields. While there is potential for yield improvement for each of these crops through further research and breeding programs, for several reasons the rate of yield increase is likely to be slower than historically has been achieved for cereals; these include relatively low investment, long breeding periods, low yield response of perennial grasses to fertilizer, and inapplicability of manipulating the harvest index. Miscanthus × giganteus faces particular challenges as it is a sterile hybrid. Moderate and realistic expectations for the current and future performance of energy crops are vital to understanding the likely cost and the potential of large-scale production. - Highlights: • This review covers Miscanthus, switchgrass, poplar, willow, and Eucalyptus. • High yields of energy crops are typically from small experimental plots. • Field scale yields are lower due to real world harvesting losses and edge effects. • The potential for yield improvement of energy crops is relatively limited. • Expectations must be realistic for successful policies and commercial production

  11. Switchgrass a valuable biomass crop for energy

    CERN Document Server

    2012-01-01

    The demand of renewable energies is growing steadily both from policy and from industry which seeks environmentally friendly feed stocks. The recent policies enacted by the EU, USA and other industrialized countries foresee an increased interest in the cultivation of energy crops; there is clear evidence that switchgrass is one of the most promising biomass crop for energy production and bio-based economy and compounds. Switchgrass: A Valuable Biomass Crop for Energy provides a comprehensive guide to  switchgrass in terms of agricultural practices, potential use and markets, and environmental and social benefits. Considering this potential energy source from its biology, breed and crop physiology to its growth and management to the economical, social and environmental impacts, Switchgrass: A Valuable Biomass Crop for Energy brings together chapters from a range of experts in the field, including a foreword from Kenneth P. Vogel, to collect and present the environmental benefits and characteristics of this a ...

  12. Vegetative reproduction capacities of floodplain willows--cutting response to competition and biomass loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radtke, A; Mosner, E; Leyer, I

    2012-03-01

    While several studies on regeneration in Salicaceae have focused on seedling recruitment, little is known about factors controlling their vegetative reproduction. In two greenhouse experiments, we studied the response of floodplain willows (Salix fragilis, S. viminalis, S. triandra) to competition with Poa trivialis, and to shoot and root removal when planted as vegetative cuttings. In the first experiment, growth performance variables were analysed in relation to full competition, shoot competition, root competition and control, taking into account two different water levels. After 9 weeks, shoots were removed and the resprouting capacity of the bare cuttings was recorded. In the second experiment, the cutting performance of the three floodplain and an additional two fen willow species (S. cinerea, S. aurita) was compared when grown in three different soil compositions and with two different water levels. After 9 weeks, shoot and root biomass was removed and the bare cuttings were replanted to test their ability to resprout. Cutting performance and secondary resprouting were negatively affected by full and shoot competition while root competition had no or weak effects. The floodplain species performed better than the fen species in all soil types and water levels. Secondary resprouting capacity was also higher in the floodplain species, which showed an additional strong positive response to the previous waterlogging treatment. The results contribute to understanding of the vegetative regeneration ecology of floodplain willows, and suggest that the use of vegetative plantings in restoration plantings could be an effective strategy for recovering floodplain forests. © 2011 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  13. Meta-transcriptomics indicates biotic cross-tolerance in willow trees cultivated on petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Emmanuel; Brereton, Nicholas J B; Marleau, Julie; Guidi Nissim, Werther; Labrecque, Michel; Pitre, Frederic E; Joly, Simon

    2015-10-12

    High concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) pollution can be hazardous to human health and leave soils incapable of supporting agricultural crops. A cheap solution, which can help restore biodiversity and bring land back to productivity, is cultivation of high biomass yielding willow trees. However, the genetic mechanisms which allow these fast-growing trees to tolerate PHCs are as yet unclear. Salix purpurea 'Fish Creek' trees were pot-grown in soil from a former petroleum refinery, either lacking or enriched with C10-C50 PHCs. De novo assembled transcriptomes were compared between tree organs and impartially annotated without a priori constraint to any organism. Over 45% of differentially expressed genes originated from foreign organisms, the majority from the two-spotted spidermite, Tetranychus urticae. Over 99% of T. urticae transcripts were differentially expressed with greater abundance in non-contaminated trees. Plant transcripts involved in the polypropanoid pathway, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), had greater expression in contaminated trees whereas most resistance genes showed higher expression in non-contaminated trees. The impartial approach to annotation of the de novo transcriptomes, allowing for the possibility for multiple species identification, was essential for interpretation of the crop's response treatment. The meta-transcriptomic pattern of expression suggests a cross-tolerance mechanism whereby abiotic stress resistance systems provide improved biotic resistance. These findings highlight a valuable but complex biotic and abiotic stress response to real-world, multidimensional contamination which could, in part, help explain why crops such as willow can produce uniquely high biomass yields on challenging marginal land.

  14. Biogas production from energy crops and agriculture residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, G.

    2010-12-15

    In this thesis, the feasibility of utilizing energy crops (willow and miscanthus) and agriculture residues (wheat straw and corn stalker) in an anaerobic digestion process for biogas production was evaluated. Potential energy crops and agriculture residues were screened according to their suitability for biogas production. Moreover, pretreatment of these biomasses by using wet explosion method was studied and the effect of the wet explosion process was evaluated based on the increase of (a) sugar release and (b) methane potential when comparing the pretreated biomass and raw biomass. Ensiling of perennial crops was tested as a storage method and pretreatment method for enhancement of the biodegradability of the crops. The efficiency of the silage process was evaluated based on (a) the amount of biomass loss during storage and (b) the effect of the silage on methane potential. Co-digestion of raw and wet explosion pretreated energy crops and agriculture residues with swine manure at various volatile solids (VS) ratio between crop and manure was carried out by batch tests and continuous experiments. The efficiency of the co-digestion experiment was evaluated based on (a) the methane potential in term of ml CH4 produced per g of VS-added and (b) the amount of methane produced per m3 of reactor volume. (Author)

  15. Interactions between crop biomass and development of foliar diseases in winter wheat and the potential to graduate the fungicide dose according to crop biomass

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Peter Kryger; Jørgensen, Lise Nistrup

    2016-01-01

    dose. The study was carried out investigating fungicide dose response controlling foliar diseases in winter wheat at three biomass densities obtained growing the crop at three nitrogen levels and using variable seed rates. Further the field experiments included three fungicide dose rates at each...... biomass level, an untreated control, and 75%, 50% and 33% of the recommended fungicide dose rate and the experiments were replicated for three years. Crop biomass had a significant influence on occurrence of septoria and yellow rust with greater disease severity at increasing crop biomass. In two of three...... years, the interaction of crop biomass and fungicide dose rate had a significant influence on disease severity indicating a biomassdependent dose response. The interaction occurred in the two years with high yield potential in combination with severe disease attack. If the variation in crop density...

  16. The potential of willow and poplar plantations as carbon sinks in Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rytter, Rose-Marie

    2012-01-01

    A large share, estimated at 12–25%, of the annual anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is attributed to global deforestation. Increasing the forested areas therefore has a positive impact on carbon (C) sequestration and mitigation of high atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. Fast-growing species, such as willow and poplar, are of high interest as producers of biomass for fuel, but also as C sinks. The present study estimated the rate of C sequestration in biomass and soil in willow and poplar plantations. Calculations were based on above- and below-ground biomass production data from field experiments, including fine root turnover, litter decomposition rates, and production levels from commercial plantations. Accumulation of C in woody biomass, above and below ground, was estimated at 76.6–80.1 Mg C ha −1 and accumulation of C in the soil at 9.0–10.3 Mg C ha −1 over the first 20–22 years. The average rates of C sequestration were 3.5–4.0 Mg C ha −1 yr −1 in woody biomass, and 0.4–0.5 Mg C ha −1 yr −1 in the soil. If 400,000 ha of abandoned arable land in Sweden were planted with willow and poplar, about 1.5 Tg C would be sequestered annually in woody biomass and 0.2 Tg C in soils. This would be nearly one tenth of the annual anthropogenic emissions of C in Sweden today. These calculations show the potential of fast-growing plantations on arable land to mitigate the effect of high CO 2 concentrations over a short time span. Knowledge gaps were found during the calculation process and future research areas were suggested. -- Highlights: ► Poplars and willows as producers of biomass for fuel and as C sinks. ► Calculation of C sequestration rates in biomass and soil in willow and poplar plantations. ► Increasing forested areas has positive impact on high CO 2 levels. ► Willow and poplar plantations on arable land mitigate anthropogenic CO 2 emissions.

  17. Evaluation of herbacceous biomass crops in the northern Great Plains. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meyer, D.W.; Norby, W.E.; Erickson, D.O.; Johnson, R.G. [North Dakota State Univ., Fargo, ND (United States)

    1994-08-01

    Herbaceous lignocellulose crops are a potential renewable feedstock for biochemical conversion systems second in size to wood products. Several herbaceous crops are utilized as forage crops in the northern Great Plains, but forage quality considerations usually dictates a early harvest. Biomass cropping does not have this constraint; therefore, little information was available on herbaceous crops utilized as energy crops prior to this project. Our primary objectives were to evaluate the biomass yield and select chemical components of several herbaceous crops for energy crops in the northern Great Plains, compare the economic feasibility of energy crops with common competing crops, and evaluate biomass cropping on summer fallow lands. Three good, two marginal, and one irrigated sites were used during 1988 to 1992 for the first component. At least six perennial and four annual biomass species were included at all sites. Three to four nitrogen (N) levels and a crop-recrop comparison (annuals only) were management intensities included. Biomass cropping on idled lands was performed on dryland at Carrington and evaluated the effects of removing leguminous biomass on fallowed lands. This report summarizes results from the 5-year project.

  18. A profile and analysis of willow growers in Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosenqvist, H.; Roos, A.; Ling, E.; Hektor, B.

    1999-01-01

    Willow plantations on Swedish farmland increased considerably between 1991 and 1996. The main driving forces behind this development were (1) the 1991 introduction of an agriculture deregulation policy in Sweden which created lower grain prices and simultaneously introduced compensation for set-aside land and subsidies for willow plantations on surplus arable land, (2) higher taxes on fossil fuels, and (3) the existence of a biofuel market in Sweden based on forest fuels. This paper presents a statistical study of 1,158 willow growers in southern and central-eastern Sweden. The resulting profile of growers will help policy makers and agents in the bioenergy business design information campaigns and marketing strategies. Willow growers are described according to geographical distribution, willow parcel sizes, farm sizes, and farm types. They are compared with the population of farmers who are not growing willow. Willow growers are more often between 50-65 years of age, and they have larger farms than non-willow growers. They are less often focused on animal and milk production and more often on cereal and food crop production than are other farmers. (author)

  19. The effects of first-year shoot cut back on willow biomass production during the first and second cutting cycle; Effekter av skottnedklippning efter etableringsaaret paa produktionen under foersta och andra omdrevet i salixodlingar

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Verwijst, Theo; Nordh, Nils-Erik

    2010-05-15

    During the early phase of commercialisation of willow short rotation forestry in Sweden it was considered to be important to cut down the shoots after the establishment year, and this practice still is maintained today. Several reasons then were put forward for cutting down. The primary goal was to stimulate sprouting of more shoots, thereby obtaining a rapidly closing stand which could compete with weeds. Another reason was that it would enable weed control during the second year. In some of the older clones, which exhibited bow-shaped shoots, cutting down was supposed to lead to more straight growing shoots which rendered less biomass loss at harvest. In the meantime, the practice of cutting down has been abandoned in Denmark, and there are reasons to scrutinise the effects of cutting down on available biomass production figures from Swedish field trials. The main goal with this project was to try to quantify the effects of cutting down on the biomass productivity of willow during the first and later cutting cycles. Thus far, efforts in this research topic have not led to a scientifically documented quantification on the effects, and therefore a scientific basis for hands-on recommendations to willow growers is lacking. The purpose of our work consequently was to generate practical recommendations with regard to the management measure of cutting down, and the audience targeted consisted of willow growers (farmers, land-owners and entrepreneurs) who are deciding about and perform the actual management of willow stands to obtain higher yields. This information also is of large relevance for all extension workers in willow growing. Data have been collected from a field trial which was planted in Flosta, Enkoeping, in 2005. As this was the only experiment on cutting down which ran during the project period, we searched the archives which contained material from another experiment which ran from 1992 to 1996 in Ultuna, Uppsala, and from which some date were collected

  20. Agroecology of Novel Annual and Perennial Crops for Biomass Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manevski, Kiril; Jørgensen, Uffe; Lærke, Poul Erik

    The agroecological potential of many crops under sustainable intensification has not been investigated. This study investigates such potential for novel annual and perennial crops grown for biomass production.......The agroecological potential of many crops under sustainable intensification has not been investigated. This study investigates such potential for novel annual and perennial crops grown for biomass production....

  1. Bioenergy crop models: Descriptions, data requirements and future challenges

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nair, S. Surendran [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK); Kang, Shujiang [ORNL; Zhang, Xuesong [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Miguez, Fernando [Iowa State University; Izaurralde, Dr. R. Cesar [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Post, Wilfred M [ORNL; Dietze, Michael [University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Lynd, L. [Dartmouth College; Wullschleger, Stan D [ORNL

    2012-01-01

    Field studies that address the production of lignocellulosic biomass as a source of renewable energy provide critical data for the development of bioenergy crop models. A literature survey revealed that 14 models have been used for simulating bioenergy crops including herbaceous and woody bioenergy crops, and for crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) crops. These models simulate field-scale production of biomass for switchgrass (ALMANAC, EPIC, and Agro-BGC), miscanthus (MISCANFOR, MISCANMOD, and WIMOVAC), sugarcane (APSIM, AUSCANE, and CANEGRO), and poplar and willow (SECRETS and 3PG). Two models are adaptations of dynamic global vegetation models and simulate biomass yields of miscanthus and sugarcane at regional scales (Agro-IBIS and LPJmL). Although it lacks the complexity of other bioenergy crop models, the environmental productivity index (EPI) is the only model used to estimate biomass production of CAM (Agave and Opuntia) plants. Except for the EPI model, all models include representations of leaf area dynamics, phenology, radiation interception and utilization, biomass production, and partitioning of biomass to roots and shoots. A few models simulate soil water, nutrient, and carbon cycle dynamics, making them especially useful for assessing the environmental consequences (e.g., erosion and nutrient losses) associated with the large-scale deployment of bioenergy crops. The rapid increase in use of models for energy crop simulation is encouraging; however, detailed information on the influence of climate, soils, and crop management practices on biomass production is scarce. Thus considerable work remains regarding the parameterization and validation of process-based models for bioenergy crops; generation and distribution of high-quality field data for model development and validation; and implementation of an integrated framework for efficient, high-resolution simulations of biomass production for use in planning sustainable bioenergy systems.

  2. Railway transport and terminal transhipment of Short Rotation Willow Crops. Pre-study; Taagtransport och terminal-hantering av Salix. Foerstudie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Forsberg, Maya

    2009-07-01

    The overall aim of this pre-study is to contribute to an increased co-handling of biomass from forest and field at terminal and railway transport, in order to find effective transport solutions with regard to costs and environment. The aim of the pre-study is also to get an overall picture of transport of biomass on railway. The objective is to draw conclusions of use for interested parties within the agricultural sector, on what possibilities there are to handle biomass from forestry and agriculture with the same logistical infrastructure. Conclusions are drawn especially with regard to Short Rotation Willow Crops (here Salix) handled as chips or bundles, but also briefly for other energy crops suitable for combustion. Furthermore, the study draws conclusions on how to design effective terminals and related costs. The pre-study is intended as a planning material for a more in-depth study of a mobile terminal solution, with active participation from interested players in the agricultural sector. When considering railway transport and terminal transhipment of large volumes of biomass, there is a clear economical benefit in designing large terminals and making investments in effective handling equipment, in order to get a high use of equipment and a high storage turnover. A more simple and temporary terminal solution may be suitable for smaller flows of biomass, such as agricultural fuels, which need to be collected in different areas according to availability. An intermodal solution, i.e. which involves the transportation of freight in the same type of carrier (a container for example) when changing modes of transportation, is suitable for this purpose. The solution should also build on standardised equipment, involve low terminal investments and flexible and temporary transhipment in different areas near the location of the biomass. For railway transport, the same handling equipment may be used for wood chips and Salix chips, i.e. standardised container systems

  3. Effect of biomass pretreatment on the product distribution and composition resulting from the hydrothermal liquefaction of short rotation coppice willow

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grigoras, Ionela; Stroe, Rodica-Elisabeta; Sintamarean, Iulia-Maria

    2017-01-01

    A major challenge for the implementation of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) as a continuous process is the formulation of lignocellulosic feedstock, which is prone to phase separation into water and biomass parts when pressurized. One approach to remedy such phase separation is to reduce the dry...... from the HTL of willow and proposes short rotation coppice as an alternative biomass feedstock for biofuels production. Alkaline–thermal pretreatment, besides making high dry matter pumpable feedstock slurries, also led to an increase in the production of the bio-crude product with an oxygen content...

  4. Biomass and biomass water use efficiency in oilseed crop (Brassica juncea L.) under semi-arid microenvironments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adak, Tarun; Kumar, Gopal; Chakravarty, N.V.K.; Katiyar, R.K.; Deshmukh, P.S.; Joshi, H.C.

    2013-01-01

    Biomass production in arid and semi-arid regions requires a special attention owing to spatiotemporal scarcity of irrigation water wherein improved water use efficiency (WUE) of the crop is targeted. Under field conditions, the crop undergoes dynamic changes in near ground or within-canopy microenvironments. This changed microclimatic condition may have an impact on phenological response of the oilseed crop which in turn would affect biomass productivity, economic seed yield and water use efficiency of the crop. Henceforth, quantification of biomass production and its WUE of oilseed Brassica crop is essentially required owing to have better understanding of the crop water requirement under the era of climate change. Following a 2 years field experiment, it was revealed that the changes in leaf area index were explained by about 68–74%. The best fit polynomial third order regression analysis indicated >93% prediction in biomass production as a function of time factor. Improved biomass partitioning into economic sinks was also observed. Small scale change in near ground microenvironment may reduce the prediction of biomass variability to the extent of 3%. The mean ET variations were observed as 2.4, 1.5 and 3.2 mm day −1 during the critical phenological stages. Mean seed yield, biomass WUE and seed yield WUE ranged between 2.71 and 2.87 Mg ha −1 , 11.4 and 13.1 g m −2 mm −1 and 19.3 and 22.9 kg ha −1 mm −1 respectively. Variations in both biomass and seed yield water use efficiencies due to small scale change in near ground microclimates were revealed. -- Highlights: ► Assessing biomass productivity and its water use efficiency under arid and semi-arid regions is important. ► Under field conditions, the crop undergoes dynamic changes in near ground or within-canopy microenvironments. ► We have estimated changes in seasonal ET, within-canopy micrometeorological dynamics. ► Biomass productivity, partitioning and water use efficiencies were

  5. Phytoremediation of Metal Contaminated Soil Using Willow: Exploiting Plant-Associated Bacteria to Improve Biomass Production and Metal Uptake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janssen, Jolien; Weyens, Nele; Croes, Sarah; Beckers, Bram; Meiresonne, Linda; Van Peteghem, Pierre; Carleer, Robert; Vangronsveld, Jaco

    2015-01-01

    Short rotation coppice (SRC) of willow and poplar is proposed for economic valorization and concurrently as remediation strategy for metal contaminated land in northeast-Belgium. However, metal phytoextraction appears insufficient to effectuate rapid reduction of soil metal contents. To increase both biomass production and metal accumulation of SRC, two strategies are proposed: (i) in situ selection of the best performing clones and (ii) bioaugmentation of these clones with beneficial plant-associated bacteria. Based on field data, two experimental willow clones, a Salix viminalis and a Salix alba x alba clone, were selected. Compared to the best performing commercial clones, considerable increases in stem metal extraction were achieved (up to 74% for Cd and 91% for Zn). From the selected clones, plant-associated bacteria were isolated and identified. All strains were subsequently screened for their plant growth-promoting and metal uptake enhancing traits. Five strains were selected for a greenhouse inoculation experiment with the selected clones planted in Cd-Zn-Pb contaminated soil. Extraction potential tended to increase after inoculation of S. viminalis plants with a Rahnella sp. strain due to a significantly increased twig biomass. However, although bacterial strains showing beneficial traits in vitro were used for inoculation, increments in extraction potential were not always observed.

  6. UTILIZATION OF ANIMAL MEAL FOR GROWING OF WILLOW DEDICATED FOR ENERGY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Nogalska

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of increased rates of meat and bone meal (MBM to the soil on biomass yield, nitrogen (N and phosphorus (P content, and their accumulation in above ground biomass Salix viminalis, as well as the content of mineral N and available P forms in the soil. A two-year pot experiment was conducted at Warmia and Mazury University in Olsztyn (north-eastern Poland. Average biomass yield from two seasons of the studies was three higher from MBM treatments comparing to unfertilized control. Higher rates of MBM particularly in the second year showed higher yielding potential compared with mineral fertilizers. Willow biomass harvested from MBM treatments generally showed lower content of studied nutrients than willow from control treatment. It was found that in relation to the control accumulation of N in willow above ground biomass was significantly lower for 0.5% MBM treatment and significantly higher for the treatment with the highest rate (2.0%. The higher accumulation of P was found in the second year after MBM application, except treatment with the lowest MBM rate. Correlation coefficients values indicated that there is a relation between MBM rate and content of mineral N and available P in soil.

  7. Current and future financial competitiveness of electricity and heat from energy crops: A case study from Ireland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Styles, David; Jones, Michael B.

    2007-01-01

    It has been demonstrated that Miscanthus and willow energy-crop cultivation could be economically competitive with current agricultural land uses at a farm-gate biomass price ranging from EUR70 to EUR130 t -1 dry matter [Styles, D., Thorne, F., Jones, M.B., in review. Energy crops in Ireland: An economic comparison of willow and Miscanthus production with conventional farming systems. Biomass and Bioenergy, May 2006]. This paper uses the same farm-gate prices to calculate the economic competitiveness of energy crop electricity and heat production, using a net-present-value (NPV) approach (20-year period, 5% discount rate). Direct and gasified co-firing of willow wood with coal would result in electricity generation 30% or 37% more expensive than coal generation, at current coal and CO 2 allowance prices and a farm-gate biomass cost of EUR100 t -1 . 'Break-even' CO 2 allowance prices are EUR33 and EUR37 t -1 , respectively. However, co-firing of Miscanthus with peat is close to economic competitiveness, and would require a CO 2 allowance price of EUR16 t -1 to break-even (against a current price of EUR12 t -1 ). NPV analyses indicate that wood heat is significantly cheaper than oil, gas or electric heat, excluding existing wood-boiler installation subsidies. Discounted annual savings range from EUR143 compared with gas to EUR722 compared with electric heating at the domestic scale and from EUR3454 to EUR11,222 at the commercial scale. Inclusion of available subsidies improves the comparative economics of domestic wood heat substantially. The economic advantage of wood heat is robust to variation in fuel prices, discount rates and heat loads. The greatest obstacles to energy-crop utilisation include: (i) a reluctance to consider long-term economics; (ii) possible competition from cheaper sources of biomass; (iii) the need for a spatially coordinated supply and utilisation network. (author)

  8. Nitrate leaching and pesticide use in energy crops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Uffe

    2006-01-01

    Nitrate leaching measured below willow and miscanthus is very low from the established crops. Pesticide use in energy crops is low as well.......Nitrate leaching measured below willow and miscanthus is very low from the established crops. Pesticide use in energy crops is low as well....

  9. Quantifying biomass production in crops grown for energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bullard, M J; Christian, D; Wilkins, C

    1997-12-31

    One estimate suggests that continued CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) reform may lead to as much as 2 million hectares of land set aside from arable production by the year 2020 in the UK alone, with 20 million hectares in the EU in total. Set-aside currently occupies more than 500,000 hectares in the UK. Set-aside land is providing more opportunities for non-food crops, for example fuel crops, which provide biomass for energy. Whilst any crop species will produce biomass which can be burnt to produce energy, arable crops were not developed with this in mind but rather a specific harvestable commodity, e.g. grain, and therefore the total harvestable commodity is seldom maximised. The characteristics of an ideal fuel crop have been identified as: dry harvested material for efficient combustion; perennial growth to minimise establishment costs and lengthen the growing season; good disease resistance; efficient conversion of solar radiation to biomass energy; efficient use of nitrogen fertiliser (where required) and water; and yield close to the theoretical maximum. Miscanthus, a genus of Oriental and African C4 perennial grasses, has been identified as possessing the above characteristics. There may be other species, which, if not yielding quite as much biomass, have other characteristics of merit. This has led to the need to identify inherently productive species which are adapted to the UK, and to validate the productivity of species which have already been 'discovered'. (author)

  10. Quantifying biomass production in crops grown for energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bullard, M.J.; Christian, D.; Wilkins, C.

    1996-12-31

    One estimate suggests that continued CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) reform may lead to as much as 2 million hectares of land set aside from arable production by the year 2020 in the UK alone, with 20 million hectares in the EU in total. Set-aside currently occupies more than 500,000 hectares in the UK. Set-aside land is providing more opportunities for non-food crops, for example fuel crops, which provide biomass for energy. Whilst any crop species will produce biomass which can be burnt to produce energy, arable crops were not developed with this in mind but rather a specific harvestable commodity, e.g. grain, and therefore the total harvestable commodity is seldom maximised. The characteristics of an ideal fuel crop have been identified as: dry harvested material for efficient combustion; perennial growth to minimise establishment costs and lengthen the growing season; good disease resistance; efficient conversion of solar radiation to biomass energy; efficient use of nitrogen fertiliser (where required) and water; and yield close to the theoretical maximum. Miscanthus, a genus of Oriental and African C4 perennial grasses, has been identified as possessing the above characteristics. There may be other species, which, if not yielding quite as much biomass, have other characteristics of merit. This has led to the need to identify inherently productive species which are adapted to the UK, and to validate the productivity of species which have already been 'discovered'. (author)

  11. Biogas Production from Energy Crops and Agriculture Residues

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Guangtao

    and wet explosion pretreated energy crops and agriculture residues with swine manure at various volatile solids (VS) ratio between crop and manure was carried out by batch tests and continuous experiments. The efficiency of the co-digestion experiment was evaluated based on (a) the methane potential......In this thesis, the feasibility of utilizing energy crops (willow and miscanthus) and agriculture residues (wheat straw and corn stalker) in an anaerobic digestion process for biogas production was evaluated. Potential energy crops and agriculture residues were screened according...... of perennial crops was tested as a storage method and pretreatment method for enhancement of the biodegradability of the crops. The efficiency of the silage process was evaluated based on (a) the amount of biomass loss during storage and (b) the effect of the silage on methane potential. Co-digestion of raw...

  12. Development and Deployment of a Short Rotation Woody Crops Harvesting System Based on a Case New Holland Forage Harvester and SRC Woody Crop Header

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eisenbies, Mark [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Volk, Timothy [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Abrahamson, Lawrence [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Shuren, Richard [GreenWood Resources, Inc., Portland, OR (United States); Stanton, Brian [GreenWood Resources, Inc., Portland, OR (United States); Posselius, John [Case New Holland, New Holland, PA (United States); McArdle, Matt [Mesa Reduction Engineering and Processing, Inc., Auburn, NY (United States); Karapetyan, Samvel [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Patel, Aayushi [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Shi, Shun [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Zerpa, Jose [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States)

    2014-10-03

    Biomass for biofuels, bioproducts and bioenergy can be sourced from forests, agricultural crops, various residue streams, and dedicated woody or herbaceous crops. Short rotation woody crops (SRWC), like willow and hybrid poplar, are perennial cropping systems that produce a number of environmental and economic development benefits in addition to being a renewable source of biomass that can be produced on marginal land. Both hybrid poplar and willow have several characteristics that make them an ideal feedstock for biofuels, bioproducts, and bioenergy; these include high yields that can be obtained in three to four years, ease of cultivar propagation from dormant cuttings, a broad underutilized genetic base, ease of breeding, ability to resprout after multiple harvests, and feedstock composition similar to other sources of woody biomass. Despite the range of benefits associated with SRWC systems, their deployment has been restricted by high costs, low market acceptance associated with inconsistent chip quality (see below for further explanation), and misperceptions about other feedstock characteristics (see below for further explanation). Harvesting of SRWC is the largest single cost factor (~1/3 of the final delivered cost) in the feedstock supply system. Harvesting is also the second largest input of primary fossil energy in the system after commercial N fertilizer, accounting for about one third of the input. Therefore, improving the efficiency of the harvesting system has the potential to reduce both cost and environmental impact. At the start of this project, we projected that improving the overall efficiency of the harvesting system by 25% would reduce the delivered cost of SRWC by approximately $0.50/MMBtu (or about $7.50/dry ton). This goal was exceeded over the duration of this project, as noted below.

  13. Root biomass in cereals, catch crops and weeds can be reliably estimated without considering aboveground biomass

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hu, Teng; Sørensen, Peter; Wahlström, Ellen Margrethe

    2018-01-01

    and management factors may affect this allometric relationship making such estimates uncertain and biased. Therefore, we aimed to explore how root biomass for typical cereal crops, catch crops and weeds could most reliably be estimated. Published and unpublished data on aboveground and root biomass (corrected...

  14. Modelling farmer uptake of perennial energy crops in the UK

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sherrington, Chris; Moran, Dominic

    2010-01-01

    The UK Biomass Strategy suggests that to reach the technical potential of perennial energy crops such as short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and miscanthus by 2020 requires 350,000 hectares of land. This represents a more than 20-fold increase on the current 15,546 hectares. Previous research has identified several barriers to adoption, including concerns over security of income from contracts. In addition, farmers perceive returns from these crops to be lower than for conventional crops. This paper uses a farm-level linear programming model to investigate theoretical uptake of energy crops at different gross margins under the assumption of a profit-maximising decision maker, and in the absence of known barriers to adoption. The findings suggest that while SRC willow, at current prices, remains less competitive, returns to miscanthus should have encouraged adoption on a wider scale than at present. This highlights the importance of the barriers to adoption. Recently announced contracts for miscanthus appear to offer a significant premium to farmers in order to encourage them to grow the crops. This raises the question of whether a more cost-effective approach would be for government to provide guarantees addressing farmers concerns including security of income from the contracts. Such an approach should encourage adoption at lower gross margins. (author)

  15. Biomass power for rural development. Technical progress report, October 1--December 31, 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neuhauser, E.

    1998-05-01

    The focus of the DOE/USDA sponsored biomass power for rural development project is to develop commercial energy crops for power generation by the year 2000. The New York based Salix Consortium project is a multi-partner endeavor, implemented in three stages. Phase-1, Final Design and Project Development, will conclude with the preparation of construction and/or operating permits, feedstock production plans, and contracts ready for signature. Field trials of willow (Salix) have been initiated at several locations in New York (Tully, Lockport, King Ferry, La Fayette, Massena, and Himrod) and co-firing tests are underway at Greenidge Station (NYSEG) and Dunkirk Station (NMPC). Phase-2 of the project will focus on scale-up of willow crop acreage, construction of co-firing facilities at Dunkirk Station (NMPC), and final modifications for Greenidge Station. Cofiring willow is also under consideration for GPU`s Seward Station where testing is underway. There will be an evaluation of the energy crop as part of the gasification trials occurring at BED`s McNeill Power Station. Phase-3 will represent fullscale commercialization of the energy crop and power generation on a sustainable basis. During the fourth quarter of 1997 the Consortium submitted a Phase-2 proposal. A few of the other more important milestones are outlined below. The first quarter of 1998 will be dominated by pre-planting activity in the spring.

  16. DESIGNING AND OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION AND COFIRING SAWDUST WITH COAL AT ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    2004-06-01

    During the period July 1, 2000-March 31, 2004, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) conducted an extensive demonstration of woody biomass cofiring at its Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. This demonstration, cofunded by USDOE and Allegheny, and supported by the Biomass Interest Group (BIG) of EPRI, evaluated the impacts of sawdust cofiring in both cyclone boilers and tangentially-fired pulverized coal boilers. The cofiring in the cyclone boiler--Willow Island Generating Station Unit No.2--evaluated the impacts of sawdust alone, and sawdust blended with tire-derived fuel. The biomass was blended with the coal on its way to the combustion system. The cofiring in the pulverized coal boiler--Albright Generating Station--evaluated the impact of cofiring on emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO{sub x}) when the sawdust was injected separately into the furnace. The demonstration of woody biomass cofiring involved design, construction, and testing at each site. The results addressed impacts associated with operational issues--capacity, efficiency, and operability--as well as formation and control of airborne emissions such as NO{sub x}, sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}2), opacity, and mercury. The results of this extensive program are detailed in this report.

  17. Biomass for rural vitality report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDonald, S.; DiPaolo, J.; Bryan, J.

    2009-06-15

    This report was completed by the Eastern Lake Ontario Regional Innovation Network (ELORIN) in order to identify opportunities for producing pellets from agricultural biomass in Lennox and Addington County. An agricultural profile of the county was presented. Potential feedstocks for biomass production included industrial hemp; switchgrass; short rotation crop willow; hybrid poplars; and miscanthus. Available soil survey data was combined with soil class data in order to generate maps of the total area of land available for energy crop production. The pelletizing process was described. A cost projection for 3 to 7 ton per hour pellet production facility was also presented. Potential markets for using the pellets include greenhouses, residential home heating suppliers and large industrial users. The study showed that heating just 1 per cent of Ontario's greenhouse space with switchgrass will create a demand for 15,000 tonnes of pellets. The average home requires 3 to 4 tonnes of pellets per year for heating. 3 tabs., 54 figs.

  18. Biomass for rural vitality report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McDonald, S.; DiPaolo, J.; Bryan, J.

    2009-06-01

    This report was completed by the Eastern Lake Ontario Regional Innovation Network (ELORIN) in order to identify opportunities for producing pellets from agricultural biomass in Lennox and Addington County. An agricultural profile of the county was presented. Potential feedstocks for biomass production included industrial hemp; switchgrass; short rotation crop willow; hybrid poplars; and miscanthus. Available soil survey data was combined with soil class data in order to generate maps of the total area of land available for energy crop production. The pelletizing process was described. A cost projection for 3 to 7 ton per hour pellet production facility was also presented. Potential markets for using the pellets include greenhouses, residential home heating suppliers and large industrial users. The study showed that heating just 1 per cent of Ontario's greenhouse space with switchgrass will create a demand for 15,000 tonnes of pellets. The average home requires 3 to 4 tonnes of pellets per year for heating. 3 tabs., 54 figs.

  19. Quantification and characterization of cotton crop biomass residue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton crop residual biomass remaining in the field after mechanical seed cotton harvest is not typically harvested and utilized off-site thereby generating additional revenue for producers. Recently, interest has increased in utilizing biomass materials as feedstock for the production of fuel and ...

  20. Biomass production on marginal lands - catalogue of bioenergy crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumgarten, Wibke; Ivanina, Vadym; Hanzhenko, Oleksandr

    2017-04-01

    Marginal lands are the poorest type of land, with various limitations for traditional agriculture. However, they can be used for biomass production for bioenergy based on perennial plants or trees. The main advantage of biomass as an energy source compared to fossil fuels is the positive influence on the global carbon dioxide balance in the atmosphere. During combustion of biofuels, less carbon dioxide is emitted than is absorbed by plants during photosynthesis. Besides, 20 to 30 times less sulphur oxide and 3 to 4 times less ash is formed as compared with coal. Growing bioenergy crops creates additional workplaces in rural areas. Soil and climatic conditions of most European regions are suitable for growing perennial energy crops that are capable of rapid transforming solar energy into energy-intensive biomass. Selcted plants are not demanding for soil fertility, do not require a significant amount of fertilizers and pesticides and can be cultivated, therefore, also on unproductive lands of Europe. They prevent soil erosion, contribute to the preservation and improvement of agroecosystems and provide low-cost biomass. A catalogue of potential bioenergy plants was developed within the EU H2020 project SEEMLA including woody and perennial crops that are allowed to be grown in the territory of the EU and Ukraine. The catalogue lists high-productive woody and perennial crops that are not demanding to the conditions of growing and can guarantee stable high yields of high-energy-capacity biomass on marginal lands of various categories of marginality. Biomass of perennials plants and trees is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, which are directly used to produce solid biofuels. Thanks to the well-developed root system of trees and perennial plants, they are better adapted to poor soils and do not require careful maintenance. Therefore, they can be grown on marginal lands. Particular C4 bioenergy crops are well adapted to a lack of moisture and high

  1. Energy performances of intensive and extensive short rotation cropping systems for woody biomass production in the EU

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Djomo, S. N.; Ač, Alexander; Zenone, T.; De Groote, T.; Bergante, S.; Facciotto, G.; Sixto, H.; Ciria Ciria, P.; Weger, J.; Ceulemans, R.

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 41, jan (2015), s. 845-854 ISSN 1364-0321 R&D Projects: GA MŠk EE2.3.30.0056 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : poplar * willow * bioenergy crops * energy balance * energy efficiency Subject RIV: GC - Agronomy Impact factor: 6.798, year: 2015

  2. Integrated crop management of SRC plantations to maximise crop value, wildlife benefits and other added value opportunities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sage, R; Tucker, K

    1998-07-01

    This report summaries the results of a study aiming to develop an integrated approach to pest management (IPM) for the short rotation cultivation (SRC) of willows and poplars. Details are given of crop and site characteristics, non-destructive assessment of SRC biomass, the quantification of crop shadiness, and the effects of wind exposure on crop growth. The section on invertebrates covers invertebrates colonising UK SRC plantations, invertebrates which are or can become pests, natural control agents of SRC pests, the abundance and distribution of chrysomelids between sites, preferences exhibited by chrysomelids for different varieties, overwintering and dispersal of chrysomelids into SRC, and IPM of insects. The section on vertebrate fauna addresses birds in winter, the breeding birds of SRC, gamebird use of SRC, and mammals and other vertebrates of SRC. A section on ground flora deals with changes in ground flora with time, ground flora introductions, the effects of weeds on the growth of SRC, and an overview of integrated crop management in SRC plantations.

  3. Agronomic, Energetic and Environmental Aspects of Biomass Energy Crops Suitable for Italian Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salvatore L. Cosentino

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The review, after a short introduction on the tendencies of the European Community Policy on biomasses, describes the agronomic, energy potential and environmental aspects of biomass crops for energy in relation to the research activity carried out in Italy on this topic, differentiating crops on the basis of the main energy use: biodiesel and bioethanol (which refers to “first generation biofuel”, heat and electricity. Currently, many of the crops for potential energy purposes are food crops (wheat, barley, corn, rapeseed, soybean, sunflower, grain sorghum, sugar beet and their production may be used as biofuel source (bioethanol and biodiesel since their crop management aspects are well known and consequently they are immediately applicable. Other species that could be used, highly productive in biomass, such as herbaceous perennial crops (Arundo donax, Miscanthus spp., cardoon, annual crops (sweet sorghum, short rotation woody crops (SRF have been carefully considered in Italy, but they still exhibit critical aspects related to propagation technique, low-input response, harvest and storage technique, cultivars and mechanization. Crops for food, however, often have negative energetic indices and environmental impacts (carbon sequestration, Life Cycle Assessment, consequent to their low productivity. Conversely, crops which are more productive in biomass, show both a more favourable energy balance and environmental impact.

  4. Agronomic, Energetic and Environmental Aspects of Biomass Energy Crops Suitable for Italian Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppina M. D’Agosta

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The review, after a short introduction on the tendencies of the European Community Policy on biomasses, describes the agronomic, energy potential and environmental aspects of biomass crops for energy in relation to the research activity carried out in Italy on this topic, differentiating crops on the basis of the main energy use: biodiesel and bioethanol (which refers to “first generation biofuel”, heat and electricity. Currently, many of the crops for potential energy purposes are food crops (wheat, barley, corn, rapeseed, soybean, sunflower, grain sorghum, sugar beet and their production may be used as biofuel source (bioethanol and biodiesel since their crop management aspects are well known and consequently they are immediately applicable. Other species that could be used, highly productive in biomass, such as herbaceous perennial crops (Arundo donax, Miscanthus spp., cardoon, annual crops (sweet sorghum, short rotation woody crops (SRF have been carefully considered in Italy, but they still exhibit critical aspects related to propagation technique, low-input response, harvest and storage technique, cultivars and mechanization. Crops for food, however, often have negative energetic indices and environmental impacts (carbon sequestration, Life Cycle Assessment, consequent to their low productivity. Conversely, crops which are more productive in biomass, show both a more favourable energy balance and environmental impact.

  5. Can energy willow (Salix sp.) remediate cadmium- and nickel-contaminated fish farm sludge?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Marianne Bruus

    it meets the criteria. Phytoremediation by willow may combine accumulation of cadmium and nickel from the sludge with the production of an energy crop. The ability of eight selected willow clones to take up and tolerate cadmium and nickel was studied in pots under outdoor conditions. Fish farm sludge...

  6. Comparing predicted yield and yield stability of willow and Miscanthus across Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Søren; Jaiswal, Deepak; Bentsen, Niclas Scott

    2016-01-01

    was 12.1 Mg DM ha−1 yr−1 for willow and 10.2 Mg DM ha−1 yr−1 for Miscanthus. Coefficent of variation as a measure for yield stability was poorest on the sandy soils of northern and western Jutland and the year-to-year variation in yield was greatest on these soils. Willow was predicted to outyield...... Miscanthus on poor, sandy soils whereas Miscanthus was higher yielding on clay-rich soils. The major driver of yield in both crops was variation in soil moisture, with radiation and precipitation exerting less influence. This is the first time these two major feedstocks for northern Europe have been compared....... The semi-mechanistic crop model BioCro was used to simulate the production of both short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and Miscanthus across Denmark. Predictions were made from high spatial resolution soil data and weather records across this area for 1990-2010. The potential average, rain-fed mean yield...

  7. Short-Term Effect of Feedstock and Pyrolysis Temperature on Biochar Characteristics, Soil and Crop Response in Temperate Soils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nelissen, Victoria; Ruysschaert, Greet; Müller-Stöver, Dorette Sophie

    2014-01-01

    At present, there is limited understanding of how biochar application to soil could be beneficial to crop growth in temperate regions and which biochar types are most suitable. Biochar’s (two feedstocks: willow, pine; three pyrolysis temperatures: 450 °C, 550 °C, 650 °C) effect on nitrogen (N......) availability, N use efficiency and crop yield was studied in northwestern European soils using a combined approach of process-based and agronomic experiments. Biochar labile carbon (C) fractions were determined and a phytotoxicity test, sorption experiment, N incubation experiment and two pot trials were...... conducted. Generally, biochar caused decreased soil NO3−availability and N use efficiency, and reduced biomass yields compared to a control soil. Soil NO3−concentrations were more reduced in the willow compared to the pine biochar treatments and the reduction increased with increasing pyrolysis temperatures...

  8. Irrigation water quality influences heavy metal uptake by willows in biosolids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laidlaw, W Scott; Baker, Alan J M; Gregory, David; Arndt, Stefan K

    2015-05-15

    Phytoextraction is an effective method to remediate heavy metal contaminated landscapes but is often applied for single metal contaminants. Plants used for phytoextraction may not always be able to grow in drier environments without irrigation. This study investigated if willows (Salix x reichardtii A. Kerner) can be used for phytoextraction of multiple metals in biosolids, an end-product of the wastewater treatment process, and if irrigation with reclaimed and freshwater influences the extraction process. A plantation of willows was established directly onto a tilled stockpile of metal-contaminated biosolids and irrigated with slightly saline reclaimed water (EC ∼2 dS/cm) at a wastewater processing plant in Victoria, Australia. Biomass was harvested annually and analysed for heavy metal content. Phytoextraction of cadmium, copper, nickel and zinc was benchmarked against freshwater irrigated willows. The minimum irrigation rate of 700 mm per growing season was sufficient for willows to grow and extract metals. Increasing irrigation rates produced no differences in total biomass and also no differences in the extraction of heavy metals. The reclaimed water reduced both the salinity and the acidity of the biosolids significantly within the first 12 months after irrigation commenced and after three seasons the salinity of the biosolids had dropped to metal extraction. Reclaimed water irrigation reduced the biosolid pH and this was associated with reductions of the extraction of Ni and Zn, it did not influence the extraction of Cu and enhanced the phytoextraction of Cd, which was probably related to the high chloride content of the reclaimed water. Our results demonstrate that flood-irrigation with reclaimed water was a successful treatment to grow willows in a dry climate. However, the reclaimed water can also change biosolids properties, which will influence the effectiveness of willows to extract different metals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

  9. Machinery management data for willow harvest with a bio-baler

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Savoie, P. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec City, PQ (Canada); Hebert, P.L. [Laval Univ., Quebec City, PQ (Canada). Dept. des sols et de genie agroalimentaire; Robert, F.S. [Laval Univ., Quebec City, PQ (Canada). Sols et environnement

    2010-07-01

    Willow harvested in 2-to-3-year rotations has been touted as a reliable source of biomass. A newly designed harvester based on a round baler was developed in 2006. The third generation biobaler was evaluated in 2009 at 2 willow plantations in Quebec. The first site at Godmanchester was a three-year old regrowth with an estimated 52,000 stems/ha of large diameter willow. The biobaler with a flail cutter harvested three plots totalling 4,136 m{sup 2}. Total harvested biomass was 10.36 t DM in 42 bales. The harvest rate averaged 29 bale/h with an average bale size of 1.22 m wide by 1.30 m in diameter. Diesel fuel consumption averaged 0.81 L/bale. Measured losses averaged 11 per cent of the yield. The second site at Saint-Roch-del'Achigan was a two-year old growth with an estimated 49,000 stems/ha of large stem willow. The biobaler harvested seven plots totalling 15,740 m{sup 2}. Total harvest was 30.70 t DM in 148 bales. The first 14 bales were harvested with a saw blade header. All other bales were harvested with the flail cutter at a faster rate. Bale density averaged 129 kg DM/m{sup 3}. Fuel consumption averaged 0.72 L/bale. Losses averaged 20 per cent of the yield with the saw blade header.

  10. Potential benefits of commercial willow Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) for farm-scale plant and invertebrate communities in the agri-environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rowe, Rebecca L.; Hanley, Mick E.; Goulson, Dave; Clarke, Donna J.; Doncaster, C. Patrick; Taylor, Gail [University of Southampton, Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences Building, Southampton, S017 1BJ (United Kingdom)

    2011-01-15

    The cultivation of bioenergy crops (BECs) represents a significant land-use change in agri-environments, but their deployment has raised important issues globally regarding possible impacts on biodiversity. Few studies however, have systematically examined the effect of commercial scale bioenergy plantations on biodiversity in agri-ecosystems. In this study we investigate how the abundance and diversity of two key components of farmland biodiversity (ground flora and winged invertebrates) varied between mature willow Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and two alternative land-use options (arable crops and set-aside land). Although the abundance of winged invertebrates was similar across all land-uses, taxonomic composition varied markedly. Hymenoptera and large Hemiptera (>5 mm) were more abundant in willow SRC than in arable or set-aside. Similarly although plant species richness was greater in set-aside, our data show that willow SRC supports a different plant community to the other land-uses, being dominated by competitive perennial species such as Elytrigia repens and Urtica dioica. Our results suggest that under current management practices a mixed farming system incorporating willow SRC can benefit native farm-scale biodiversity. In particular the reduced disturbance in willow SRC allows the persistence of perennial plant species, potentially providing a stable refuge and food sources for invertebrates. In addition, increased Hymenoptera abundance in willow SRC could potentially have concomitant effects on ecosystem processes, as many members of this Order are important pollinators of crop plants or otherwise fulfil an important beneficial role as predators or parasites of crop pests. (author)

  11. Development of short-rotation willow coppice systems for environmental purposes in Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirck, Jaconette; Verwijst, Theo; Isebrands, J.G.; Ledin, Stig

    2005-01-01

    During the last three decades, driving forces behind the development of short-rotation willow coppice (SRWC) in Sweden have been changing from a primary focus on biomass production towards emphasis on environmental applications. In most cases, current commercial SRWC practice is geared towards a combination of biomass production for energy purposes and environmental goals. The latter goals range from decreasing the impact of specific contaminants in the environment to organic waste handling in a recycling system in urban and/or agricultural areas. Where biomass production and pollutant management overlap, the science of phytoremediation has its practical application. Through phytoremediation, waste products that previously have been a burden for society can be used as valuable resources to increase short-rotation willow biomass production. In this paper we will present the terminology and definitions of different types of phytoremediation. We also give an overview of five different cases of phytoremediation activities with a potential for large-scale implementation. Some of the types of activities are already commercially used in Sweden; others seem promising but still need further development. (Author)

  12. Evaluation of the Relative Merits of Herbaceous and Woody Crops for Use in Tunable Thermochemical Processing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Joon-Hyun [Ceres, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA (United States); Martinalbo, Ilya [Choren USA, LLC, Houston, TX (United States)

    2011-12-01

    This report summarizes the work and findings of the grant work conducted from January 2009 until September 2011 under the collaboration between Ceres, Inc. and Choren USA, LLC. This DOE-funded project involves a head-to-head comparison of two types of dedicated energy crops in the context of a commercial gasification conversion process. The main goal of the project was to gain a better understanding of the differences in feedstock composition between herbaceous and woody species, and how these differences may impact a commercial gasification process. In this work, switchgrass was employed as a model herbaceous energy crop, and willow as a model short-rotation woody crop. Both crops are species native to the U.S. with significant potential to contribute to U.S. goals for renewable liquid fuel production, as outlined in the DOE Billion Ton Update (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/billion_ton_update.html, 2011). In some areas of the U.S., switching between woody and herbaceous feedstocks or blending of the two may be necessary to keep a large-scale gasifier operating near capacity year round. Based on laboratory tests and process simulations it has been successfully shown that suitable high yielding switchgrass and willow varieties exist that meet the feedstock specifications for large scale entrained flow biomass gasification. This data provides the foundation for better understanding how to use both materials in thermochemical processes. It has been shown that both switchgrass and willow varieties have comparable ranges of higher heating value, BTU content and indistinguishable hydrogen/carbon ratios. Benefits of switchgrass, and other herbaceous feedstocks, include its low moisture content, which reduce energy inputs and costs for drying feedstock. Compared to the typical feedstock currently being used in the Carbo-V® process, switchgrass has a higher ash content, combined with a lower ash melting temperature. Whether or not this may cause inefficiencies in the

  13. Phytoextraction of risk elements by willow and poplar trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kacálková, Lada; Tlustoš, Pavel; Száková, Jiřina

    2015-01-01

    To characterize the phytoextraction efficiency of two clones of willow trees (Salix x smithiana Willd., Salix rubens) and two clones of poplar trees (Populus nigra x maximowiczii, Populus nigra Wolterson) were planted in contaminated soil (0.4-2.0 mg Cd.kg(-1), 78-313 mg Zn.kg(-1), 21.3-118 mg Cu.kg(-1)). Field experiment was carried out in Czech Republic. The study investigated their ability to accumulate heavy metals (Cd, Zn, and Cu) in harvestable plant parts. The poplars produced higher amount of biomass than willows. Both Salix clones accumulated higher amount of Cd, Zn and Cu in their biomass (maximum 6.8 mg Cd.kg(-1), 909 mg Zn.kg(-1), and 17.7 mg Cu.kg(-1)) compared to Populus clones (maximum 2.06 mg Cd.kg(-1), 463 mg Zn.kg(-1), and 11.8 mg Cu.kg(-1)). There were no significant differences between clones of individual species. BCs for Cd and Zn were greater than 1 (the highest in willow leaves). BCs values of Cu were very low. These results indicate that Salix is more suitable plant for phytoextraction of Cd and Zn than Populus. The Cu phytoextraction potential of Salix and Populus trees was not confirmed in this experiment due to low soil availability of this element.

  14. Phytoremediation prospects of willow stands on contaminated sediment: a field trial

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vervaeke, P.; Luyssaert, S.; Mertens, J.; Meers, E.; Tack, F.M.G.; Lust, N.

    2003-01-01

    A field trial indicated increased degradation of mineral oil in sediments planted with willow. - Establishing fast growing willow stands on land disposed contaminated dredged sediment can result in the revaluation of this material and opens possibilities for phytoremediation. A field trial was designed to assess the impact of planting a willow stand (Salix viminalis L. 'Orm') on the dissipation of organic contaminants (mineral oil and PAHs) in dredged sediment. In addition, the accumulation of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) in the biomass was determined. After 1.5 years, a significant decrease of 57% in the mineral oil concentration in the sediment planted with willow was observed. Degradation of mineral oil in sediment which was left fallow, was only 15%. The mineral oil degradation under willow was most pronounced (79%) in the root zone of the stand. In the sediment which was left fallow there was a significant reduction of the total PAH content by 32% compared with a 23% reduction in the planted sediment. The moderate and selective metal uptake, measured in this study, limits the prospects for phytoextraction of metals from dredged sediment

  15. Phytoremediation prospects of willow stands on contaminated sediment: a field trial

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vervaeke, P.; Luyssaert, S.; Mertens, J.; Meers, E.; Tack, F.M.G.; Lust, N

    2003-11-01

    A field trial indicated increased degradation of mineral oil in sediments planted with willow. - Establishing fast growing willow stands on land disposed contaminated dredged sediment can result in the revaluation of this material and opens possibilities for phytoremediation. A field trial was designed to assess the impact of planting a willow stand (Salix viminalis L. 'Orm') on the dissipation of organic contaminants (mineral oil and PAHs) in dredged sediment. In addition, the accumulation of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) in the biomass was determined. After 1.5 years, a significant decrease of 57% in the mineral oil concentration in the sediment planted with willow was observed. Degradation of mineral oil in sediment which was left fallow, was only 15%. The mineral oil degradation under willow was most pronounced (79%) in the root zone of the stand. In the sediment which was left fallow there was a significant reduction of the total PAH content by 32% compared with a 23% reduction in the planted sediment. The moderate and selective metal uptake, measured in this study, limits the prospects for phytoextraction of metals from dredged sediment.

  16. Simulation modeling to understand how selective foraging by beaver can drive the structure and function of a willow community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peinetti, H.R.; Baker, B.W.; Coughenour, M.B.

    2009-01-01

    Beaver-willow (Castor-Salix) communities are a unique and vital component of healthy wetlands throughout the Holarctic region. Beaver selectively forage willow to provide fresh food, stored winter food, and construction material. The effects of this complex foraging behavior on the structure and function of willow communities is poorly understood. Simulation modeling may help ecologists understand these complex interactions. In this study, a modified version of the SAVANNA ecosystem model was developed to better understand how beaver foraging affects the structure and function of a willow community in a simulated riparian ecosystem in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado (RMNP). The model represents willow in terms of plant and stem dynamics and beaver foraging in terms of the quantity and quality of stems cut to meet the energetic and life history requirements of beaver. Given a site where all stems were equally available, the model suggested a simulated beaver family of 2 adults, 2 yearlings, and 2 kits required a minimum of 4 ha of willow (containing about10 stems m-2) to persist in a steady-state condition. Beaver created a willow community where the annual net primary productivity (ANPP) was 2 times higher and plant architecture was more diverse than the willow community without beaver. Beaver foraging created a plant architecture dominated by medium size willow plants, which likely explains how beaver can increase ANPP. Long-term simulations suggested that woody biomass stabilized at similar values even though availability differed greatly at initial condition. Simulations also suggested that willow ANPP increased across a range of beaver densities until beaver became food limited. Thus, selective foraging by beaver increased productivity, decreased biomass, and increased structural heterogeneity in a simulated willow community.

  17. Straw and energy crops- analysis of economy, energy and environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parsby, M.

    1996-01-01

    The purpose of the biomass agreement of 14 June 1993 was to increase the use of biomass fuels in the Danish power plants to 1.2 million tons straw and 200 000 wood chips. Contribution from straw combustion should reach 25 PJ in year 2000. However biomass cultivation can endanger the governmental policy of pesticide and nitrogen reduction in agriculture. In the worst harvest years straw quantity can be reduced to 70 % of the normal level, while in good years there would occur a 3-4 fold excess of straw. Supply depends in a decisive degree on the offered price as the indirect cost can vary much (wet straw, delayed sawing, lost fertilizer value etc.). Potential for energy crops can be based on ca 300 000 ha present fallow agricultural areas. Cost is higher than that for straw, the most probable plants are elephant grass, willow, rape, sugar beets, winter cereals. Cost is lower for perennial plants, but at least 10-12 years are necessary for such crops to become profitable. Generally the biofuel crops are more expensive than crops for immediate combustion. Expenses for energy crops will decrease with time per ton dry matter, but ground rent for soils previously fallow has to be taken into account. A reduced nitrogen fertilization will reduce the economic profits quite essentially due to smaller harvests. Pesticide consumption will not have to grow as straw and elephant grass do not require any larger quantities (unless very large areas of one crop are cultivated).(EG) 92 refs

  18. Analysis of proteins involved in biodegradation of crop biomass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawford, Kamau; Trotman, Audrey

    1998-01-01

    The biodegradation of crop biomass for re-use in crop production is part of the bioregenerative life support concept proposed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for long duration, manned space exploration. The current research was conducted in the laboratory to evaluate the use of electrophoretic analysis as a means of rapidly assaying for constitutive and induced proteins associated with the bacterial degradation of crop residue. The proteins involved in crop biomass biodegradation are either constitutive or induced. As a result, effluent and cultures were examined to investigate the potential of using electrophoretic techniques as a means of monitoring the biodegradation process. Protein concentration for optimum banding patterns was determined using the Bio-Rad Protein Assay kit. Four bacterial soil isolates were obtained from the G.W. Carver research Farm at Tuskegee University and used in the decomposition of components of plant biomass. The culture, WDSt3A was inoculated into 500 mL of either Tryptic Soy Broth or Nutrient Broth. Incubation, with shaking of each flask was for 96 hours at 30 C. The cultures consistently gave unique banding patterns under denaturing protein electrophoresis conditions, The associated extracellular enzymes also yielded characteristic banding patterns over a 14-day period, when native electrophoresis techniques were used to examine effluent from batch culture bioreactors. The current study evaluated sample preparation and staining protocols to determine the ease of use, reproducibility and reliability, as well as the potential for automation.

  19. Crop biomass and evapotranspiration estimation using SPOT and Formosat-2 Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veloso, Amanda; Demarez, Valérie; Ceschia, Eric; Claverie, Martin

    2013-04-01

    The use of crop models allows simulating plant development, growth and yield under different environmental and management conditions. When combined with high spatial and temporal resolution remote sensing data, these models provide new perspectives for crop monitoring at regional scale. We propose here an approach to estimate time courses of dry aboveground biomass, yield and evapotranspiration (ETR) for summer (maize, sunflower) and winter crops (wheat) by assimilating Green Area Index (GAI) data, obtained from satellite observations, into a simple crop model. Only high spatial resolution and gap-free satellite time series can provide enough information for efficient crop monitoring applications. The potential of remote sensing data is often limited by cloud cover and/or gaps in observation. Data from different sensor systems need then to be combined. For this work, we employed a unique set of Formosat-2 and SPOT images (164 images) and in-situ measurements, acquired from 2006 to 2010 in southwest France. Among the several land surface biophysical variables accessible from satellite observations, the GAI is the one that has a key role in soil-plant-atmosphere interactions and in biomass accumulation process. Many methods have been developed to relate GAI to optical remote sensing signal. Here, seasonal dynamics of remotely sensed GAI were estimated by applying a method based on the inversion of a radiative transfer model using artificial neural networks. The modelling approach is based on the Simple Algorithm for Yield and Evapotranspiration estimate (SAFYE) model, which couples the FAO-56 model with an agro-meteorological model, based on Monteith's light-use efficiency theory. The SAFYE model is a daily time step crop model that simulates time series of GAI, dry aboveground biomass, grain yield and ETR. Crop and soil model parameters were determined using both in-situ measurements and values found in the literature. Phenological parameters were calibrated by the

  20. Some ecological and socio-economic considerations for biomass energy crop production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paine, L.K.; Undersander, D.J.; Temple, S.A.; Klemme, R.M.; Peterson, T.L.; Bartelt, G.A.; Sample, D.W.; Rineer, K.C.

    1996-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to suggest a regional approach to ensure that energy crop production will proceed in an ecologically and economically sustainable way. At this juncture, we have the opportunity to build into the system some ecological and socio-economic values which have not traditionally been considered. If crop species are chosen and sited properly, incorporation of energy crops into our agricultural system could provide extensive wildlife habitat and address soil and water quality concerns, in addition to generating renewable power. We recommend that three types of agricultural land be targeted for perennial biomass energy crops: (1) highly erodible land; (2) wetlands presently converted to agricultural uses; and (3) marginal agricultural land in selected regions. Fitting appropriate species to these lands, biomass crops can be successfully grown on lands not ecologically suited for conventional farming practices, thus providing an environmental benefit in addition to producing an economic return to the land owner. (author)

  1. Short-rotation Willow Biomass Plantations Irrigated and Fertilised with Wastewaters. Results from a 4-year multidisciplinary field project in Sweden, France, Northern Ireland and Greece

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larsson, Stig [Svaloef Weibull AB, Svaloef (Sweden); Cuingnet, Christian; Clause, Pierre [Association pour le Developpement des Culture Energetiques, Lille (France); Jakobsson, Ingvar [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden); Dawson, Malcolm [Queens Univ., Northern Ireland (United Kingdom); Backlund, Arne [A and B Backlund ApS, Charlottenlund (Denmark); Mavrogianopoulus, George [Agricultural Univ. of Athens (Greece)

    2003-01-01

    This report summarises results and experiences gathered from field trials with recycling of pre-treated wastewater, diverted human urine mixed with water, and municipal sludge, within plantations of willow species specifically selected for biomass production. Experimental sites were established in Sweden (Roma), France (Orchies), Northern Ireland (Culmore) and Greece (Larissa). The project was carried out during a 4-year period with financial support from the EU FAIR Programme. The experimental sites were supplied with primary effluent from municipal treatment plants (Culmore and Larissa), stored industrial effluent from a chicory processing plant (Orchies), biologically treated and stored municipal wastewater (Roma) and human urine mixture from diverting low-flush toilets mixed with water (Roma). Application rates of the wastewaters or the urine mixture were equivalent to the calculated evapotranspiration rate at each site. Wastewaters were also applied up to three times this value to evaluate any possible negative effects. Estimations and evaluations were carried out mainly concerning: biomass growth, potential biological attacks of the plantations, plant water requirements, fertilisation effects of the wastewater, plant uptake of nutrients and heavy metals from applied wastewater, possible soil or groundwater impact, sanitary aspects, and potentials for removal in the soil-plant filter of nutrients and biodegradable organic material from applied wastewater. The results clearly indicated that biomass production in young willow plantations could be enhanced substantially after recycling of wastewater resources. The impact on soil and groundwater of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and heavy metals (copper, zinc, lead and cadmium) was limited, even when the application of water and nutrients exceeded the plant requirements. Also, the soil-plant system seemed to function as a natural treatment filter for pre-treated (primary settled) wastewater, with a treatment

  2. Energy balance and cost-benefit analysis of biogas production from perennial energy crops pretreated by wet oxidation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Uellendahl, Hinrich; Wang, Guangtao; Møller, Henrik B.

    2008-01-01

    Perennial crops need far less energy to plant, require less fertilizer and pesticides, and show a lower negative environmental impact compared with annual crops like for example corn. This makes the cultivation of perennial crops as energy crops more sustainable than the use of annual crops....... The conversion into biogas in anaerobic digestion plants shows however much lower specific methane yields for the raw perennial crops like miscanthus and willow due to their lignocellulosic structure. Without pretreatment the net energy gain is therefore lower for the perennials than for corn. When applying wet...... oxidation to the perennial crops, however, the specific methane yield increases significantly and the ratio of energy output to input and of costs to benefit for the whole chain of biomass supply and conversion into biogas becomes higher than for corn. This will make the use of perennial crops as energy...

  3. DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    K. Payette; D. Tillman

    2001-01-01

    During the period October 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) executed a Cooperative Agreement with the National Energy Technology Laboratory to implement a major cofiring demonstration at the Willow Island Generating Station Boiler No.2. Willow Island Boiler No.2 is a cyclone boiler. Allegheny also will demonstrate separate injection cofiring at the Albright Generating Station Boiler No.3, a tangentially fired boiler. The Allegheny team includes Foster Wheeler as its primary subcontractor. Additional subcontractors are Cofiring Alternatives and N.S. Harding and Associates. This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. The second quarter of the project involved completing the designs for each location. Further, geotechnical investigations proceeded at each site. Preparations were made to perform demolition on two small buildings at the Willow Island site. Fuels strategies were initiated for each site. Test planning commenced for each site. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Willow Island site on October 18, with Governor C. Underwood being the featured speaker

  4. Genetic Engineering of Energy Crops to Reduce Recalcitrance and Enhance Biomass Digestibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Yadav

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Bioenergy, biofuels, and a range of valuable chemicals may be extracted from the abundantly available lignocellulosic biomass. To reduce the recalcitrance imposed by the complex cell wall structure, genetic engineering has been proposed over the years as a suitable solution to modify the genes, thereby, controlling the overall phenotypic expression. The present review provides a brief description of the plant cell wall structure and its compositional array i.e., lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, wall proteins, and pectin, along with their effect on biomass digestibility. Also, this review discusses the potential to increase biomass by gene modification. Furthermore, the review highlights the potential genes associated with the regulation of cell wall structure, which can be targeted for achieving energy crops with desired phenotypes. These genetic approaches provide a robust and assured method to bring about the desired modifications in cell wall structure, composition, and characteristics. Ultimately, these genetic modifications pave the way for achieving enhanced biomass yield and enzymatic digestibility of energy crops, which is crucial for maximizing the outcomes of energy crop breeding and biorefinery applications.

  5. Biomass production and control of nutrient leaching of willows using different planting methods with special emphasis on an appraisal of the electrical impedance for roots

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang Cao

    2011-07-01

    Willow reproduction can be achieved through vertically or horizontally planted cuttings. Conventionally, plantations are established by inserting cuttings vertically into the soil. There is, however, a lack of information about the biomass production and nutrient leaching of plantations established through horizontally planted cuttings. A greenhouse experiment and a field trial were carried out to investigate whether horizontally planted Salix schwerinii cuttings have a positive effect on stem yield, root distribution and nutrient leaching in comparison with vertically planted cuttings with different planting densities. The shoots' height of horizontally planted cuttings was significantly smaller than that of vertically planted cuttings during the first two weeks after planting in the pot experiment. Thereafter, no significant effect of planting orientation on the stem biomass was observed in the two conducted experiments. In both experiments the total stem biomass increased with the planting density. It was also found that the fine root biomass and the specific root length were not affected by the planting orientation or density, while the fine root surface area and the absorbing root surface area (ARSA) were affected only by the planting density. The planting orientation did not affect the nutrient concentrations in the soil leachate, apart from SO{sub 4}-S and PO{sub 4}-P in the pot experiment. The ARSA in the pot experiment was assessed by using the earth impedance method. The applicability of this method was evaluated in a hydroponic study of willow cuttings where root and stem were measured independently. Electrical resistance had a good correlation with the contact area of the roots with the solution. However, the resistance depended strongly on the contact area of the stem with the solution, which caused a bias in the evaluation of root surface area. A similar experimental set-up with electrical impedance spectroscopy was employed to study the

  6. Quality Testing of Short Rotation Coppice Willow Cuttings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katrin Heinsoo

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The production and feasibility of Short Rotation Coppice depend on cutting early performance. The shoot and root biomass production of Salix cuttings in hydroponic conditions was studied. The amount of sprouted biomass after four weeks of growth depended on cutting the diameter, but the original position of the cutting along the rod or number of visible buds was not in correlation with biomass produced. Application of mineral fertilizer or soil originating from the willow plantation did not increase the total production. On the contrary, the addition of soil tended to decrease biomass production and we assumed this was a result of a shortage of light. Under the influence of fertilization, plants allocated greater biomass to roots. Comparison of different clones revealed that those with S. dasyclados genes tended to allocate less biomass to roots and the poorest-performing clone in our experiment, also had the lowest wood production in the plantation. The number of visible buds on the cutting was also clone-specific.

  7. Cover crop biomass production and water use in the central great plains under varying water availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    The water-limited environment of the semi-arid central Great Plains may not have potential to produce enough cover crop biomass to generate benefits associated with cover crop use in more humid regions. There have been reports that cover crops grown in mixtures produce more biomass with greater wate...

  8. Short Rotation Crops in the United States

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wright, L L

    1998-06-04

    The report is based primarily on the results of survey questions sent to approximately 60 woody and 20 herbaceous crop researchers in the United States and on information from the U.S. Department of Energy's Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program. Responses were received from 13 individuals involved in woody crops research or industrial commercialization (with 5 of the responses coming from industry). Responses were received from 11 individuals involved in herbaceous crop research. Opinions on market incentives, technical and non-technical barriers, and highest priority research and development areas are summarized in the text. Details on research activities of the survey responders are provided as appendices to the paper. Woody crops grown as single-stem systems (primarily Populus and Eucalyptus species) are perceived to have strong pulp fiber and oriented strand board markets, and the survey responders anticipated that energy will comprise 25% or less of the utilization of single-stem short-rotation woody crops between now and 2010. The only exception was a response from California where a substantial biomass energy market does currently exist. Willows (Salix species) are only being developed for energy and only in one part of the United States at present. Responses from herbaceous crop researchers suggested frustration that markets (including biomass energy markets) do not currently exist for the crop, and it was the perception of many that federal incentives will be needed to create such markets. In all crops, responses indicate that a wide variety of research and development activities are needed to enhance the yields and profitability of the crops. Ongoing research activities funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program are described in an appendix to the paper.

  9. Combined production of free-range pigs and energy crops – animal behaviour and crop damages

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Horsted, Klaus; Kongsted, Anne Grete; Jørgensen, Uffe

    2012-01-01

    Intensive free-range pig production on open grasslands has disadvantages in that it creates nutrient hotspots and little opportunity for pigs to seek shelter from the sun. Combining a perennial energy crop and pig production might benefit the environment and animal welfare because perennial energy...... crops like willow (Salix sp.) and Miscanthus offer the pigs protection from the sun while reducing nutrient leaching from pig excrements due to their deep rooting system. The objectives of this study were to evaluate how season and stocking density of pigs in a free-range system with zones of willow...

  10. Cover Crop Biomass Harvest Influences Cotton Nitrogen Utilization and Productivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Ducamp

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available There is a potential in the southeastern US to harvest winter cover crops from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. fields for biofuels or animal feed use, but this could impact yields and nitrogen (N fertilizer response. An experiment was established to examine rye (Secale cereale L. residue management (RM and N rates on cotton productivity. Three RM treatments (no winter cover crop (NC, residue removed (REM and residue retained (RET and four N rates for cotton were studied. Cotton population, leaf and plant N concentration, cotton biomass and N uptake at first square, and cotton biomass production between first square and cutout were higher for RET, followed by REM and NC. However, leaf N concentration at early bloom and N concentration in the cotton biomass between first square and cutout were higher for NC, followed by REM and RET. Seed cotton yield response to N interacted with year and RM, but yields were greater with RET followed by REM both years. These results indicate that a rye cover crop can be beneficial for cotton, especially during hot and dry years. Long-term studies would be required to completely understand the effect of rye residue harvest on cotton production under conservation tillage.

  11. The California Biomass Crop Adoption Model estimates biofuel feedstock crop production across diverse agro-ecological zones within the state, under different future climates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaffka, S.; Jenner, M.; Bucaram, S.; George, N.

    2012-12-01

    Both regulators and businesses need realistic estimates for the potential production of biomass feedstocks for biofuels and bioproducts. This includes the need to understand how climate change will affect mid-tem and longer-term crop performance and relative advantage. The California Biomass Crop Adoption Model is a partial mathematical programming optimization model that estimates the profit level needed for new crop adoption, and the crop(s) displaced when a biomass feedstock crop is added to the state's diverse set of cropping systems, in diverse regions of the state. Both yield and crop price, as elements of profit, can be varied. Crop adoption is tested against current farmer preferences derived from analysis of 10 years crop production data for all crops produced in California, collected by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Analysis of this extensive data set resulted in 45 distinctive, representative farming systems distributed across the state's diverse agro-ecological regions. Estimated yields and water use are derived from field trials combined with crop simulation, reported elsewhere. Crop simulation is carried out under different weather and climate assumptions. Besides crop adoption and displacement, crop resource use is also accounted, derived from partial budgets used for each crop's cost of production. Systematically increasing biofuel crop price identified areas of the state where different types of crops were most likely to be adopted. Oilseed crops like canola that can be used for biodiesel production had the greatest potential to be grown in the Sacramento Valley and other northern regions, while sugar beets (for ethanol) had the greatest potential in the northern San Joaquin Valley region, and sweet sorghum in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Up to approximately 10% of existing annual cropland in California was available for new crop adoption. New crops are adopted if the entire cropping system becomes more profitable. In

  12. Valorization of agroforest crops for biomass utilization. Editorial Note

    OpenAIRE

    Río Andrade, José Carlos del

    2010-01-01

    Editorial Note. Special issue on "Valorization of Agroforest Crops for Biomass Utilization", The Open Agriculture Journal. José C. del Río (Guest Editor) Department of Plant Biotechnology Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville (IRNAS-CSIC) Seville, Spain E-mail:

  13. Anderson introduces a new biomass baler

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D' amour, L.; Lavoie, F. [Anderson Group Co., Chesterville, PQ (Canada)

    2010-07-01

    Canadian-based Anderson Group Company has developed an innovative round baler for harvesting a large variety of woody biomass. The baler was initially developed in 2005 in collaboration with the University Laval and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The third generation BIOBALER{sup TM} is currently built, engineered and commercialized by Anderson. It can produce up to 40 bales/hr in short rotations woody crops such as willow and hybrid poplar. The unit can harvest brushes up to 125 mm in diameter. A standard tractor can pull the BIOBALER in fallow or abandoned land, under power transmission lines, and between planted trees. The patented BIOBALER includes a mulcher head attachment, a choice of long or short swivel tongue, a fixed chamber and an undercarriage frame.

  14. Multifunctional landscapes: Site characterization and field-scale design to incorporate biomass production into an agricultural system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ssegane, Herbert; Negri, M. Cristina; Quinn, John; Urgun-Demirtas, Meltem

    2015-01-01

    Current and future demand for food, feed, fiber, and energy require novel approaches to land management, which demands that multifunctional landscapes are created to integrate various ecosystem functions into a sustainable land use. We developed an approach to design such landscapes at a field scale to minimize concerns of land use change, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with production of food and bioenergy. This study leverages concepts of nutrient recovery and phytoremediation to place bioenergy crops on the landscape to recover nutrients released to watersheds by commodity crops. Crop placement is determined by evaluating spatial variability of: 1) soils, 2) surface flow pathways, 3) shallow groundwater flow gradients, 4) subsurface nitrate concentrations, and 5) primary crop yield. A 0.8 ha bioenergy buffer was designed within a 6.5 ha field to intercept concentrated surface flow, capture and use nitrate leachate, and minimize use of productive areas. Denitrification-Decomposition (DNDC) simulations show that on average, a switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.) or willow (Salix spp.) buffer within this catchment according to this design could reduce annual leached NO 3 by 61 or 59% and N 2 O emission by 5.5 or 10.8%, respectively, produce 8.7 or 9.7 Mg ha −1 of biomass respectively, and displace 6.7 Mg ha −1 of corn (Zea mays L.) grain. Therefore, placement of bioenergy crops has the potential to increase environmental sustainability when the pairing of location and crop type result in minimal disruption of current food production systems and provides additional environmental benefits. - Highlights: • Design of a multifunctional landscape by integrating cellulosic biofuel production into an existing agricultural system. • The design does not adversely offset current grain production for bioenergy crops. • Maps of concentrated flow paths, subsurface flow direction, NO 3 –N hotspots, and intra-field corn yield variability.

  15. Economics of multifunctional biomass systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ignaciuk, A.

    2006-01-01

    Chapter 2 focuses on the competition between traditional agricultural production and growing demand for biomass plantations. The aim of this chapter is to investigate the effects of various energy policies, aimed at both reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and increasing the share of bioelectricity, on the production of biomass and agricultural commodities. A partial equilibrium model is developed to illustrate some of the potential impacts of these policies on greenhouse gas emissions, land reallocation and prices of food and electricity. A partial framework is used, because it provides a transparent and consistent structure and enables to concentrate on only the relevant economic sectors (agriculture, biomass, conventional electricity, and bioelectricity). In the model, GHG emissions depend on land use patterns and fossil fuel use. The innovative element of this model is that it integrates two distinct analyses, namely an analysis of substitution mechanisms between energy from biomass and from fossil fuels, and an analysis of the effects of changes in demand for biomass on land use and GHG emissions. Chapter 3 deals with the impact of climate policies on land use and land cover change and possible impacts on reestablishment of semi-natural areas, mainly forestry and willow plantations. The aim of this chapter is to investigate the impact of climate policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by means of promoting biomass and bioelectricity. In this context, the analysis is performed on how these policies might affect production of agricultural commodities and trade patterns of biomass and bioelectricity. To this purpose, an applied general equilibrium model (AGE) is developed with special attention to biomass and agricultural crops for a small open economy, with an Armington specification for international trade. Chapter 4 focuses on the multiproductivity issues of agriculture, biomass, and forestry sectors resulting in additional production inputs

  16. Carbon isotope variation in shrub willow (Salix spp.) ring-wood as an indicator of long-term water status, growth and survival

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schifman, Laura A.; Stella, John C.; Volk, Timothy A.; Teece, Mark A.

    2012-01-01

    Quantifying interannual change in water status of woody plants using stable carbon isotopes provides insight on long-term plant ecophysiology and potential success in variable environments, including under-utilized agricultural land for biomass production and highly disturbed sites for phytoremediation applications. We analyzed δ 13 C values in annual ring-wood of four shrub willow varieties used for biomass production and phytoremediation at three sites in central New York State (U.S.A). We tested a cost-effective sampling method for estimating whole-shrub water status by comparing δ 13 C values of the plant’s largest stem against a composite sample of all stems. The largest stem showed 0.3‰ 13 C enrichment (range −0.7–1.1‰) compared to the whole-plant, making it a more sensitive indicator of water status than the composite sample. Growing season precipitation exerted a strong negative influence on wood tissue chemistry, with an average 0.26‰ 13 C depletion per 100 mm increase in precipitation. An average annual 0.28‰ 13 C enrichment was also observed with increased plant age; this pattern was consistent among all four willow varieties and across sites. Finally, increased 13 C enrichment in wood tissue was positively associated with plant size at the individual plant level, and associated negatively and more variably survival at the plot scale. These results have important implications for the design and management of biomass production and phytoremediation systems. Increased sensitivity of older plants suggests that longer rotations may experience growth limitations and/or lower survival in low-precipitation years, resulting in reduced yields of biomass crops and loss of effectiveness in phytoremediation applications. -- Highlights: ► A 0.26‰ 13 C depletion in wood tissue occurred per 100 mm increase in precipitation. ► There was an average 13 C enrichment with plant age and size for all varieties. ► Greater 13 C enrichment often lead to

  17. Estimating Biomass of Barley Using Crop Surface Models (CSMs Derived from UAV-Based RGB Imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliane Bendig

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Crop monitoring is important in precision agriculture. Estimating above-ground biomass helps to monitor crop vitality and to predict yield. In this study, we estimated fresh and dry biomass on a summer barley test site with 18 cultivars and two nitrogen (N-treatments using the plant height (PH from crop surface models (CSMs. The super-high resolution, multi-temporal (1 cm/pixel CSMs were derived from red, green, blue (RGB images captured from a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV. Comparison with PH reference measurements yielded an R2 of 0.92. The test site with different cultivars and treatments was monitored during “Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und CHemische Industrie” (BBCH Stages 24–89. A high correlation was found between PH from CSMs and fresh biomass (R2 = 0.81 and dry biomass (R2 = 0.82. Five models for above-ground fresh and dry biomass estimation were tested by cross-validation. Modelling biomass between different N-treatments for fresh biomass produced the best results (R2 = 0.71. The main limitation was the influence of lodging cultivars in the later growth stages, producing irregular plant heights. The method has potential for future application by non-professionals, i.e., farmers.

  18. Proximate composition of CELSS crops grown in NASA's Biomass Production Chamber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, R. M.; Mackowiak, C. L.; Sager, J. C.; Knott, W. M.; Berry, W. L.

    Edible biomass from four crops of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), four crops of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), four crops of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), and three crops of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) grown in NASA's CELSS Biomass Production Chamber were analyzed for proximate composition. All plants were grown using recirculating nutrient (hydroponic) film culture with pH and electrical conductivity automatically controlled. Temperature and humidity were controlled to near optimal levels for each species and atmospheric carbon dioxide partial pressures were maintained near 100 Pa during the light cycles. Soybean seed contained the highest percentage of protein and fat, potato tubers and wheat seed contained the highest levels of carbohydrate, and lettuce leaves contained the highest level of ash. Analyses showed values close to data published for field-grown plants with several exceptions: In comparison with field-grown plants, wheat seed had higher protein levels; soybean seed had higher ash and crude fiber levels; and potato tubers and lettuce leaves had higher protein and ash levels. The higher ash and protein levels may have been a result of the continuous supply of nutrients (e.g., potassium and nitrogen) to the plants by the recirculating hydroponic culture.

  19. Willow and poplar for bioenergy on former cropland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Georgiadis, Petros

    and water demands of the trees. The water requirements of SRWCs are generally high, and high evapotranspiration rates in both SRC willow and SRF poplar decreased deep percolation, which along with low N concentrations led to low N leaching. Excessive N leaching was only observed when SRC was fertilized......Climate change is one of the 21st century’s greatest challenges and calls for immediate action through the implementation of mitigation strategies. A shift from fossil fuel to renewable energy is a key factor for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, with bioenergy being...... the predominant sector of renewables in the current European and global energy markets. Dedicated energy crops, such as short rotation woody crops (SRWC), are promising bioenergy feedstock in southern Scandinavia due to their high yields. Such cropping systems have high demands for land, water, and nutrients...

  20. Integrated carbon analysis of biomass production on fallow agricultural land and product substitution in Sweden - Preliminary results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dornburg, Veronika; Eggers, Thies; Gustavsson, Leif [Mid Sweden Univ., Oestersund (Sweden). Ecotechnology

    2006-07-15

    An important option in the Swedish context to reduce its net emissions of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) is the increased use of biomass for energy and material substitution. On fallow agricultural land additional production of biomass would be possible. We analyse biomass production systems based on Norway spruce, hybrid poplar and willow hybrids and the use of this biomass to replace fossil energy and energy intensive material systems. The highest biomass production potential is for willow in southern Sweden. Fertilisation management of spruce could shorten the rotation lengths by about 17%. The fertilised production of Norway spruce with use of harvested timber for construction and use of remaining woody biomass for heat and power production gives the largest reductions of carbon emissions per hectare under the assumptions made. The use of willow for heat and power and of fertilised spruce for a wood product mix lead to the highest fossil primary energy savings in our scenarios. Spruce cultivations can achieve considerable carbon emission reductions in the long term, but willow and poplar might be a good option when fossil energy savings and carbon emission reductions should be achieved in the short term.

  1. An optimal staggered harvesting strategy for herbaceous biomass energy crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bhat, M.G.; English, B.C. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

    1993-12-31

    Biofuel research over the past two decades indicates lignocellulosic crops are a reliable source of feedstock for alternative energy. However, under the current technology of producing, harvesting and converting biomass crops, the cost of biofuel is not competitive with conventional biofuel. Cost of harvesting biomass feedstock is a single largest component of feedstock cost so there is a cost advantage in designing a biomass harvesting system. Traditional farmer-initiated harvesting operation causes over investment. This study develops a least-cost, time-distributed (staggered) harvesting system for example switch grass, that calls for an effective coordination between farmers, processing plant and a single third-party custom harvester. A linear programming model explicitly accounts for the trade-off between yield loss and benefit of reduced machinery overhead cost, associated with the staggered harvesting system. Total cost of producing and harvesting switch grass will decline by 17.94 percent from conventional non-staggered to proposed staggered harvesting strategy. Harvesting machinery cost alone experiences a significant reduction of 39.68 percent from moving from former to latter. The net return to farmers is estimated to increase by 160.40 percent. Per tonne and per hectare costs of feedstock production will decline by 17.94 percent and 24.78 percent, respectively. These results clearly lend support to the view that the traditional system of single period harvesting calls for over investment on agricultural machinery which escalates the feedstock cost. This social loss to the society in the form of escalated harvesting cost can be avoided if there is a proper coordination among farmers, processing plant and custom harvesters as to when and how biomass crop needs to be planted and harvested. Such an institutional arrangement benefits producers, processing plant and, in turn, end users of biofuels.

  2. Bioenergy Crop Production in the United States. Potential Quantities, Land Use Changes, and Economic Impacts on the Agricultural Sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walsh, Marie E.; Torre Ugarte, D.G. de la; Shapouri, H.; Slinsky, S.P.

    2003-01-01

    The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy jointly analyzed the economic potential for, and impacts of, large-scale bioenergy crop production in the United States. An agricultural sector model (POLYSYS) was modified to include three potential bioenergy crops (switchgrass, hybrid poplar, and willow). At farmgate prices of US $2.44/GJ, an estimated 17 million hectares of bioenergy crops, annually yielding 171 million dry Mg of biomass, could potentially be produced at a profit greater than existing agricultural uses for the land. The estimate assumes high productivity management practices are permitted on Conservation Reserve Program lands. Traditional crops prices are estimated to increase 9 to 14 percent above baseline prices and farm income increases annually by US $6.0 billion above baseline. At farmgate prices of US $1.83/GJ, an estimated 7.9 million hectares of bioenergy crops, annually yielding 55 million dry Mg of biomass, could potentially be produced at a profit greater than existing agricultural uses for the land. The estimate assumes management practices intended to achieve high environmental benefits on Conservation Reserve Program lands. Traditional crops prices are estimated to increase 4 to 9 percent above baseline prices and farm income increases annually by US $2.8 billion above baseline

  3. Recycle of Inorganic Nutrients for Hydroponic Crop Production Following Incineration of Inedible Biomass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bubenheim, David L.; Wignarajah, Kanapathipillai; Kliss, Mark H. (Technical Monitor)

    1996-01-01

    Recovery of resources from waste streams is essential for future implementation and reliance on a regenerative life support system. The major waste streams of concern are from human activities and plant wastes. Carbon, water and inorganics are the primary desired raw materials of interest. The goal of resource recovery is maintenance of product quality to insure support of reliable and predictable levels of life support function performance by the crop plant component. Further, these systems must be maintained over extended periods of time, requiring maintenance of nutrient solutions to avoid toxicity and deficiencies. Today, reagent grade nutrients are used to make nutrient solutions for hydroponic culture and these solutions are frequently changed during the life cycle or sometimes managed for only one crop life cycle. The focus of this study was to determine the suitability of the ash product following incineration of inedible biomass as a source of inorganic nutrients for hydroponic crop production. Inedible wheat biomass was incinerated and ash quality characterized. The incinerator ash was dissolved in adequate nitric acid to establish a consistent nitrogen concentration in all nutrient solution treatments. Four experimental nutrient treatments were included: control, ash only, ash supplemented to match control, and ash only quality formulated with reagent grade chemicals. When nutrient solutions are formulated using only ash following-incineration of inedible biomass, a balance in solution is established representing elemental retention following incineration and nutrient proportions present in the original biomass. The resulting solution is not identical to the control. This imbalance resulted in suppression of crop growth. When the ash is supplemented with nutrients to establish the same balance as in the control, growth is identical to the control. The ash appears to carry no phytotoxic materials. Growth in solution formulated with reagent grade chemicals

  4. A generic model for estimating biomass accumulation and greenhouse gas emissions from perennial crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ledo, Alicia; Heathcote, Richard; Hastings, Astley; Smith, Pete; Hillier, Jonathan

    2017-04-01

    Agriculture is essential to maintain humankind but is, at the same time, a substantial emitter of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With a rising global population, the need for agriculture to provide secure food and energy supply is one of the main human challenges. At the same time, it is the only sector which has significant potential for negative emissions through the sequestration of carbon and offsetting via supply of feedstock for energy production. Perennial crops accumulate carbon during their lifetime and enhance organic soil carbon increase via root senescence and decomposition. However, inconsistency in accounting for this stored biomass undermines efforts to assess the benefits of such cropping systems when applied at scale. A consequence of this exclusion is that efforts to manage this important carbon stock are neglected. Detailed information on carbon balance is crucial to identify the main processes responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in order to develop strategic mitigation programs. Perennial crops systems represent 30% in area of total global crop systems, a considerable amount to be ignored. Furthermore, they have a major standing both in the bioenergy and global food industries. In this study, we first present a generic model to calculate the carbon balance and GHGs emissions from perennial crops, covering both food and bioenergy crops. The model is composed of two simple process-based sub-models, to cover perennial grasses and other perennial woody plants. The first is a generic individual based sub-model (IBM) covering crops in which the yield is the fruit and the plant biomass is an unharvested residue. Trees, shrubs and climbers fall into this category. The second model is a generic area based sub-model (ABM) covering perennial grasses, in which the harvested part includes some of the plant parts in which the carbon storage is accounted. Most second generation perennial bioenergy crops fall into this category. Both generic sub

  5. Woody biomass from short rotation energy crops. Chapter 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    R.S., Jr. Zalesny Jr.; M.W. Cunningham; R.B. Hall; J. Mirck; D.L. Rockwood; J.A. Stanturf; T.A. Volk

    2011-01-01

    Short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) are ideal for woody biomass production and management systems because they are renewable energy feedstocks for biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts that can be strategically placed in the landscape to conserve soil and water, recycle nutrients, and sequester carbon. This chapter is a synthesis of the regional implications of producing...

  6. Availability of biomass for energy: Report of the contractors meeting, held at November 3, 1994, in Utrecht, Netherlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Jager, D.

    1994-11-01

    Results of a few studies on the title subject, carried out within the framework of the NOVEM programme EWAB, were presented at a contractors meeting. The overall conclusion of the presentation was that energy from biomass has a large potential. However, the cost effectiveness of the different options has to be improved. In particular, international research on the subject is necessary. Also more demonstration projects have to be set up in order to gain insight in the exact costs and benefits, the options to improve the cost-effectiveness, and to fill in the knowledge gaps. In the presentations of the meeting attention is paid to avoided CO 2 emissions as a result of energy crops, the spatial aspects of biomass cultivation, model calculations of the economics of biomass techniques in comparison with other techniques, conversion techniques for biomass, biomass harvesting systems, logistic aspects regarding energy production from biomass, experiences with the cultivation of willows and miscanthus, the cost effectiveness of biomass cultivation, and the state-of-the-art in national and international research on energy from biomass

  7. Bioenergy Sorghum Crop Model Predicts VPD-Limited Transpiration Traits Enhance Biomass Yield in Water-Limited Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truong, Sandra K; McCormick, Ryan F; Mullet, John E

    2017-01-01

    Bioenergy sorghum is targeted for production in water-limited annual cropland therefore traits that improve plant water capture, water use efficiency, and resilience to water deficit are necessary to maximize productivity. A crop modeling framework, APSIM, was adapted to predict the growth and biomass yield of energy sorghum and to identify potentially useful traits for crop improvement. APSIM simulations of energy sorghum development and biomass accumulation replicated results from field experiments across multiple years, patterns of rainfall, and irrigation schemes. Modeling showed that energy sorghum's long duration of vegetative growth increased water capture and biomass yield by ~30% compared to short season crops in a water-limited production region. Additionally, APSIM was extended to enable modeling of VPD-limited transpiration traits that reduce crop water use under high vapor pressure deficits (VPDs). The response of transpiration rate to increasing VPD was modeled as a linear response until a VPD threshold was reached, at which the slope of the response decreases, representing a range of responses to VPD observed in sorghum germplasm. Simulation results indicated that the VPD-limited transpiration trait is most beneficial in hot and dry regions of production where crops are exposed to extended periods without rainfall during the season or to a terminal drought. In these environments, slower but more efficient transpiration increases biomass yield and prevents or delays the exhaustion of soil water and onset of leaf senescence. The VPD-limited transpiration responses observed in sorghum germplasm increased biomass accumulation by 20% in years with lower summer rainfall, and the ability to drastically reduce transpiration under high VPD conditions could increase biomass by 6% on average across all years. This work indicates that the productivity and resilience of bioenergy sorghum grown in water-limited environments could be further enhanced by development

  8. Effects of Cover Crops to Offset Soil Carbon Changes Under No-till on an Ohio farm when Biomass is Harvested

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimble, J. M.; Everett, L. R.; Richards, W.

    2003-12-01

    The results of a long term experiment to look at the use of cover crops and there effect on soil organic carbon. No-till has been shown to increase SOC and improve the overall soil quality under conditions where the biomass has been returned to the field. However, biomass may be removed as silage or for use in biofuels. The removal will reduce the inputs to the field so to overcome the amount of biomass not returned to the soil different cover crops were used. This experiment was done on a working farm where the corn biomass was being removed as silage. Four cover crops were planted in early September of 2002: rye, oats, clover, and canola with two controls, one with no cover crop and one where corn stubble was left on the field. The soils were sampled soon after the crops were planted and again in the spring of 2003 before the cover crops were killed just prior to planting. The first results indicate that the most root biomass was produced by the rye followed by oats then canola and then clover.

  9. Evaluation of energy plantation crops in a high-throughput indirectly heated biomass gasifier

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paisley, M.A.; Litt, R.D. [Battelle, Columbus, OH (United States)

    1993-12-31

    Experiments were run in Battelle`s 10 ton per day Process Research Unit (PRU) gasifier using two high-growth, energy plantation crops -- hybrid poplar -- and an herbaceous biomass crop -- switch grass. The results show that both feedstocks provide gas production rates, product gas compositions, and heating value similar to other biomass feedstocks tested in the Battelle gasification process. The ash compositions of the switch grass and hybrid poplar feedstocks were high in potassium relative to previously tested biomass feedstocks. High growth biomass species tend to concentrate minerals such as potassium in the ash. The higher potassium content in the ash can then cause agglomeration problems in the gasification system. A method for controlling this agglomeration through the addition of small amounts (approximately 2 percent of the wood feed rate) of an additive could adequately control the agglomeration tendency of the ash. During the testing program in the PRU, approximately 50 tons of hybrid poplar and 15 tons of switch grass were gasified to produce a medium Btu product gas.

  10. Integration of non-food crops in rural areas with niche energy markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwant, K.W.; Heuval, E. van der; Rijk, P.J.J.

    1996-01-01

    Integration of energy-crops in the agricultural sector is hampered by a number of factors. Within the EU AIR programme a concerted action has been initiated to contribute to a better understanding of the several aspects of introducing energy corps in the rural sector. A standard methodology to assess the economic and technical viability of energy crops for three identified niche markets was developed. Technical viability of biomass production, pretreatment and conversion to energy is a necessary condition for implementation of such a project, however, it is not a sufficient condition. Non-technical constraints can either hamper or stimulate a successful introduction. Technical issues will be dealt with in other papers. This paper will, therefore concentrate on the non-technical issues. In section 2 the major issues are described. Opportunities on how to improve biomass energy introduction are provided in section 3. As a case study, the non-technical issues of a combined heat and power plant, planned to be fired on arboricultural and short rotation willow, in the municipality of Groningen in the Netherlands will be presented. The paper ends with general conclusions. (Author)

  11. Biomass and energy production of catch crops in areas with deficiency of precipitation during summer period in central Bohemia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brant, V.; Pivec, J.; Fuksa, P.; Neckar, K.; Kocourkova, D.; Venclova, V.

    2011-01-01

    The biomass production dynamics of catch crops, volunteers and weeds in dependence on precipitation and air temperature, was studied in central Bohemia from 2004 to 2006. The cover of individual components of the growth was monitored during the same period. Also measured were energy and efficiency of utilization of global radiation by catch crops and volunteers. The catch crops included the following species: Brassica napus, Lolium multiflorum, Lolium perenne, Phacelia tanacetifolia, Sinapis alba, Trifolium incarnatum, Raphanus sativus var. oleiformis and Trifolium subterraneum. The highest biomass production and the highest cover of catch crops were observed in treatments with S. alba (1382.0 kg ha -1 , 47.8%). The average biomass production (sum of catch crops, volunteers and weeds) was highest in treatments with S. alba, R. sativus, and P. tanacetifolia and lowest in treatments with B. napus, L. multiflorum and L. perenne. It was demonstrated that an increase in the percentage share of volunteers caused a decrease in the biomass production of catch crops. The average energy production ranged from 0.31 to 2.37 MJ m -2 in treatments with catch crops, and from 0.25 to 0.89 MJ m -2 in treatments with cereal volunteers. The highest effectivity of global radiation utilization, was determined in treatments with S. alba (0.11-0.47%). Based on regression analysis the closest dependence between biomass production from all treatments on the experimental site and precipitation was observed from 1st May till the time of sowing and the average air temperatures from the sowing period till the time of the last biomass production assessment.

  12. Transcriptomic Response of Purple Willow (Salix purpurea to Arsenic Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aymeric Yanitch

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Arsenic (As is a toxic element for plants and one of the most common anthropogenic pollutants found at contaminated sites. Despite its severe effects on plant metabolism, several species can accumulate substantial amounts of arsenic and endure the associated stress. However, the genetic mechanisms involved in arsenic tolerance remains obscure in many model plant species used for land decontamination (phytoremediation, including willows. The present study assesses the potential of Salix purpurea cv. ‘Fish Creek’ for arsenic phytoextraction and reveals the genetic responses behind arsenic tolerance, phytoextraction and metabolism. Four weeks of hydroponic exposure to 0, 5, 30 and 100 mg/L revealed that plants were able to tolerate up to 5 mg/L arsenic. Concentrations of 0 and 5 mg/L of arsenic treatment were then used to compare alterations in gene expression of roots, stems and leaves using RNA sequencing. Differential gene expression revealed transcripts encoding proteins putatively involved in entry of arsenic into the roots, storage in vacuoles and potential transport through the plant as well as primary and secondary (indirect toxicity tolerance mechanisms. A major role for tannin as a compound used to relieve cellular toxicity is implicated as well as unexpected expression of the cadmium transporter CAX2, providing a potential means for internal arsenic mobility. These insights into the underpinning genetics of a successful phytoremediating species present novel opportunities for selection of dedicated arsenic tolerant crops as well as the potential to integrate such tolerances into a wider Salix ideotype alongside traits including biomass yield, biomass quality, low agricultural inputs and phytochemical production.

  13. Transcriptomic Response of Purple Willow (Salix purpurea) to Arsenic Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yanitch, Aymeric; Brereton, Nicholas J. B.; Gonzalez, Emmanuel; Labrecque, Michel; Joly, Simon; Pitre, Frederic E.

    2017-01-01

    Arsenic (As) is a toxic element for plants and one of the most common anthropogenic pollutants found at contaminated sites. Despite its severe effects on plant metabolism, several species can accumulate substantial amounts of arsenic and endure the associated stress. However, the genetic mechanisms involved in arsenic tolerance remains obscure in many model plant species used for land decontamination (phytoremediation), including willows. The present study assesses the potential of Salix purpurea cv. ‘Fish Creek’ for arsenic phytoextraction and reveals the genetic responses behind arsenic tolerance, phytoextraction and metabolism. Four weeks of hydroponic exposure to 0, 5, 30 and 100 mg/L revealed that plants were able to tolerate up to 5 mg/L arsenic. Concentrations of 0 and 5 mg/L of arsenic treatment were then used to compare alterations in gene expression of roots, stems and leaves using RNA sequencing. Differential gene expression revealed transcripts encoding proteins putatively involved in entry of arsenic into the roots, storage in vacuoles and potential transport through the plant as well as primary and secondary (indirect) toxicity tolerance mechanisms. A major role for tannin as a compound used to relieve cellular toxicity is implicated as well as unexpected expression of the cadmium transporter CAX2, providing a potential means for internal arsenic mobility. These insights into the underpinning genetics of a successful phytoremediating species present novel opportunities for selection of dedicated arsenic tolerant crops as well as the potential to integrate such tolerances into a wider Salix ideotype alongside traits including biomass yield, biomass quality, low agricultural inputs and phytochemical production. PMID:28702037

  14. Comparing annual and perennial crops for bioenergy production - influence on nitrate leaching and energy balance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pugesgaard, Siri; Schelde, Kirsten; Ugilt Larsen, Søren

    2015-01-01

    Production of energy crops is promoted as a means to mitigate global warming by decreasing dependency on fossil energy. However, agricultural production of bioenergy can have various environmental effects depending on the crop and production system. In a field trial initiated in 2008, nitrate...... concentration in soil water was measured below winter wheat, grass-clover and willow during three growing seasons. Crop water balances were modelled to estimate the amount of nitrate leached per hectare. In addition, dry matter yields and nitrogen (N) yields were measured, and N balances and energy balances...... was also measured in an old willow crop established in 1996 from which N leaching ranged from 6 to 27 kg ha−1 yr−1. Dry matter yields ranged between 5.9 and 14.8 Mg yr−1 with lowest yield in the newly established willow and the highest yield harvested in grass-clover. Grass-clover gave the highest net...

  15. Integrated long-term responses of an arctic-alpine willow and associated ectomycorrhizal fungi to an altered environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clemmensen, Karina Engelbrecht; Michelsen, Anders

    2006-01-01

    We evaluated ectomycorrhizal (ECM) colonization and morphotype community composition together with growth response and biomass distribution in the arctic-alpine, prostrate willow Salix herbacea L. x Salix polaris Wahlenb. after 11 seasons of shading, warming, and fertilization at a fellfield...

  16. Costs of Producing Biomass from Riparian Buffer Strips

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turhollow, A.

    2000-09-01

    Nutrient runoff from poultry litter applied to agricultural fields in the Delmarva Peninsula contributes to high nutrient loadings in Chesapeake Bay. One potential means of ameliorating this problem is the use of riparian buffer strips. Riparian buffer strips intercept overland flows of water, sediments, nutrients, and pollutants; and ground water flows of nutrients and pollutants. Costs are estimated for three biomass systems grown on buffer strips: willow planted at a density of 15,300 trees/ha (6200 trees/acre); poplar planted at a density of 1345 trees/ha (545 trees/acre); and switchgrass. These costs are estimated for five different scenarios: (1) total economic costs, where everything is costed [cash costs, noncash costs (e.g., depreciation), land rent, labor]; (2) costs with Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments (which pays 50% of establishment costs and an annual land rent); (3) costs with enhanced CRP payments (which pays 95% of establishment costs and an annual payment of approximately 170% of land rent for trees and 150% of land rent for grasses); (4) costs when buffer strips are required, but harvest of biomass is not required [costs borne by biomass are for yield enhancing activities (e.g., fertilization), harvest, and transport]; and (5) costs when buffer strips are required. and harvest of biomass is required to remove nutrients (costs borne by biomass are for yield enhancing activities and transport). CRP regulations would have to change to allow harvest. Delivered costs of willow, poplar, and switchgrass [including transportation costs of $0.38/GJ ($0.40/million Btu) for switchgrass and $0.57/GJ ($0.60/million Btu) for willow and poplar] at 11.2 dry Mg/ha-year (5 dry tons/acre-year) for the five cost scenarios listed above are [$/GJ ($million BIN)]: (1) 3.30-5.45 (3.45-5.75); (2) 2.30-3.80 (2.45-4.00); (3) 1.70-2.45 (1.80-2.60); (4) l-85-3.80 (1.95-4.05); and (5) 0.80-1.50 (0.85-1.60). At yields of 15.7 to 17.9 GJ/ha-year (7 to 8 dry tons

  17. Woody plant willow in function of river water protection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babincev Ljiljana M.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Coastal area surrounding the river Ibar, in the area between cities of Kosovska Mitrovica and Leposavić in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, is occupied with seven industrial waste dumps. These dumps were all part of the exploitation and flotation refinement of raw mineral materials, metallurgic refinement of concentrates, chemical industry, industrial refinement and energetic facilities of Trepča industrial complex. The existing waste dumps, both active and inactive, are of heterogenic chemical composition. Its impact on the river water is shown by the content of heavy metals found in it. Removal of lead, cadmium and zinc would be economically unrewarding, regardless of the technology used. Wooden plant that prevails in this area is white willow. This work is focused on the removal of heavy metals (Pb, Cd and Zn from the water of the river Ibar using white willow. Roots of the willow are cultivated using the method of water cultures in an individual solution of heavy metals and river water sample. The preparation of the samples for analysis was performed by burning the herbal material and dissolving ashes in the appropriate acids. The concentrations of metals were determined by the stripping analysis. In the investigated heavy metal solutions the biomass increase is 25.6% in lead solution, 27.3% in cadmium and 30.7% in zinc solution. The increase of biomass in nutritional solution, without the heavy metals, is 32.4% and in river water sample 27.5%. The coefficient of bioaccumulation in solutions with heavy metals is 1.6% in lead solution, 1.9% in cadmium and 2.2% in zinc solution. Heavy metals accumulation is 18.74 μg of lead, 20.09 μg of cadmium and 22.89 μg of zinc. The coefficient of bioaccumulation of the water samples, that contained 44.83 μg/dm3 of lead, 29.21 μg/dm3 of cadmium and 434.00 μg/dm3 of zinc, during the period of 45 days, was 30.3% for lead, 53.4% for cadmium and 3.9% for zinc. The concentrations of accumulated metals

  18. Nutrient uptake and biomass accumulation for eleven different field crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. HAKALA

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Oil hemp (Cannabis sativa L., quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd., false flax (Camelina sativa (L. Crantz, caraway (Carum carvi L., dyer’s woad (Isatis tinctoria L., nettle (Urtica dioica L., reed canary grass (RCG (Phalaris arundinacea L., buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench, linseed (Linum usitatissimum L., timothy (Phleum pratense L. and barley (Hordeum vulgare L. were grown under uniform conditions in pots containing well fertilised loam soil. Dry matter (DM accumulation was measured repeatedly, and contents of minerals N, P, K, Ca and Mg at maturity. Annual crops accumulated above-ground biomass faster than perennials, while perennials had higher DM accumulation rates below ground. Seeds had high concentrations of N and P, while green biomass had high concentrations of K and Ca. Stems and roots had low concentrations of minerals. Concentrations of K and P were high in quinoa and caraway, and that of P in buckwheat. Hemp and nettle had high Ca concentrations, and quinoa had high Mg concentration. N and P were efficiently harvested with seed, Ca and K with the whole biomass. Perennials could prevent soil erosion and add carbon to the soil in the long term, while annuals compete better with weeds and prevent erosion during early growth. Nutrient balances in a field could be modified and nutrient leaching reduced by careful selection of the crop and management practices.;

  19. Environmental life cycle assessment of producing willow, alfalfa and straw from spring barley as feedstocks for bioenergy or biorefinery systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Parajuli, Ranjan; Knudsen, Marie Trydeman; Djomo, Sylvestre Njakou

    2017-01-01

    The current study aimed at evaluating potential environmental impacts for the production of willow, alfalfa and straw from spring barley as feedstocks for bioenergy or biorefinery systems. A method of Life Cycle Assessment was used to evaluate based on the following impact categories: Global...... and land occupation. Environmental impacts for straw were economically allocated from the impacts obtained for spring barley. The results obtained per ton dry matter showed a lower carbon footprint for willow and alfalfa compared to straw. It was due to higher soil carbon sequestration and lower N2O...... emissions. Likewise, willow and alfalfa had lower EP than straw. Straw had lowest NRE use compared to other biomasses. PFWTox was lower in willow and alfalfa compared to straw. A critical negative effect on soil quality was found with the spring barley production and hence for straw. Based on the energy...

  20. High yielding tropical energy crops for bioenergy production: Effects of plant components, harvest years and locations on biomass composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Surendra, K C; Ogoshi, Richard; Zaleski, Halina M; Hashimoto, Andrew G; Khanal, Samir Kumar

    2018-03-01

    The composition of lignocellulosic feedstock, which depends on crop type, crop management, locations and plant parts, significantly affects the conversion efficiency of biomass into biofuels and biobased products. Thus, this study examined the composition of different parts of two high yielding tropical energy crops, Energycane and Napier grass, collected across three locations and years. Significantly higher fiber content was found in the leaves of Energycane than stems, while fiber content was significantly higher in the stems than the leaves of Napier grass. Similarly, fiber content was higher in Napier grass than Energycane. Due to significant differences in biomass composition between the plant parts within a crop type, neither biological conversion, including anaerobic digestion, nor thermochemical pretreatment alone is likely to efficiently convert biomass components into biofuels and biobased products. However, combination of anaerobic digestion with thermochemical conversion technologies could efficiently utilize biomass components in generating biofuels and biobased products. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Variation in copper and zinc tolerance and accumulation in 12 willow clones: implications for phytoextraction*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Wei-dong; Wang, Yu-yan; Zhao, Feng-liang; Ding, Zhe-li; Zhang, Xin-cheng; Zhu, Zhi-qiang; Yang, Xiao-e

    2014-01-01

    Willows (Salix spp.) have shown high potential for the phytoextraction of heavy metals. This study compares variations in copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) tolerance and accumulation potential among 12 willow clones grown in a nutrient solution treated with 50 μmol/L of Cu or Zn, respectively. The results showed differences in the tolerance and accumulation of Cu and Zn with respect to different species/clones. The biomass variation among clones in response to Cu or Zn exposure ranged from the stimulation of growth to inhibition, and all of the clones tested showed higher tolerance to Cu than to Zn. The clones exhibited less variation in Cu accumulation but larger variation in Zn accumulation. Based on translocation factors, it was found that most of the Cu was retained in the roots and that Zn was more mobile than Cu for all clones. It is concluded that most willow clones are good accumulators of Zn and Cu. PMID:25183033

  2. Uptake, accumulation and metabolic response of ferricyanide in weeping willows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xiao-Zhang; Gu, Ji-Dong

    2009-01-01

    The remediation potential and metabolic responses of plants to ferricyanide were investigated using pre-rooted weeping willows (Salix babylonica L.) grown hydroponically in growth chambers and treated with potassium ferricyanide. Positive responses were observed for the plants exposed to cyanide recovered in plant biomass was constant in all treatments, indicating that transport is a major limiting step for the uptake of ferricyanide by plants. The majority of the ferricyanide taken up from the growth media was possibly assimilated during transport through plants. The velocity of the removal processes can be described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and the half-saturation constant (K(M)) and the maximum removal capacity (v(max)) were estimated to be 228.1 mg CN L(-1) and 36.43 mg CN kg(-1) d(-1), respectively, using non-linear regression methods. These results suggest that weeping willows can take up, transport and assimilate ferricyanide; and phytoremediation is an option for cleaning up the environmental sites contaminated with cyanide complexes.

  3. Expanding the biomass resource: sustainable oil production via fast pyrolysis of low input high diversity biomass and the potential integration of thermochemical and biological conversion routes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corton, J; Donnison, I S; Patel, M; Bühle, L; Hodgson, E; Wachendorf, M; Bridgwater, A; Allison, G; Fraser, M D

    2016-09-01

    Waste biomass is generated during the conservation management of semi-natural habitats, and represents an unused resource and potential bioenergy feedstock that does not compete with food production. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to characterise a representative range of biomass generated during conservation management in Wales. Of the biomass types assessed, those dominated by rush ( Juncus effuses ) and bracken ( Pteridium aquilinum ) exhibited the highest and lowest volatile compositions respectively and were selected for bench scale conversion via fast pyrolysis. Each biomass type was ensiled and a sub-sample of silage was washed and pressed. Demineralization of conservation biomass through washing and pressing was associated with higher oil yields following fast pyrolysis. The oil yields were within the published range established for the dedicated energy crops miscanthus and willow. In order to examine the potential a multiple output energy system was developed with gross power production estimates following valorisation of the press fluid, char and oil. If used in multi fuel industrial burners the char and oil alone would displace 3.9 × 10 5  tonnes per year of No. 2 light oil using Welsh biomass from conservation management. Bioenergy and product development using these feedstocks could simultaneously support biodiversity management and displace fossil fuels, thereby reducing GHG emissions. Gross power generation predictions show good potential.

  4. Evaluation report. Willow; Evalueringsrapport. Pil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bang Bilgaard, H. [AgroTech A/S, Skejby, Aarhus (Denmark); Eide, T.; Gertz, F. [Videncentret for Landbrug, Skejby, Aarhus (Denmark)] [and others

    2012-10-15

    This evaluation report brings together the main findings of willows activities in the BioM project in the period 2010-2012. The report contains sections relating to growing and cultivation conditions, energy production, environmental effects, landscape aspects, harvesting techniques, economics, and organization, marketing, and business effects, and a description of willow cultivation on a large scale in the project area in western Jutland, Denmark. The report concludes with an overall assessment of willow cultivation for the production of sustainable bioenergy. (LN)

  5. Willow as fuel for district heating. Experiences from test combustion; Energipil som braendsel til fjernvarme - Erfaringsindsamling fra testfyringer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pedersen, Joergen

    2012-10-15

    The project has been a study of the fuel characteristics of willow chips. The study was carried out on Trustrup-Lyngby Heating Plant and Assens District Heating Plant in the period 2011-12. Operating experiences were collected from the two plants. Furthermore, yield and crop data were collected from suppliers of willow chips to Assens District Heating Plant, and the analysis of particle size distribution of the willow chips is carried out. The collected data on yield and particle size distribution are compared with results from previous studies. The project has shown that willow chips generally are a suitable and attractive fuel in wood-fired heat and power plants. The plants are very aware of quality of willow chips and want chips with coarse structure. Furthermore, there is the wish that water content of willow chips are on par with the moisture content of wood chips, i.e. around 30-40%; woodchips are the vast majority of the chips used in the plants. Wood chips produced from fresh willow shoots with chopper will typically have a moisture content of 50-60 %. Such ''wet'' chips will of some plants be deselected during winter, where there is a requirement of safe and high boiler output. Other plants will simply mix the ''wet'' willow chips with other, drier types of chips and can use it almost all the year. If the willow shoots are harvested as branches, which subsequently are allowed to dry for a period before chipping, willow chips can be produced with a moisture content that is in line with what is typical in wood chips. Analysis of particle size distribution shows that willow chips harvested with a cutting machine usually can meet the requirements for quality classes ''fine'', ''medium'' and ''coarse''. An account of the harvested yields of willow among the growers who supplied willow chips to Assens Heating Plant, showed a relatively low yield of 5.1 tonnes dry

  6. Biomass - alternative renewable energy source to the fossil fuels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koruba Dorota

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the fossil fuels combustion effects in terms of the dangers of increasing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Based on the bibliography review the negative impact of increased carbon dioxide concentration on the human population is shown in the area of the external environment, particularly in terms of the air pollution and especially the impact on human health. The paper presents biomass as the renewable energy alternative source to fossil fuels which combustion gives a neutral CO2 emissions and therefore should be the main carrier of primary energy in Poland. The paper presents the combustion heat results and humidity of selected dry wood pellets (pellets straw, energy-crop willow pellets, sawdust pellets, dried sewage sludge from two sewage treatment plants of the Holly Cross province pointing their energy potential. In connection with the results analysis of these studies the standard requirements were discussed (EN 14918:2010 “Solid bio-fuels-determination of calorific value” regarding the basic parameters determining the biomass energy value (combustion heat, humidity.

  7. Effects of fertility, weed density and crop competition on biomass partitioning in Centaurea cyanus L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Łukasz Chachulski

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The influence of environmental factors on biomass partitioning of annual arable weed Centaurea cyanus was analysed. We investigated the effect of fertilisation, density and competition with the winter rye crop on the reproductive investment. Three fertiliser treatments and three density levels were applied. In Centaurea cyanus differences in the pattern of biomass allocation to reproduction are related to plant size. The relationship between reproductive and vegetative mass is close to linear. It is consistent with the model of linear size-dependent reproductive output. In Centaurea cyanus this model worked well for size differences that have been generated by interspecific competition, nutrients supply and density. Our data support the hypothesis that plastic changes in relationship between vegetative and generative biomass are environmentally-induced. Significantly different relationship between vegetative and reproductive biomass were detected among populations growing at different density and fertility levels. The fertilisation with mineral fertiliser and manure resulted in an increase of generative biomass allocated to flowerheads and a decrease of reproductive effort. Generative dry weight increased more rapidly with plant size in higher densities of population and at lower fertility levels. The experiment showed that the rate of weight allocated to reproductive structures was bigger under the pressure of competition with cereal crop. At low fertility level and high density, when the individuals were small, generative biomass increased faster with plant size. The production of seeds was not directly dependent on biomass allocated into total reproductive structures. At low level, of nutrient supply C. cyanus gave more offspring per gram of its biomass. We discuss the results in context of life-history theory. From the strategic point of view, size-dependent variation in reproductive effort and in efficiency of reproduction can be

  8. Wastewater purification in a willow plantation. The case study at Aarike

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuusemets, V.; Mauring, T.

    1996-01-01

    In order to combine wastewater purification and biomass production for energy purposes, a willow plantation for wastewater treatment was established in 1995 in Aarike, Southern Estonia. Wastewater from a dwelling house (25 person equivalents, pe) is treated in a combined free-water filter system consisting of three separate basins, isolated with clay and having filter beds of gravel and sand mixture. The beds were planted with Salix viminalis. At the end of the first growing season, the purification efficiency of the newly established treatment system was 65% for BOD 7 , 43% for nitrogen and 11% for phosphorus removal. At the end of the establishment year, the above ground production of willow stems (bark and wood) and leaves was 1.3 and 0.3 t ha -1 , respectively. The figures are about three to five times higher than those recorded in previously established energy forest plantations of comparable ages in Estonia. 15 refs, 2 figs

  9. Landscape ecological planning: Integrating land use and wildlife conservation for biomass crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schiller, A.

    1995-12-31

    What do a mussel shoat, a zoo, and a biomass plantation have in common? Each can benefit from ecology-based landscape planning. This paper provides examples of landscape ecological planning from some diverse projects the author has worked on, and discusses how processes employed and lessons learned from these projects are being used to help answer questions about the effects of biomass plantings (hardwood tree crops and native grasses) on wildlife habitat. Biomass environmental research is being designed to assess how plantings of different acreage, composition and landscape context affect wildlife habitat value, and is addressing the cumulative effect on wildlife habitat of establishing multiple biomass plantations across the landscape. Through landscape ecological planning, answers gleaned from research can also help guide biomass planting site selection and harvest strategies to improve habitat for native wildlife species within the context of economically viable plantation management - thereby integrating the needs of people with those of the environment.

  10. Relationships between Fungal Biomass and Nitrous Oxide Emission in Upland Rice Soils under No Tillage and Cover Cropping Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhaorigetu; Komatsuzaki, Masakazu; Sato, Yoshinori; Ohta, Hiroyuki

    2008-01-01

    The relationships between soil microbial properties and nitrous oxide emission were examined in upland soil under different tillage systems [no tillage (NT), rotary and plow tillage] and cover crop systems (fallow, cereal rye, and hairy vetch) in 2004 and 2005. Microbiological analyses included the determination of soil ergosterol as an indicator of fungal biomass, bacterial plate counting, and MPN estimations of ammonia oxidizers and denitrifiers. The combined practice of NT with rye-cover crop treatment increased fungal biomass but not bacterial populations in 0-10 cm deep soils. Such increase in fungal biomass was not found in 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm deep cover-cropped NT soil. The combined practice of NT with rye-cover cropping resulted in higher in situ N(2)O emission rates compared with rotary- and plow-till treatments. N(2)O flux was positively correlated with soil ergosterol content but not with denitrifier MPN and other soil chemical properties. These results suggested a significant contribution of fungi to N(2)O emission in cover-cropped NT soils.

  11. Simulating the partitioning of biomass and nitrogen between roots and shoot in crop and grass plants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yin, X.; Schapendonk, A.H.C.M.

    2004-01-01

    Quantification of the assimilate partitioning between roots and shoot has been one of the components that need improvement in crop growth models. In this study we derived two equations for root-shoot partitioning of biomass and nitrogen (N) that hold for crops grown under steady-state conditions.

  12. Nutrient enhanced short rotation coppice for biomass in central Wales

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hodson, R.W.; Slater, F.M.; Lynn, S.F.; Randerson, P.F. [Univ. of Wales (United Kingdom)

    1993-12-31

    Two projects involving short rotation willow coppice are taking place on the eastern side of the Cambrian Mountains in central Wales. One project examines, as an alternative land use, the potential of short rotation willow coppice variously enhanced by combinations of lime, phosphorous and potassium fertilizers and also digested sewage sludge on an acidic upland site at an altitude of 260m. The first year results of this project are described in detail, showing the necessity for limestone additions and also demonstrating that of the four willow varieties established, Salix dasyclados is the only possible, profitable fuel crop. The other project involving willow in a filter bed system is outlined along with an additional project investigating the effect of sewage sludge additions on the Rubus fruticosus production in a birch dominated mixed deciduous woodland.

  13. Distribution, utilization structure and potential of biomass resources in rural China: With special references of crop residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, H [Laboratory of Quantitative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093 (China); Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Jiang, G M [Laboratory of Quantitative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093 (China); Agronomy Department, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai' an 271018, Shandong Province (China); Zhuang, H Y [National Bio-Energy CO., LTD, No. 26B, Financial Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100032 (China); Shandong Academy of Sciences, No. 19, Keyuan Road, Ji' nan 250014, Shandong Province (China); Wang, K J [Agronomy Department, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai' an 271018, Shandong Province (China)

    2008-06-15

    As the largest developing country in the world, China is urgently in short of energy and natural resources. However, biological resources such as crop residues are burnt in the field, which cause serious environmental pollution. Still it is not clear how much storage and potential of these huge crop residues are in China. This paper firstly reported the distribution, utilization structure and potential of crop biomass and provided the tangible information of crop residues in rural China through careful collecting and recalculating data. From 1995 to 2005, China produces some 630 million tons of crop residues per year, 50% of which comes from east and central south of China. The amount of crop residues is 1.3 times of the total yield of crops, 2 times of the total fodder of grassland, which covers 41% of China's territory. Crop residues of corn, wheat and rice amounted to 239, 137 and 116 million tons, respectively, accounting for nearly 80% of the total crop residues. Unfortunately, the utilizing structure is seriously improper for such abundant biomass resources. Although 23% of the crop residues are used for forage, 4% for industry materials and 0.5% for biogas, the large parts are used with lower efficiency or wasted, with 37% being directly combusted by farmers, 15% lost during collection and the rest 20.5% discarded or directly burnt in the field. Reasonable adjustment of the utilizing pattern and popularization of the recycling agriculture are essential out-ways for residues, with the development of the forage industry being the breakthrough point. We suggested that utilizing the abandoned 20.5% of the total residues for forage and combining agriculture and stock raising can greatly improve the farm system and cut down fertilizer pollution. Through the development of forage industries, the use efficiency of crop residues could be largely enhanced. Commercializing and popularizing technologies of biomass gasification and liquefaction might be substitute

  14. Initial study - compilation and synthesis of knowledge about energy crops from field to energy production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berg, Magnus; Bubholz, Monika; Forsberg, Maya; Myringer, Aase; Palm, Ola; Roennbaeck, Marie; Tullin, Claes

    2007-11-15

    Energy crops constitute an yet not fully utilised potential as fuel for heating and power production. As competition for biomass increases interest in agricultural fuels such as straw, energy grain, willow, reed canary grass and hemp is increasing. Exploiting the potential for energy crops as fuels will demand that cultivation and harvest be coordinated with transportation, storage and combustion of the crops. Together, Vaermeforsk and the Swedish Farmers' Foundation for Agricultural Research (SLF), have taken the initiative to a common research programme. The long-term aim of the programme is to increase production and utilisation of bioenergy from agriculture to combustion for heat and power production in Sweden. The vision is that during the course of the 2006 - 2009 programme, decisive steps will be taken towards a functioning market for biofuels for bioenergy from agriculture. This survey has compiled and synthesised available knowledge and experiences about energy crops from field to energy production. The aim has been to provide a snapshot of knowledge today, to identify knowledge gaps and to synthesise knowledge we have today into future research needs. A research plan proposal has been developed for the research programme

  15. Standing crop and aboveground biomass partitioning of a dwarf mangrove forest in Taylor River Slough, Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coronado-Molina, C.; Day, J.W.; Reyes, E.; Perez, B.C.

    2004-01-01

    The structure and standing crop biomass of a dwarf mangrove forest, located in the salinity transition zone ofTaylor River Slough in the Everglades National Park, were studied. Although the four mangrove species reported for Florida occurred at the study site, dwarf Rhizophora mangle trees dominated the forest. The structural characteristics of the mangrove forest were relatively simple: tree height varied from 0.9 to 1.2 meters, and tree density ranged from 7062 to 23 778 stems haa??1. An allometric relationship was developed to estimate leaf, branch, prop root, and total aboveground biomass of dwarf Rhizophora mangle trees. Total aboveground biomass and their components were best estimated as a power function of the crown area times number of prop roots as an independent variable (Y = B ?? Xa??0.5083). The allometric equation for each tree component was highly significant (pRhizophora mangle contributed 85% of total standing crop biomass. Conocarpus erectus, Laguncularia racemosa, and Avicennia germinans contributed the remaining biomass. Average aboveground biomass allocation was 69% for prop roots, 25% for stem and branches, and 6% for leaves. This aboveground biomass partitioning pattern, which gives a major role to prop roots that have the potential to produce an extensive root system, may be an important biological strategy in response to low phosphorus availability and relatively reduced soils that characterize mangrove forests in South Florida.

  16. Water Quality Changes in a Short-Rotation Woody Crop Riparian Buffer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosa, D.; Clausen, J.; Kuzovkina, J.

    2016-12-01

    Converting riparian buffers in agricultural areas from annual row crops to short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) grown for biofuel can provide both water quality benefits and a financial incentive for buffer adoption among agricultural producers. A randomized complete block design was used to determine water quality changes resulting from converting plots previously cultivated in corn to SRWC willow (Salix. spp) adjacent to a stream in Storrs, CT. Both overland flow and ground water samples were analyzed for total nitrogen (TN), nitrate + nitrite (NO2+NO3-N), and total phosphorus (TP). Overland flow was also analyzed for suspended solids concentration (SSC). Lower (p = 0.05) concentrations of TN (56%) and TP (61%) were observed in post-coppice surface runoff from willow plots than from corn plots. Shallow ground water concentrations at the edge of willow plots were lower in TN (56%) and NO3+NO2-N (64%), but 35% higher in TP, than at the edge of corn plots. SSC was also lower (72%) in overland flow associated with willow compared to corn. The treatment had no effect on discharge or mass export. These results suggest conversion from corn to a SRWC in a riparian area can provide water quality benefits similar to those observed in restored and established buffers.

  17. Optimization of Southeastern Forest Biomass Crop Production: A Watershed Scale Evaluation of the Sustainability and Productivity of Dedicated Energy Crop and Woody Biomass Operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chescheir, George M. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Nettles, Jami E, [Weyerhaeuser Company; Youssef, Mohamed [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Birgand, Francois [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Amatya, Devendra M. [United States Forest Service; Miller, Darren A. [Weyerhaeuser Company; Sucre, Eric [Weyerhaeuser Company; Schilling, Erik [National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc.; Tian, Shiying [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Cacho, Julian F. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Bennett, Erin M. [Ecosystem Planning and Restoration, LLC; Carter, Taylor [HDR; Bowen, Nicole Dobbs [Engineering Design Consultants; Muwamba, Augustine [College of Charleston; Panda, Sudhanshu [University of North Georgia; Christopher, Sheila [Univ. of Notre Dame, IN (United States); Phillips, Brian D. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Appelboom, Timothy [NC Department of Environmental Quality; Skaggs, Richard W. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Greene, Ethan J. [Land Trust for Central North Carolina; Marshall, Craig D. [Mississippi State University; Allen, Elizabeth [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Schoenholtz, Stephen H. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)

    2018-04-12

    Growing switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) as an intercrop in managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations has emerged as a potential source of bioenergy feedstock. Utilizing land resources between pine trees to produce an energy crop can potentially reduce the demand for land resources used to produce food; however, converting conventionally managed forest land to this new intercropping system constitutes changes in land use and associated management practices, which may affect the environmental and economic sustainability of the land.

    The overall objective of this project is to evaluate the environmental effects of large-scale forest bioenergy crop production and utilize these results to optimize cropping systems in a manner that protects the important ecosystem services provided by forests while contributing to the development of a sustainable and economically-viable biomass industry in the southeastern United States.

    Specific objectives are to:

    1. Quantify the hydrology of different energy crop production systems in watershed scale experiments on different landscapes in the southeast.
    2. Quantify the nutrient dynamics of energy crop production systems in watershed scale experiments to determine the impact of these systems on water quality.
    3. Evaluate the impacts of energy crop production on soil structure, fertility, and organic matter.
    4. Evaluate the response of flora and fauna populations and habitat quality to energy crop production systems.
    5. Develop watershed and regional scale models to evaluate the environmental sustainability and productivity of energy crop and woody biomass operations.
    6. Quantify the production systems in terms of bioenergy crop yield versus the energy and economic costs of production.
    7. Develop and evaluate best management practice guidelines to ensure the environmental sustainability of energy crop production systems.
    Watershed and plot scale studies

  18. Increasing the biomass production level of dedicated or semi-dedicated woody crops. Mains lessons learned from the SYLVABIOM project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bastien, Jean-Charles; Bodineau, Guillaume; Gauvin, Jean; Berthelot, Alain; Maine, Patrice; Brignolas, Franck; Maury, Stephane; Le Jan, Isabelle; Delaunay, Alain; Charnet, Francois; Merzeau, Dominique; Marron, Nicolas; Dalle, Erwin; Toillon, Julien

    2015-01-01

    For three species (poplar, black locust and willow) cultivated as short or very short rotation coppices (SRC/ VSRC), the project relied on monitoring growth and efficiency with which trees use water and nitrogen in a network of four experimental sites, located in contrasting stations. The relevance of DNA methylation levels as an early marker of the level of productivity was also evaluated. For short-rotation plantations (SRP), the project was based on the collection of growth and biomass data in experimental networks, to build compartmented biomass yield tables (trunk, bark, branches and leaves) for forest species for which the literature is scarce. Significant differences appear, both in SRC and VSRC, between the three species, and between intraspecific genotypes for biomass production, its phenology, architecture, leaf structure, and resource use efficiency. The pedo-climatic conditions and the planting density modulated the complex relationships between these traits. Measurement of apex or leaf DNA methylation rate may be a good predictor for the growth potential in poplar. Mean annual biomass production ranging from 7 to 13 dry tons/ha can be expected at age 20 years with fast-growing conifers grown in SRP on site types other than those used for SRC and VSRC. Moreover, very significant genetic gains on biomass production in SRP are also offered by selection of efficient genotypes. (authors)

  19. Evaluating the relationship between biomass, percent groundcover and remote sensing indices across six winter cover crop fields in Maryland, United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabhakara, Kusuma; Hively, W. Dean; McCarty, Gregory W.

    2015-07-01

    Winter cover crops are an essential part of managing nutrient and sediment losses from agricultural lands. Cover crops lessen sedimentation by reducing erosion, and the accumulation of nitrogen in aboveground biomass results in reduced nutrient runoff. Winter cover crops are planted in the fall and are usually terminated in early spring, making them susceptible to senescence, frost burn, and leaf yellowing due to wintertime conditions. This study sought to determine to what extent remote sensing indices are capable of accurately estimating the percent groundcover and biomass of winter cover crops, and to analyze under what critical ranges these relationships are strong and under which conditions they break down. Cover crop growth on six fields planted to barley, rye, ryegrass, triticale or wheat was measured over the 2012-2013 winter growing season. Data collection included spectral reflectance measurements, aboveground biomass, and percent groundcover. Ten vegetation indices were evaluated using surface reflectance data from a 16-band CROPSCAN sensor. Restricting analysis to sampling dates before the onset of prolonged freezing temperatures and leaf yellowing resulted in increased estimation accuracy. There was a strong relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and percent groundcover (r2 = 0.93) suggesting that date restrictions effectively eliminate yellowing vegetation from analysis. The triangular vegetation index (TVI) was most accurate in estimating high ranges of biomass (r2 = 0.86), while NDVI did not experience a clustering of values in the low and medium biomass ranges but saturated in the higher range (>1500 kg/ha). The results of this study show that accounting for index saturation, senescence, and frost burn on leaves can greatly increase the accuracy of estimates of percent groundcover and biomass for winter cover crops.

  20. Screening of willow species for resistance to heavy metals: comparison of performance in a hydroponics system and field trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, C; Pulford, I D; Riddell-Black, D

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this study was to ascertain whether metal resistance in willow (Salix) clones grown in a hydroponics screening test correlated with data from the same clones grown independently in a field trial. If so, results from a short-term, glasshouse-based system could be extrapolated to the field, allowing rapid identification of willows suitable for planting in metal-contaminated substrates without necessitating longterm field trials. Principal Components Analysis was used to show groups of clones and to assess the relative importance of the parameters measured in both the hydroponics system and the field; including plant response factors such as increase in stem height, as well as metal concentrations in plant tissues. The clones tested fell into two distinct groups. Salix viminalis clones and the basket willow Black Maul (S. triandra) were less resistant to elevated concentrations of heavy metals than a group of hardier clones, including S. burjatica 'Germany,' S.x dasyclados, S. candida and S. spaethii. The more resistant clones produced more biomass in the glasshouse and field, and had higher metal concentrations in the wood. The less resistant clones had greater concentrations of Cu and Ni in the bark, and produced less biomass in the glasshouse and field. Significant relationships were found between the response of the same clones grown the in short-term glasshouse hydroponics system and in the field.

  1. Biomass and nitrogen accumulation of hairy vetch-cereal rye cover crop mixtures as influenced by species proportions

    Science.gov (United States)

    The performance and suitability of a legume-grass cover crop mixture for specific functions may be influenced by the proportions of each species in the mixture. The objectives of this study were to: 1) evaluate aboveground biomass and species biomass proportions at different hairy vetch (Vicia villo...

  2. Willow Bark

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... willow bark extract, ginger root concentrate, boswellia extract, turmeric root extract, cayenne, and hyaluronic acid (Instaflex Joint ... Sensitivity to aspirin: People with ASTHMA, STOMACH ULCERS, DIABETES, GOUT, HEMOPHILIA, HYPOPROTHROMBINEMIA, or KIDNEY or LIVER DISEASE ...

  3. Crop rotation biomass and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi effects on sugarcane yield

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ambrosano, Edmilson Jose; Rossi, Fabricio; Guirado, Nivaldo; Teramoto, Juliana Rolim Salome [Agencia Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegocios (APTA), Piracicaba, SP (Brazil). Polo Regional Centro Sul; Azcon, Rozario [Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Granada (Spain). Estacao Experimental de Zaidin; Cantarela, Heitor [Agencia Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegocios (APTA/IAC), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Inst. Agronomico. Centro de Solos e Recursos Ambientais; Ambrosano, Glaucia Maria Bovi [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Piracicaba, SP (Brazil). Fac. de Odontologia. Dept. de Odontologia Social], Email: ambrosano@apta.sp.gov.br; Schammass, Eliana Aparecida [Agencia Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegocios (APTA/IZ), Nova Odessa, SP (Brazil). Inst. de Zootecnia; Muraoka, Takashi; Trivelin, Paulo Cesar Ocheuze [Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA/USP), Piracicaba, SP (Brazil); Ungaro, Maria Regina Goncalves [Agencia Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegocios (APTA/IAC), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Inst. Agronomico. Centro de Plantas Graniferas

    2010-07-01

    Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is an important crop for sugar production and agro-energy purposes in Brazil. In the sugarcane production system after a 4- to 8-year cycle crop rotation may be used before replanting sugarcane to improve soil conditions and give an extra income. This study had the objective of characterizing the biomass and the natural colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) of leguminous green manure and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in rotation with sugarcane. Their effect on stalk and sugar yield of sugarcane cv. IAC 87-3396 grown subsequently was also studied. Cane yield was harvested in three subsequent cuttings. Peanut cv. IAC-Caiapo, sunflower cv. IAC-Uruguai and velvet bean (Mucuna aterrimum Piper and Tracy) were the rotational crops that resulted in the greater percentage of AMF. Sunflower was the specie that most extracted nutrients from the soil, followed by peanut cv. IAC-Tatu and mung bean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek). The colonization with AMF had a positive correlation with sugarcane plant height, at the first cut (p = 0.01 and R = 0.52) but not with the stalk or cane yields. Sunflower was the rotational crop that brought about the greatest yield increase of the subsequent sugarcane crop: 46% increase in stalk yield and 50% in sugar yield compared with the control. Except for both peanut varieties, all rotational crops caused an increase in net income of the cropping system in the average of three sugarcane harvests. (author)

  4. Overestimation of Crop Root Biomass in Field Experiments Due to Extraneous Organic Matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirte, Juliane; Leifeld, Jens; Abiven, Samuel; Oberholzer, Hans-Rudolf; Hammelehle, Andreas; Mayer, Jochen

    2017-01-01

    Root biomass is one of the most relevant root parameters for studies of plant response to environmental change, soil carbon modeling or estimations of soil carbon sequestration. A major source of error in root biomass quantification of agricultural crops in the field is the presence of extraneous organic matter in soil: dead roots from previous crops, weed roots, incorporated above ground plant residues and organic soil amendments, or remnants of soil fauna. Using the isotopic difference between recent maize root biomass and predominantly C3-derived extraneous organic matter, we determined the proportions of maize root biomass carbon of total carbon in root samples from the Swiss long-term field trial "DOK." We additionally evaluated the effects of agricultural management (bio-organic and conventional), sampling depth (0-0.25, 0.25-0.5, 0.5-0.75 m) and position (within and between maize rows), and root size class (coarse and fine roots) as defined by sieve mesh size (2 and 0.5 mm) on those proportions, and quantified the success rate of manual exclusion of extraneous organic matter from root samples. Only 60% of the root mass that we retrieved from field soil cores was actual maize root biomass from the current season. While the proportions of maize root biomass carbon were not affected by agricultural management, they increased consistently with soil depth, were higher within than between maize rows, and were higher in coarse (>2 mm) than in fine (≤2 and >0.5) root samples. The success rate of manual exclusion of extraneous organic matter from root samples was related to agricultural management and, at best, about 60%. We assume that the composition of extraneous organic matter is strongly influenced by agricultural management and soil depth and governs the effect size of the investigated factors. Extraneous organic matter may result in severe overestimation of recovered root biomass and has, therefore, large implications for soil carbon modeling and estimations

  5. Adsorption Property and Mechanism of Oxytetracycline onto Willow Residues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Di Wang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available To elucidate the adsorption property and the mechanism of plant residues to reduce oxytetracycline (OTC, the adsorption of OTC onto raw willow roots (WR-R, stems (WS-R, leaves (WL-R, and adsorption onto desugared willow roots (WR-D, stems (WS-D, and leaves (WL-D were investigated. The structural characterization was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectra, and an elemental analyzer. OTC adsorption onto the different tissues of willow residues was compared and correlated with their structures. The adsorption kinetics of OTC onto willow residues was found to follow the pseudo-first-order model. The isothermal adsorption process of OTC onto the different tissues of willow residues followed the Langmuir and Freundlich model and the process was also a spontaneous endothermic reaction, which was mainly physical adsorption. After the willow residues were desugared, the polarity decreased and the aromaticity increased, which explained why the adsorption amounts of the desugared willow residues were higher than those of the unmodified residues. These observations suggest that the raw and modified willow residues have great potential as adsorbents to remove organic pollutants.

  6. Investigation of Solid Energy Potential of Wood and Bark Obtained from Four Clones of a 2-Year Old Goat Willow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Sim-Hee; Shin, Soo-Jeong

    2014-01-01

    To investigate the solid raw material characteristics of willow (Salix caprea) bark and woody core, this study analyzed overall chemical composition, monosaccharide composition, ash content, and main ash composition of both tree components. Significant differences were observed between the two in terms of chemical composition, carbohydrate composition, ash content, and major inorganics. The ash content in bark was 3.8–4.7%, compared with 0.6–1.1% in the woody core. Polysaccharide content in the woody core was 62.8–70.6% but was as low as 44.1–47.6% in the bark. The main hemicelluloses consisting of monosaccharides were xylose in the case of the woody core, and xylose, galactose, and arabinose in the case of bark. Woody core biomass of willow provides superior solid fuel raw material, as compared with bark biomass, with higher heating values, less ash content, and less slagging-causing material.

  7. Investigation of Solid Energy Potential of Wood and Bark Obtained from Four Clones of a 2-Year Old Goat Willow

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Sim-Hee [Department of Forest Genetic Resources, Korea Forest Research Institute, Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Soo-Jeong, E-mail: soojshin@cbnu.ac.kr [Department of Wood and Paper Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-01-31

    To investigate the solid raw material characteristics of willow (Salix caprea) bark and woody core, this study analyzed overall chemical composition, monosaccharide composition, ash content, and main ash composition of both tree components. Significant differences were observed between the two in terms of chemical composition, carbohydrate composition, ash content, and major inorganics. The ash content in bark was 3.8–4.7%, compared with 0.6–1.1% in the woody core. Polysaccharide content in the woody core was 62.8–70.6% but was as low as 44.1–47.6% in the bark. The main hemicelluloses consisting of monosaccharides were xylose in the case of the woody core, and xylose, galactose, and arabinose in the case of bark. Woody core biomass of willow provides superior solid fuel raw material, as compared with bark biomass, with higher heating values, less ash content, and less slagging-causing material.

  8. Comparative performance of annual and perennial energy cropping systems under different management regimes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boehmel, Ute Constanze

    2007-07-18

    The theme of this thesis was chosen against the background of the necessary substitution of fossil fuels and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One major solution for these topics may be the energy generation from domestically produced biomass. The overall aim of this thesis was the identification of one or more efficient energy cropping systems for Central Europe. The existence of diverse production environments necessitates further diversification and the identification of several energy crops and the development of energy cropping systems suited to those diverse environments. This thesis starts with an introductory essay (chapter 1), which provides the background for renewable energy production, its features, demands and potentials, and the scientific basis of this thesis. Chapters 2 to 6 consist of five manuscripts to be published in reviewed journals (Papers I, II, IV and V) or in a multi-author book (Paper III). Subsequently, the results from all papers are discussed in a general setting (chapter 7), from which a general conclusion is formulated (chapter 8). The basis of the research formed four field experiments, which were conducted at the experimental sites Ihinger Hof, Oberer Lindenhof and Goldener Acker of the University of Hohenheim, in south-western Germany. Paper I addresses the overall objective of this thesis. Selected cropping systems for this experiment were short rotation willow, miscanthus, switchgrass, energy maize and two different crop rotation systems including winter oilseed rape, winter wheat and winter triticale with either conventional tillage or no-till. The systems were cultivated with three different nitrogen fertilizer applications. An energy balance was calculated to evaluate the biomass and energy yields of the different cropping systems. Results indicate that perennial lignocellulosic crops combine high biomass and net energy yields with low input and potential ecological impacts. Switchgrass, which produced low yields

  9. [Effects of lime-ammonium bicarbonate fumigation and biofertilizer application on Fusarium wilt and biomass of continuous cropping cucumber and watermelon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Zong Zhuan; Sun, Li; Wang, Dong Sheng; Lyu, Na Na; Xue, Chao; Li, Rong; Shen, Qi Rong

    2017-10-01

    In this study, the population size of soil microbes was determined using plate counting method after the application of lime-ammonium bicarbonate and ammonium bicarbonate fumigation. In addition, biofertilizer was applied after soil fumigation and population of Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium wilt disease control efficiency and plant biomass were determined in the cucumber and watermelon continuous cropping soil. The results showed that the population of F. oxysporum in cucumber mono-cropped soil fumigated with lime-ammonium bicarbonate or ammonium bicarbonate was decreased by 95.4% and 71.4%, while that in watermelon mono-cropped soil was decreased by 87.3% and 61.2%, respectively compared with non-fumigated control (CK). Furthermore, the greenhouse experiment showed that biofertilizer application, soil fumigation and crop type showed significant effects on the number of soil F. oxysporum, Fusarium wilt disease incidence, disease control efficiency and plant biomass based on multivariate analysis of variance. In the lime-ammonium bicarbonate fumigated soil amended with biofertilizer (LFB), significant reductions in the numbers of F. oxysporum and Fusarium wilt disease incidence were observed in both cucumber and watermelon cropped soil compared to non-fumigated control soil applied with organic fertilizer. The disease control rate was 91.9% and 92.5% for cucumber and watermelon, respectively. Moreover, LFB also significantly increased the plant height, stem diameter, leaf SPAD, and dry biomass for cucumber and watermelon. It was indicated that biofertilizer application after lime-ammonium bicarbonate fumigation could effectively reduce the abundance of F. oxysporum in soil, control Fusarium wilt disease and improve plant biomass in cucumber and watermelon mono-cropping systems.

  10. Bottom-up factors influencing riparian willow recovery in Yellowstone National Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tercek, M.T.; Stottlemyer, R.; Renkin, R.

    2010-01-01

    After the elimination of wolves (Canis lupis L.) in the 1920s, woody riparian plant communities on the northern range of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) declined an estimated 50%. After the reintroduction of wolves in 19951996, riparian willows (Salix spp.) on YNP's northern range showed significant growth for the first time since the 1920s. However, the pace of willow recovery has not been uniform. Some communities have exceeded 400 cm, while others are still at pre-1995 levels of 250 cm max. height) willow sites where willows had escaped elk (Cervus elaphus L.) browsing with "short" willow sites that could still be browsed. Unlike studies that manipulated willow height with fences and artificial dams, we examined sites that had natural growth differences in height since the reintroduction of wolves. Tall willow sites had greater water availability, more-rapid net soil nitrogen mineralization, greater snow depth, lower soil respiration rates, and cooler summer soil temperatures than nearby short willow sites. Most of these differences were measured both in herbaceous areas adjacent to the willow patches and in the willow patches themselves, suggesting that they were not effects of varying willow height recovery but were instead preexisting site differences that may have contributed to increased plant productivity. Our results agree with earlier studies in experimental plots which suggest that the varying pace of willow recovery has been influenced by abiotic limiting factors that interact with top-down reductions in willow browsing by elk. ?? 2010 Western North American Naturalist.

  11. Songbird response to increased willow (Salix spp.) growth in Yellowstone's northern range.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baril, Lisa M; Hansen, Andrew J; Renkin, Roy; Lawrence, Rick

    2011-09-01

    After nearly a century of height suppression, willows (Salix spp.) in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A., are increasing in height growth as a possible consequence of wolf (Canis lupus) restoration, climate change, or other factors. Regardless of the drivers, the recent release of this rare but important habitat type could have significant implications for associated songbirds that are exhibiting declines in the region. Our objective was to evaluate bird response to releasing willows by comparing willow structure and bird community composition across three willow growth conditions: height suppressed, recently released, and previously tall (i.e., tall prior to the height increase of released willows). Released and previously tall willows exhibited high and similar vertical structure, but released willows were significantly lower in horizontal structure. Suppressed willows were significantly shorter and lower in horizontal cover than released or previously tall willows. Bird richness increased along a gradient from lowest in suppressed to highest in previously tall willows, but abundance and diversity were similar between released and previously tall willows, despite lower horizontal cover in the released condition. Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) and Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) were found in all three growth conditions; however, Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia), Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus), Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii), and Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodii) were present in released and previously tall willows only. Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) was found in previously tall willows only, appearing to specialize on tall, dense willows. The results of our a priori habitat models indicated that foliage height diversity was the primary driver of bird richness, abundance, and diversity. These results indicate that vertical structure was a more important driver of bird community variables than horizontal

  12. Investigations of torrefied biomass grindability using a modified Hardgrove test

    OpenAIRE

    Tymoszuk Mateusz

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents results of investigations of torrefied biomass grindability using a modified Hardgrove test. The following types of torrefied biomass were used during the testing: alder chips, palm kernel shells and willow chips. Tests were conducted in a standard Hardgrove test mill for 50 cm3 volumetric samples (the same volume as applied in [1]). Volumetric samples of raw biomass were also tested for comparison purposes. Two ranges of the sample particle size were applied during the in...

  13. Effect of temperature on biomass allocation in seedlings of two contrasting genotypes of the oilseed crop Ricinus communis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ribeiro de Jesus, P.R.; Zanotti, R.F.; Deflers, C.; Fernandez, L.G.; Castro, De R.D.; Ligterink, W.; Hilhorst, H.W.M.

    2015-01-01

    Ricinus communis is becoming an important crop for oil production, and studying the physiological and biochemical aspects of seedling development may aid in the improvement of crop quality and yield. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of temperature on biomass allocation in two R.

  14. Atmospheric CO2 fertilization effects on biomass yields of 10 crops in northern Germany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan F. Degener

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The quality and quantity of the influence that atmospheric CO2 has on cropgrowth is still a matter of debate. This study's aim is to estimate if CO2 will have an effect on biomass yields at all, to quantify and spatially locate the effects and to explore if an elevated photosynthesis rate or water-use-efficiency is predominantly responsible. This study uses a numerical carbon based crop model (BioSTAR to estimate biomass yields within theadministrative boundaries of Niedersachsen in Northern Germany. 10 crops are included (winter grains: wheat, barley,rye, triticale - early, medium, late maize variety - sunflower, sorghum, spring wheat, modeled annuallyfor the entire 21st century on 91,014 separate sites. Modeling was conducted twice, once with an annually adaptedCO2 concentration according to the SRES-A1B scenario and once with a fixed concentration of 390 ppm to separate the influence of CO2 from that of the other input variables.Rising CO2 concentrations will play a central role in keeping future yields of all crops above or aroundtoday's level. Differences in yields between modeling with fixed or adapted CO2 can be as high as60 % towards the century's end. Generally yields will increase when CO2 rises and decline whenit is kept constant. As C4-crops are equivalently affected it is presumed that anelevated efficiency in water use is the main responsible factor for all plants.

  15. Feasibility study of a biomass-fired cogeneration plant Groningen, Netherlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rijk, P.J.; Van Loo, S.; Webb, R.

    1996-06-01

    The feasibility of the title plant is determined for district heating and electricity supply of more than 1,000 houses in Groningen, Netherlands. Also attention is paid to the feasibility of such installations in a planned area of the city. Prices and supply of several biomass resources are dealt with: prunings of parks, public and private gardens, clean wood wastes, wood wastes from forests, wood from newly planted forests, specific energy crops (willows in high densities and short cycles). Prices are calculated, including transport to the gate of the premises where the cogeneration installations is situated. For the conversion attention is paid to both the feasibility of the use of a conventional cogeneration installation (by means of a steam turbine) and the use of a new conversion technique: combined cycle of a gasification installation and a cogeneration installation. 5 figs., 5 ills., 22 tabs., 1 appendix, 33 refs

  16. Nutrient Concentrations of Bush Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. and Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. Cultivated in Subarctic Soils Managed with Intercropping and Willow (Salix spp. Agroforestry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meaghan J. Wilton

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available To ease food insecurities in northern Canada, some remote communities started gardening initiatives to gain more access to locally grown foods. Bush beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L. were assessed for N, P, K, Mg, and Ca concentrations of foliage as indicators of plant nutrition in a calcareous silty loam soil of northern Ontario James Bay lowlands. Crops were grown in sole cropping and intercropping configurations, with comparisons made between an open field and an agroforestry site enclosed with willow (Salix spp. trees. Foliage chemical analysis of the sites revealed an abundance of Ca, adequacies for Mg and N, and deficiencies in P and K. Intercropping bean and potato did not show significant crop–crop facilitation for nutrients. The agroforestry site showed to be a superior management practice for the James Bay lowland region, specifically for P. The agroforestry site had significantly greater P for bean plant (p = 0.024 and potato foliage (p = 0.002 compared to the open site. It is suspected that the presence of willows improve plant available P to bean and potatoes by tree root—crop root interactions and microclimate enhancements.

  17. Engineering developments for small-scale harvest, storage and combustion of woody crops in Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Savoie, P.; Ouellet-Plamondon, C.; Morissette, R.; Preto, F. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec City, PQ (Canada)

    2010-07-01

    Although wood remains an important source of energy for cooking and heating in developing countries, it has been largely replaced by fossil fuels, nuclear energy and hydroelectric power in developed countries. Given the need to diversify sources of energy, wood energy is being revitalized in developed countries. This paper reported on a current research program on woody crops at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The research involves the development of a woody crop harvester to collect small size trees in plantations as well as in natural growth. The harvested package is a small round bale that enables natural drying from about 50 per cent moisture at harvest, down to 30 and 20 per cent after 4 to 6 months of storage outside and under shelter, respectively. The combustion value of woody crops averaged 19.4 GJ/t on a dry matter basis with little variation. The woody crops can be pulverized into fine particles, dried artificially to 10 per cent moisture content and processed into pellets for combustion. In a practical trial, more than 7.5 MJ/t DM were needed to produce pellets without providing more energy than coarse wood chips. The rural applications for this biomass include heating community and farm buildings and drying crops. These applications can use locally grown woody crops such as willow, or forest residues such as branches and bark in the form of chips to replace fossil energy sources.

  18. [Research of the Bt crop biomass dynamics upon the invasion of Bt-resistant pests. A mathematical model].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusakov, A V; Medvinskiĭ, A B; Li, B -L; Gonik, M M

    2009-01-01

    The results of simulations of some consequences of the invasion of Bt-resistant pests into an agricultural ecosystem containing a Bt crop are presented. It is shown that the invasion of Bt-resistant pests leads to changes in the plant biomass dynamics, a decrease in the Bt crop production, and the deterioration of the predictability of the Bt crop production. We show that the parameter values at which the badly predictable Bt crop production takes place, occupy a minor area in the model parameter space. The size of the area depends on the insect reproduction period and the duration of the growing season.

  19. Hydrothermal treatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization as means to valorise agro- and forest-based biomass residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wikberg, Hanne; Grönqvist, Stina; Niemi, Piritta; Mikkelson, Atte; Siika-Aho, Matti; Kanerva, Heimo; Käsper, Andres; Tamminen, Tarja

    2017-07-01

    The suitability of several abundant but underutilized agro and forest based biomass residues for hydrothermal treatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis as well as for hydrothermal carbonization was studied. The selected approaches represent simple biotechnical and thermochemical treatment routes suitable for wet biomass. Based on the results, the hydrothermal pre-treatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis seemed to be most suitable for processing of carbohydrate rich corn leaves, corn stover, wheat straw and willow. High content of thermally stable components (i.e. lignin) and low content of ash in the biomass were advantageous for hydrothermal carbonization of grape pomace, coffee cake, Scots pine bark and willow. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Harvest of woody crops with a bio-baler in eight different environments in Minnesota

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Current, D. [Minnesota Univ., MN (United States); Savoie, P. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec City, PQ (Canada); Hebert, P.L. [Laval Univ., Quebec City, PQ (Canada). Dept. des sols et de genie agroalimentaire; Robert, F.S. [Laval Univ., Quebec City, PQ (Canada). Sols et environnement; Gillitzdr, P.

    2010-07-01

    The biobaler was originally developed for short-rotation willow plantations, but can currently harvest a wide range of woody crops with a basal diameter up to 150 mm. The biobaler is an alternate approach to harvest woody crops as round bales, generally 1.2 m wide by 1.5 m diameter. In addition to harvesting trees, it can improve management of wild brush, forest understory vegetation and encroaching small trees on abandoned land. It allows easy handling, storage and transportation to sites where the biomass can be used for energy use or other applications. This paper reported on a study that was conducted in the fall of 2009 in which a third generation biobaler was used on 8 different sites across Minnesota, notably Waseca, Madelia, Faribault, Afton, Ogilvie, Hinckley, Aurora and Hibbing. A total of 160 bales were harvested from these sites. The average bale mass was 466 kg and average bale density was 296 kg/m{sup 3}. The moisture content averaged 44.9 per cent and the bale dry matter density averaged 163 kg DM/m{sup 3}. The harvested biomass per unit area ranged from 2.49 t/ha on lightly covered land to 55.24 t/ha on densely covered land. The harvested or recovered biomass was 72.3 per cent of the original cottonwood in Madelia; 75.8 per cent of the original oak and maple shrubs in Afton; and 73.5 per cent of the poplar regeneration in Hibbing. The actual harvest rate averaged 17.40 bales/h.

  1. Hydroponic screening for metal resistance and accumulation of cadmium and zinc in twenty clones of willows and poplars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos Utmazian, Maria Noel dos; Wieshammer, Gerlinde; Vega, Rosa; Wenzel, Walter W.

    2007-01-01

    We screened 20 different clones of willow and poplar species in hydroponic experiments for their metal resistance and accumulation properties. Plants were exposed for 4 weeks either to single additions of (μM) 4.45 Cd or 76.5 Zn, or a metal cocktail containing the same amounts of Cd and Zn along with 7.87 Cu and 24.1 Pb. Plant biomass, metal tolerance and metal accumulation pattern in roots and leaves varied greatly between clones. The leaf:root ratio of metal concentrations was clearly underestimated compared to soil experiments. The largest metal concentrations in leaves were detected in Salix dasyclados (315 mg Cd kg -1 d.m.) and a Salix smithiana clone (3180 mg Zn kg -1 d.m.) but these species showed low metal tolerance. In spite of smaller Cd and Zn concentrations, the metal-tolerant clones Salix matsudana, Salix fragilis-1, and Salix purpurea-1 hold promise for phytoextraction as they produced large biomass and metal contents in leaves. - Hydroponically grown willows and poplar clones accumulate up to (mg kg -1 d.w.) 315 Cd and 3180 Zn in leaves

  2. Hydroponic screening for metal resistance and accumulation of cadmium and zinc in twenty clones of willows and poplars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos Utmazian, Maria Noel dos [Department of Forest- and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Peter-Jordan-Strasse 82, A-1190 Vienna (Austria); Wieshammer, Gerlinde [Department of Forest- and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Peter-Jordan-Strasse 82, A-1190 Vienna (Austria); Vega, Rosa [Department of Forest- and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Peter-Jordan-Strasse 82, A-1190 Vienna (Austria); Wenzel, Walter W. [Department of Forest- and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Peter-Jordan-Strasse 82, A-1190 Vienna (Austria)]. E-mail: walter.wenzel@boku.ac.at

    2007-07-15

    We screened 20 different clones of willow and poplar species in hydroponic experiments for their metal resistance and accumulation properties. Plants were exposed for 4 weeks either to single additions of ({mu}M) 4.45 Cd or 76.5 Zn, or a metal cocktail containing the same amounts of Cd and Zn along with 7.87 Cu and 24.1 Pb. Plant biomass, metal tolerance and metal accumulation pattern in roots and leaves varied greatly between clones. The leaf:root ratio of metal concentrations was clearly underestimated compared to soil experiments. The largest metal concentrations in leaves were detected in Salix dasyclados (315 mg Cd kg{sup -1} d.m.) and a Salix smithiana clone (3180 mg Zn kg{sup -1} d.m.) but these species showed low metal tolerance. In spite of smaller Cd and Zn concentrations, the metal-tolerant clones Salix matsudana, Salix fragilis-1, and Salix purpurea-1 hold promise for phytoextraction as they produced large biomass and metal contents in leaves. - Hydroponically grown willows and poplar clones accumulate up to (mg kg{sup -1} d.w.) 315 Cd and 3180 Zn in leaves.

  3. Water tables constrain height recovery of willow on Yellowstone's northern range.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilyeu, Danielle M; Cooper, David J; Hobbs, N Thompson

    2008-01-01

    Excessive levels of herbivory may disturb ecosystems in ways that persist even when herbivory is moderated. These persistent changes may complicate efforts to restore ecosystems affected by herbivores. Willow (Salix spp.) communities within the northern range in Yellowstone National Park have been eliminated or degraded in many riparian areas by excessive elk (Cervus elaphus L.) browsing. Elk browsing of riparian willows appears to have diminished following the reintroduction of wolves (Canis lupis L.), but it remains uncertain whether reduced herbivory will restore willow communities. The direct effects of elk browsing on willows have been accompanied by indirect effects from the loss of beaver (Castor canadensis Kuhl) activity, including incision of stream channels, erosion of fine sediments, and lower water tables near streams historically dammed by beaver. In areas where these changes have occurred, lowered water tables may suppress willow height even in the absence of elk browsing. We conducted a factorial field experiment to understand willow responses to browsing and to height of water tables. After four years of protection from elk browsing, willows with ambient water tables averaged only 106 cm in height, with negligible height gain in two of three study species during the last year of the experiment. Willows that were protected from browsing and had artificially elevated water tables averaged 147 cm in height and gained 19 cm in the last year of the experiment. In browsed plots, elevated water tables doubled height gain during a period of slightly reduced browsing pressure. We conclude that water availability mediates the rate of willow height gain and may determine whether willows grow tall enough to escape the browse zone of elk and gain resistance to future elk browsing. Consequently, in areas where long-term beaver absence has resulted in incised stream channels and low water tables, a reduction in elk browsing alone may not be sufficient for recovery

  4. Biomass resources in California

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tiangco, V.M.; Sethi, P.S. [California Energy Commission, Sacramento, CA (United States)

    1993-12-31

    The biomass resources in California which have potential for energy conversion were assessed and characterized through the project funded by the California Energy Commission and the US Department of Energy`s Western Regional Biomass Energy Program (WRBEP). The results indicate that there is an abundance of biomass resources as yet untouched by the industry due to technical, economic, and environmental problems, and other barriers. These biomass resources include residues from field and seed crops, fruit and nut crops, vegetable crops, and nursery crops; food processing wastes; forest slash; energy crops; lumber mill waste; urban wood waste; urban yard waste; livestock manure; and chaparral. The estimated total potential of these biomass resource is approximately 47 million bone dry tons (BDT), which is equivalent to 780 billion MJ (740 trillion Btu). About 7 million BDT (132 billion MJ or 124 trillion Btu) of biomass residue was used for generating electricity by 66 direct combustion facilities with gross capacity of about 800 MW. This tonnage accounts for only about 15% of the total biomass resource potential identified in this study. The barriers interfering with the biomass utilization both in the on-site harvesting, collection, storage, handling, transportation, and conversion to energy are identified. The question whether these barriers present significant impact to biomass {open_quotes}availability{close_quotes} and {open_quotes}sustainability{close_quotes} remains to be answered.

  5. Soil physical and hydrological properties under three biofuel crops in Ohio

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bonin, Catherine; Lal, Rattan [The Ohio State Univ., School of Environment and Natural Resources, Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, Columbus, OH (United States); Schmitz, Matthias [Rheinische Friedrich/Wilhelms-Universitaet Bonn, Steinmann Institut fuer Geologie, Mineralogie und Palaeontologie, Bonn (Germany); Wullschleger, S. [The Oakridge National Lab., Oakridge, TN (United States)

    2012-10-15

    While biofuel crops are widely studied and compared for their energy and carbon footprints, less is known about their effects on other soil properties, particularly hydrologic characteristics. Soils under three biofuel crops, corn (Zea mays), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and willow (Salix spp.), were analyzed seven years after establishment to assess the effects on soil bulk density ({rho}{sub b}), penetration resistance (PR), water-holding capacity, and infiltration characteristics. The PR was the highest under corn, along with the lowest associated water content, while PR was 50-60 % lower under switchgrass. In accordance with PR data, surface (0-10 cm) bulk density also tended to be lower under switchgrass. Both water infiltration rates and cumulative infiltration amounts varied widely among and within the three crops. Because the Philip model did not fit the data, results were analyzed using the Kostiakov model instead. Switchgrass plots had an average cumulative infiltration of 69 cm over 3 hours with a constant infiltration rate of 0.28 cm min{sup -1}, compared with 37 cm and 0.11 cm min{sup -1} for corn, and 26 cm and 0.06 cm min{sup -1} for willow, respectively. Results suggest that significant changes in soil physical and hydrologic properties may require more time to develop. Soils under switchgrass may have lower surface bulk density, higher field water capacity, and a more rapid water infiltration rate than those under corn or willow.

  6. Soil physical and hydrological properties under three biofuel crops in Ohio

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bonin, Catherine [Ohio State University; Lal, Dr. Rattan [Ohio State University; Schmitz, Matthias [Rheinsche Friedrich/Wilhelms Universitaet Boon; Wullschleger, Stan D [ORNL

    2012-01-01

    While biofuel crops are widely studied and compared for their energy and carbon footprints, less is known about their effects on other soil properties, particularly hydrologic characteristics. Soils under three biofuel crops, corn (Zea mays), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and willow (Salix spp.), were analyzed seven years after establishment to assess the effects on soil bulk density ({rho}{sub b}), penetration resistance (PR), water-holding capacity, and infiltration characteristics. The PR was the highest under corn, along with the lowest associated water content, while PR was 50-60% lower under switchgrass. In accordance with PR data, surface (0-10 cm) bulk density also tended to be lower under switchgrass. Both water infiltration rates and cumulative infiltration amounts varied widely among and within the three crops. Because the Philip model did not fit the data, results were analyzed using the Kostiakov model instead. Switchgrass plots had an average cumulative infiltration of 69 cm over 3 hours with a constant infiltration rate of 0.28 cm min{sup -1}, compared with 37 cm and 0.11 cm min{sup -1} for corn, and 26 cm and 0.06 cm min{sup -1} for willow, respectively. Results suggest that significant changes in soil physical and hydrologic properties may require more time to develop. Soils under switchgrass may have lower surface bulk density, higher field water capacity, and a more rapid water infiltration rate than those under corn or willow.

  7. Black Willow

    Science.gov (United States)

    R. M. Krinard

    1980-01-01

    Black willow and other species of Salix together comprise a majority of the stocking. Cottonwood is the chief associate, particularly in the early stages, but green ash, sycamore, pecan, persimmon, waterlocust, American elm, baldcypress, red maple, sugarberry, box-elder, and in some areas, silver maple are invaders preceding the next successional stage.

  8. ADVANCED BIOMASS REBURNING FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY NOx CONTROL AND BIOMASS REBURNING - MODELING/ENGINEERING STUDIES JOINT FINAL REPORT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vladimir M. Zamansky; Mark S. Sheldon; Vitali V. Lissianski; Peter M. Maly; David K. Moyeda; Antonio Marquez; W. Randall Seeker

    2000-10-01

    This report presents results of studies under a Phase II SBIR program funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and a closely coordinated project sponsored by the DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL, formerly FETC). The overall Phase II objective of the SBIR project is to experimentally optimize the biomass reburning technologies and conduct engineering design studies needed for process demonstration at full scale. The DOE project addresses supporting issues for the process design including modeling activities, economic studies of biomass handling, and experimental evaluation of slagging and fouling. The performance of biomass has been examined in a 300 kW (1 x 10{sup 6} Btu/hr) Boiler Simulator Facility under different experimental conditions. Fuels under investigation include furniture waste, willow wood and walnut shells. Tests showed that furniture pellets and walnut shells provided similar NO{sub x} control as that of natural gas in basic reburning at low heat inputs. Maximum NO{sub x} reduction achieved with walnut shell and furniture pellets was 65% and 58% respectively. Willow wood provided a maximum NO{sub x} reduction of 50% and was no better than natural gas at any condition tested. The efficiency of biomass increases when N-agent is injected into reburning and/or burnout zones, or along with OFA (Advanced Reburning). Co-injection of Na{sub 2}CO{sub 3} with N-agent further increases efficiency of NO{sub x} reduction. Maximum NO{sub x} reduction achieved with furniture pellets and willow wood in Advanced Reburning was 83% and 78% respectively. All combustion experiments of the Phase II project have been completed. All objectives of the experimental tasks were successfully met. The kinetic model of biomass reburning has been developed. Model agrees with experimental data for a wide range of initial conditions and thus correctly represents main features of the reburning process. Modeling suggests that the most important factors that provide

  9. Regional economic impacts of biomass based energy service use: A comparison across crops and technologies for East Styria, Austria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trink, Thomas; Schmid, Christoph; Schinko, Thomas; Steininger, Karl W.; Loibnegger, Thomas; Kettner, Claudia; Pack, Alexandra; Toeglhofer, Christoph

    2010-01-01

    Biomass action plans in many European countries seek to expand biomass heat and fuel supply, mainly to be supplied by peripheral, agricultural regions. We develop a two-plus-ten-region energy-focused computable general equilibrium (CGE) model that acknowledges land competition in analysing the sub-state local-regional economic implications of such a strategy, embedded within a global context. Our model is based on a full cost analysis of selected biomass technologies covering a range of agricultural and forestry crops, as well as thermal insulation. The local-regional macroeconomic effects differ significantly across technologies and are governed by factors such as net labour intensity in crop production. The high land intensity of agricultural biomass products crowds out conventional agriculture, and thus lowers employment and drives up land prices and the consumer price index. The regional economic results show that net employment effects are positive for all forestry based biomass energy, and also show for which agriculture based biomass systems this is true, even when accounting for land competition. When regional consumer price development governs regional wages or when the agricultural sector is in strong enough competition to the international market, positive employment and welfare impacts vanish fully for agriculture based bio-energy.

  10. Biomass power for rural development: Phase 2. Technical progress report, April 1--June 30, 1998

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neuhauser, E.

    1998-11-01

    The project undertaken by the Salix Consortium is a multi-phased, multi-partner endeavor. Phase-1 focused on initial development and testing of the technology and agreements necessary to demonstrate commercial willow production in Phase-2. The Phase-1 objectives have been successfully completed: preparing final design plans for two utility pulverized coal boilers, developing fuel supply plans for the project, obtaining power production commitments from the power companies for Phase-2, obtaining construction and environmental permits, and developing an experimental strategy for crop production and power generation improvements needed to assure commercial success. The R and D effort also addresses environmental issues pertaining to introduction of the willow energy system. Beyond those Phase-1 requirements the Consortium has already successfully demonstrated cofiring at Greenidge Station and developed the required nursery capacity for acreage scale-up. This past summer 105 acres were prepared in advance for the spring planting in 1998. Having completed the above tasks, the Consortium is well positioned to begin Phase-2. In phase-2 every aspect of willow production and power generation from willow will be demonstrated. The ultimate objective of Phase-2 is to transition the work performed under the Rural Energy for the Future project into a thriving, self-supported energy crop enterprise.

  11. Thermogravimetric and Kinetic Analysis of Raw and Torrefied Biomass Combustion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kopczyński Marcin

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The use of torrefied biomass as a substitute for untreated biomass may decrease some technological barriers that exist in biomass co-firing technologies e.g. low grindability, high moisture content, low energy density and hydrophilic nature of raw biomass. In this study the TG-MS-FTIR analysis and kinetic analysis of willow (Salix viminalis L. and samples torrefied at 200, 220, 240, 260, 280 and 300 °C (TSWE 200, 220, 240, 260, 280 and 300, were performed. The TG-DTG curves show that in the case of willow and torrefied samples TSWE 200, 220, 240 and 260 there are pyrolysis and combustion stages, while in the case of TSWE 280 and 300 samples the peak associated with the pyrolysis process is negligible, in contrast to the peak associated with the combustion process. Analysis of the TG-MS results shows m/z signals of 18, 28, 29 and 44, which probably represent H2O, CO and CO2. The gaseous products were generated in two distinct ranges of temperature. H2O, CO and CO2 were produced in the 500 K to 650 K range with maximum yields at approximately 600 K. In the second range of temperature, 650 K to 800 K, only CO2 was produced with maximum yields at approximately 710 K as a main product of combustion process. Analysis of the FTIR shows that the main gaseous products of the combustion process were H2O, CO2, CO and some organics including bonds: C=O (acids, aldehydes and ketones, C=C (alkenes, aromatics, C-O-C (ethers and C-OH. Lignin mainly contributes hydrocarbons (3000-2800 cm−1, while cellulose is the dominant origin of aldehydes (2860-2770 cm−1 and carboxylic acids (1790-1650 cm−1. Hydrocarbons, aldehydes, ketones and various acids were also generated from hemicellulose (1790-1650 cm−1. In the kinetic analysis, the two-steps first order model (F1F1 was assumed. Activation energy (Ea values for the first stage (pyrolysis increased with increasing torrefaction temperature from 93 to 133 kJ/mol, while for the second stage (combustion it

  12. Biogas production from energy crops and crop residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehtomaeki, A.

    2006-07-01

    the feedstock increased methane production per digester volume by 16-65% above that obtained from digestion of manure alone. In anaerobic digestion of energy crops in batch leach bed reactors, with and without a second stage methanogenic reactor, the highest methane yields were obtained in the two-stage process without pH adjustment. This process was well suited for anaerobic digestion of the highly degradable sugar beet and grass-clover silage, yielding 0.382-0.390 m3 CH{sub 4} kg-1 VS{sub added} within the 50-55 day solids retention time, corresponding to 85-105% of the methane potential in the substrates. With the more recalcitrant substrates, first year shoots of willow and clover-free grass silage, the methane yields in this process remained at 59-66% of the methane potential in substrates. Only 20% of the methane potential in grass silage was extracted in the one-stage leach bed process, while up to 98% of the total methane yield in the two-stage process originated from the second stage methanogenic reactor. Liquid and solid residues from digestion of grass-clover silage and sugar beet in two-stage leach bed - MF processes were suitable for incorporation to soil as fertiliser and soil-improvement media, whereas in the solid residue from digestion of willow, cadmium concentration exceeded the limit value for use of digestates as fertiliser in arable land. (orig.)

  13. From research plots to prototype biomass plantations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kenney, W.A.; Vanstone, B.J.; Gambles, R.L.; Zsuffa, L. [Univ. of Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

    1993-12-31

    The development of biomass energy plantations is now expanding from the research plot phase into the next level of development at larger scale plantings. This is necessary to provide: more accurate information on biomass yields, realistic production cost figures, venues to test harvesting equipment, demonstration sites for potential producers, and a supply of feedstock for prototype conversion facilities. The paper will discuss some of these objectives and some of the challenges encountered in the scale-up process associated with a willow prototype plantation project currently under development in Eastern Canada.

  14. ADVANCED BIOMASS REBURNING FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY NOx CONTROL AND BIOMASS REBURNING - MODELING/ENGINEERING STUDIES JOINT FINAL REPORT; FINAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vladimir M Zamansky; Mark S. Sheldon; Vitali V. Lissianski; Peter M. Maly; David K. Moyeda; Antonio Marquez; W. Randall Seeker

    2000-01-01

    This report presents results of studies under a Phase II SBIR program funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and a closely coordinated project sponsored by the DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL, formerly FETC). The overall Phase II objective of the SBIR project is to experimentally optimize the biomass reburning technologies and conduct engineering design studies needed for process demonstration at full scale. The DOE project addresses supporting issues for the process design including modeling activities, economic studies of biomass handling, and experimental evaluation of slagging and fouling. The performance of biomass has been examined in a 300 kW (1 x 10(sup 6) Btu/hr) Boiler Simulator Facility under different experimental conditions. Fuels under investigation include furniture waste, willow wood and walnut shells. Tests showed that furniture pellets and walnut shells provided similar NO(sub x) control as that of natural gas in basic reburning at low heat inputs. Maximum NO(sub x) reduction achieved with walnut shell and furniture pellets was 65% and 58% respectively. Willow wood provided a maximum NO(sub x) reduction of 50% and was no better than natural gas at any condition tested. The efficiency of biomass increases when N-agent is injected into reburning and/or burnout zones, or along with OFA (Advanced Reburning). Co-injection of Na(sub 2)CO(sub 3) with N-agent further increases efficiency of NO(sub x) reduction. Maximum NO(sub x) reduction achieved with furniture pellets and willow wood in Advanced Reburning was 83% and 78% respectively. All combustion experiments of the Phase II project have been completed. All objectives of the experimental tasks were successfully met. The kinetic model of biomass reburning has been developed. Model agrees with experimental data for a wide range of initial conditions and thus correctly represents main features of the reburning process. Modeling suggests that the most important factors that provide

  15. Yield of tannin willows on ravine areas in the Central Forest Steppe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sidorov, A I

    1981-01-01

    A note on the performance of 12 species of willow grown in a plantation on leached chernozem soils, to provide bark rich in tannins. The plantation was established by cuttings (25 cm long) at a spacing of 2.5 x 0.5 metres for the tree willows and 2.5 x 0.75 metres for the bush willows. Bark yields were determined at 7-8 years. The greatest yields were obtained from Salix smithiana, S. stipularis and S. acuminata: 12.0, 10.8 and 10.2 t/hectare respectively. Data on tannin yields are tabulated. Fellings for bark harvesting can be made every 5 years in plantations of bush willows and every 7 years in plantations of tree willows. The plantations can be used for 30 year with bush willows and for 50 years with tree willows.

  16. Phytoremediation, a sustainable remediation technology? Conclusions from a case study. I: Energy production and carbon dioxide abatement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Witters, N.; Mendelsohn, R.O.; Van Slycken, S.; Weyens, N.; Schreurs, E.; Meers, E.; Tack, F.; Carleer, R.; Vangronsveld, J.

    2012-01-01

    This study examines the renewable energy production of crops used for phytoremediation. Our analysis is based on a case study in the Campine region (Belgium and The Netherlands), where agricultural soils are diffusely contaminated with cadmium, lead, and zinc, with an enhanced risk for uptake of these metals in crops and leaching to the groundwater. However, the area has such a large extent (700 km 2 ) that conventional remediation is not applicable. Cultivation of crops for energy purposes on such land offers the opportunity to come up with an approach that efficiently uses contaminated agricultural land and that can be beneficial for both farmer and society. Performing a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), we examined the energy and CO 2 abatement potential of willow (Salix spp.), silage maize (Zea mays L.), and rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) originating from contaminated land. Taking into account the marginal impact of the metals in the biomass on the energy conversion efficiency and on the potential use of the biomass and its rest products after conversion, digestion of silage maize with combustion of the contaminated digestate shows the best energetic and CO 2 abating perspectives. The replacement of cokes based electricity by willow is more efficient in CO 2 abatement than willow used in a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit, despite lower net energy production in the former option. Willow reaches the same energy production and same CO 2 abatement per hectare per year as silage maize when its biomass yield is respectively 13 and 8.7 Mg dm ha −1 y −1 . -- Highlights: ► We study the energy potential of Salix, Zea mays and Brassica after phytoremediation. ► The case study contains agricultural soils that are contaminated with cadmium. ► We include the impact of metals on energy conversion efficiency and rest product use. ► Higher biomass yields for Salix would make it energetically competitive with Z. mays.

  17. Choices of action and its influence on farmers' attitudes regarding willow and reed canary grass cultivation; Betydelsen av olika handlingsalternativ foer oekat intresse hos lantbrukare att odla salix och roerflen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jonsson, Aasa; Paulrud, Susanne; Laitila, Thomas

    2010-02-15

    The contribution of energy crops from the agricultural sector is an example of a resource that has a potential to increase substantially in the near future. However, one problem is the lack of interest in cultivating energy crops within the agricultural Several studies have shown that there are a number of reasons for farmers not becoming involved in energy crops. Besides biological aspects, market potential and profitability the farmers are also affected by the available resources on the farm, the effect of the crops on the surroundings, work load, liquidity and the perceived risks. The overall aim with the present study is to increase the knowledge about how to change farmers' attitudes regarding energy crop cultivation, i.e. making them more interested. This study also shows that there is a large fraction of farmers that generally believe they have no or little knowledge of energy crops, such as willow, reed canary grass and hemp. The fraction of farmers considering there is a larger probability of future cultivation of these crops with increased knowledge is also quite large. Energy crop cultivation does not suit everybody. Generally, growing willow and reed canary grass is an alternative for farmers having another business besides agricultural business. Characteristics for these farms are working hours <1500 hours and that the machines are partly owned

  18. Bioenergy production from perennial energy crops: a consequential LCA of 12 bioenergy scenarios including land use changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonini, Davide; Hamelin, Lorie; Wenzel, Henrik; Astrup, Thomas

    2012-12-18

    In the endeavor of optimizing the sustainability of bioenergy production in Denmark, this consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluated the environmental impacts associated with the production of heat and electricity from one hectare of Danish arable land cultivated with three perennial crops: ryegrass (Lolium perenne), willow (Salix viminalis) and Miscanthus giganteus. For each, four conversion pathways were assessed against a fossil fuel reference: (I) anaerobic co-digestion with manure, (II) gasification, (III) combustion in small-to-medium scale biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants and IV) co-firing in large scale coal-fired CHP plants. Soil carbon changes, direct and indirect land use changes as well as uncertainty analysis (sensitivity, MonteCarlo) were included in the LCA. Results showed that global warming was the bottleneck impact, where only two scenarios, namely willow and Miscanthus co-firing, allowed for an improvement as compared with the reference (-82 and -45 t CO₂-eq. ha⁻¹, respectively). The indirect land use changes impact was quantified as 310 ± 170 t CO₂-eq. ha⁻¹, representing a paramount average of 41% of the induced greenhouse gas emissions. The uncertainty analysis confirmed the results robustness and highlighted the indirect land use changes uncertainty as the only uncertainty that can significantly change the outcome of the LCA results.

  19. A management guide for planting and production of switchgrass as a biomass crop in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elbersen, H.W.; Christian, D.G.; Bassam, N.E.; Sauerbeck, G.; Alexopoulou, E.; Sharma, N.; Piscioneri, I.

    2004-01-01

    Switchgrass is a perennial C4 grass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55º N latitude to deep into Mexico. It is used for soil conservation, forage production, as an ornamental grass and more recently as a biomass crop for ethanol, fibre, electricity and heat production. As

  20. Energy production on farms. Sustainability of energy crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Zeijts, H.

    1995-01-01

    In this article the results of a study on sustainability of energy crops are discussed. 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 land or grain land. Generating electricity and/or heat from hemp, reed, miscanthus, poplar and willow show the best prospects. These crops are sustainable and may in the future be economically feasible. Ethanol from winter wheat shows the most favourable environmental effects, but is not economically efficient. Liquid fuels from oil seed rape and sugar beet are not very sustainable. 2 tabs., 4 refs

  1. Wolf presence and increased willow consumption by Yellowstone elk: implications for trophic cascades.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creel, Scott; Christianson, David

    2009-09-01

    Recent increases in the height and growth ring width of willow (Salix spp.) and other woody plants in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) have been attributed to a behaviorally mediated trophic cascade from wolves (Canis lupus) to elk (Cervus elaphus) to willows. This hypothesis predicts that individual elk consume less willow in response to the presence of wolves, but this prediction has not been directly tested with data from elk. We collected 727 fecal samples from elk in the Gallatin Canyon portion of the GYE over three winters and used microhistological methods to quantify the proportion of willow in each sample. We then tested the effect of wolf presence on willow consumption by elk, controlling for the effects of snow conditions, sex, and habitat type. During the period of study, 8-17 wolves occupied the study area, and wolves were locally present on 49% of 260 sampling days, stratified at two-week intervals across three drainages. Over the three years combined, willow consumption was related to snow conditions, wolf presence, and a wolf X sex interaction. As expected, willow consumption increased with deeper and less penetrable snow, and this effect was strong. Contrary to expectation, willow consumption increased in the presence of wolves. As with other aspects of antipredator behavior, wolves had different effects on willow consumption by males and females. Finally, we aggregated the data to estimate winter-long mean willow consumption within each drainage; at this broader scale, willow consumption again increased as predation risk increased. In summary, willow consumption was more strongly affected by snow conditions than by the presence of wolves. Interactions between elk and willow were affected by wolves, but not as predicted by the hypothesis that wolf presence favors willow release through a reduction in the selection of willow by individual elk. If a trophic cascade is operating, our results suggest that a decline in the size of the elk

  2. Quantifying the Effects of Biomass Market Conditions and Policy Incentives on Economically Feasible Sites to Establish Dedicated Energy Crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandhya Nepal

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This study used a spatially-explicit model to identify the amount and spatial distribution of economically feasible sites for establishing dedicated energy crops under various market and policy scenarios. A sensitivity analysis was performed for a biomass market with different discount rates and biomass prices as well as policy scenarios including propriety tax exemption, carbon offset payments, and the inclusion of farmland for biomass production. The model was applied to a four-county study area in Kentucky representing conditions commonly found in the Ohio River Valley. Results showed that both biomass price and discount rate have a can strongly influence the amount of economically efficient sites. Rising the biomass price by 5 $·t−1 and lowering discount rate by 1% from the baseline scenario (40 $·t−1 and 5% resulted in an over fourteen fold increment. Property tax exemption resulted in a fourfold increase, a carbon payment on only 1 $·t−1 caused a twelve fold increase and extending the landbase from marginal land to farmland only slightly increase the economically efficient sites. These results provide an objective evaluation of market and policy scenarios in terms of their potential to increase land availability for establishing dedicated energy crops and to promote the bioenergy industry.

  3. Phytotoxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to willow trees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thygesen, R.S.; Trapp, Stefan

    2002-01-01

    The toxicity of PAH to willow trees (Salix alba, S. viminalis, S. viminalisx;schwerinii) was investigated. Willow cuttings were grown in PAH-saturated hydroponic solution (naphthalene NAP, phenanthrene PHEN and benzo(a)pyrene BaP). Toxicity was related to aqueous solubility and was highest for NAP...

  4. Advantage of hyperspectral EO-1 Hyperion over multispectral IKONOS, GeoEye-1, WorldView-2, Landsat ETM+, and MODIS vegetation indices in crop biomass estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Michael T.; Thenkabail, Prasad S.

    2015-01-01

    Crop biomass is increasingly being measured with surface reflectance data derived from multispectral broadband (MSBB) and hyperspectral narrowband (HNB) space-borne remotely sensed data to increase the accuracy and efficiency of crop yield models used in a wide array of agricultural applications. However, few studies compare the ability of MSBBs versus HNBs to capture crop biomass variability. Therefore, we used standard data mining techniques to identify a set of MSBB data from the IKONOS, GeoEye-1, Landsat ETM+, MODIS, WorldView-2 sensors and compared their performance with HNB data from the EO-1 Hyperion sensor in explaining crop biomass variability of four important field crops (rice, alfalfa, cotton, maize). The analysis employed two-band (ratio) vegetation indices (TBVIs) and multiband (additive) vegetation indices (MBVIs) derived from Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and stepwise regression. Results demonstrated that HNB-derived TBVIs and MBVIs performed better than MSBB-derived TBVIs and MBVIs on a per crop basis and for the pooled data: overall, HNB TBVIs explained 5–31% greater variability when compared with various MSBB TBVIs; and HNB MBVIs explained 3–33% greater variability when compared with various MSBB MBVIs. The performance of MSBB MBVIs and TBVIs improved mildly, by combining spectral information across multiple sensors involving IKONOS, GeoEye-1, Landsat ETM+, MODIS, and WorldView-2. A number of HNBs that advance crop biomass modeling were determined. Based on the highest factor loadings on the first component of the SVD, the “red-edge” spectral range (700–740 nm) centered at 722 nm (bandwidth = 10 nm) stood out prominently, while five additional and distinct portions of the recorded spectral range (400–2500 nm) centered at 539 nm, 758 nm, 914 nm, 1130 nm, 1320 nm (bandwidth = 10 nm) were also important. The best HNB vegetation indices for crop biomass estimation involved 549 and 752 nm for rice (R2 = 0.91); 925 and 1104 nm for

  5. Modulation of phytochrome signaling networks for improved biomass accumulation using a bioenergy crop model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mockler, Todd C. [Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis, MO (United States)

    2016-11-07

    Plant growth and development, including stem elongation, flowering time, and shade-avoidance habits, are affected by wavelength composition (i.e., light quality) of the light environment. the molecular mechanisms underlying light perception and signaling pathways in plants have been best characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana where dozens of genes have been implicated in converging, complementary, and antagonistic pathways communicating light quality cues perceived by the phytochrome (red/far-red) cryptochrome (blue) and phototropin (blue) photorecptors. Light perception and signaling have been studied in grasses, including rice and sorghum but in much less detail than in Arabidopsis. During the course of the Mocker lab's DOE-funded wrok generating a gene expression atlas in Brachypodium distachyon we observed that Brachypodium plants grown in continuous monochromatic red light or continuous white light enriched in far-red light accumulated significantly more biomass and exhibited significantly greater seed yield than plants grown in monochromatic blue light or white light. This phenomenon was also observed in two other grasses, switchgrass and rice. We will systematically manipulate the expression of genes predicted to function in Brachypodium phytochrome signaling and assess the phenotypic consequences in transgenic Brachypodium plants in terms of morphology, stature, biomass accumulation, and cell wall composition. We will also interrogate direct interactions between candidate phytochrome signaling transcription factors and target promoters using a high-throughput yeast one-hybrid system. Brachypodium distachyon has emerged as a model grass species and is closely related to candidate feedstock crops for bioethanol production. Identification of genes capable of modifying growth characteristics of Brachypodium, when misexpressed, in particular increasing biomass accumulation, by modulating photoreceptor signaling will provide valuable candidates for

  6. Finnish farmers' willingness to produce and supply biomass from energy crops and forest residues. A survey of landowners' attitudes and intentions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raemoe, A.-K.; Latvala, T. (Pellervo Economic Research Inst., Helsinki (Finland)), Email: anna-kaisa.ramo@ptt.fi; Silvennoinen, H. (Univ. of Joensuu (Finland)), Email: harri.silvennoinen@joensuu.fi

    2009-07-01

    According to EU's Climate and Energy Plan Finland is obliged to increase the proportion of renewable energy sources considerably by the year 2020. The obligation is challenging and requires among others a considerably increased use of biomass. Besides wood energy crop production provides a considerable potential as energy source in Finland. Farmer forest owners are one of the key groups regarding the supply of field energy crops and energy wood in Finland. Basically, farmers have a positive attitude towards the production of field energy crops and energy wood. Their interest in bio-energy related entrepreneurship has also increased in recent years. However, farmers do not find the business environment of biomass production satisfactory. Still the results indicate that the number of field crop producers would at least double by the year 2012. The increase is, however, considerably less than the estimated potential of recent scenarios. The results also imply that famer forest owners have not any intentions to increase their energy wood supplies in the next few years. This is mainly due to undeveloped energy wood markets and unsatisfactory energy wood prices. In order to enhance the biomass production and supply, both field energy crop and energy wood markets and extension need to be improved to meet farmers' needs. (orig.)

  7. Comparative life cycle assessment of the integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass (IFBB) and whole crop digestion (WCD) in Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buehle, Lutz; Stuelpnagel, R.; Wachendorf, M.

    2011-01-01

    Today's bioenergy systems are very different in cultivation, conservation, conversion of the biomass as well as in the form of the final energy. The assessment of bioenergy systems concerning environmental impacts is increasingly up for discussion. Future challenges will be the development of procedures which reconcile high-yielding and efficient approaches with environment friendly production. Against this background the system of Integrated Generation of Solid Fuel and Biogas from Biomass (IFBB) was suggested to increase net energy yields over a wide range of energy crops in order to obtain a higher biodiversity in energy crop cultivation. In the IFBB procedure the ensiled biomass is separated into a liquid phase for biogas production and into a solid fraction for combustion. This work is aimed at the assessment of the IFBB system in comparison to whole crop digestion (WCD). The assessment is based on crop production in a double-cropping system where winter rye and maize are grown subsequently within one growing season. The main parameters investigated are the efficiency of the whole process, primary energy and greenhouse gas savings as well as potentials of acidification and eutrophication according to principles of Life Cycle Assessment. The calculation of energy efficiency shows a superiority of the IFBB system due to a mainly thermal use of the biomass. Savings of fossil primary energy average at a similar level, whereas greenhouse gas savings are slightly higher for WCD. Investigations on acidification and eutrophication show that both bioenergy systems caused higher emissions compared to the fossil-based reference technique. (author)

  8. Evaluating a biomass resource: The TVA region-wide biomass resource assessment model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Downing, M.; Graham, R.L. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

    1993-12-31

    The economic and supply structures of short rotation woody crop (SRWC) markets have not been established. Establishing the likely price and supply of SRWC biomass in a region is a complex task because biomass is not an established commodity as are oil, natural gas and coal. In this study we project the cost and supply of short-rotation woody biomass for the TVA region -- a 276 county area that includes all of Tennessee and portions of 10 contiguous states in the southeastern United States. Projected prices and quantities of SRWC are assumed to be a function of the amount and quality of crop and pasture land available in a region, expected SRWC yields and production costs on differing soils and land types, and the profit that could be obtained from current conventional crop production on these same lands. Results include the supply curve of SRWC biomass that is projected to be available from the entire region, the amount and location of crop and pasture land that would be used, and the conventional agricultural crops that would be displaced as a function of SRWC production. Finally, we show the results of sensitivity analysis on the projected cost and supply of SRWC biomass. In particular, we examine the separate impacts of varying SRWC production yields.

  9. Biogas crops grown in energy crop rotations: Linking chemical composition and methane production characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrmann, Christiane; Idler, Christine; Heiermann, Monika

    2016-04-01

    Methane production characteristics and chemical composition of 405 silages from 43 different crop species were examined using uniform laboratory methods, with the aim to characterise a wide range of crop feedstocks from energy crop rotations and to identify main parameters that influence biomass quality for biogas production. Methane formation was analysed from chopped and over 90 days ensiled crop biomass in batch anaerobic digestion tests without further pre-treatment. Lignin content of crop biomass was found to be the most significant explanatory variable for specific methane yields while the methane content and methane production rates were mainly affected by the content of nitrogen-free extracts and neutral detergent fibre, respectively. The accumulation of butyric acid and alcohols during the ensiling process had significant impact on specific methane yields and methane contents of crop silages. It is proposed that products of silage fermentation should be considered when evaluating crop silages for biogas production. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  10. BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM CATCH CROPS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Molinuevo-Salces, Beatriz; Larsen, Søren U.; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær

    2014-01-01

    -substrate in manure-based biogas plants and the profit obtained from the sale of biogas barely compensates for the harvest costs. A new agricultural strategy to harvest catch crops together with the residual straw of the main crop was investigated to increase the biomass and thereby the methane yield per hectare......Catch crop cultivation combined with its use for biogas production would increase renewable energy production in the form of methane, without interfering with the production of food and fodder crops. The low biomass yield of catch crops is the main limiting factor for using these crops as co...... biomass. Leaving the straw on the field until harvest of the catch crop in the autumn could benefit biogas production due to the organic matter degradation of the straw taking place on the field during the autumn months. This new agricultural strategy may be a good alternative to achieve economically...

  11. Phytotoxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to willow trees

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thygesen, R.S.; Trapp, S. [Environment and Resources DTU, Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark)

    2002-07-01

    The toxicity of PAH to willow trees (Salix alba, S. viminalis, S. viminalis x schwerinii) was investigated. Willow cuttings were grown in PAH-saturated hydroponic solution (naphthalene NAP, phenanthrene PHEN and benzo(a)pyrene BaP). Toxicity was related to aqueous solubility and was highest for NAP. PHEN did not show significant effects, except in one case. Exposure of trees to BaP showed no effect in two cases, but increased transpiration and growth in two others. High dosages of NAP were fatal for the trees, the lowest dosage significantly stimulated growth. Soil samples were taken from several PAH contaminated sites, among them gas works sites and a former sludge basin. The PAH contents ranged from 1.76 mg/kg to 1451 mg/kg. None of the soils was lethally toxic to the trees, and difference between growth in control soils and growth in PAH contaminated soils was not apparent. Growth and water use efficiency were positively, but not significantly correlated to the PAH content of the soils. Outdoor growth of willows and poplars on the former sludge basin in Valby was monitored, with willows growing faster than poplars (Populus trichocarpa). Phytotoxic effects could be observed at some willows at the Valby sludge basin, but it is not sure whether these effects can be contributed to PAH. (orig.)

  12. Biomass from agriculture in small-scale combined heat and power plants - A comparative life cycle assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kimming, M.; Sundberg, C.; Nordberg, A.; Baky, A.; Bernesson, S.; Noren, O.; Hansson, P.-A.

    2011-01-01

    Biomass produced on farm land is a renewable fuel that can prove suitable for small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) plants in rural areas. However, it can still be questioned if biomass-based energy generation is a good environmental choice with regards to the impact on greenhouse gas emissions, and if there are negative consequences of using of agricultural land for other purposes than food production. In this study, a simplified life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted over four scenarios for supply of the entire demand of power and heat of a rural village. Three of the scenarios are based on utilization of biomass in 100 kW (e) combined heat and power (CHP) systems and the fourth is based on fossil fuel in a large-scale plant. The biomass systems analyzed were based on 1) biogas production with ley as substrate and the biogas combusted in a microturbine, 2) gasification of willow chips and the product gas combusted in an IC-engine and 3) combustion of willow chips for a Stirling engine. The two first scenarios also require a straw boiler. The results show that the biomass-based scenarios reduce greenhouse gas emissions considerably compared to the scenario based on fossil fuel, but have higher acidifying emissions. Scenario 1 has by far the best performance with respect to global warming potential and the advantage of utilizing a byproduct and thus not occupying extra land. Scenario 2 and 3 require less primary energy and less fossil energy input than 1, but set-aside land for willow production must be available. The low electric efficiency of scenario 3 makes it an unsuitable option.

  13. Climate impact and energy efficiency from electricity generation through anaerobic digestion or direct combustion of short rotation coppice willow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ericsson, Niclas; Nordberg, Åke; Sundberg, Cecilia; Ahlgren, Serina; Hansson, Per-Anders

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Using LCA, CHP from willow use in biogas was compared with direct combustion. • Direct combustion was ninefold more energy-efficient. • Biogas had a much greater cooling effect on global mean surface temperature. • The effects of soil carbon changes on temperature over time differed. • Biogas had long-term temperature effects, direct combustion short-term effects. - Abstract: Short rotation coppice willow is an energy crop used in Sweden to produce electricity and heat in combined heat and power plants. Recent laboratory-scale experiments have shown that SRC willow can also be used for biogas production in anaerobic digestion processes. Here, life cycle assessment is used to compare the climate impact and energy efficiency of electricity and heat generated by these measures. All energy inputs and greenhouse gas emissions, including soil organic carbon fluxes were included in the life cycle assessment. The climate impact was determined using time-dependent life cycle assessment methodology. Both systems showed a positive net energy balance, but the direct combustion system delivered ninefold more energy than the biogas system. Both systems had a cooling effect on the global mean surface temperature change. The cooling impact per hectare from the biogas system was ninefold higher due to the carbon returned to soil with the digestate. Compensating the lower energy production of the biogas system with external energy sources had a large impact on the result, effectively determining whether the biogas scenario had a net warming or cooling contribution to the global mean temperature change per kWh of electricity. In all cases, the contribution to global warming was lowered by the inclusion of willow in the energy system. The use of time-dependent climate impact methodology shows that extended use of short rotation coppice willow can contribute to counteract global warming

  14. The regional environmental impact of biomass production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graham, R.L.

    1994-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to present a broad overview of the potential environmental impacts of biomass energy from energy crops. The subject is complex because the environmental impact of using biomass for energy must be considered in the context of alternative energy options while the environmental impact of producing biomass from energy crops must be considered in the context of the alternative land-uses. Using biomass-derived energy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase them; growing biomass energy crops can enhance soil fertility or degrade it. Without knowing the context of the biomass energy, one can say little about its specific environmental impacts. The primary focus of this paper is an evaluation of the environmental impacts of growing energy crops. I present an approach for quantitatively evaluating the potential environmental impact of growing energy crops at a regional scale that accounts for the environmental and economic context of the crops. However, to set the stage for this discussion, I begin by comparing the environmental advantages and disadvantages of biomass-derived energy relative to other energy alternatives such as coal, hydropower, nuclear power, oil/gasoline, natural gas and photovoltaics

  15. Evaluating a biomass resource: The TVA region-wide biomass resource assessment model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Downing, M.; Graham, R.L.

    1993-01-01

    Wood is an alterative fuel for electric power generation at coal-fired plants in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) region. Short rotation wood energy crops (SRWC) could provide a source of this woody biomass. However, the economic and supply structures of SRWC markets have not been established. Establishing the likely price and supply of SRWC biomass in a region is a complex task because biomass is not an established commodity as are oil, natural gas and coal. In this study we project the cost and supply of short-rotation woody biomass for the TVA region -- a 276 county area that includes all of Tennessee and portions of 10 contiguous states in the southeastern United States. Projected prices and quantities of SRWC are assumed to be a function of the amount and quality of crop and pasture land available in a region. expected SRWC yields and production costs on differing soils and land types, and the profit that could be obtained from current conventional crop production on these same lands. Results include the supply curve of SRWC biomass that is projected to be available from the entire region, the amount and location of crop and pasture land that would be used, and the conventional agricultural crops that would be displaced as a function of SRWC production. Finally, we show the results of sensitivity analysis on the projected cost and supply of SRWC biomass. In particular, we examine the separate impacts of varying SRWC production yields

  16. Multifunctional landscapes: Site characterization and field-scale design to incorporate biomass production into an agricultural system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ssegane, Herbert; Negri, M. Cristina; Quinn, John; Urgun-Demirtas, Meltem

    2015-09-01

    Current and future demand for food, feed, fiber, and energy require novel approaches to land management, which demands that multifunctional landscapes are created to integrate various ecosystem functions into a sustainable land use. We developed an approach to design such landscapes at a field scale to minimize concerns of land use change, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with production of food and bioenergy. This study leverages concepts of nutrient recovery and phytoremediation to place bioenergy crops on the landscape to recover nutrients released to watersheds by commodity crops. Crop placement is determined by evaluating spatial variability of: 1) soils, 2) surface flow pathways, 3) shallow groundwater flow gradients, 4) subsurface nitrate concentrations, and 5) primary crop yield. A 0.8 ha bioenergy buffer was designed within a 6.5 ha field to intercept concentrated surface flow, capture and use nitrate leachate, and minimize use of productive areas. Denitrification-Decomposition (DNDC) simulations show that on average, a switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.) or willow (Salix spp.) buffer within this catchment according to this design could reduce annual leached NO3 by 61 or 59% and N2O emission by 5.5 or 10.8%, respectively, produce 8.7 or 9.7 Mg ha-1 of biomass respectively, and displace 6.7 Mg ha-1 of corn (Zea mays L.) grain. Therefore, placement of bioenergy crops has the potential to increase environmental sustainability when the pairing of location and crop type result in minimal disruption of current food production systems and provides additional environmental benefits.

  17. Porous Carbon with Willow-Leaf-Shaped Pores for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yanhong; Zhang, Linlin; Schon, Tyler B; Li, Huanhuan; Fan, Chaoying; Li, Xiaoying; Wang, Haifeng; Wu, Xinglong; Xie, Haiming; Sun, Haizhu; Seferos, Dwight S; Zhang, Jingping

    2017-12-13

    A novel kind of biomass-derived, high-oxygen-containing carbon material doped with nitrogen that has willow-leaf-shaped pores was synthesized. The obtained carbon material has an exotic hierarchical pore structure composed of bowl-shaped macropores, willow-leaf-shaped pores, and an abundance of micropores. This unique hierarchical porous structure provides an effective combination of high current densities and high capacitance because of a pseudocapacitive component that is afforded by the introduction of nitrogen and oxygen dopants. Our synthetic optimization allows further improvements in the performance of this hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) material by providing a high degree of control over the graphitization degree, specific surface area, and pore volume. As a result, a large specific surface area (1093 m 2 g -1 ) and pore volume (0.8379 cm 3 g -1 ) are obtained for HPC-650, which affords fast ion transport because of its short ion-diffusion pathways. HPC-650 exhibits a high specific capacitance of 312 F g -1 at 1 A g -1 , retaining 76.5% of its capacitance at 20 A g -1 . Moreover, it delivers an energy density of 50.2 W h kg -1 at a power density of 1.19 kW kg -1 , which is sufficient to power a yellow-light-emitting diode and operate a commercial scientific calculator.

  18. Introducing perennial biomass crops into agricultural landscapes to address water quality challenges and provide other environmental services: Integrating perennial bioenergy crops into agricultural landscapes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cacho, J. F. [Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont IL USA; Negri, M. C. [Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont IL USA; Zumpf, C. R. [Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont IL USA; Campbell, P. [Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont IL USA

    2017-11-29

    The world is faced with a difficult multiple challenge of meeting nutritional, energy, and other basic needs, under a limited land and water budget, of between 9 and 10 billion people in the next three decades, mitigating impacts of climate change, and making agricultural production resilient. More productivity is expected from agricultural lands, but intensification of production could further impact the integrity of our finite surface water and groundwater resources. Integrating perennial bioenergy crops in agricultural lands could provide biomass for biofuel and potential improvements on the sustainability of commodity crop production. This article provides an overview of ways in which research has shown that perennial bioenergy grasses and short rotation woody crops can be incorporated into agricultural production systems with reduced indirect land use change, while increasing water quality benefits. Current challenges and opportunities as well as future directions are also highlighted.

  19. Status, ecology, and conservation of the southwestern willow flycatcher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deborah M. Finch; Scott H. Stoleson

    2000-01-01

    This publication was prepared in response to a need expressed by southwestern agencies and organizations for a comprehensive assessment of the population status, history, biology, ecology, habitats, threats, and conservation of the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). The southwestern willow flycatcher was federally listed as...

  20. Life Cycle Assessment of Bioenergy from Lignocellulosic Crops Cultivated on Marginal Land in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rettenmaier, Nils; Schmidt, Tobias; Gärtner, Sven; Reinhardt, Guido

    2017-04-01

    Population growth and changing diets due to economic development lead to an additional demand for land for food and feed production. Slowly but surely turning into a mass market, also the cultivation of non-food biomass crops for fibre (bio-based products) and fuel (biofuels and bioenergy) is increasingly contributing to the pressure on global agricultural land. As a consequence, the already prevailing competition for land might even intensify over the next decades. Against this background, the possibilities of shifting the cultivation of non-food biomass crops to so-called 'marginal lands' are investigated. The EC-funded project 'Sustainable exploitation of biomass for bioenergy from marginal lands in Europe' (SEEMLA) aims at the establishment of suitable innovative land-use strategies for a sustainable production of bioenergy from lignocellulosic crops on marginal lands while improving general ecosystem services. For a complete understanding of the environmental benefits and drawbacks of the envisioned cultivation of bioenergy crops on marginal land, life cycle assessments (LCA) have proven to be a suitable and valuable tool. Thus, embedded into a comprehensive sustainability assessment, a screening LCA is carried out for the entire life cycles of the bioenergy carriers researched in SEEMLA. Investigated systems, on the one hand, include the specific field trials carried out by the SEEMLA partners in Ukraine, Greece and Germany. On the other hand, generic scenarios are investigated in order to derive reliable general statements on the environmental impacts of bioenergy from marginal lands in Europe. Investigated crops include woody and herbaceous species such as black locust, poplar, pine, willow and Miscanthus. Conversion technologies cover the use in a domestic or a district heating plant, power plant, CHP as well as the production of Fischer-Tropsch diesel (FT diesel) and lignocellulosic ethanol. Environmental impacts are compared to conventional reference

  1. Biomass power for rural development. Technical progress report Phase-II. Contractual reporting period October-December 1999

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neuhauser, Edward; The Salix Consortium

    2000-03-23

    The project undertaken by the Salix Consortium is a multi-phased, multi-partner endeavor. Phase 1 focused on initial development and testing of the technology and forging the necessary agreements to demonstrate commercial willow production. The Phase 1 objectives have been successfully completed: preparing design plans for 2 utility pulverized coal boilers for 20 MW of biopower capacity; developing fuel supply plans for the project with a goal of establishing 365 ha (900 ac) of willow; obtaining power production commitments from the power companies for Phase 2; obtaining construction and environmental permits; and developing an experimental strategy for crop production and power generation improvements needed to assure commercial success. The R and D effort also addresses environmental issues pertaining to introduction of the willow energy system.

  2. Willow vegetation filters: Principles, results and economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perttu, K.

    1996-01-01

    During recent years, it has become obvious that it is both environmentally and economically appropriate to use vegetation filters of different short rotation willows (Salix spp.) to purify water and soil. Swedish experiences of vegetation filter efficiencies have been demonstrated in several laboratory, field lysimeter, and full-scale experiments. However, there are still many questions to be answered, for example, how the uptake and allocation mechanisms of heavy metals and recalcitrant organic constituents function, or which maximum doses are possible in a particular situation without any risk of leachate losses. As far as plant nutrition is concerned, the past two decades of integrated research in Sweden have demonstrated that the willows have capacity for efficient uptake both of macro and micro nutrients, which is reflected in their high productivity. The purpose of this paper is to present some results on how vegetation filter stands of willow, irrigated with municipal wastewater, can function as purification plants, while at the same time producing fuelwood. This twofold utilization benefits both the environment and the economy. Treatment plants for wastewater purification using various types of vegetation filters have been tried in Sweden. The experiences consider both the nutrient and heavy metal uptake, and the whole process chain from establishment, cultivation and harvesting of the wastewater irrigated willow stands, to the utilization of the wood in heating plants. 33 refs, 5 tabs

  3. Pre-study - compilation and synthesis of knowledge about energy crops from cultivation to energy production; Foerstudie - sammanstaellning och syntes av kunskap och erfarenheter om groedor fraan aaker till energiproduktion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berg, Magnus; Bubholz, Monika; Forsberg, Maya; Myringer, Aase; Palm, Ola; Roennbaeck, Marie; Tullin, Claes

    2007-06-15

    Energy crops constitute a yet not fully utilized potential as fuel for heating and power production. As competition for biomass hardens the interest for agricultural fuels such as straw, energy grain, willow, reed canary grass and hemp increases. Utilization of the potential for energy crops as fuels demands that cultivation and harvest are coordinated with transportation, storage and combustion of the crops. Together, Vaermeforsk and Swedish Farmers' Foundation for Agricultural Research (SLF), have taken the initiative to a common research programme. The long-term aim of the programme is to increase production and utilization of bioenergy from agriculture to combustion for heat and power production in Sweden. The vision is that during the programme, 2006 - 2009, decisive steps will be taken towards a working market for biofuels for bioenergy from agriculture. This survey has compiled and synthesized available knowledge and experiences about energy crops from the field to energy production. The aim has been to give a picture of knowledge today, to identify knowledge gaps and to synthesize knowledge of today into future research needs. A proposal of a research plan has been developed for the research programme.

  4. Annual variations in the solar energy conversion efficiency in a willow coppice stand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noronha-Sannervik, A.; Kowalik, P.

    2003-01-01

    Productivity of an experimental willow coppice forest located at Uppsala, Sweden, was monitored between 1985 and 1994. The 2.7 ha stand was planted in 1984 with a density of 20 000 cuttings per ha and was harvested three times. During the monitored period, the annual stem wood production and the cumulated values of total solar radiation during the growing season, were measured. The conversion of incoming solar radiation into stem biomass was evaluated and the results show that the solar energy conversion efficiency (ECE), for the first and fourth year of the cutting cycle, is, on average, 64% of the ECE for the second and third year of the cutting cycle. It is discussed that the low ECE of 1-year-old shoots is related to a delay in leaf canopy development at the beginning of the growing season and lack of weed control after harvest. For the 4-years-old shoots, the low ECE, is believed to be related to the increased shoot and stool mortality caused by the self-thinning process ongoing in the willow stand. It is recommended that the harvesting interval should be based on the specific development of the stand and more attention should be paid to weed control, especially in the first growing season after harvest

  5. Competition favors elk over beaver in a riparian willow ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, B.W.; Peinetti, H.R.; Coughenour, M.C.; Johnson, T.L.

    2012-01-01

    Beaver (Castor spp.) conservation requires an understanding of their complex interactions with competing herbivores. Simulation modeling offers a controlled environment to examine long-term dynamics in ecosystems driven by uncontrollable variables. We used a new version of the SAVANNA ecosystem model to investigate beaver (C. Canadensis) and elk (Cervus elapses) competition for willow (Salix spp.). We initialized the model with field data from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, to simulate a 4-ha riparian ecosystem containing beaver, elk, and willow. We found beaver persisted indefinitely when elk density was or = 30 elk km_2. The loss of tall willow preceded rapid beaver declines, thus willow condition may predict beaver population trajectory in natural environments. Beaver were able to persist with slightly higher elk densities if beaver alternated their use of foraging sites in a rest-rotation pattern rather than maintained continuous use. Thus, we found asymmetrical competition for willow strongly favored elk over beaver in a simulated montane ecosystem. Finally, we discuss application of the SAVANNA model and mechanisms of competition relative to beaver persistence as metapopulations, ecological resistance and alternative state models, and ecosystem regulation.

  6. Planting Date and Seeding Rate Effects on Sunn Hemp Biomass and Nitrogen Production for a Winter Cover Crop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kipling S. Balkcom

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L. is a tropical legume that produces plant biomass and nitrogen (N quickly. Our objectives were to assess the growth of a new sunn hemp cultivar breed to produce seed in a temperate climate and determine the residual N effect on a rye (Secale cereale L. cover crop in east-central Alabama from 2007 to 2009. Plant populations, plant height, stem diameter, biomass production, and N content were determined for two sunn hemp planting dates, following corn (Zea mays L. and wheat (Triticum aestivum L. harvest, across different seeding rates (17, 34, 50, and 67 kg/ha. Rye biomass was measured the following spring. Sunn hemp biomass production was inconsistent across planting dates, but did relate to growing degree accumulation. Nitrogen concentrations were inversely related to biomass production, and subsequent N contents corresponded to biomass levels. Neither planting date nor seeding rate affected rye biomass production, but rye biomass averaged over both planting dates following wheat/sunn hemp averaged 43% and 33% greater than rye following fallow. Rye biomass following corn/sunn hemp was equivalent to fallow plots. Early planting dates are recommended for sunn hemp with seeding rates between 17 and 34 kg/ha to maximize biomass and N production.

  7. Seasonal nutrient dynamics and biomass quality of giant reed (Arundo donax L. and miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus Greef et Deuter as energy crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicoletta Nassi o Di Nasso

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The importance of energy crops in displacing fossil fuels within the energy sector in Europe is growing. Among energy crops, the use of perennial rhizomatous grasses (PRGs seems promising owing to their high productivity and their nutrient recycling that occurs during senescence. In particular, nutrient requirements and biomass quality have a fundamental relevance to biomass systems efficiency. The objective of our study was to compare giant reed (Arundo donax L. and miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deuter in terms of nutrient requirements and cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin content. This aim was to identify, in the Mediterranean environment, the optimal harvest time that may combine, beside a high biomass yield, high nutrient use efficiency and a good biomass quality for second generation biofuel production. The research was carried out in 2009, in San Piero a Grado, Pisa (Central Italy; latitude 43°41’ N, longitude 10°21’ E, on seven-year-old crops in a loam soil characterised by good water availability. Maximum above-ground nutrient contents were generally found in summer. Subsequently, a decrease was recorded; this suggested a nutrient remobilisation from above-ground biomass to rhizomes. In addition, miscanthus showed the highest N, P, and K use efficiency, probably related to its higher yield and its C4 pathway. Regarding biomass quality, stable values of cellulose (38%, hemicelluloses (25% and lignin (8% were reported from July onwards in both crops. Hence, these components appear not to be discriminative parameters in the choice of the harvest time in the Mediterranean environment. In conclusion, our results highlighted that, in our environment, a broad harvest period (from late autumn to winter seems suitable for these PRGs. However, further research is required to evaluate the role of rhizomes in nutrient storage and supply during the growing season, as well as ecological and productive performances in marginal

  8. Higher US crop prices trigger little area expansion so marginal land for biofuel crops is limited

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swinton, Scott M.; Babcock, Bruce A.; James, Laura K.; Bandaru, Varaprasad

    2011-01-01

    By expanding energy biomass production on marginal lands that are not currently used for crops, food prices increase and indirect climate change effects can be mitigated. Studies of the availability of marginal lands for dedicated bioenergy crops have focused on biophysical land traits, ignoring the human role in decisions to convert marginal land to bioenergy crops. Recent history offers insights about farmer willingness to put non-crop land into crop production. The 2006-09 leap in field crop prices and the attendant 64% gain in typical profitability led to only a 2% increase in crop planted area, mostly in the prairie states. At this rate, a doubling of expected profitability from biomass crops would expand cropland supply by only 3.2%. Yet targets for cellulosic ethanol production in the US Energy Independence and Security Act imply boosting US planted area by 10% or more with perennial biomass crops. Given landowner reluctance to expand crop area with familiar crops in the short run, large scale expansion of the area in dedicated bioenergy crops will likely be difficult and costly to achieve. - Highlights: → Biofuel crops on cropland can displace food crops, reducing food supply and triggering indirect land use. → Growing biofuel crops on non-crop marginal land avoids these problems. → But US farmers expanded cropland by only 2% when crop profitability jumped 64% during 2006-09. → So medium-term availability of marginal lands for biofuel crops is limited and costly.

  9. Analysis of the energy efficiency of short rotation woody crops biomass as affected by different methods of soil enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stolarski, Mariusz J.; Krzyżaniak, Michał; Tworkowski, Józef; Szczukowski, Stefan; Niksa, Dariusz

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the energy input and energy efficiency of the production of willow, poplar and black locust chips in four-year harvest rotation. The highest energy input was made in poplar production when soil was enriched with lignin and by mineral fertilisation (33.02 GJ ha −1 ). For willow production it was 30.76 GJ ha −1 when lignin, mycorrhiza and mineral fertilisation were used. The energy input in the production of black locust was much lower. The largest energy gain was obtained in the production of poplar when soil was enriched with lignin and mineral fertilisation (673.7 GJ ha −1 ). A similar level of this parameter (669.7 GJ ha −1 ) was achieved in the production of willow when lignin, mycorrhiza and mineral fertilisation was used. In general, a higher energy gain was obtained in the production of willow and poplar than in the production of black locust. On the other hand, the best energy efficiency ratio was achieved for willow (28.9) in the option with lignin. The ratio for poplar production ranged from 19.7 to 25.9. On the other hand, the energy efficiency ratio for black locust ranged from 10.6 to 21.7. - Highlights: • The energy input ranged from 6.69 GJ ha −1 to 33.02 GJ ha −1 . • The largest energy gain was obtained for poplar (673.7 GJ ha −1 ). • The best energy efficiency ratio was achieved for willow (28.9). • The energy efficiency ratio for poplar ranged from 19.7 to 25.9. • The energy efficiency ratio for black locust ranged from 10.6 to 21.7.

  10. Thermal gasification of biomass technology development in the U.S.A

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Babu, S P [Inst. of Gas Technology, Des Plaines, IL (United States); Bain, R L; Craig, K R [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)

    1997-12-31

    In the U.S.A., the widely recognized importance of biomass utilization in controlling carbon build-up in the biosphere and the potential benefit of creating new industries associated with new job opportunities, particularly in the rural areas, have added impetus to the development and commercialization of advanced biomass energy conversion methods. Recent analyses and evaluations have shown that many short rotation energy crops (SREC) produce significant net-energy (i.e., energy yield greater than the energy input for plant growth). SREC such as willow, poplar, and miscanthus may yield up to 20 dry tonnes/yr/ha/year of biomass feedstocks, some with about 20 % moisture, after the third year of plantation. Implementation by U.S. EPA of the recent Clean Water Act Federal Biosolids Rules specified as Code 40 of Federal Register 503, should make available large quantities of high nitrogen content, pathogen-free municipal sludges ideally suited as an inexpensive source of organic fertiliser, thus improving the economics of SREC. The concept of herbaceous SREC can be further augmented when value-added byproducts, such as cattle feed, could be produced along with biomass energy feedstocks. Since 1990, there has been renewed interest in the United States in developing advanced power-generating cycles utilizing biomass gasification. The advanced systems have the potential for higher generation efficiencies, 35 % to 40 %, and lower costs of electricity, $0.045 to $0.055/kWh, compared to conventional direct-combustion systems. The efficiency of power production can be even higher (about 55 %) when the fuel gas is converted to hydrogen followed by electrochemical conversion to electricity in a fuel cell. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 includes a number of provisions to promote the commercialisation of biomass power production. The recent Global Climate Change Action Plan also includes several programs and incentives for biomass power production. A summary of U.S. demonstration

  11. Thermal gasification of biomass technology development in the U.S.A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Babu, S.P.; Bain, R.L.; Craig, K.R.

    1996-01-01

    In the U.S.A., the widely recognized importance of biomass utilization in controlling carbon build-up in the biosphere and the potential benefit of creating new industries associated with new job opportunities, particularly in the rural areas, have added impetus to the development and commercialization of advanced biomass energy conversion methods. Recent analyses and evaluations have shown that many short rotation energy crops (SREC) produce significant net-energy (i.e., energy yield greater than the energy input for plant growth). SREC such as willow, poplar, and miscanthus may yield up to 20 dry tonnes/yr/ha/year of biomass feedstocks, some with about 20 % moisture, after the third year of plantation. Implementation by U.S. EPA of the recent Clean Water Act Federal Biosolids Rules specified as Code 40 of Federal Register 503, should make available large quantities of high nitrogen content, pathogen-free municipal sludges ideally suited as an inexpensive source of organic fertiliser, thus improving the economics of SREC. The concept of herbaceous SREC can be further augmented when value-added byproducts, such as cattle feed, could be produced along with biomass energy feedstocks. Since 1990, there has been renewed interest in the United States in developing advanced power-generating cycles utilizing biomass gasification. The advanced systems have the potential for higher generation efficiencies, 35 % to 40 %, and lower costs of electricity, $0.045 to $0.055/kWh, compared to conventional direct-combustion systems. The efficiency of power production can be even higher (about 55 %) when the fuel gas is converted to hydrogen followed by electrochemical conversion to electricity in a fuel cell. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 includes a number of provisions to promote the commercialisation of biomass power production. The recent Global Climate Change Action Plan also includes several programs and incentives for biomass power production. A summary of U.S. demonstration

  12. Thermal gasification of biomass technology development in the U.S.A

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Babu, S.P. [Inst. of Gas Technology, Des Plaines, IL (United States); Bain, R.L.; Craig, K.R. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)

    1996-12-31

    In the U.S.A., the widely recognized importance of biomass utilization in controlling carbon build-up in the biosphere and the potential benefit of creating new industries associated with new job opportunities, particularly in the rural areas, have added impetus to the development and commercialization of advanced biomass energy conversion methods. Recent analyses and evaluations have shown that many short rotation energy crops (SREC) produce significant net-energy (i.e., energy yield greater than the energy input for plant growth). SREC such as willow, poplar, and miscanthus may yield up to 20 dry tonnes/yr/ha/year of biomass feedstocks, some with about 20 % moisture, after the third year of plantation. Implementation by U.S. EPA of the recent Clean Water Act Federal Biosolids Rules specified as Code 40 of Federal Register 503, should make available large quantities of high nitrogen content, pathogen-free municipal sludges ideally suited as an inexpensive source of organic fertiliser, thus improving the economics of SREC. The concept of herbaceous SREC can be further augmented when value-added byproducts, such as cattle feed, could be produced along with biomass energy feedstocks. Since 1990, there has been renewed interest in the United States in developing advanced power-generating cycles utilizing biomass gasification. The advanced systems have the potential for higher generation efficiencies, 35 % to 40 %, and lower costs of electricity, $0.045 to $0.055/kWh, compared to conventional direct-combustion systems. The efficiency of power production can be even higher (about 55 %) when the fuel gas is converted to hydrogen followed by electrochemical conversion to electricity in a fuel cell. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 includes a number of provisions to promote the commercialisation of biomass power production. The recent Global Climate Change Action Plan also includes several programs and incentives for biomass power production. A summary of U.S. demonstration

  13. Improving the water use efficiency of short rotation coppice (SRC) willows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stephens, W.; Bonneau, L.; Groves, S.; Armstrong, A.; Lindegard, K.

    2003-07-01

    On the premise that biofuels will make a significant contribution to the UK's renewable energy sources by the year 2010, willow short rotation coppicing is being studied. The high water requirement of willow is seen as a potential problem in the drier regions of the UK and increasing the water use efficiency and/or draught resistance would extend the areas where willow coppicing would be profitable. The first part of the project was to investigate the water use of a number of near-market varieties of willow and evaluate techniques for early drought tolerance screening in a breeding program and for this, field studies were conducted. This report gives some very early results from the preliminary study. Since DTI funding ceased before the one-season study of the three-year program was complete, the results should be regarded as tentative only. The next phase of the program will be funded by DEFRA and will include efforts to identify how a range of high-yielding willows respond to water stress.

  14. Inoculation and inter-cropping of legumes in established grass for increasing biomass of fodder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ullah, M.A.; Hussain, N.

    2014-01-01

    Livestock sector has become very important component of agriculture sector in the world due to variety of dairy and meat products and high income to the farmers. In Pakistan, this vast resource faces many crucial challenges like low quality and high priced feed and fodder and limited chances of increasing area under fodders due to competition for food crops. Intercropping (33%, 50% and 67%) of Panicum maximum grass and legumes (Vicia sativa and cowpeas) coupled with inoculation was studied under rainfed conditions at National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) Islamabad, Pakistan. Intercropping significantly increased tillering of grass. Seed inoculation of legumes also gave maximum tillers. The grass and legumes biomass without any treatment were recorded as 7.09 and -18.17 t ha, respectively, during two years of study. Mixed fodder -1 production increased to 11.62, 13.6 and 14.13 t ha with 33%, 50% and 67% intercropping, respectively. Respective values of biomass were -1 observed as 13.18, 13.70 and 17.87 t ha when combined with inoculation. Intercropping of grass and legumes 67% with inoculation was assessed as the best treatment. The increases were computed as 304%, 230%, 132%, and 60% over grass alone in the first, second, third and fourth crops while respective increases were 101%, 151%, 165% and 74% over monoculture legumes. (author)

  15. Test of aerobic TCE degradation by willows (Salix viminalis) and willows inoculated with TCE-cometabolizing strains of Burkholderia cepacia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clausen, Lauge Peter Westergaard; Broholm, Mette Martina; Gosewinkel, Ulrich; Trapp, Stefan

    2017-08-01

    Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a widespread soil and groundwater pollutant and clean-up is often problematic and expensive. Phytoremediation may be a cost-effective solution at some sites. This study investigates TCE degradation by willows (S. viminalis) and willows inoculated with three strains of B. cepacia (301C, PR1-31 and VM1330-pTOM), using chloride formation as an indicator of dehalogenation. Willows were grown in non-sterile, hydroponic conditions for 3 weeks in chloride-free nutrient solution spiked with TCE. TCE was added weekly due to rapid loss by volatilization. Chloride and TCE in solution were measured every 2-3 days and chloride and metabolite concentrations in plants were measured at test termination. Based on transpiration, no tree toxicity of TCE exposure was observed. However, trees grown in chloride-free solution showed severely inhibited transpiration. No or very little chloride was formed during the test, and levels of chloride in TCE-exposed trees were not elevated. Chloride concentrations in chloride containing TCE-free nutrient solution doubled within 23 days, indicating active exclusion of chloride by root cell membranes. Only traces of TCE-metabolites were detected in plant tissue. We conclude that TCE is not, or to a limited extent (less than 3%), aerobically degraded by the willow trees. The three strains of B. cepacia did not enhance TCE mineralization. Future successful application of rhizo- and phytodegradation of TCE requires measures to be taken to improve the degradation rates.

  16. Assessing the Effect of Prometryn Soil Residue on Soil Microbial Biomass and Different Crops using Bioassay Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mohamad taghi alebrahim

    2016-09-01

    after germination. The pots were kept for 30 days under controlled conditions. Shoot and root biomass production was measured 30 days after emergence. At harvest, growth parameters including the dry weight of shoots and roots were determined. The data were subjected to analysis of variance by computer facilities, using Mstatc software. Plant response to prometryn residues was fitted with sigmoidal 3 and 4 parametric equations to the shoot biomass data as a function of the herbicide residue concentrations and was used to calculate the doses for 50% inhibition of shoot growth (ED50. In another experiment the effect of prometryn concentrations (0, 0.0033, 0.0166, 0.033, 0.066, 0.1 and 0.166 mg. kg-1soil on soil microbial activity was determined using titration method in controlled conditions. Results and Discussion: Plant response to increasing concentration of prometryn, in general, followed a classical dose response relationship. The logistic model fitted well to the root and shoot plants response herbicide concentrations. Results showed that the shoot and root dry matter were significantly affected by increasing prometryn soil residue in all crops (plettuce>beet>barely. Based on the mechanism of action of prometryn and its best efficiency on board leaf plants control, the least biomass reduction obtained for barley is understandable. In general, this is safe to plant a susceptible species if the plant-available residue were less than the species ED10 value, and there would be a great risk for different levels of crop damage if the plant-available residue were higher than ED50 values of the species. Comparisons between species allow the safe selection of a crop that has a critical ED50 level lower than the residue level in the soil. Alternatively, planting a sensitive species could be delayed until the residue level in the soil is less than the critical level. In the Southwest areas of Iran, these crops are often sown few months after the application of a residual

  17. Production of biomass/energy crops on phosphatic clay soils in central Florida

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stricker, J.A. [Univ. of Florida, Bartow, FL (United States); Prine, G.M.; Woodard, K.R. [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Anderson, D.L. [Univ. of Florida, Belle Glade, FL (United States); Shibles, D.B.; Riddle, T.C. [Mined Lands Agricultural Research/Demonstration Project, Bartow, FL (United States)

    1993-12-31

    Phosphatic clay is a byproduct of phosphate mining. Presently more than 40,470 ha have been created, most in central Florida, and about 810 ha are being added each year. Phosphatic clays have high fertility and high water holding capacity, reducing fertilization costs and producing high yields without irrigation. Based on 10 years of research, scientists have selected tall annual-regenerating perennial C-4 grasses as having the greatest potential for biomass production in Florida. The purpose of this work was to determine the feasibility of growing these tall perennial grasses for biomass on phosphatic clay. Elephantgrass, sugarcane and energycane, and erianthus were planted in duplicate replications on phosphatic clay soil in late August, 1986. yield was measured by one harvest in December or January each year for four years. Nitrogen fertilization included 112 kg ha{sup {minus}1} the first year followed by 134 kg ha{sup {minus}1} for the next three years. Nitrogen is the only supplemental nutrient needed to grow all tall grass crops on phosphatic clay. The average annual oven dry matter yield over the 4-yr period was 36.3 Mg ha{sup {minus}1} for PI 300086 elephantgrass, 45.2 for N51 elephantgrass, 42.5 for L79-1002 energycane, 49.0 for US72-1153 energycane, 49.7 for US78-1009 sugarcane, 52.2 for US56-9 sugarcane, 56.2 for CP72-1210 sugarcane, and 48.8 for 1K-7647 erianthus. More recent work has utilized domestic sewage sludge as a nitrogen source for the tall grasses. Preliminary sugar yields of selected sugarcane accessions & sweet sorghum were 4.7 Mg ha{sup {minus}1} for CP72-1210, 12.5 for US67-2022, 3.4 for US78-1009 and 1.3 Mg ha{sup {minus}1} for sweet sorghum. The high yields of the tall grasses grown on phosphatic clay with low inputs indicate a great potential for these crops as a source of renewable energy. A sustainable cropping system may be maintained by utilizing municipal sewage sludge as a nitrogen source with tall grasses on phosphatic clay.

  18. SRC-willow (Salix viminalis) as a resource for flower-visiting insects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reddersen, J. [National Environmental Research Institute, Ronde (Denmark). Dept. of Landscape Ecology

    2001-07-01

    The potential habitat value of commercial short rotation coppice (SRC)-willow plantations for flower-visiting insects was investigated. During 1998-2000, at a single typical intensive Danish farmland site, 11 Salix viminalis plantations were sampled by late April to quantify willow catkin abundance and flower sex. Mean plantation size was 1.1 ha and included one or more of clones: orm, rapp, ulv, jorr, christina and jorrun. Plot-year means of catkin abundance and of proportion of willows flowering were related to the coppicing cycle, i.e. the number of growth years since last harvest of plot ('year' 0-4). In 1998, the ground layer vegetation was sampled. Monitoring flower-visiting insects by means of line-transect counts failed due to the local scarcity of bees. At the plantation scale, flowering was discontinuous across the harvest cycle as it was totally absent in the year immediately following harvest. In successive years (1-4), individual willows flowered frequently and, occasionally, at high abundances, and catkin abundance increased with time. Within 3-4 year of harvest cycle, all plots flowered in most years with most plots exhibiting at least some flowering in any 1 year. Thus, willow catkin abundance was generally high in the total area due to: high frequency of flowering in plots, occasional high flowering abundance, plots not being harvested simultaneously and large total number of willows within plots and landscape. Similarly, flower sex ratio, and thus flower value, varied greatly between plots while variation was damped across plots. Alternative simultaneous flower resources in ground layer vegetation were few except for Dandelion. SRC willow may constitute an important resource for bees, even under the stress of the harvest cycle, and recommendations are given for improving this biodiversity aspect. (author)

  19. From a single pellet press to a bench scale pellet mill - Pelletizing six different biomass feedstocks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Puig Arnavat, Maria; Shang, Lei; Sárossy, Zsuzsa

    2016-01-01

    The increasing demand for biomass pellets requires the investigation of alternative raw materials for pelletizetion. In the present paper, the pelletization process of fescue, alfalfa, sorghum, triticale, miscanthus and willow is studied to determine if results obtained in a single pellet press (...

  20. Conversion from cropland to short rotation coppice willow and poplar: Accumulation of soil organic carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgiadis, Petros; Stupak, Inge; Vesterdal, Lars; Raulund-Rasmussen, Karsten

    2015-04-01

    Increased demand for bioenergy has intensified the production of Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) willow and poplar in temperate zones. We used a combined chronosequence and paired plot approach to study the potential of SRC willow and poplar stands to increase the soil carbon stock compared to stocks of the previous arable land-use. The study focused on well-drained soils. We sampled soil from 30 SRC stands in Denmark and southern Sweden including soils from their adjacent arable fields. The 18 willow and 12 poplar stands formed a chronosequence ranging between 4 and 29 years after conversion. The soil was sampled both with soil cores taken by fixed depths of 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-25, and 25-40 cm and by genetic horizons from soil pits to 1m depth. The aim of the study was to estimate the difference and the ratio between soil carbon contents of the SRC and annual crop land and analyze the results as a chronosequence to examine the effect of age after conversion on the difference. Covariates such as soil type, fertilization type and harvest frequency were also taken into account. Preliminary results suggest an overall increase in carbon stocks over time with average accumulation rates ranging from 0.25 to 0.4 Mg ha-1 yr-1 in willow and poplar stands. Poplar stands had higher rates of C gain, probably due to less frequent harvesting. The differences in carbon between the SRC and the paired cropland were initially negative but changed to positive over time, implying loss of carbon after conversion and a later gain in soil carbon with stand age. Pairwise differences ranged from -25 Mg C ha-1 to 37 Mg C ha-1 for the top 40 cm. The carbon stock ratio of the SRC stand to the arable land was estimated to minimize the effect of site-related factors. The results of this analysis suggested that the ratio increased significantly with age after conversion for the top 10 cm of the soil, both for poplar and willow. A slight increase with age was also noticed at the deeper depths, but

  1. The effect of water availability on stand-level productivity, transpiration, water use efficiency and radiation use efficiency of field-grown willow clones

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Linderson, Maj-Lena; Iritz, Z.; Lindroth, A.

    2007-01-01

    The effect of water availability on stand-level productivity, transpiration, water use efficiency (WUE) and radiation use efficiency (RUE) is evaluated for different willow clones at stand level. The measurements were made during the growing season 2000 in a 3-year-old plantation in Scania......, southernmost Sweden. Six willow clones were included in the study: L78183, SW Rapp, SW Jorunn, SW Jorr, SW Tora and SW Loden. All clones were exposed to two water treatments: rain-fed, non-irrigated treatment and reduced water availability by reduced soil water recharge. Field measurements of stem sap...... low compared to other results. Generally, all clones, except for Jorunn, seem to be better off concerning biomass production, WUE and RUE than the reference clone. Jorr, Jorunn and Loden also seem to be able to cope with the reduced water availability with increase in the water use efficiency. Tora...

  2. Investigations of torrefied biomass grindability using a modified Hardgrove test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tymoszuk Mateusz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents results of investigations of torrefied biomass grindability using a modified Hardgrove test. The following types of torrefied biomass were used during the testing: alder chips, palm kernel shells and willow chips. Tests were conducted in a standard Hardgrove test mill for 50 cm3 volumetric samples (the same volume as applied in [1]. Volumetric samples of raw biomass were also tested for comparison purposes. Two ranges of the sample particle size were applied during the investigations: 0.6-1.18 mm (as in [2] and 0.2-1.18 mm. As opposed to the standard Hardgrove test, the cumulative passing mass of the product was determined for a wider range of passing of standard sieves. The obtained results point to an increase in the grindability of torrefied fuels compared to raw biomass. They can be used to categorize torrefied biomass fuels due to their grindability, and as basic information in semi-technical scale studies on torrefied biomass comminution features.

  3. Economic assessment and comparison of acacia energy crop with annual traditional crops in Southern Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gasol, Carles M.; Rieradevall, Joan; Gabarrell, Xavier; Brun, Filippo; Mosso, Angela

    2010-01-01

    In several policy documents bioenergy is recognized as an important renewable energy source in Italy. The increase in energy prices represents an opportunity for lignocellulosic energy crops such as acacia and poplar. However, for Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and Short Rotation Forestry (SRF) to be adopted by farmers, these crops must be perceived to be at least as profitable as crops that normally compete with these plantations for land use. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the economic feasibility of acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) as an energy crop in a low input production regime in Italy and, in particular, to consider its competitiveness with wheat. Our results show that neither SRC and SRF techniques using assumed production costs (EUR3820 and EUR5285 ha -1 yr -1 ) nor biomass productions are able to obtain a positive profit (-EUR184 and -EUR172 ha -1 yr -1 ) that can convince farmers to invest in biomass plantations on their land. The results demonstrate that wheat is a more economically secure option than SRC or SRF. The viability of local biomass production in Italy and Southern Europe depends on the active support of the governments; without them, biomass is not economically competitive for the farmers when compared to crops such as wheat. (author)

  4. Short-rotation coppices. State of the realizability, organisation and a model for the evaluation of the production and supply of rapidly growing wood from short-rotation coppices als a biofuel for biomass-fuelled heating power stations in Bavaria; Kurzumtriebsplantagen. Stand der Umsetzbarkeit, Organisation und ein Modell zur oekonomischen Bewertung von Produktion und Bereitstellung schnell wachsenden Holzes aus Kurzumtriebsplantagen als biogener Festbrennstoff fuer Biomasse(heiz)kraftwerke in Bayern

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paschlau, Helmut F

    2011-04-07

    The study examines most aspects of Short-rotation Coppice Crops (SRC), mainly from willows (Salix sp.) and poplars (Populus sp.), for energetic use in big biomass powerstations in Bavaria (southern Germany). In addition to the compilation of framework conditions concerning environmental and agrarian politics as well as legal issues, every link in the process chain of SRC will be considered - from planting to harvesting, treatment of the wood chips and Just-in-time delivery to the powerplant - followed by an evaluation of SRC in ecological terms. The basic aim of this study is to evaluate every single link with regard to organisational und economic issues, analysis of relevant markets and to develop a comprehensive calculation model for the amount of annuities of the whole process chain.

  5. On the irrigation requirements of cottonwood (Populus fremontii and Populus deltoides var. wislizenii) and willow (Salix gooddingii) grown in a desert environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartwell, S.; Morino, K.; Nagler, P.L.; Glenn, E.P.

    2010-01-01

    Native tree plots have been established in river irrigation districts in the western U.S. to provide habitat for threatened and endangered birds. Information is needed on the effective irrigation requirements of the target species. Cottonwood (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix gooddingii) trees were grown for seven years in an outdoor plot in a desert environment in Tucson, Arizona. Plants were allowed to achieve a nearly complete canopy cover over the first four years, then were subjected to three daily summer irrigation schedules of 6.20??mm??d-1; 8.26??mm??d-1 and 15.7??mm??d-1. The lowest irrigation rate was sufficient to maintain growth and high leaf area index for cottonwoods over three years, while willows suffered considerable die-back on this rate in years six and seven. These irrigation rates were applied April 15-September 15, but only 0.88??mm??d-1 was applied during the dormant period of the year. Expressed as a fraction of reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo), recommended annual water applications plus precipitation (and including some deep drainage) were 0.83 ETo for cottonwood and 1.01 ETo for willow. Current practices tend to over-irrigate restoration plots, and this study can provide guidelines for more efficient water use. ?? 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

  6. Dry matter losses and quality changes during short rotation coppice willow storage in chip or rod form.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittaker, Carly; Yates, Nicola E; Powers, Stephen J; Misselbrook, Tom; Shield, Ian

    2018-05-01

    This study compares dry matter losses and quality changes during the storage of SRC willow as chips and as rods. A wood chip stack consisting of approximately 74 tonnes of fresh biomass, or 31 tonnes dry matter (DM) was built after harvesting in the spring. Three weeks later, four smaller stacks of rods with an average weight of 0.8 tonnes, or 0.4 tonnes DM were built. During the course of the experiment temperature recorders placed in the stacks found that the wood chip pile reached 60 °C within 10 days of construction, but the piles of rods remained mostly at ambient temperatures. Dry matter losses were calculated by using pre-weighed independent samples within the stacks and by weighing the whole stack before and after storage. After 6 months the wood chip stack showed a DM loss of between 19.8 and 22.6%, and mean losses of 23.1% were measured from the 17 independent samples. In comparison, the rod stacks showed an average stack DM loss of between 0 and 9%, and between 1.4% and 10.6% loss from the independent samples. Analysis of the stored material suggests that storing willow in small piles of rods produces a higher quality fuel in terms of lower moisture and ash content; however, it has a higher fine content compared to storage in chip form. Therefore, according to the two storage methods tested here, there may be a compromise between maximising the net dry matter yield from SRC willow and the final fine content of the fuel.

  7. Coastal Energy Corporation, Willow Springs, MO

    Science.gov (United States)

    notice of a proposed Administrative Penalty Assessment against Coastal Energy Corporation, located at 232 Burnham Road, Willow Springs, Missouri, for alleged violations at the facility located at or near that facility.

  8. Phytoremediation prospects of willow stands on contaminated sediment : A field trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vervaeke, P; Luyssaert, S.; Mertens, J.; Meers, E.; Tack, F. M.G.; Lust, N

    2003-01-01

    Establishing fast growing willow stands on land disposed contaminated dredged sediment can result in the revaluation of this material and opens possibilities for phytoremediation. A field trial was designed to assess the impact of planting a willow stand (Salix viminalis L. 'Orm') on the dissipation

  9. Biomass feedstock analyses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilen, C.; Moilanen, A.; Kurkela, E. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland). Energy Production Technologies

    1996-12-31

    The overall objectives of the project `Feasibility of electricity production from biomass by pressurized gasification systems` within the EC Research Programme JOULE II were to evaluate the potential of advanced power production systems based on biomass gasification and to study the technical and economic feasibility of these new processes with different type of biomass feed stocks. This report was prepared as part of this R and D project. The objectives of this task were to perform fuel analyses of potential woody and herbaceous biomasses with specific regard to the gasification properties of the selected feed stocks. The analyses of 15 Scandinavian and European biomass feed stock included density, proximate and ultimate analyses, trace compounds, ash composition and fusion behaviour in oxidizing and reducing atmospheres. The wood-derived fuels, such as whole-tree chips, forest residues, bark and to some extent willow, can be expected to have good gasification properties. Difficulties caused by ash fusion and sintering in straw combustion and gasification are generally known. The ash and alkali metal contents of the European biomasses harvested in Italy resembled those of the Nordic straws, and it is expected that they behave to a great extent as straw in gasification. Any direct relation between the ash fusion behavior (determined according to the standard method) and, for instance, the alkali metal content was not found in the laboratory determinations. A more profound characterisation of the fuels would require gasification experiments in a thermobalance and a PDU (Process development Unit) rig. (orig.) (10 refs.)

  10. The effect of D123 wheat as a companion crop on soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Weihui; Wang, Zhigang; Wu, Fengzhi

    2015-01-01

    The growth of watermelon is often threatened by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (Fon) in successively monocultured soil, which results in economic loss. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of D123 wheat as a companion crop on soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon and to explore the relationship between the effect and the incidence of wilt caused by Fon. The results showed that the activities of soil polyphenol oxidase, urease and invertase were increased, the microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP) were significantly increased, and the ratio of MBC/MBN was decreased (P Fusarium wilt was also decreased in the watermelon/wheat companion system. In conclusion, this study indicated that D123 wheat as a companion crop increased soil enzyme activities and microbial biomass, decreased the Fon population, and changed the relative abundance of microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon, which may be related to the reduction of Fusarium wilt in the watermelon/wheat companion system.

  11. Driftless Area Initiative Biomass Energy Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wright, Angie [Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation & Development, Inc., Postville, IA (United States); Bertjens, Steve [Natural Resources Conservation Service, Madison, WI (United States); Lieurance, Mike [Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation & Development, Inc., Postville, IA (United States); Berguson, Bill [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Natural Resources Research Inst.; Buchman, Dan [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Natural Resources Research Inst.

    2012-12-31

    The Driftless Area Initiative Biomass Energy Project evaluated the potential for biomass energy production and utilization throughout the Driftless Region of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The research and demonstration aspect of the project specifically focused on biomass energy feedstock availability and production potential in the region, as well as utilization potential of biomass feedstocks for heat, electrical energy production, or combined heat and power operations. The Driftless Region was evaluated because the topography of the area offers more acres of marginal soils on steep slopes, wooded areas, and riparian corridors than the surrounding “Corn Belt”. These regional land characteristics were identified as potentially providing opportunity for biomass feedstock production that could compete with traditional agriculture commodity crops economically. The project researched establishment methods and costs for growing switchgrass on marginal agricultural lands to determine the economic and quantitative feasibility of switchgrass production for biomass energy purposes. The project was successful in identifying the best management and establishment practices for switchgrass in the Driftless Area, but also demonstrated that simple economic payback versus commodity crops could not be achieved at the time of the research. The project also analyzed the availability of woody biomass and production potential for growing woody biomass for large scale biomass energy production in the Driftless Area. Analysis determined that significant resources exist, but costs to harvest and deliver to the site were roughly 60% greater than that of natural gas at the time of the study. The project contributed significantly to identifying both production potential of biomass energy crops and existing feedstock availability in the Driftless Area. The project also analyzed the economic feasibility of dedicated energy crops in the Driftless Area. High commodity crop prices

  12. The potential of willow for remediation of heavy metal polluted calcareous urban soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jensen, Julie K.; Holm, Peter E.; Nejrup, Jens; Larsen, Morten B.; Borggaard, Ole K.

    2009-01-01

    Growth performance and heavy metal uptake by willow (Salix viminalis) from strongly and moderately polluted calcareous soils were investigated in field and growth chamber trials to assess the suitability of willow for phytoremediation. Field uptakes were 2-10 times higher than growth chamber uptakes. Despite high concentrations of cadmium (≥80 mg/kg) and zinc (≥3000 mg/kg) in leaves of willow grown on strongly polluted soil with up to 18 mg Cd/kg, 1400 mg Cu/kg, 500 mg Pb/kg and 3300 mg Zn/kg, it is unsuited on strongly polluted soils because of poor growth. However, willow proved promising on moderately polluted soils (2.5 mg Cd/kg and 400 mg Zn/kg), where it extracted 0.13% of total Cd and 0.29% of the total Zn per year probably representing the most mobile fraction. Cu and Pb are strongly fixed in calcareous soils. - Willow is suited for remediation of moderately heavy metal polluted calcareous soils

  13. Fertilization of SRC willow. II

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sevel, L; Ingerslev, Morten; Nord-Larsen, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    impacts of different doses of mineral fertilizer, manure and sewage sludge in a commercially grown SRC willow stand. We examined macro nutrient and heavy metal leaching rates and calculated element balances to evaluate the environmental impact. Growth responses were reported in a former paper (Sevel et al...

  14. The environmental benefits of cellulosic energy crops at a landscape scale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graham, R.L.; Liu, W.; English, B.C.

    1995-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to present a broad overview of the potential environmental impacts of biomass energy from energy crops--particularly the cellulosic energy crops current under development. For this discussion, the term energy crop refers to a crop grown primarily to create feedstock for either making biofuels such as ethanol or burning in a heat or electricity generation facility. Cellulosic energy crops are designed to be used in cellulose-based ethanol conversion processes (as opposed to starch or sugar-based ethanol conversion processes). As more cellulose can be produced per hectare of land than can sugar or starch, the cellulose-based ethanol conversion process is a more efficient sue of land for ethanol production. Assessing the environmental impacts of biomass energy from energy crops is complex because the environmental impact of using biomass for energy must be considered in the context of alternative energy options while the environmental impact of producing biomass from energy crops must be considered in the context of alternative land-uses. Using biomass-derived energy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase them; growing biomass energy crops can enhance soil fertility or degrade it. Without knowing the context of the biomass energy, one can say little about its specific environmental impacts. The primary focus of this paper is an evaluation of the environmental impacts of growing cellulosic energy crops especially at the landscape or regional scale. However, to set the stage for this discussion, the authors begin by comparing the environmental advantages and disadvantages of biomass-derived energy relative to other energy alternatives such as coal, hydropower, nuclear power, oil/gasoline, natural gas and photovoltaics

  15. Estimating Swedish biomass energy supply

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johansson, J.; Lundqvist, U.

    1999-01-01

    Biomass is suggested to supply an increasing amount of energy in Sweden. There have been several studies estimating the potential supply of biomass energy, including that of the Swedish Energy Commission in 1995. The Energy Commission based its estimates of biomass supply on five other analyses which presented a wide variation in estimated future supply, in large part due to differing assumptions regarding important factors. In this paper, these studies are assessed, and the estimated potential biomass energy supplies are discusses regarding prices, technical progress and energy policy. The supply of logging residues depends on the demand for wood products and is limited by ecological, technological, and economic restrictions. The supply of stemwood from early thinning for energy and of straw from cereal and oil seed production is mainly dependent upon economic considerations. One major factor for the supply of willow and reed canary grass is the size of arable land projected to be not needed for food and fodder production. Future supply of biomass energy depends on energy prices and technical progress, both of which are driven by energy policy priorities. Biomass energy has to compete with other energy sources as well as with alternative uses of biomass such as forest products and food production. Technical progress may decrease the costs of biomass energy and thus increase the competitiveness. Economic instruments, including carbon taxes and subsidies, and allocation of research and development resources, are driven by energy policy goals and can change the competitiveness of biomass energy

  16. Weed interference with peppermint (Mentha x piperita L.) and spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) crops under different herbicide treatments: effects on biomass and essential oil yield.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karkanis, Anestis; Lykas, Christos; Liava, Vasiliki; Bezou, Anna; Petropoulos, Spyridon; Tsiropoulos, Nikolaos

    2018-01-01

    'Minor crops' such as spearmint and peppermint are high added value crops, despite the fact that their production area is comparably small worldwide. The main limiting factor in mint commercial cultivation is weed competition. Thus, field experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of weed interference on growth, biomass and essential oil yield in peppermint and spearmint under different herbicide treatments. The application of pendimethalin and oxyfluorfen provided better control of annual weeds resulting in higher crop yield. Additionally, when treated with herbicides both crops were more competitive against annual weeds in the second year than in the first year. All pre-emergence herbicides increased biomass yield, since pendimethalin, linuron and oxyfluorfen reduced the density of annual weeds by 71-92%, 63-74% and 86-95%, respectively. Weed interference and herbicide application had no effect on essential oil content; however, a relatively strong impact on essential oil production per cultivated area unit was observed, mainly due to the adverse effect of weed interference on plant growth. Considering that pendimethalin and oxyfluorfen were effective against annual weeds in both spearmint and peppermint crops, these herbicides should be included in integrated weed management systems for better weed management in mint crops. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  17. Modelling supply and demand of bioenergy from short rotation coppice and Miscanthus in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauen, A W; Dunnett, A J; Richter, G M; Dailey, A G; Aylott, M; Casella, E; Taylor, G

    2010-11-01

    Biomass from lignocellulosic energy crops can contribute to primary energy supply in the short term in heat and electricity applications and in the longer term in transport fuel applications. This paper estimates the optimal feedstock allocation of herbaceous and woody lignocellulosic energy crops for England and Wales based on empirical productivity models. Yield maps for Miscanthus, willow and poplar, constrained by climatic, soil and land use factors, are used to estimate the potential resource. An energy crop supply-cost curve is estimated based on the resource distribution and associated production costs. The spatial resource model is then used to inform the supply of biomass to geographically distributed demand centres, with co-firing plants used as an illustration. Finally, the potential contribution of energy crops to UK primary energy and renewable energy targets is discussed. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Energy balance and cost-benefit analysis of biogas production from perennial energy crops pretreated by wet oxidation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Uellendahl, Hinrich; Wang, Guangtao; Møller, H.B.

    2008-01-01

    . The conversion into biogas in anaerobic digestion plants shows however much lower specific methane yields for the raw perennial crops like miscanthus and willow due to their lignocellulosic structure. Without pretreatment the net energy gain is therefore lower for the perennials than for corn. When applying wet...

  19. Cultivation of high-biomass crops on coal mine spoil banks: Can microbial inoculation compensate for high doses of organic matter?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gryndler, M.; Sudova, R.; Puschel, D.; Rydlova, J.; Janouskova, M.; Vosatka, M. [Academy of Science Czech Republic, Pruhonice (Czech Republic)

    2008-09-15

    Two greenhouse experiments were focused on the application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in planting of high-biomass crops on reclaimed spoil banks. In the first experiment, we tested the effects of different organic amendments on growth of alfalfa and on the introduced microorganisms. While growth of plants was supported in substrate with compost amendment, mycorrhizal colonization was suppressed. Lignocellulose papermill waste had no negative effects on AMF, but did not positively affect growth of plants. The mixture of these two amendments was found to be optimal in both respects, plant growth and mycorrhizal development. Decreasing doses of this mixture amendment were used in the second experiment, where the effects of microbial inoculation (assumed to compensate for reduced doses of organic matter) on growth of two high-biomass crops, hemp and reed canarygrass, were studied. Plant growth response to microbial inoculation was either positive or negative, depending on the dose of the applied amendment and plant species.

  20. Short-rotation forestry of birch, maple, poplar and willow in Flanders (Belgium) II. Energy production and CO2 emission reduction potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walle, Inge van de; Camp, Nancy van; Casteele, Liesbet van de; Verheyen, Kris; Lemeur, Raoul

    2007-01-01

    Belgium, being an EU country, has committed itself to a 7.5% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions during the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Within this framework, the Flemish government aims at reaching a share of 6% of renewable electricity in the total electricity production by 2010. In this work, the biomass production of birch, maple, poplar and willow in a short-rotation forestry (SRF) plantation after a 4-year growth period served as the base to calculate the amount of (electrical) energy that could be produced by this type of bioenergy crop in Flanders. The maximum amount of electricity that could be provided by SRF biomass was estimated at 72.9 GWh e year -1 , which only accounts for 0.16% of the total electricity production in this region. Although the energy output was rather low, the bioenergy production process under consideration appeared to be more energy efficient than energy production processes based on fossil fuels. The high efficiency of birch compared to the other species was mainly due to the high calorific value of the birch wood. The maximum CO 2 emission reduction potential of SRF plantations in Flanders was estimated at only 0.09% of the total annual CO 2 emission. The most interesting application of SRF in Flanders seemed to be the establishment of small-scale plantations, linked to a local combined heat and power plant. These plantations could be established on marginal arable soils or on polluted sites, and they could be of importance in the densely populated area of Flanders because of other environmental benefits, among which their function as (temporary) habitat for many species

  1. Adoption of an unmanned helicopter for low-altitude remote sensing to estimate yield and total biomass of a rice crop

    Science.gov (United States)

    A radio-controlled unmanned helicopter-based LARS (Low-Altitude Remote Sensing) platform was used to acquire quality images of high spatial and temporal resolution, in order to estimate yield and total biomass of a rice crop (Oriza Sativa, L.). Fifteen rice field plots with five N-treatments (0, 33,...

  2. A multi-adaptive framework for the crop choice in paludicultural cropping systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola Silvestri

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The conventional cultivation of drained peatland causes peat oxidation, soil subsidence, nutrient loss, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity reduction. Paludiculture has been identified as an alternative management strategy consisting in the cultivation of biomass on wet and rewetted peatlands. This strategy can save these habitats and restore the ecosystem services provided by the peatlands both on the local and global scale. This paper illustrates the most important features to optimise the crop choice phase which is the crucial point for the success of paludiculture systems. A multi-adaptive framework was proposed. It was based on four points that should be checked to identify suitable crops for paludicultural cropping system: biological traits, biomass production, attitude to cultivation and biomass quality. The main agronomic implications were explored with the help of some results from a plurennial open-field experimentation carried out in a paludicultural system set up in the Massaciuccoli Lake Basin (Tuscany, Italy and a complete example of the method application was provided. The tested crops were Arundo donax L., Miscanthus×giganteus Greef et Deuter, Phragmites australis L., Populus×canadensis Moench. and Salix alba L. The results showed a different level of suitability ascribable to the different plant species proving that the proposed framework can discriminate the behaviour of tested crops. Phragmites australis L. was the most suitable crop whereas Populus×canadensis Moench and Miscanthus×giganteus Greef et Deuter (in the case of biogas conversion occupied the last positions in the ranking.

  3. Can liming change root anatomy, biomass allocation and trace element distribution among plant parts of Salix × smithiana in trace element-polluted soils?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vondráčková, Stanislava; Tlustoš, Pavel; Száková, Jiřina

    2017-08-01

    Willows (Salix spp.) are considered to be effective for the phytoremediation of trace elements from contaminated soils, but their efficiency is limited in heavily polluted soils because of poor growth. Liming can be a desirable measure to decrease the plant availability of elements, resulting in improved plant development. Notably, large root area and maximum soil penetration are basic parameters that improve the efficiency of phytoremediation. The impact of soil chemical properties on willow root anatomy and the distribution of trace elements below-ground have rarely been studied. The effect of liming on root parameters, biomass allocation and trace element distribution in non-harvestable (coarse roots, fine roots, stumps) and harvestable plant parts (twigs and leaves) of Salix × smithiana was assessed at the end of a 4-year pot experiment with two trace element-polluted soils that differed in terms of soil pH. Stump biomass predominated in weakly acidic soil. In neutral soil, the majority of biomass was located in fine roots and stumps; the difference from other plant parts was minor. Trace elements were the most concentrated in fine roots. Translocation to above-ground biomass increased as follows: Pb roots roots). Lime application decreased the concentrations of mobile Cd and Zn and related levels in plants, improved biomass production and root parameters and increased the removal of all trace elements in weakly acidic soil. None or minimum differences in the monitored parameters were recorded for dolomite treatments in both soils. The dose and source of liming had crucial effects on root anatomy. Growing willows in limed trace element-polluted soils is a suitable measure for combination of two remediation strategies, i.e. phytoextraction of Cd and Zn and assisted phytostabilization of As and Pb.

  4. A simple algorithm to retrieve soil moisture and vegetation biomass using passive microwave measurements over crop fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wigneron, J.P.; Chanzy, A.; Calvet, J.C.; Bruguier, N.

    1995-01-01

    A simple algorithm to retrieve sail moisture and vegetation water content from passive microwave measurements is analyzed in this study. The approach is based on a zeroth-order solution of the radiative transfer equations in a vegetation layer. In this study, the single scattering albedo accounts for scattering effects and two parameters account for the dependence of the optical thickness on polarization, incidence angle, and frequency. The algorithm requires only ancillary information about crop type and surface temperature. Retrievals of the surface parameters from two radiometric data sets acquired over a soybean and a wheat crop have been attempted. The model parameters have been fitted in order to achieve best match between measured and retrieved surface data. The results of the inversion are analyzed for different configurations of the radiometric observations: one or several look angles, L-band, C-band or (L-band and C-band). Sensitivity of the retrievals to the best fit values of the model parameters has also been investigated. The best configurations, requiring simultaneous measurements at L- and C-band, produce retrievals of soil moisture and biomass with a 15% estimated precision (about 0.06 m 3 /m 3 for soil moisture and 0.3 kg/m 2 for biomass) and exhibit a limited sensitivity to the best fit parameters. (author)

  5. Life-cycle environmental and economic impacts of energy-crop fuel-chains: an integrated assessment of potential GHG avoidance in Ireland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Styles, David; Jones, Michael B.

    2008-01-01

    This paper combines life-cycle analyses and economic analyses for Miscanthus and willow heat and electricity fuel-chains in Ireland. Displaced agricultural land-uses and conventional fuels were considered in fuel-chain permutations. Avoided greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ranged from 7.7 to 35.2 t CO 2 eq. ha -1 a -1 . Most fuel-chain permutations exhibited positive discounted financial returns, despite losses for particular entities at a farm-gate processed-biomass price of Euro 100 t -1 dry-matter. Attributing a value of Euro 10 t -1 CO 2 eq. to avoided GHG emissions, but subtracting financial returns associated with displaced fuel supplies, resulted in discounted annual national economic benefits (DANEBs) ranging from -457 to 1887 Euro ha -1 a -1 . Extrapolating a plausible combination of fuel-chains up to a national indicative scenario resulted in GHG emission avoidance of 3.56 Mt CO 2 eq. a -1 (5.2% of national emissions), a DANEB of 167 M Euro , and required 4.6% of national agricultural land area. As cost-effective national GHG avoidance options, Miscanthus and willow fuel-chains are robust to variation in yields and CO 2 price, and appear to represent an efficient land-use option (e.g. compared with liquid biofuel production). Policies promoting utilisation of these energy-crops could avoid unnecessary, and environmentally questionable, future purchase of carbon credits, as currently required for national Kyoto compliance

  6. Biomass: An overview in the United States of America

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robertson, T. [USDA Soil Conservation Service, Washington, DC (United States); Shapouri, H.

    1993-12-31

    Concerns about the heavy reliance on foreign sources of fossil fuels, environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels, environmental impacts of agricultural activities, the need to find sustainable renewable sources of energy, and the need for a sustainable agricultural resource base have been driving forces for the development of biomass as a source of energy. The development of biomass conversion technologies, of high-yielding herbaceous and short-rotation woody biomass crops, of high-yielding food, feed, and fiber crops, and of livestock with higher levels of feed conversion efficiencies has made the transition from total reliance on fossil fuels to utilization of renewable sources of energy from biomass a reality. A variety of biomass conversion technologies have been developed and tested. Public utilities, private power companies, and the paper industry are interested in applying this technology. Direct burning of biomass and/or cofiring in existing facilities will reduce emissions of greenhouse and other undesirable gases. Legislation has been passed to promote biomass production and utilization for liquid fuels and electricity. Land is available. The production of short-rotation woody crops and perennial grasses provides alternatives to commodity crops to stabilize income in the agricultural sector. The production of biomass crops can also reduce soil erosion, sediment loadings to surface water, and agricultural chemical loadings to ground and surface water; provide wildlife habitat; increase income and employment opportunities in rural areas; and provide a more sustainable agricultural resource base.

  7. 75 FR 6263 - Biomass Crop Assistance Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-08

    ... guidelines followed for any harvesting, collecting, storing or transporting of such material from such... for the purposes of transport and delivery to eligible biomass conversion facilities. As specified in... or proposes to convert renewable biomass into heat, power, biobased products, advanced biodiesel, or...

  8. Treatment of log yard run-off by irrigation of grass and willows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jonsson, Maria; Dimitriou, Ioannis; Aronsson, Paer; Elowson, Torbjoern

    2006-01-01

    Log yard run-off is a potential environmental risk, among other things because it creates an oxygen deficiency in receiving watercourses. This study was conducted to investigate the purification efficiency of soil-plant systems with couchgrass (Elymus repens) and willows (Salix sp.) when intensively irrigated with run-off from an open sprinkling system at a Norway spruce (Picea abies) log yard. The purification efficiency was determined both at the field scale (couchgrass) and in 68-L lysimeters (couchgrass and willows). Groundwater in the field and drainage water from the lysimeters were analysed for Total Organic Carbon (TOC), distillable phenols, total P, and total N. Retention of TOC, phenols and P occurred but no difference between couchgrass and willows was observed. The system had better purification capacity at the field scale than in the lysimeters. -- By irrigating willow and couchgrass soil-plant systems with log yard run-off water, TOC, phenols, and phosphorus were reduced with 35% to 96% in the water

  9. Phytoremediation, a sustainable remediation technology? II: Economic assessment of CO2 abatement through the use of phytoremediation crops for renewable energy production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Witters, N.; Mendelsohn, R.; Van Passel, S.; Van Slycken, S.; Weyens, N.; Schreurs, E.; Meers, E.; Tack, F.; Vanheusden, B.; Vangronsveld, J.

    2012-01-01

    Phytoremediation could be a sustainable remediation alternative for conventional remediation technologies. However, its implementation on a commercial scale remains disappointing. To emphasize its sustainability, this paper examines whether and how the potential economic benefit of CO 2 abatement for different crops used for phytoremediation or sustainable land management purposes could promote phytotechnologies. Our analysis is based on a case study in the Campine region, where agricultural soils are contaminated with mainly cadmium. We use Life Cycle Analysis to show for the most relevant crops (willow (Salix spp), energy maize (Zea mays), and rapeseed (Brassica napus)), that phytoremediation, used for renewable energy production, could abate CO 2 . Converting this in economic numbers through the Marginal Abatement Cost of CO 2 (€ 20 ton −1 ) we can integrate this in the economic analysis to compare phytoremediation crops among each other, and phytoremediation with conventional technologies. The external benefit of CO 2 abatement when using phytoremediation crops for land management ranges between € 55 and € 501 per hectare. The purpose of these calculations is not to calculate a subsidy for phytoremediation. There is no reason why one would prefer phytoremediation crops for renewable energy production over “normal” biomass. Moreover, subsidies for renewable energy already exist. Therefore, we should not integrate these numbers in the economic analysis again. However, these numbers could contribute to making explicit the competitive advantage of phytoremediation compared to conventional remediation technologies, but also add to a more sustainably funded decision on which crop should be grown on contaminated land. -- Highlights: ► We add CO 2 abatement for each remediation crop to the private economic analysis. ► This values the advantage of phytoremediation compared to conventional remediation. ► This leads to a crop choice that considers an

  10. Uptake, metabolism, accumulation and toxicity of cyanide in willow trees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Morten; Ucisik, Ahmed Süheyl; Trapp, Stefan

    2005-01-01

    Chemicals taken up into plants may be accumulated so leading to toxic effects. Uptake and phytotoxicity of free cyanide was determined with the willow-tree transpiration test. Willow sets were grown in sand and irrigated with varying levels of cyanide (CN). Toxicity was determined by measuring...... transpiration. At CN concentrations below 10 mg/L, no toxic effects were observed. At 20 mg/L, transpiration was reduced to approximately 50% after 96 h. With 30, 40 and 50 mg/L, the transpiration decreased with a similar rate to cyanide in plant...... tissue was observed at 40 and 50 mg/L. The kinetics of metabolism of cyanide by roots, stems and leaves of willows was determined by the closed-bottle metabolism test. The Michaelis−Menten parameters vmax and KM (maximal metabolic velocity and half-saturation constant, respectively) were determined...

  11. Computing the biomass potentials for maize and two alternative energy crops, triticale and cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.), with the crop model BioSTAR in the region of Hannover (Germany).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauböck, Roland; Karpenstein-Machan, Marianne; Kappas, Martin

    2014-01-01

    Lower Saxony (Germany) has the highest installed electric capacity from biogas in Germany. Most of this electricity is generated with maize. Reasons for this are the high yields and the economic incentive. In parts of Lower Saxony, an expansion of maize cultivation has led to ecological problems and a negative image of bioenergy as such. Winter triticale and cup plant have both shown their suitability as alternative energy crops for biogas production and could help to reduce maize cultivation. The model Biomass Simulation Tool for Agricultural Resources (BioSTAR) has been validated with observed yield data from the region of Hannover for the cultures maize and winter wheat. Predicted yields for the cultures show satisfactory error values of 9.36% (maize) and 11.5% (winter wheat). Correlations with observed data are significant ( P  alternative to maize in the region of Hanover and other places in Lower Saxony. The model BioSTAR simulated yields for maize and winter wheat in the region of Hannover at a good overall level of accuracy (combined error 10.4%). Due to input data aggregation, individual years show high errors though (up to 30%). Nevertheless, the BioSTAR crop model has proven to be a functioning tool for the prediction of agricultural biomass potentials under varying environmental and crop management frame conditions.

  12. ALTENER - Biomass event in Finland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-12-31

    The publication contains the lectures held in the Biomass event in Finland. The event was divided into two sessions: Fuel production and handling, and Co-combustion and gasification sessions. Both sessions consisted of lectures and the business forum during which the companies involved in the research presented themselves and their research and their equipment. The fuel production and handling session consisted of following lectures and business presentations: AFB-NETT - business opportunities for European biomass industry; Wood waste in Europe; Wood fuel production technologies in EU- countries; new drying method for wood waste; Pellet - the best package for biofuel - a view from the Swedish pelletmarket; First biomass plant in Portugal with forest residue fuel; and the business forum of presentations: Swedish experiences of willow growing; Biomass handling technology; Chipset 536 C Harvester; KIC International. The Co-combustion and gasification session consisted of following lectures and presentations: Gasification technology - overview; Overview of co-combustion technology in Europe; Modern biomass combustion technology; Wood waste, peat and sludge combustion in Enso Kemi mills and UPM-Kymmene Rauma paper mill; Enhanced CFB combustion of wood chips, wood waste and straw in Vaexjoe in Sweden and Grenaa CHP plant in Denmark; Co-combustion of wood waste; Biomass gasification projects in India and Finland; Biomass CFB gasifier connected to a 350 MW{sub t}h steam boiler fired with coal and natural gas - THERMIE demonstration project in Lahti (FI); Biomass gasification for energy production, Noord Holland plant in Netherlands and Arbre Energy (UK); Gasification of biomass in fixed bed gasifiers, Wet cleaning and condensing heat recovery of flue gases; Combustion of wet biomass by underfeed grate boiler; Research on biomass and waste for energy; Engineering and consulting on energy (saving) projects; and Research and development on combustion of solid fuels

  13. ALTENER - Biomass event in Finland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-12-31

    The publication contains the lectures held in the Biomass event in Finland. The event was divided into two sessions: Fuel production and handling, and Co-combustion and gasification sessions. Both sessions consisted of lectures and the business forum during which the companies involved in the research presented themselves and their research and their equipment. The fuel production and handling session consisted of following lectures and business presentations: AFB-NETT - business opportunities for European biomass industry; Wood waste in Europe; Wood fuel production technologies in EU- countries; new drying method for wood waste; Pellet - the best package for biofuel - a view from the Swedish pelletmarket; First biomass plant in Portugal with forest residue fuel; and the business forum of presentations: Swedish experiences of willow growing; Biomass handling technology; Chipset 536 C Harvester; KIC International. The Co-combustion and gasification session consisted of following lectures and presentations: Gasification technology - overview; Overview of co-combustion technology in Europe; Modern biomass combustion technology; Wood waste, peat and sludge combustion in Enso Kemi mills and UPM-Kymmene Rauma paper mill; Enhanced CFB combustion of wood chips, wood waste and straw in Vaexjoe in Sweden and Grenaa CHP plant in Denmark; Co-combustion of wood waste; Biomass gasification projects in India and Finland; Biomass CFB gasifier connected to a 350 MW{sub t}h steam boiler fired with coal and natural gas - THERMIE demonstration project in Lahti (FI); Biomass gasification for energy production, Noord Holland plant in Netherlands and Arbre Energy (UK); Gasification of biomass in fixed bed gasifiers, Wet cleaning and condensing heat recovery of flue gases; Combustion of wet biomass by underfeed grate boiler; Research on biomass and waste for energy; Engineering and consulting on energy (saving) projects; and Research and development on combustion of solid fuels

  14. Assessment of potential biomass energy production in China towards 2030 and 2050

    OpenAIRE

    Zhao, Guangling

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to provide a more detailed picture of potential biomass energy production in the Chinese energy system towards 2030 and 2050. Biomass for bioenergy feedstocks comes from five sources, which are agricultural crop residues, forest residues and industrial wood waste, energy crops and woody crops, animal manure, and municipal solid waste. The potential biomass production is predicted based on the resource availability. In the process of identifying biomass resources...

  15. Biomass crops in the agroecosystem. Its benefits agroecological; La biomasa de los cultivos en el oecosistema. Sus beneficios agroecológicos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martínez Romero, Anirebis [Reserva Científica del departamento de Fitotecnia, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas (INCA), gaveta postal 1, San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque (Cuba); Leyva Galán, Angel [Investigador Titular del departamento de Fitotecnia, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas(INCA), gaveta postal 1, San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque, (Cuba)

    2014-07-01

    Biomass is the result of the transformation of solar energy into chemical energy. The man throughout history has used not only for food but also for feeding their animals. The progress of science promoted agricultural development based on the green revolution, which only promotes the production of either food or feed, marginalizing the importance of biomass as enriching the soil resources available inputs needed to replace their fertility natural. At present the production and preservation of any crop biomass becomes transcendent importance, because it also contributes to environmental protection through carbon sequestration. This study aimed to show the importance of providing non-food biomass generally for humans to use it not only as animal feed but also as a natural resource rich soil. Research in Cuba on the subject is poor, even though today is very important to find alternatives to deepen in the production of biomass in relation to the environment. Finally, we present preliminary results on the production of biomass from agricultural biodiversity present in production scenarios, while reflecting on the important question for future research. (author)

  16. Industrial hemp as a potential bioenergy crop in comparison with kenaf, switchgrass and biomass sorghum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Lalitendu; Liu, Enshi; Saeed, Areej; Williams, David W; Hu, Hongqiang; Li, Chenlin; Ray, Allison E; Shi, Jian

    2017-11-01

    This study takes combined field trial, lab experiment, and economic analysis approaches to evaluate the potential of industrial hemp in comparison with kenaf, switchgrass and biomass sorghum. Agronomy data suggest that the per hectare yield (5437kg) of industrial hemp stem alone was at a similar level with switchgrass and sorghum; while the hemp plants require reduced inputs. Field trial also showed that ∼1230kg/ha hemp grain can be harvested in addition to stems. Results show a predicted ethanol yield of ∼82gallons/dry ton hemp stems, which is comparable to the other three tested feedstocks. A comparative cost analysis indicates that industrial hemp could generate higher per hectare gross profit than the other crops if both hemp grains and biofuels from hemp stem were counted. These combined evaluation results demonstrate that industrial hemp has great potential to become a promising regional commodity crop for producing both biofuels and value-added products. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. The use of a GIS model to evaluate the economic potential for biomass in Northampton County, Pennsylvania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breger, D.S.; Snyder, H.

    1999-01-01

    This paper describes the development and use of a geographical information system (GIS) model to evaluate the technical and economic potential for biomass energy (particularly willows) in a county of Pennsylvania. The model uses GIS coverages of land use, soil type, and riparian zones to evaluate the applicability and cost of biomass production and to generate a supply curve for a biomass economy. The model can be extended to consider energy end-use facilities and transportation costs to analyze the willingness-to-pay for biomass fuels by large energy users. The GIS model is designed to produce a county-level supply-and-demand curve for biomass energy, and the potential for market activity. The spatial distributions of supply-and-demand economics are valuable to target efforts to initiate biomass activities. (author)

  18. Assessment of potential biomass energy production in China towards 2030 and 2050

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Guangling

    2018-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to provide a more detailed picture of potential biomass energy production in the Chinese energy system towards 2030 and 2050. Biomass for bioenergy feedstocks comes from five sources, which are agricultural crop residues, forest residues and industrial wood waste, energy crops and woody crops, animal manure, and municipal solid waste. The potential biomass production is predicted based on the resource availability. In the process of identifying biomass resources production, assumptions are made regarding arable land, marginal land, crops yields, forest growth rate, and meat consumption and waste production. Four scenarios were designed to describe the potential biomass energy production to elaborate the role of biomass energy in the Chinese energy system in 2030. The assessment shows that under certain restrictions on land availability, the maximum potential biomass energy productions are estimated to be 18,833 and 24,901 PJ in 2030 and 2050.

  19. Treatment of landfill leachate by irrigation of willow coppice - Plant response and treatment efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aronsson, Paer; Dahlin, Torleif; Dimitriou, Ioannis

    2010-01-01

    Landfill leachates usually need to be treated before discharged, and using soil-plant systems for this has gained substantial interest in Sweden and in the UK. A three-year field study was conducted in central Sweden to quantify plant response, treatment efficiency and impact on groundwater quality of landfill leachate irrigation of short-rotation willow coppice (Salix). Two willow varieties were tested and four irrigation regimes in sixteen 400-m 2 plots. The willow plants did not react negatively, despite very high annual loads of nitrogen (≤2160 kg N/ha), chloride (≤8600 kg Cl/ha) and other elements. Mean annual growth was 1.5, 9.8 and 12.6 tonnes DM/ha during years 1-3. For one of two willow varieties tested, relative leaf length accurately predicted growth rate. Irrigation resulted in elevated groundwater concentrations of all elements applied. Treatment efficiency varied considerably for different elements, but was adequate when moderate loads were applied. - Short-rotation willow coppice was successfully used for treating a strong landfill leachate in central Sweden over three years.

  20. The potential of Arachis pintoi biomass to improve quality of soil continuously used for cassava cropping

    OpenAIRE

    N. Muddarisna; S. Prijono

    2014-01-01

    A field experiment that was aimed to elucidate the effects of application of Arachis pintoi biomass and animal dung on quality of soil continuously used for cassava cropping was conducted at Jatikerto Village, Kromengan District of Malang Regency. Eight treatments tested were 100% NPK inorganic fertilizer, 100 kg N Arachis pintoi/ha, (3) 100 kg N chicken dung / ha, 100 kg N cow dung /ha, 100 kg N goat dung /ha, 100 kg N Arachis pintoi + chicken dung /ha, 100 kg N Arachis pintoi + cow dung /h...

  1. The potential of willow for remediation of heavy metal polluted calcareous urban soils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, J K; Holm, P E; Nejrup, J

    2009-01-01

    Growth performance and heavy metal uptake by willow (Salix viminalis) from strongly and moderately polluted calcareous soils were investigated in field and growth chamber trials to assess the suitability of willow for phytoremediation. Field uptakes were 2-10 times higher than growth chamber...

  2. Transpiration and metabolisation of TCE by willow plants - a pot experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schöftner, Philipp; Watzinger, Andrea; Holzknecht, Philipp; Wimmer, Bernhard; Reichenauer, Thomas G

    2016-01-01

    Willows were grown in glass cylinders filled with compost above water-saturated quartz sand, to trace the fate of TCE in water and plant biomass. The experiment was repeated once with the same plants in two consecutive years. TCE was added in nominal concentrations of 0, 144, 288, and 721 mg l(-1). Unplanted cylinders were set-up and spiked with nominal concentrations of 721 mg l(-1) TCE in the second year. Additionally, (13)C-enriched TCE solution (δ(13)C = 110.3 ‰) was used. Periodically, TCE content and metabolites were analyzed in water and plant biomass. The presence of TCE-degrading microorganisms was monitored via the measurement of the isotopic ratio of carbon ((13)C/(12)C) in TCE, and the abundance of (13)C-labeled microbial PLFAs (phospholipid fatty acids). More than 98% of TCE was lost via evapotranspiration from the planted pots within one month after adding TCE. Transpiration accounted to 94 to 78% of the total evapotranspiration loss. Almost 1% of TCE was metabolized in the shoots, whereby trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) and dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) were dominant metabolites; less trichloroethanol (TCOH) and TCE accumulated in plant tissues. Microbial degradation was ruled out by δ(13)C measurements of water and PLFAs. TCE had no detected influence on plant stress status as determined by chlorophyll-fluorescence and gas exchange.

  3. Microbial biomass and soil fauna during the decomposition of cover crops in no-tillage system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciano Colpo Gatiboni

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The decomposition of plant residues is a biological process mediated by soil fauna, but few studies have been done evaluating its dynamics in time during the process of disappearance of straw. This study was carried out in Chapecó, in southern Brazil, with the objective of monitoring modifications in soil fauna populations and the C content in the soil microbial biomass (C SMB during the decomposition of winter cover crop residues in a no-till system. The following treatments were tested: 1 Black oat straw (Avena strigosa Schreb.; 2 Rye straw (Secale cereale L.; 3 Common vetch straw (Vicia sativa L.. The cover crops were grown until full flowering and then cut mechanically with a rolling stalk chopper. The soil fauna and C content in soil microbial biomass (C SMB were assessed during the period of straw decomposition, from October 2006 to February 2007. To evaluate C SMB by the irradiation-extraction method, soil samples from the 0-10 cm layer were used, collected on eight dates, from before until 100 days after residue chopping. The soil fauna was collected with pitfall traps on seven dates up to 85 days after residue chopping. The phytomass decomposition of common vetch was faster than of black oat and rye residues. The C SMB decreased during the process of straw decomposition, fastest in the treatment with common vetch. In the common vetch treatment, the diversity of the soil fauna was reduced at the end of the decomposition process.

  4. Erratum to: Fertilization of SRC Willow

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sevel, L; Ingerslev, Morten; Nord-Larsen, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    impacts of different doses of mineral fertilizer, manure and sewage sludge in a commercially grown SRC willow stand. We examined macro nutrient and heavy metal leaching rates and calculated element balances to evaluate the environmental impact. Growth responses were reported in a former paper (Sevel et al...

  5. Willow Browse Survey 2016 : Biological Summary Report

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of the Interior — Browse pressure by ungulate species, primarily elk, is known to have a negative impact on the health of willow stands. On Baca and Alamosa NWR’s, it has been noticed...

  6. Willow Browse Survey 2015 : Biological Summary Report

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of the Interior — Browse pressure by ungulate species, primarily elk, is known to have a negative impact on the health of willow stands. On Baca and Alamosa NWR’s, it has been noticed...

  7. Assessment of the phytoextraction potential of high biomass crop plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hernandez-Allica, Javier [NEIKER-tecnalia, Basque Institute of Agricultural Research and Development, c/Berreaga 1, E-48160 Derio (Spain); Becerril, Jose M. [Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country, P.O. Box 644, E-48080 Bilbao (Spain); Garbisu, Carlos [NEIKER-tecnalia, Basque Institute of Agricultural Research and Development, c/Berreaga 1, E-48160 Derio (Spain)], E-mail: cgarbisu@neiker.net

    2008-03-15

    A hydroponic screening method was used to identify high biomass crop plants with the ability to accumulate metals. Highest values of shoot accumulation were found in maize cv. Ranchero, rapeseed cv. Karat, and cardoon cv. Peralta for Pb (18 753 mg kg{sup -1}), Zn (10 916 mg kg{sup -1}), and Cd (242 mg kg{sup -1}), respectively. Subsequently, we tested the potential of these three cultivars for the phytoextraction of a metal spiked compost, finding out that, in cardoon and maize plants, increasing Zn and Cd concentrations led to lower values of root and shoot DW. By contrast, rapeseed shoot growth was not significantly affected by Cd concentration. Finally, a metal polluted soil was used to check these cultivars' phytoextraction capacity. Although the soil was phytotoxic enough to prevent the growth of cardoon and rapeseed plants, maize plants phytoextracted 3.7 mg Zn pot{sup -1}. We concluded that the phytoextraction performance of cultivars varies depending on the screening method used. - The phytoextraction performance of cultivars varies significantly depending on the screening method used.

  8. Assessment of the phytoextraction potential of high biomass crop plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez-Allica, Javier; Becerril, Jose M.; Garbisu, Carlos

    2008-01-01

    A hydroponic screening method was used to identify high biomass crop plants with the ability to accumulate metals. Highest values of shoot accumulation were found in maize cv. Ranchero, rapeseed cv. Karat, and cardoon cv. Peralta for Pb (18 753 mg kg -1 ), Zn (10 916 mg kg -1 ), and Cd (242 mg kg -1 ), respectively. Subsequently, we tested the potential of these three cultivars for the phytoextraction of a metal spiked compost, finding out that, in cardoon and maize plants, increasing Zn and Cd concentrations led to lower values of root and shoot DW. By contrast, rapeseed shoot growth was not significantly affected by Cd concentration. Finally, a metal polluted soil was used to check these cultivars' phytoextraction capacity. Although the soil was phytotoxic enough to prevent the growth of cardoon and rapeseed plants, maize plants phytoextracted 3.7 mg Zn pot -1 . We concluded that the phytoextraction performance of cultivars varies depending on the screening method used. - The phytoextraction performance of cultivars varies significantly depending on the screening method used

  9. IMPROVING BIOMASS LOGISTICS COST WITHIN AGRONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY CONSTRAINTS AND BIOMASS QUALITY TARGETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    J. Richard Hess; Kevin L. Kenney; Christopher T. Wright; David J. Muth; William Smith

    2012-10-01

    Equipment manufacturers have made rapid improvements in biomass harvesting and handling equipment. These improvements have increased transportation and handling efficiencies due to higher biomass densities and reduced losses. Improvements in grinder efficiencies and capacity have reduced biomass grinding costs. Biomass collection efficiencies (the ratio of biomass collected to the amount available in the field) as high as 75% for crop residues and greater than 90% for perennial energy crops have also been demonstrated. However, as collection rates increase, the fraction of entrained soil in the biomass increases, and high biomass residue removal rates can violate agronomic sustainability limits. Advancements in quantifying multi-factor sustainability limits to increase removal rate as guided by sustainable residue removal plans, and mitigating soil contamination through targeted removal rates based on soil type and residue type/fraction is allowing the use of new high efficiency harvesting equipment and methods. As another consideration, single pass harvesting and other technologies that improve harvesting costs cause biomass storage moisture management challenges, which challenges are further perturbed by annual variability in biomass moisture content. Monitoring, sampling, simulation, and analysis provide basis for moisture, time, and quality relationships in storage, which has allowed the development of moisture tolerant storage systems and best management processes that combine moisture content and time to accommodate baled storage of wet material based upon “shelf-life.” The key to improving biomass supply logistics costs has been developing the associated agronomic sustainability and biomass quality technologies and processes that allow the implementation of equipment engineering solutions.

  10. Comparison of willow and sunflower for uranium phytoextraction induced by citric acid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jan Mihalik; National Radiation Protection Institute, Prague; CZU, FAPPZ, Prague; Pavel Tlustos; Jirina Szakova

    2010-01-01

    This study deals with an efficiency of a low dose of citric acid soil application on phytoextraction of uranium. Willow (Salix spp.) and sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) were tested in this experiment with contaminated soil. The enhancing of uranium bioaccumulation was confirmed, but in contrast to previous studies, the highest quantity of uranium was accumulated in leaves. After 5 weeks of citric acid treatment, willow was more efficient in the uptake and translocation of uranium than sunflower. The transfer coefficient calculated for leaves increased from 0.033 (control) to 0.74, or 0.56 after five doses of 5 mmol of citric acid per 1 kg of soil for willow or sunflower, respectively. The uptake characterized by the total U content achieved 88 and 108 mg kg -1 in relation to the above ground parts of sunflower and willow, respectively. Even though both plants accumulated U in their above ground parts in significant rate, they employed diverse ways to achieve it. At the end of the treatment, the physiological condition of the plants enabled us to continue this method. (author)

  11. Storage of catch crops to produce biogas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Molinuevo-Salces, Beatriz; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær; Uellendahl, Hinrich

    2014-01-01

    . On the contrary, the poor quality of IR silage, due to its high TS content, made it inappropriate as feedstock for biogas production. A TS content of 25-35% is preferable, to obtain a proper fermentation avoid leachate run-off and growth of Clostridium sp. or mold formation. Avoiding soil particles in the bales......Catch crop biomass is a promising co-substrate for manure-based biogas plants in Denmark since the cultivation of catch crops is mandatory to retain nutrients in the soil, contributing to protect the aquatic environment. In general, the growth period for catch crops is from harvest of the previous...... crop in July-August to the end of the growing season and harvest in late October. Hence, for use of the biomass in biogas production there is a need for storage of the biomass. Storage as silage would guarantee the availability of the feedstock for biogas production during the whole year. A proper...

  12. Estimation of Vegetable Crop Parameter by Multi-temporal UAV-Borne Images

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Moeckel

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available 3D point cloud analysis of imagery collected by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV has been shown to be a valuable tool for estimation of crop phenotypic traits, such as plant height, in several species. Spatial information about these phenotypic traits can be used to derive information about other important crop characteristics, like fresh biomass yield, which could not be derived directly from the point clouds. Previous approaches have often only considered single date measurements using a single point cloud derived metric for the respective trait. Furthermore, most of the studies focused on plant species with a homogenous canopy surface. The aim of this study was to assess the applicability of UAV imagery for capturing crop height information of three vegetables (crops eggplant, tomato, and cabbage with a complex vegetation canopy surface during a complete crop growth cycle to infer biomass. Additionally, the effect of crop development stage on the relationship between estimated crop height and field measured crop height was examined. Our study was conducted in an experimental layout at the University of Agricultural Science in Bengaluru, India. For all the crops, the crop height and the biomass was measured at five dates during one crop growth cycle between February and May 2017 (average crop height was 42.5, 35.5, and 16.0 cm for eggplant, tomato, and cabbage. Using a structure from motion approach, a 3D point cloud was created for each crop and sampling date. In total, 14 crop height metrics were extracted from the point clouds. Machine learning methods were used to create prediction models for vegetable crop height. The study demonstrates that the monitoring of crop height using an UAV during an entire growing period results in detailed and precise estimates of crop height and biomass for all three crops (R2 ranging from 0.87 to 0.97, bias ranging from −0.66 to 0.45 cm. The effect of crop development stage on the predicted crop height was

  13. Maintaining environmental quality while expanding biomass production: Sub-regional U.S. policy simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso; Swinton, Scott M.; Izaurralde, R. César; Manowitz, David H.; Zhang, Xuesong

    2013-01-01

    This paper evaluates environmental policy effects on ligno-cellulosic biomass production and environmental outcomes using an integrated bioeconomic optimization model. The environmental policy integrated climate (EPIC) model is used to simulate crop yields and environmental indicators in current and future potential bioenergy cropping systems based on weather, topographic and soil data. The crop yield and environmental outcome parameters from EPIC are combined with biomass transport costs and economic parameters in a representative farmer profit-maximizing mathematical optimization model. The model is used to predict the impact of alternative policies on biomass production and environmental outcomes. We find that without environmental policy, rising biomass prices initially trigger production of annual crop residues, resulting in increased greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, and nutrient losses to surface and ground water. At higher biomass prices, perennial bioenergy crops replace annual crop residues as biomass sources, resulting in lower environmental impacts. Simulations of three environmental policies namely a carbon price, a no-till area subsidy, and a fertilizer tax reveal that only the carbon price policy systematically mitigates environmental impacts. The fertilizer tax is ineffectual and too costly to farmers. The no-till subsidy is effective only at low biomass prices and is too costly to government. - Highlights: ► Bioeconomic optimization model predicts how biomass production affects environment. ► Rising biomass production could impair climate and water quality. ► Environmental protection policies compared as biomass supply grows. ► Carbon price protects the environment cost-effectively as biomass supply expands

  14. Nitrogen Fertilizer Source, Rates, and Timing for a Cover Crop and Subsequent Cotton Crop

    Science.gov (United States)

    The objectives were to compare N fertilizer sources, rates, and time of application for a rye winter cover crop to determine optimal biomass production for conservation tillage production, compare recommended and no additional N fertilizer rates across different biomass levels for cotton, and determ...

  15. Puente Willow Creek en Monterrey, California

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Editorial, Equipo

    1965-09-01

    Full Text Available Of the 10 awards given every year by the Prestressed Concrete Institute for the most outstanding prestressed concrete projects, two have been awarded in California this year, one of them to the Willow Creek bridge, near Monterrey. The prestressed, double T girders of this bridge were made at a workshop, a great distance from the bridge site. These are 24 m long, 1.35 m high, and are stabilized by transversal diaphragms, 20 cm in thickness. The table deck is of reinforced concrete, being 8.85 m wide and 20 cm thick. The structure is straightforward, slender, and adapts itself pleasantly to the background. It has seven spans and crosses over a secondary road, in addition to bridging the Willow stream. The supporting piles are hollow, of rectangular cross section, and over them a cross beam carries the five girders and the deck itself. The end abutments consist of vertical reinforced concrete walls, and supporting, soil filled, structures. The above information was supplied by the California Road Department.De los diez premios que anualmente concede el Prestressed Concrete Institute para las obras de hormigón pretensado más notables, dos han correspondido a California y uno de ellos al puente de Willow Creek, situado en la región de Monterrey. Las vigas de hormigón pretensado, con sección en forma de doble T, se prefabricaron en un taller situado a gran distancia del puente. Tienen 24 m de longitud y 1,35 m de canto, estando arriostradas con diafragmas transversales de 20 cm de espesor. La losa del tablero, de hormigón armado, tiene 8,85 m de anchura y 20 cm de espesor. La estructura es sencilla, esbelta y armoniza perfectamente con el paisaje que la circunda. Tiene siete tramos y salva un paso inferior secundario y el arroyo Willow. Los soportes, se apoyan sobre pilotes, algunos de gran altura; son huecos, de sección rectangular y terminan en una cruceta que sirve de sostén a las cinco vigas que soportan la losa del tablero. Los estribos

  16. Willow Short Rotation Coppice Trial in a Former Mining Area in Northern Spain: Effects of Clone, Fertilization and Planting Density on Yield after Five Years

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Castaño-Díaz

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available A willow short rotation coppice (SRC trial was conducted on former mining land in northern Spain over a period of five years, with the purpose of evaluating the effects on yield of two planting densities (9876 and 14,815 cuttings ha−1, three treatments (control, two levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compound fertilizer (NPK plus weed control and three willow clones (Björn, Inger, Olof. The area was subsoiled, ploughed, harrowed and fertilized with NPK before trial establishment. A randomized block design was applied, with three replications of each treatment in a total of 54 plots, each of an area of 400 m2. The effects of the interactions between the various factors on yield and other growth parameters were also studied. The clone factor significantly affected the number of shoots per stool (greatest for the Inger clone and the Olof clone, which showed the lowest mortality rate and produced the largest trees and largest quantity of biomass. The combined application of fertilizer and herbicide also significantly increased the values of all response variables considered, except the mortality rate. The planting density did not significantly affect the response variables. Clone × treatment interactions were significant for the shoots per stool, height, diameter and biomass variables, and the Olof clone displayed the highest height and diameter growth and yield. The results obtained in the first rotation indicate that the Olof clone adapted well to the trial conditions and therefore would be appropriate for producing biomass in abandoned mine land in Asturias. These findings will help in the development of strategies for the establishment and management of SRC on marginal land.

  17. Biomass utilization for the process of gasification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josef Spěvák

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Biomass as one of the renewable resources of energy has bright future in utilization, especially in obtaining various forms of energy (heat, electrical energy, gas.According to the conception of energy policy of the Czech Republic and according to the fulfillment of the indicators of renewable resources using until the year 2010, the research of thermophysical characteristics of biofuels was realized.There were acquired considerable amount of results by combustion and gasification process on the basis of three-year project „Biomass energy parameters.” By means of combustion and gasification tests of various (biomass fuels were acquired the results which were not published so far.Acquired results are published in the fuel sheets, which are divided into four parts. They consist of information on fuel composition, ash composition, testing conditions and measurand overview. Measurements were realized for the process of combustion, fluidized-bed gasification and fixed-bed gasification. Following fuels were tested: Acacia, Pine, Birch, Beech, Spruce, Poplar, Willow, Rape, Amaranth, Corn, Flax, Wheat, Safflower, Mallow, and Sorrel.

  18. Willow on Yellowstone's northern range: evidence for a trophic cascade?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beyer, Hawthorne L; Merrill, Evelyn H; Varley, Nathan; Boyce, Mark S

    2007-09-01

    Reintroduction of wolves (Canis lupus) to Yellowstone National Park in 1995-1996 has been argued to promote a trophic cascade by altering elk (Cervus elaphus) density, habitat-selection patterns, and behavior that, in turn, could lead to changes within the plant communities used by elk. We sampled two species of willow (Salix boothii and S. geyeriana) on the northern winter range to determine whether (1) there was quantitative evidence of increased willow growth following wolf reintroduction, (2) browsing by elk affected willow growth, and (3) any increase in growth observed was greater than that expected by climatic and hydrological factors alone, thereby indicating a trophic cascade caused by wolves. Using stem sectioning techniques to quantify historical growth patterns we found an approximately twofold increase in stem growth-ring area following wolf reintroduction for both species of willow. This increase could not be explained by climate and hydrological factors alone; the presence of wolves on the landscape was a significant predictor of stem growth above and beyond these abiotic factors. Growth-ring area was positively correlated with the previous year's ring area and negatively correlated with the percentage of twigs browsed from the stem during the winter preceding growth, indicating that elk browse impeded stem growth. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis of a behaviorally mediated trophic cascade on Yellowstone's northern winter range following wolf reintroduction. We suggest that the community-altering effects of wolf restoration are an endorsement of ecological-process management in Yellowstone National Park.

  19. Integrated crop management practices for maximizing grain yield of double-season rice crop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Depeng; Huang, Jianliang; Nie, Lixiao; Wang, Fei; Ling, Xiaoxia; Cui, Kehui; Li, Yong; Peng, Shaobing

    2017-01-01

    Information on maximum grain yield and its attributes are limited for double-season rice crop grown under the subtropical environment. This study was conducted to examine key characteristics associated with high yielding double-season rice crop through a comparison between an integrated crop management (ICM) and farmers’ practice (FP). Field experiments were conducted in the early and late seasons in the subtropical environment of Wuxue County, Hubei Province, China in 2013 and 2014. On average, grain yield in ICM was 13.5% higher than that in FP. A maximum grain yield of 9.40 and 10.53 t ha-1 was achieved under ICM in the early- and late-season rice, respectively. Yield improvement of double-season rice with ICM was achieved with the combined effects of increased plant density and optimized nutrient management. Yield gain of ICM resulted from a combination of increases in sink size due to more panicle number per unit area and biomass production, further supported by the increased leaf area index, leaf area duration, radiation use efficiency, crop growth rate, and total nitrogen uptake compared with FP. Further enhancement in the yield potential of double-season rice should focus on increasing crop growth rate and biomass production through improved and integrated crop management practices.

  20. Growth of sugarcane under high input conditions in tropical Australia. 1. Radiation use, biomass accumulation and partitioning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robertson, M.J.; Wood, A.W.; Muchow, R.C.

    1996-01-01

    There is little detailed information on yield accumulation in sugarcane under high-input conditions, which can be used to quantify the key physiological parameters contributing to yield variation. Sugarcane is grown under plant and ratoon crop conditions. This study analysed canopy development, radiation interception and biomass accumulation of two contrasting cultivars of sugarcane under irrigation during the same season under plant and ratoon crop conditions. Over the 15 month season, 11 crop samplings were conducted. Biomass partitioning to stalk was also measured to determine to what extent differences in partitioning between cultivars under ratoon and plant crop conditions contribute to differential productivity. The key findings were: (1) The ratoon crop accumulated biomass more quickly than the plant crop during the first 100 days of growth due to higher stalk number, faster canopy development and greater radiation interception. For similar reasons, cultivar Q138 had higher early biomass production than cultivar Q117 in the plant crop, (2) Early differences in biomass accumulation due to crop class became negligible at about 220 days because maximum RUE of the plant crop (1.72 +/- 0.01 g MJ -1 ) was 8% higher than in the first ratoon crop (1.59 +/- 0.08 g MJ -1 ). The higher maximum RUE in the plant crop was consistent with a higher crop growth rate (35.1 +/- 2.3 versus 31.0 +/- 3.4 g m -2 d -1 ) during the Linear phase of biomass accumulation. (3) Biomass accumulation, which ceased about 300 days after planting/ratooning and 140 days before final harvest, attained similar levels of 53-58 t ha -1 in all four crops. (4) The plateau in biomass was associated with loss of live millable stalks, and not a cessation in the growth rate of individual stalks. The crops continued to intercept radiation while on the biomass plateau, so that average RUEs at final harvest were much lower than the maximum values. (5) There was no effect of crop class or cultivar on the

  1. High-biomass C4 grasses-Filling the yield gap.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mullet, John E

    2017-08-01

    A significant increase in agricultural productivity will be required by 2050 to meet the needs of an expanding and rapidly developing world population, without allocating more land and water resources to agriculture, and despite slowing rates of grain yield improvement. This review examines the proposition that high-biomass C 4 grasses could help fill the yield gap. High-biomass C 4 grasses exhibit high yield due to C 4 photosynthesis, long growth duration, and efficient capture and utilization of light, water, and nutrients. These C 4 grasses exhibit high levels of drought tolerance during their long vegetative growth phase ideal for crops grown in water-limited regions of agricultural production. The stems of some high-biomass C 4 grasses can accumulate high levels of non-structural carbohydrates that could be engineered to enhance biomass yield and utility as feedstocks for animals and biofuels production. The regulatory pathway that delays flowering of high-biomass C 4 grasses in long days has been elucidated enabling production and deployment of hybrids. Crop and landscape-scale modeling predict that utilization of high-biomass C 4 grass crops on land and in regions where water resources limit grain crop yield could increase agricultural productivity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Socio-economic evaluation of energy crops as a means for a better environment; Samfundsoekonomisk vurdering af energiafgroeder som virkemiddel for et bedre miljoe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacobsen, Brian H.; Dubgaard, A.

    2012-10-15

    The purpose of the economic analysis is to describe the economy by growing willow compared to alternative rotations in order to assess whether there would be an economic interest, to grow willow on selected soil types. The goal of the socio-economic analysis is to assess whether the price to reduce N leaching or emissions of greenhouse gases is cost-effective compared to other instruments. The analysis shows that it is economically attractive to grow energy crops on moist marginal soils (+1.800 Kr. / hectare / year) and in some cases also on sandy soil (600 kr. / hectare / year). A low grain prices will make energy crops attractive to all soil types, while a high grain prices would mean that it is only economically viable on marginal soils. There is some uncertainty about yields and prices for energy crops. Generally, a decrease in yield of two tonnes per year per hectare means a reduction in the contribution margin of almost 1,200 Kr. per hectare. Conversely, an increase in price from 42 to 45 Kr. per GJ will mean an increase in the contribution margin of DKK 400 per hectare. The welfare economic analyses show that there are negative costs (= gain) associated with energy crops, both in relation to the reduction of greenhouse gases and compared to N leaching from agricultural land. The assessment also includes the effect of reduced ammonia volatilization. It is estimated that willow cultivation reduces pesticide use calculated as the frequency of treatment of 50-97% and the load index of 19-89% compared to cereals cultivation. There is therefore a significant reduction of pesticide use. Compared to the cost of alternative measures, 23 DKK. per. kg N or 140 DKK per. tonnes of CO{sub 2}, it is therefore a cost-effective instrument under specified conditions. (LN)

  3. Phytoextraction of soil trace elements by willow during a phytoremediation trial in Southern Québec, Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courchesne, François; Turmel, Marie-Claude; Cloutier-Hurteau, Benoît; Constantineau, Simon; Munro, Lara; Labrecque, Michel

    2017-06-03

    The phytoextraction of the trace elements (TEs) As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn by willow cultivars (Fish Creek, SV1 and SX67) was measured during a 3-year field trial in a mildly contaminated soil. Biomass ranged from 2.8 to 4.4 Mg/ha/year at 30,000 plants/ha. Shoots (62%) were the main component followed by leaves (23%) and roots (15%). Biomass was positively linked to soluble soil dissolved organic carbon, K, and Mg, while TEs, not Cd and Zn, had a negative effect. The TE concentration ranking was: Zn > Cu > Cd > Ni, Pb > As, and distribution patterns were: (i) minima in shoots (As, Ni), (ii) maxima in leaves (Cd, Zn), or (iii) maxima in roots (Cu, Pb). Correlations between soil and plant TE were significant for the six TEs in roots. The amounts extracted were at a maximum for Zn, whereas Fish Creek and SV1 extracted more TE than SX67. More than 60% (91-94% for Cd and Zn) of the total TE was in the aboveground parts. Uptake increased with time because of higher biomass. Fertilization, the selection of cultivars, and the use of complementary plants are required to improve productivity and Cd and Zn uptake.

  4. Mortality of radio collared willow ptarmigan in Smoela wind-power plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pedersen, Hans Chr.; Broeseth, Henrik; Nilsen, Erlend B.; Sandercock, Brett K.; Bevanger, Kjetil

    2011-07-01

    Full text: In the project Pre- and post-construction studies of conflicts between birds and wind turbines in coastal Norway (BirdWind), Smoela willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus variegatus) has been one of the species studied. This sub-species represent gallinaceous birds, known to be bad flyers susceptible to collide with artificial structures, e.g. power lines. However, the possible impact of a wind-power plant on survival and behaviour in a willow ptarmigan population was unknown. The objectives of the study were therefore rather wide; to study direct and indirect effects of wind turbines on willow ptarmigan behaviour, habitat selection, reproduction and survival in areas where wind-power plants are established. To collect data on habitat selection, movements, collision risks, avoidance behaviour, survival and general population dynamic parameters, willow ptarmigan were radio-tagged in 2008-2010, using traditional VHF-transmitters (Holohill) with mortality switch, necklace mount, 12 g, lasting for approximately 24 months. Due to low population density and only occasional snow cover, a method using strong lights, dipnet and car was used to catch birds. In total, 34 willow ptarmigan were caught (19 males and 15 females). All birds were caught inside the wind-power plant area (WPA). The birds were radio-tracked at irregular intervals and almost all birds, when found, was located within the WPA. All carcasses of dead birds were examined. When possible, cause of death was determined as; predation (raptor), collision, unknown, other. In total, 28 of the radio-tagged birds have died since January 2008. A Kaplan-Meier analysis of cumulative survival rates, show an exceptionally low survival (<30%). Unlike other willow ptarmigan populations most of the mortality takes place during winter, from December throughout March. Although a thorough analysis of mortality causes has yet not been carried out, a majority of the birds have probably been killed by avian predators and to

  5. Investigation of the Transcriptome of Prairie Cord Grass, a New Cellulosic Biomass Crop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristene Gedye

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Prairie cordgrass ( Bosc ex Link is being developed as a cellulosic biomass crop. Development of this species will require numerous steps, including breeding, agronomy, and characterization of the species genome. The research in this paper describes the first investigation of the transcriptome of prairie cordgrass via Next Generation Sequencing Technology, 454 GS FLX. A total of 556,198 expressed sequence tags (ESTs were produced from four prairie cordgrass tissues: roots, rhizomes, immature inflorescence, and hooks. These ESTs were assembled into 26,302 contigs and 71,103 singletons. From these data were identified, EST–SSR (simple sequence repeat regions and cell wall biosynthetic pathway genes suitable for the development of molecular markers which can aid the breeding process of prairie cordgrass by means of marker assisted selection.

  6. Investigation of the Transcriptome of Prairie Cord Grass, a New Cellulosic Biomass Crop

    KAUST Repository

    Gedye, Kristene

    2010-09-15

    Prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Bosc ex Link) is being developed as a cellulosic biomass crop. Development of this species will require numerous steps, including breeding, agronomy, and characterization of the species genome. The research in this paper describes the first investigation of the transcriptome of prairie cordgrass via Next Generation Sequencing Technology, 454 GS FLX. A total of 556,198 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were produced from four prairie cordgrass tissues: roots, rhizomes, immature inflorescence, and hooks. These ESTs were assembled into 26,302 contigs and 71,103 singletons. From these data were identified, EST-SSR (simple sequence repeat) regions and cell wall biosynthetic pathway genes suitable for the development of molecular markers which can aid the breeding process of prairie cordgrass by means of marker assisted selection.

  7. U.S. Billion-Ton Update: Biomass Supply for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Downing, Mark [ORNL; Eaton, Laurence M [ORNL; Graham, Robin Lambert [ORNL; Langholtz, Matthew H [ORNL; Perlack, Robert D [ORNL; Turhollow Jr, Anthony F [ORNL; Stokes, Bryce [Navarro Research & Engineering; Brandt, Craig C [ORNL

    2011-08-01

    -diameter trees were considered. The 2005 BTS did not attempt to include any wood that would normally be used for higher-valued products (e.g., pulpwood) that could potentially shift to bioenergy applications. This would have required a separate economic analysis, which was not part of the 2005 BTS. The agriculture resources in the 2005 BTS included grains used for biofuels production; crop residues derived primarily from corn, wheat, and small grains; and animal manures and other residues. The cropland resource analysis also included estimates of perennial energy crops (e.g., herbaceous grasses, such as switchgrass, woody crops like hybrid poplar, as well as willow grown under short rotations and more intensive management than conventional plantation forests). Woody crops were included under cropland resources because it was assumed that they would be grown on a combination of cropland and pasture rather than forestland. In the 2005 BTS, current resource availability was estimated at 278 million dry tons annually from forestlands and slightly more than 194 million dry tons annually from croplands. These annual quantities increase to about 370 million dry tons from forestlands and to nearly 1 billion dry tons from croplands under scenario conditions of high-yield growth and large-scale plantings of perennial grasses and woody tree crops. This high-yield scenario reflects a mid-century timescale ({approx}2040-2050). Under conditions of lower-yield growth, estimated resource potential was projected to be about 320 and 580 million dry tons for forest and cropland biomass, respectively. As noted earlier, the 2005 BTS emphasized the primary resources (agricultural and forestry residues and energy crops) because they represent nearly 80% of the long-term resource potential. Since publication of the BTS in April 2005, there have been some rather dramatic changes in energy markets. In fact, just prior to the actual publication of the BTS, world oil prices started to increase as a result

  8. Biomass for biogas plants in Denmark - in the short and long term; Biomasse til biogasanlaeg i Danmark - pae kort og langt sigt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Birkmose, T.; Hjort-Gregersen, K.; Stefanek, K.

    2013-04-15

    In the short term, it is one of the major challenges for the developments of the biogas sector that resources of organic waste of the type (organic industrial wastes) that have heretofore been used, generally are estimated to be nearly exhausted. This has led to a number of new biogas projects based on the use of corn (energy crops) as additional biomass to livestock manure. However, Danish policy now has implemented a restriction on the use of corn and other energy crops for biogas production. It is with the restriction clarified that there is a need to use other additional biomass for biogas production. There is a need in the short term to clarify how alternative biomasses such as straw, nature preservation biomass, household waste, etc. in a technically and economically reliable and satisfactory way can be used for biogas production, so that the dependence of energy crops can be reduced. Additionally, it will be essential if the yield of using manure can be increased to reduce economic dependence on energy crops. In the longer term it is essential to strengthen the assessment of the resource potential of biomass available for the production of biogas, and thus what the contribution of biogas in the long term is estimated to be in the future energy supply based on renewable energy. The present report presents the current and future biomass resources potential and biogas production potential. The biomass resources are primarily agricultural and municipal wastes. (LN)

  9. Sustainability considerations for electricity generation from biomass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evans, Annette; Strezov, Vladimir; Evans, Tim J.

    2010-01-01

    The sustainability of electricity generation from biomass has been assessed in this work according to the key indicators of price, efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, availability, limitations, land use, water use and social impacts. Biomass produced electricity generally provides favourable price, efficiency, emissions, availability and limitations but often has unfavorably high land and water usage as well as social impacts. The type and growing location of the biomass source are paramount to its sustainability. Hardy crops grown on unused or marginal land and waste products are more sustainable than dedicated energy crops grown on food producing land using high rates of fertilisers. (author)

  10. Bioenergy yield from cultivated land in Denmark - competition between food, bioenergy and fossil fuels under physical and environmental constraints

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Callesen, I.; OEstergaard, H. (Technical Univ. of Denmark, Risoe National Lab. for Sustainable Energy. Biosystems Div., Roskilde (Denmark)); Grohnheit, P.E. (Technical Univ. of Denmark, Risoe National Lab. for Sustainable Energy. Systems Analysis Div., Roskilde (Denmark))

    2011-07-15

    Globally, bioenergy is emphasized as an important contributor to reach strategic goals of energy security. The commodity markets for energy, bioenergy and food are interdependent and interacting through the energy dependency of agriculture, an increasing demand for both food and energy, and the option to replace fossil energy resources with bioenergy resources. A model for supply of biomass for bioenergy in Denmark was developed using linear programming. The model includes biomass supply from annual crops on arable land, short rotation forestry (willow) and plantation forestry, and minimizes production costs of an energy mix consisting of bioenergy and fossil diesel oil. Here, we analyze the possibilities of substituting domestic bioenergy for fossil energy under the constraint of a given food supply and environmental constraints on land use. Crop area distributions of a total area of 3200 kha were simulated in two sets of scenarios, each examining a range of fossil oil prices. Both scenarios were based on cost and production data of the year 2005. Scenario (a) required a total food and feed energy yield similar to that produced in the year 2005; scenario (b) addressed high prioritization of dedicated bioenergy crops. This was secured by relaxing the food and feed supply to 50% of the 2005 production level. Further, a maximum limit of 25% cultivation area with willow in short rotation was set, and the area reserved for permanent grassland was set to 275 kha (+100 kha compared to 2005). The trade-based animal husbandry sector was excluded from the analysis and the forest area was fixed to 600 kha. The crop area distributions were affected by fossil oil prices varying from oil index 25 to 200. Oil index 100approx9.4 Euro GJ-1 corresponded with a crude oil price of 55$ per barrel in 2005. The woody biofuels, especially high-yielding willow in short rotation, were competitive with fossil oil from around oil index 40 and occupied the maximum allowed area in all crop

  11. Investigations of the transportation characteristics of biomass fuel particles in a horizontal pipeline through CFD modelling and experimental measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gubba, S.R.; Ingham, D.B.; Larsen, K.J.; Ma, L.; Pourkashanian, M.; Qian, X.; Williams, A.; Yan, Y.

    2012-01-01

    Recent national and international emission legislations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide are forcing power generation industries using coal to look at various alternatives, such as biomass and especially by co-firing techniques. Biomass is transported to the burners either mixed with the primary fuel, in general, coal, or used in dedicated pipelines. In both cases, transportation of biomass is difficult due to its composition, size, shape and physical behaviour in comparison to the transportation of coal. This study considers experimental measurements for biomass particle transportation in a pipeline with a transverse elbow and compares the results with those using computation fluid dynamic (CFD) techniques. Various materials: flour, willow, wood, bark and a mixture of flour and willow, have been considered in the present investigation. The experimental work was performed using the dynamic changes in the electrostatic charges of biomass particles in conjunction with correlation signal processing techniques. The CFD simulations were performed by considering the effects of gravity, non-spherical drag (based on estimated shape factor), detailed information of the particle distribution, particle wall collisions and particle–particle interactions. Good quantitative and qualitative agreement was obtained between the CFD simulations and the experimental data. It is concluded that particle–particle interactions are of less importance if the mass loading ratio of particles to air is less than 0.03. -- Highlights: ► Dispersed biomass particle transportation is studied using experiments and CFD. ► Inclusion of asphericity in the drag model clearly demonstrated the improvements. ► Gravity effects are found to be important for correct particle distribution in pipe lines. ► Inter-particle collisions were less important for mass loading ratios <0.05 kg/kg.

  12. Biomass [updated

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turhollow Jr, Anthony F [ORNL

    2016-01-01

    Biomass resources and conversion technologies are diverse. Substantial biomass resources exist including woody crops, herbaceous perennials and annuals, forest resources, agricultural residues, and algae. Conversion processes available include fermentation, gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, combustion, and transesterification. Bioderived products include liquid fuels (e.g. ethanol, biodiesel, and gasoline and diesel substitutes), gases, electricity, biochemical, and wood pellets. At present the major sources of biomass-derived liquid fuels are from first generation biofuels; ethanol from maize and sugar cane (89 billion L in 2013) and biodiesel from vegetable oils and fats (24 billion liters in 2011). For other than traditional uses, policy in the forms of mandates, targets, subsidies, and greenhouse gas emission targets has largely been driving biomass utilization. Second generation biofuels have been slow to take off.

  13. Energy plants increasingly important. Scientific results and practical experiences on the production of biogas plants and short rotation coppices. Symposium; Energiepflanzen im Aufwind. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse und praktische Erfahrungen zur Produktion von Biogaspflanzen und Feldholz. Fachtagung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heiermann, M.; Scholz, V.; Foltan, H. (comps.)

    2007-05-15

    The conference proceedings contain 15 contributions on energy plants: energy plant production in Germany - developments and research activities; potentials and constraints of cultivating energy crops; environmental aspects of production and utilization of energy plants; costs of energy crop supply; crops for the biogas production in the territory of Brandenburg; mixed cropping systems on sandy soils - alternative cropping strategies; impact of ensiling process on biogas production - recent research results; solid state anaerobic digestion of renewable biomass sources - state of research and development; energy crops as feedstock in a biogas plant; proffer and demand of wood fuel in the State of Brandenburg; regulatory framework of growing short rotation coppice; mechanization of SRC production; 20 years of short rotation coppice; willow production and marketing in Denmark; short rotation coppice production in Italy.

  14. The potential for energy production from crop residues in Zimbabwe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jingura, R.M.; Matengaifa, R. [School of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, P. Bag 7724, Chinhoyi (Zimbabwe)

    2008-12-15

    There is increasing interest in Zimbabwe in the use of renewable energy sources as a means of meeting the country's energy requirements. Biomass provides 47% of the gross energy consumption in Zimbabwe. Energy can be derived from various forms of biomass using various available conversion technologies. Crop residues constitute a large part of the biomass available from the country's agriculture-based economy. The potential for energy production of crop residues is examined using data such as estimates of the quantities of the residues and their energy content. The major crops considered are maize, sugarcane, cotton, soyabeans, groundnuts, wheat, sorghum, fruits and forestry plantations. Quantities of residues are estimated from crop yields by using conversion coefficients for the various crops. Long-term crop yields data from 1970 to 1999 were used. Total annual residue yields for crops, fruits and forestry plantations are 7.805 Mt, 378 kt and 3.05 Mt, respectively. The crops, fruits and forestry residues have energy potential of 81.5, 4.9 and 44.3 PJ per year, respectively. This represents about 44% of the gross energy consumption in Zimbabwe. The need to balance use of crop residues for both energy purposes and other purposes such as animal feeding and soil fertility improvement is also highlighted. (author)

  15. Optimization of bioenergy yield from cultivated land in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Callesen, Ingeborg; Grohnheit, Poul Erik; Østergård, Hanne

    2010-01-01

    A cost minimization model for supply of starch, oil, sugar, grassy and woody biomass for bioenergy in Denmark was developed using linear programming. The model includes biomass supply from annual crops on arable land, short rotation forestry (willow) and plantation forestry. Crop area distributions...... and feed production, or e) on site carbon sequestration. In addition, two oil price levels were considered. The crop area distributions differed between scenarios and were affected by changing fossil oil prices up to index 300 (using 55$ per barrel in 2005 as index = 100). The bioenergy supply (district...... heating, electric power, biogas, RME or bioethanol) varied between 56 PJ in the “2005” scenario at oil index 100 and 158 PJ at oil index 300 in the groundwater scenario. Our simple model demonstrates the effect of prioritizing multiple uses of land resources for food, feed or bioenergy, while maintaining...

  16. Removal of 4-chlorobenzoic acid from spiked hydroponic solution by willow trees (Salix viminalis)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Deavers, K.; Macek, T.; Karlson, U.

    2010-01-01

    . Methods The removal of 4-CBA by willow trees was investigated with intact, septic willow trees growing in hydroponic solution and with sterile cell suspensions at concentrations of 5 mg/L and 50 mg/L 4-CBA. Nutrient solutions with different levels of ammonium and nitrate were prepared to achieve different...

  17. Remediation of cyanide-contaminated industrial sites through woody biomass production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitrova, Tsvetelina; Repmann, Frank; Freese, Dirk

    2017-04-01

    Due to the unfavourable chemical and physical soil quality parameters and the potential presence of contaminants, former industrial sites can hardly be utilized as arable land and can thus be classified as marginal areas. Still, as far as possible, they can effectively be used for the production of alternative energy, including the cultivation of fast growing trees. Apart from being a source of bioenergy, trees might facilitate the stabilization, remedation, contaminant extraction and degradation and, not on the last place, to enhance soil quality improvement on former industrial areas. This process is known as phytoremediation and has successfully been applied on industrial sites of various organic and inorganic contamination. The former manufactured gas plant site ( 2500 m2) "ehemalige Leuchtgasanstalt" Cottbus, contaminated, among others, with iron cyanides undergoes phytoremediation with simultaneous biomass production since 2011. The project "Biomass-Remediation" is fully financed by the German Railways JSC. A dense (23700 stems/ha), mixed cover of willow (Salix caprea), poplar (Populus maximowicii Henry x Populus trichocarpa Torr. et Gray (Hybrid 275)) and black locust (Robinia pseudoaccacia) trees has been planted on the site. Throughout the five years of remediation, a successful long-term stabilization of the site has been achieved as a result of the nearly outright established tree stock and the dense planting. Annual monitoring of the cyanide levels in the leaf tissue of the trees on the site and results from greenhouse experiments indicate the ability of all tree species to extract and transport the cyanide from the soil. Additonally, the greenhouse experiments suggest that the willows might be able, although not to a full extent, to detoxify the contaminant by splitting the CN moiety. The contaminated biomass material might easily be dealt with through regular harvests and subsequent incineration. Phytoremediation with simultaneous biomass production

  18. Foraging intention affects whether willow tits call to attract members of mixed-species flocks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Toshitaka N; Kutsukake, Nobuyuki

    2017-06-01

    Understanding how individual behaviour influences the spatial and temporal distribution of other species is necessary to resolve the complex structure of species assemblages. Mixed-species bird flocks provide an ideal opportunity to investigate this issue, because members of the flocks are involved in a variety of behavioural interactions between species. Willow tits ( Poecile montanus ) often produce loud calls when visiting a new foraging patch to recruit other members of mixed-species flocks. The costs and benefits of flocking would differ with individual foraging behaviours (i.e. immediate consumption or caching); thus, willow tits may adjust the production of loud calls according to their foraging intention. In this study, we investigated the link between foraging decisions and calling behaviour in willow tits and tested its influence on the temporal cohesion with members of mixed-species flocks. Observations at experimental foraging patches showed that willow tits produced more calls when they consumed food items compared with when they cached them. Playback experiments revealed that these calls attracted flock members and helped to maintain their presence at foraging patches. Thus, willow tits adjusted calling behaviour according to their foraging intention, thereby coordinating the associations with members of mixed-species flocks. Our findings demonstrate the influence of individual decision-making on temporal cohesion with other species and highlight the importance of interspecific communication in mixed-species flocking dynamics.

  19. Cover crop and CO2 emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agricultural land management practices account for about 50% of soil organic carbon (SOC) loss. Restoring SOC is important to soil productivity and fertility. Management strategies to rebuild SOC include addition of manure or other organic amendments, increasing root biomass from crops, leaving crop...

  20. Environmental applications of poplars and willows

    Science.gov (United States)

    J.G. Isebrands; P. Aronsson; M. Carlson; R. Ceulemans; M. Coleman; N. Dickinson; J. Dimitriou; S. Doty; E. Gardiner; K. Heinsoo; J.D. Johnson; Y.B. Koo; J. Kort; J. Kuzovkina; L. Licht; A.R. McCracken; I. McIvor; P. Mertens; K. Perttu; D. Riddell-Black; B. Robins; G. Scarascia-Mugnozza; W.R. Schroeder; John Stanturf; T.A. Volk; M. Weih

    2014-01-01

    Poplars and willows have been planted for environmental purposes for millennia. There are reports that poplars were planted to improve the human environment 4000 years ago in the third dynasty of Ur, for streamside stabilization 2000 years ago in what is now the south-western USA by native North Americans and for urban amenities by the early Chinese dynasties (see...

  1. Five willow varieties cultivated across diverse field environments reveal stem density variation associated with high tension wood abundance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas eBerthod

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Sustainable and inexpensive production of biomass is necessary to make biofuel production feasible, but represents a challenge. Five short rotation coppice (SRC willow cultivars, selected for high biomass yield, were cultivated on sites at four diverse regions of Quebec to determine their bioenergy potential in contrasting environments. Wood composition and anatomical traits were characterized. Tree height and stem diameter were measured to evaluate growth performance of the cultivars according to the diverse pedoclimatic conditions. Each cultivar showed very specific responses to its environment. While no significant variation in lignin content was observed between sites, there was variation between cultivars. Surprisingly, the pattern of substantial genotype variability in stem density was maintained across all sites. However, wood anatomy did differ between sites in a cultivar (producing high and low density wood, suggesting a probable response to an abiotic stress. Furthermore, twice as many cellulose-rich G-fibers, comprising over 50 % of secondary xylem, were also found in the high density wood, a finding with potential to bring higher value to the lignocellulosic bioethanol industry

  2. Genome-Wide Analysis of miRNA targets in Brachypodium and Biomass Energy Crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Green, Pamela J. [Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)

    2015-08-11

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to the control of numerous biological processes through the regulation of specific target mRNAs. Although the identities of these targets are essential to elucidate miRNA function, the targets are much more difficult to identify than the small RNAs themselves. Before this work, we pioneered the genome-wide identification of the targets of Arabidopsis miRNAs using an approach called PARE (German et al., Nature Biotech. 2008; Nature Protocols, 2009). Under this project, we applied PARE to Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium), a model plant in the Poaceae family, which includes the major food grain and bioenergy crops. Through in-depth global analysis and examination of specific examples, this research greatly expanded our knowledge of miRNAs and target RNAs of Brachypodium. New regulation in response to environmental stress or tissue type was found, and many new miRNAs were discovered. More than 260 targets of new and known miRNAs with PARE sequences at the precise sites of miRNA-guided cleavage were identified and characterized. Combining PARE data with the small RNA data also identified the miRNAs responsible for initiating approximately 500 phased loci, including one of the novel miRNAs. PARE analysis also revealed that differentially expressed miRNAs in the same family guide specific target RNA cleavage in a correspondingly tissue-preferential manner. The project included generation of small RNA and PARE resources for bioenergy crops, to facilitate ongoing discovery of conserved miRNA-target RNA regulation. By associating specific miRNA-target RNA pairs with known physiological functions, the research provides insights about gene regulation in different tissues and in response to environmental stress. This, and release of new PARE and small RNA data sets should contribute basic knowledge to enhance breeding and may suggest new strategies for improvement of biomass energy crops.

  3. Energizing marginal soils: A perennial cropping system for Sida hermaphrodita

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabel, Moritz; Poorter, Hendrik; Temperton, Vicky; Schrey, Silvia D.; Koller, Robert; Schurr, Ulrich; Jablonowski, Nicolai D.

    2017-04-01

    As a way to avoid land use conflicts, the use of marginal soils for the production of plant biomass can be a sustainable alternative to conventional biomass production (e.g. maize). However, new cropping strategies have to be found that meet the challenge of crop production under marginal soil conditions. We aim for increased soil fertility by the use of the perennial crop Sida hermaphrodita in combination with organic fertilization and legume intercropping to produce substantial biomass yield. We present results of a three-year outdoor mesocosm experiment testing the perennial energy crop Sida hermaphrodita grown on a marginal model substrate (sand) with four kinds of fertilization (Digestate broadcast, Digestate Depot, mineral NPK and unfertilized control) in combination with legume intercropping. After three years, organic fertilization (via biogas digestate) compared to mineral fertilization (NPK), reduced the nitrate concentration in leachate and increased the soil carbon content. Biomass yields of Sida were 25% higher when fertilized organically, compared to mineral fertilizer. In general, digestate broadcast application reduced root growth and the wettability of the sandy substrate. However, when digestate was applied locally as depot to the rhizosphere, root growth increased and the wettability of the sandy substrate was preserved. Depot fertilization increased biomass yield by 10% compared to digestate broadcast fertilization. We intercropped Sida with various legumes (Trifolium repens, Trifolium pratense, Melilotus spp. and Medicago sativa) to enable biological nitrogen fixation and make the cropping system independent from synthetically produced fertilizers. We could show that Medicago sativa grown on marginal substrate fixed large amounts of N, especially when fertilized organically, whereas mineral fertilization suppressed biological nitrogen fixation. We conclude that the perennial energy crop Sida in combination with organic fertilization has great

  4. Endophyte-assisted promotion of biomass production and metal-uptake of energy crop sweet sorghum by plant-growth-promoting endophyte Bacillus sp. SLS18

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luo, Shenglian; Xu, Taoying; Chen, Liang [Hunan Univ., Changsha (China). College of Environmental Science and Engineering] [and others

    2012-02-15

    The effects of Bacillus sp. SLS18, a plant-growth-promoting endophyte, on the biomass production and Mn/Cd uptake of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), Phytolacca acinosa Roxb., and Solanum nigrum L. were investigated. SLS18 displayed multiple heavy metals and antibiotics resistances. The strain also exhibited the capacity of producing indole-3-acetic acid, siderophores, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase. In pot experiments, SLS18 could not only infect plants effectively but also significantly increase the biomass of the three tested plants in the presence of Mn/Cd. The promoting effect order of SLS18 on the biomass of the tested plants was sweet sorghum > P. acinosa > S. nigrum L. In the presence of Mn (2,000 mg kg{sup -1}) and Cd (50 mg kg{sup -1}) in vermiculite, the total Mn/Cd uptakes in the aerial parts of sweet sorghum, P. acinosa, and S. nigrum L. were increased by 65.2%/40.0%, 55.2%/31.1%, and 18.6%/25.6%, respectively, compared to the uninoculated controls. This demonstrates that the symbiont of SLS18 and sweet sorghum has the potential of improving sweet sorghum biomass production and its total metal uptake on heavy metal-polluted marginal land. It offers the potential that heavy metal-polluted marginal land could be utilized in planting sweet sorghum as biofuel feedstock for ethanol production, which not only gives a promising phytoremediation strategy but also eases the competition for limited fertile farmland between energy crops and food crops. (orig.)

  5. Evaluating the economics of biomass energy production in the Watts Bar region

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alexander, R.R.; English, B.C.; Bhat, M.G. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Graham, R.L. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

    1993-12-31

    While the commercial potential of biofuel technology is becoming more feasible, it is not clear whether the supply of biomass feedstock will be available in competitive markets. In order to exploit the potential of biomass crops as a reliable source of biofuels, a significant commitment on the part of farmers to convert large amounts of cropland would be required. Dedicated energy crops have to compete with conventional crops which could result in significant interregional shifts in crop production. Those changes could further affect overall agricultural production, food prices, consumer spending, and government spending on farm programs. Evaluating these economic impacts provides important information for the ongoing debate. This research is a case study incorporating an existing power plant. The objective of this project is to evaluate the potential of short rotation woody crops as a fuel source in the Watts Bar facility located in eastern Tennessee. The appraisal includes estimates of environmental impacts as well as of economic feasibility. This is achieved by estimating the amounts of biomass that would be supplied at a predetermined price. By changing prices of biomass at the plant in an incremental fashion, a regional supply curve for biomass is estimated. The model incorporates current agricultural production possibilities in the region along with the proposed short rotation woody crop production activities. In order to adequately model the landscape, several variables are considered. These variables include soil type, crop production, government policy, land use conversion to crop land, and distance from the plant. Environmental issues including erosion, chemical usage, and potential leaching are also incorporated within the modeling framework; however, only estimates on erosion are available in this analysis. Output from the model provides insight on where and what types of land should shift from current land use to biomass production.

  6. Switchgrass harvest time management can impact biomass yield and nutrient content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a dedicated energy crop native to much of North America. While high-biomass yield is of significant importance for the development of switchgrass as a bioenergy crop, nutrient content in the biomass as it relates to biofuel conversion efficiency is also critical...

  7. Available data support protection of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher under the Endangered Species Act

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theimer, Tad C.; Smith, Aaron D.; Mahoney, Sean M.; Ironside, Kirsten E.

    2016-01-01

    Zink (2015) argued there was no evidence for genetic, morphological, or ecological differentiation between the federally endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) and other Willow Flycatcher subspecies. Using the same data, we show there is a step-cline in both the frequency of a mtDNA haplotype and in plumage variation roughly concordant with the currently recognized boundary between E. t. extimus and E. t adastus, the subspecies with which it shares the longest common boundary. The geographical pattern of plumage variation is also concordant with previous song analyses differentiating those 2 subspecies and identified birds in one low-latitude, high-elevation site in Arizona as the northern subspecies. We also demonstrate that the ecological niche modeling approach used by Zink yields the same result whether applied to the 2 flycatcher subspecies or to 2 unrelated species, E. t. extimus and Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia). As a result, any interpretation of those results as evidence for lack of ecological niche differentiation among Willow Flycatcher subspecies would also indicate no differentiation among recognized species and would therefore be an inappropriate standard for delineating subspecies. We agree that many analytical techniques now available to examine genetic, morphological, and ecological differentiation would improve our understanding of the distinctness (or lack thereof) of Willow Flycatcher subspecies, but we argue that currently available evidence supports protection of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher under the Endangered Species Act.

  8. Effect of fertilisation on biomass yield, ash and element uptake in SRC willow

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ugilt Larsen, Søren; Jørgensen, Uffe; Kjeldsen, Jens Bonderup

    2016-01-01

    +0, 2) NPK120+0, 3) Slurry180+0, 4) NPK120+120, 5) NPK240+0, 6) Slurry360+0. Fertilization affected biomass yield significantly but interacted with rotation and clone. In first rotation, fertilization increased dry matter (DM) yield across clones significantly from 3.7 Mg ha−1 y−1 for Control0+0 to 6.......5, 6.4 and 5.6 for Slurry360+0, NPK120+120 and NPK240+0, respectively. In second rotation, yield increased from 6.2 Mg ha−1 y−1 to 8.8, 8.2, 7.8 and 7.4 for Slurry360+0, NPK240+0, Slurry180+0 and NPK120+120, respectively. Biomass dry matter yield per ha increased linearly at 15 kg kg−1 of applied total...

  9. Test of aerobic TCE degradation by willows (Salix viminalis) and willows inoculated with TCE-cometabolizing strains of Burkholderia cepacia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Lauge Peter Westergaard; Broholm, Mette Martina; Gosewinkel, Ulrich Bay

    2017-01-01

    . cepacia (301C, PR1-31 and VM1330-pTOM), using chloride formation as an indicator of dehalogenation. Willows were grown in non-sterile, hydroponic conditions for 3 weeks in chloride-free nutrient solution spiked with TCE. TCE was added weekly due to rapid loss by volatilization. Chloride and TCE...

  10. Greenhouse gas emissions from willow-based electricity: a scenario analysis for Portugal and The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rebelo de Mira, R.; Kroeze, C.

    2006-01-01

    This study focuses on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants using willow as fuel compared to those using fossil fuels. More specifically, we quantify emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) from soils on which willow is grown, and compare these to emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil

  11. Siting Evaluation for Biomass-Ethanol Production in Hawaii

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kinoshita, C.M.; Zhou, J.

    2000-10-15

    This report examines four Hawaiian islands, Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, to identify three best combinations of potential sites and crops for producing dedicated supplies of biomass for conversion to ethanol. Key technical and economic factors considered in the siting evaluation include land availability (zoning and use), land suitability (agronomic conditions), potential quantities and costs of producing biomass feedstocks, infrastructure (including water and power supplies), transportation, and potential bioresidues to supplement dedicated energy crops.

  12. Biomass production as renewable energy resource at reclaimed Serbian lignite open-cast mines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jakovljević Milan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of this paper is the overview of the scope and dynamics of biomass production as a renewable energy source for substitution of coal in the production of electrical energy in the Kolubara coal basin. In order to successfully realize this goal, it was necessary to develop a dynamic model of the process of coal production, overburden dumping and re-cultivation of dumping sites by biomass planting. The results obtained by simulation of the dynamic model of biomass production in Kolubara mine basin until year 2045 show that 6870 hectares of overburden waste dumps will be re-cultivated by biomass plantations. Biomass production modeling point out the significant benefits of biomass production by planting the willow Salix viminalis cultivated for energy purposes. Under these conditions, a 0.6 % participation of biomass at the end of the period of intensive coal production, year 2037, is achieved. With the decrease of coal production to 15 million tons per year, this percentage steeply rises to 1.4 % in 2045. This amount of equivalent tons of coal from biomass can be used for coal substitution in the production of electrical energy. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 33039

  13. The Influence of Particle Size, Fluidization Velocity, and Fuel Type on Ash-Induced Agglomeration in Biomass Combustion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gatternig, Bernhard, E-mail: bernhard.gatternig@cbi.uni-erlangen.de; Karl, Jürgen [Chair of Energy Process Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Nuremberg (Germany)

    2014-11-19

    Agglomeration of the bed material is one of the main obstacles for biomass utilization in fluidized bed combustors. Especially, high-potential fuels such as fast growing energy crops or biogeneous residues are affected because of their high content of alkaline metals. Despite ongoing research efforts, the knowledge base on what fuels are affected is still limited. This paper describes the design and installation of two lab-scale reactors for the experimental determination of agglomeration temperatures. The reactor concept and measurement method were developed under consideration of experiences from existing test rigs published in literature. Preliminary tests confirmed a reproducibility of ±5°C for both new reactors. The results of an extended measurement campaign (156 test runs of 25 fuel species at a wide range of the operational parameters “bed particle size,” “gas velocity,” and “bed ash accumulation”), based on “design of experiment” (DoE) criteria, showed high-agglomeration tendencies for residues (e.g., dried distillery grains, corn cobs) while woody energy crops (e.g., willow, alder) exhibited very stable combustion behavior. The operating parameters influenced the agglomeration behavior to a lesser degree than different ash compositions of fuel species tested. An interpolation within the DoE factor space allowed for a subsequent comparison of our results with experiments reported in literature. Good agreement was reached for fuels of comparable ash composition considering the interpolation errors of ±32°C on average.

  14. Control of volunteer soybean plants in sunflower crop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre Magno Brighenti

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Sunflower (Helianthus annuus sown offseason, after soybean crop (Glycine max, is affected by the competition imposed by volunteer plants. Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the control of volunteer soybean plants in sunflower crops. The sulfentrazone herbicide (75 g ha-1, 100 g ha-1 and 250 g ha-1 causes phytotoxicity to sunflower immediately after application, however, plants recover, with no yield losses. These doses do not cause the total death of volunteer soybean plants, but temporarily paralyzes their growth, avoiding the competition with the sunflower crop. The glufosinate ammonium and ametryn herbicides are effective in controlling volunteer soybean plants, however, symptoms of phytotoxicity in the sunflower crop are high, reflecting in losses of dry weight biomass and crop yield. The other treatments do not provide satisfactory control of volunteer soybean plants and even reduce the sunflower dry weight biomass and yield.

  15. Energy production from biomass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bestebroer, S.I.

    1995-01-01

    The aim of the task group 'Energy Production from Biomass', initiated by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, was to identify bottlenecks in the development of biomass for energy production. The bottlenecks were identified by means of a process analysis of clean biomass fuels to the production of electricity and/or heat. The subjects in the process analysis are the potential availability of biomass, logistics, processing techniques, energy use, environmental effects, economic impact, and stimulation measures. Three categories of biomass are distinguished: organic residual matter, imported biomass, and energy crops, cultivated in the Netherlands. With regard to the processing techniques attention is paid to co-firing of clean biomass in existing electric power plants (co-firing in a coal-fired power plant or co-firing of fuel gas from biomass in a coal-fired or natural gas-fired power plant), and the combustion or gasification of clean biomass in special stand-alone installations. 5 figs., 13 tabs., 28 refs

  16. Manipulating microRNAs for improved biomass and biofuels from plant feedstocks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trumbo, Jennifer Lynn; Zhang, Baohong; Stewart, Charles Neal

    2015-04-01

    Petroleum-based fuels are nonrenewable and unsustainable. Renewable sources of energy, such as lignocellulosic biofuels and plant metabolite-based drop-in fuels, can offset fossil fuel use and reverse environmental degradation through carbon sequestration. Despite these benefits, the lignocellulosic biofuels industry still faces many challenges, including the availability of economically viable crop plants. Cell wall recalcitrance is a major economic barrier for lignocellulosic biofuels production from biomass crops. Sustainability and biomass yield are two additional, yet interrelated, foci for biomass crop improvement. Many scientists are searching for solutions to these problems within biomass crop genomes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in almost all biological and metabolic process in plants including plant development, cell wall biosynthesis and plant stress responses. Because of the broad functions of their targets (e.g. auxin response factors), the alteration of plant miRNA expression often results in pleiotropic effects. A specific miRNA usually regulates a biologically relevant bioenergy trait. For example, relatively low miR156 overexpression leads to a transgenic feedstock with enhanced biomass and decreased recalcitrance. miRNAs have been overexpressed in dedicated bioenergy feedstocks such as poplar and switchgrass yielding promising results for lignin reduction, increased plant biomass, the timing of flowering and response to harsh environments. In this review, we present the status of miRNA-related research in several major biofuel crops and relevant model plants. We critically assess published research and suggest next steps for miRNA manipulation in feedstocks for increased biomass and sustainability for biofuels and bioproducts. © 2015 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Biomass energy: Sustainable solution for greenhouse gas emission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadrul Islam, A. K. M.; Ahiduzzaman, M.

    2012-06-01

    Biomass is part of the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is produced after combustion of biomass. Over a relatively short timescale, carbon dioxide is renewed from atmosphere during next generation of new growth of green vegetation. Contribution of renewable energy including hydropower, solar, biomass and biofuel in total primary energy consumption in world is about 19%. Traditional biomass alone contributes about 13% of total primary energy consumption in the world. The number of traditional biomass energy users expected to rise from 2.5 billion in 2004 to 2.6 billion in 2015 and to 2.7 billion in 2030 for cooking in developing countries. Residential biomass demand in developing countries is projected to rise from 771 Mtoe in 2004 to 818 Mtoe in 2030. The main sources of biomass are wood residues, bagasse, rice husk, agro-residues, animal manure, municipal and industrial waste etc. Dedicated energy crops such as short-rotation coppice, grasses, sugar crops, starch crops and oil crops are gaining importance and market share as source of biomass energy. Global trade in biomass feedstocks and processed bioenergy carriers are growing rapidly. There are some drawbacks of biomass energy utilization compared to fossil fuels viz: heterogeneous and uneven composition, lower calorific value and quality deterioration due to uncontrolled biodegradation. Loose biomass also is not viable for transportation. Pelletization, briquetting, liquefaction and gasification of biomass energy are some options to solve these problems. Wood fuel production is very much steady and little bit increase in trend, however, the forest land is decreasing, means the deforestation is progressive. There is a big challenge for sustainability of biomass resource and environment. Biomass energy can be used to reduce greenhouse emissions. Woody biomass such as briquette and pellet from un-organized biomass waste and residues could be used for alternative to wood fuel, as a result, forest will be saved and

  18. Wind in the Willows--Theatre Activity Packet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn, NY. Div. of Curriculum and Instruction.

    Part of the New York City Board of Education's Early Stages program, and intended for elementary and secondary school teachers who wish to include a unit on theater in their classes, this guide offers suggestions for lessons and activities to accompany viewing a performance of "Wind in the Willows" at the Nederlander Theater. Part one of…

  19. Research in biomass production and utilization: Systems simulation and analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Albert Stewart

    There is considerable public interest in developing a sustainable biobased economy that favors support of family farms and rural communities and also promotes the development of biorenewable energy resources. This study focuses on a number of questions related to the development and exploration of new pathways that can potentially move us toward a more sustainable biobased economy. These include issues related to biomass fuels for drying grain, economies-of-scale, new biomass harvest systems, sugar-to-ethanol crop alternatives for the Upper Midwest U.S., biomass transportation, post-harvest biomass processing and double cropping production scenarios designed to maximize biomass feedstock production. The first section of this study considers post-harvest drying of shelled corn grain both at farm-scale and at larger community-scaled installations. Currently, drying of shelled corn requires large amounts of fossil fuel energy. To address future energy concerns, this study evaluates the potential use of combined heat and power systems that use the combustion of corn stover to produce steam for drying and to generate electricity for fans, augers, and control components. Because of the large capital requirements for solid fuel boilers and steam turbines/engines, both farm-scale and larger grain elevator-scaled systems benefit by sharing boiler and power infrastructure with other processes. The second and third sections evaluate sweet sorghum as a possible "sugarcane-like" crop that can be grown in the Upper Midwest. Various harvest systems are considered including a prototype mobile juice harvester, a hypothetical one-pass unit that separates grain heads from chopped stalks and traditional forage/silage harvesters. Also evaluated were post-harvest transportation, storage and processing costs and their influence on the possible use of sweet sorghum as a supplemental feedstock for existing dry-grind ethanol plants located in the Upper Midwest. Results show that the concept

  20. Renewable energy policies and competition for biomass: Implications for land use, food prices, and processing industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Xiaoguang; Önal, Hayri

    2016-01-01

    We use a mathematical programming model to examine the impacts of simultaneous implementation of two US biofuel and bioenergy policies on commodity markets and spatial distribution of future cellulosic biorefineries. The key findings based on our numerical simulation are: (1) the number and average annual production capacity of cellulosic biofuel refineries depend on the total renewable fuels mandate; (2) the mix of cellulosic biomass feedstock depends on the assumptions about the production costs of energy crops and the amount of cropland that can be used for energy crops, but regardless of the assumptions crop residues are the primary biomass source to meet the demand for biomass for biofuel production and electricity generation; and (3) the biomass production areas would surround either future cellulosic biorefineries or the existing coal-based power plants to reduce the costs of biomass transportation. These findings have important implications for biorefinery investors and provide valuable policy insights for the selection of Biomass Crop Assistance Program project areas. - Highlights: •Impacts of US biofuel and bioenergy policies are analyzed. •The number and production capacity of biorefineries depend on the biofuel policies. •Crop residues are the primary biomass source for bioenergy production. •Biomass production areas will surround cellulosic biorefineries or power plants.

  1. Production capacity of biomass of the floodpain community of Salix alba L. in southern Moravia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana López

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with the study of the production capacity of biomass in the seven-year stand of Salix alba L. The communities originated in the process of primary succession in the area of the middle Nové Mlýny reservoir on a newly established island. Already since the first stages, the communities have been monitored. Results have shown that white willow behaves as an R-strategist with fast growth in youth. Moreover, the growth is supported by optimum environmental conditions (soils richly supplied with nutrients and water, long growing season. Accumulated phytomass amounted 102,7 t.ha−1 at the age of 7 years and the yield reached a mean annual increment of 15 t.ha−1.year−1. Communities of white willow rank among highly productive phytocoenoses capable of fixing considerable amounts of carbon and, at the same time fulfilling the function of habitat corridors.

  2. Increasing biomass resource availability through supply chain analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Welfle, Andrew; Gilbert, Paul; Thornley, Patricia

    2014-01-01

    Increased inclusion of biomass in energy strategies all over the world means that greater mobilisation of biomass resources will be required to meet demand. Strategies of many EU countries assume the future use of non-EU sourced biomass. An increasing number of studies call for the UK to consider alternative options, principally to better utilise indigenous resources. This research identifies the indigenous biomass resources that demonstrate the greatest promise for the UK bioenergy sector and evaluates the extent that different supply chain drivers influence resource availability. The analysis finds that the UK's resources with greatest primary bioenergy potential are household wastes (>115 TWh by 2050), energy crops (>100 TWh by 2050) and agricultural residues (>80 TWh by 2050). The availability of biomass waste resources was found to demonstrate great promise for the bioenergy sector, although are highly susceptible to influences, most notably by the focus of adopted waste management strategies. Biomass residue resources were found to be the resource category least susceptible to influence, with relatively high near-term availability that is forecast to increase – therefore representing a potentially robust resource for the bioenergy sector. The near-term availability of UK energy crops was found to be much less significant compared to other resource categories. Energy crops represent long-term potential for the bioenergy sector, although achieving higher limits of availability will be dependent on the successful management of key influencing drivers. The research highlights that the availability of indigenous resources is largely influenced by a few key drivers, this contradicting areas of consensus of current UK bioenergy policy. - Highlights: • As global biomass demand increases, focus is placed indigenous resources. • A Biomass Resource Model is applied to analyse UK biomass supply chain dynamics. • Biomass availability is best increased

  3. Characterization of Proteins in Filtrate from Biodegradation of Crop Residue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horton, Wileatha; Trotman, A. A.

    1997-01-01

    Biodegradation of plant biomass is a feasible path for transformation of crop residue and recycling of nutrients for crop growth. The need to model the effects of factors associated with recycling of plant biomass resulting from hydroponic sweet potato production has led to investigation of natural soil isolates with the capacity for starch hydrolysis. This study sought to use nondenaturing gel electrophoresis to characterize the proteins present in filtered effluent from bioreactors seeded with starch hydrolyzing bacterial culture used in the biodegradation of senesced sweet potato biomass. The study determined the relative molecular weight of proteins in sampled effluent and the protein banding pattern was characterized. The protein profiles of effluent were similar for samples taken from independent runs under similar conditions of starch hydrolysis. The method can be used as a quality control tool for confirmation of starch hydrolysis of crop biomass. In addition, this method will allow monitoring for presence of contaminants within the system-protein profiles indicative of new enzymes in the bioreactors.

  4. Estimation of energy potential of agricultural enterprise biomass

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lypchuk Vasyl

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Bioenergetics (obtaining of energy from biomass is one of innovative directions in energy branch of Ukraine. Correct and reliable estimation of biomass potential is essential for efficient use of it. The article reveals the issue of estimation of potential of biomass, obtained from byproducts of crop production and animal breeding, which can be used for power supply of agricultural enterprises. The given analysis was carried with application of common methodological fundamentals, revealed in the estimation of production structure of agricultural enterprises, structure of land employment, efficiency of crops growing, indicators of output of main and by-products, as well as normative (standard parameters of power output of energy raw material in relation to the chosen technology of its utilization. Results of the research prove high energy potential of byproducts of crop production and animal breeding at all of the studied enterprises, which should force its practical use.

  5. Use of willows in evapotranspirative systems for onsite wastewater management – theory and experiences from Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brix, Hans; Arias, Carlos Alberto

    2011-01-01

    aspects of ET systems is their ability to evapotranspire all of the sewage discharged into the systems and the rain falling onto the systems. On an annual basis the ET should equal the amount of wastewater discharged into the system plus the amount of precipitation falling onto the system. Part...... with clones of willow (Salix viminalis L.). The surface area of the systems depends on the amount and quality of the sewage to be treated and the local annual rainfall. A single household in Denmark typically requires between 120 and 300 m2. The annual precipitation at the site of construction is an important...... dimensioning parameter. Settled sewage is dispersed underground into the bed under pressure. The stems of the willows are harvested on a regular basis to stimulate the growth of the willows and to remove some nutrients and heavy metals. In this paper, the theory behind the operation of willow based ET systems...

  6. Renewable energy potential from biomass residues in Egypt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Said, N.; Zamorano, M. [Civil Engineering Dept., Univ. of Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, Granada (Spain); El-Shatoury, S.A. [Botany Dept., Faculty of Sciences, Suez Canal Univ., Ismailia (Egypt)

    2012-11-01

    Egypt has been one of the developing countries following successful programs for the development of renewable energy resources, with special emphasis on solar, wind and biomass. Utilization of biomass as a source of energy is important from energetic as well as environmental viewpoint. Furthermore, Egypt produces millions of biomass waste every year causing pollution and health problems. So, the incorporation of biomass with other renewable energy will increase the impact of solving energy and environmental problem. There is a good potential for the utilization of biomass energy resources in Egypt. Four main types of biomass energy sources are included in this study: agricultural residues, municipal solid wastes, animal wastes and sewage sludge. Analysis of the potential biomass resource quantity and its theoretical energy content has been computed according to literature review. The agriculture crop residue represents the main source of biomass waste with a high considerable amount of the theoretical potential energy in Egypt. Rice straw is considered one of the most important of such residue due to its high amount and its produced energy through different conversion techniques represent a suitable candidate for crop energy production in Egypt.

  7. White willow sexual regeneration capacity under estuarine conditions in times of climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markus-Michalczyk, Heike; Hanelt, Dieter; Denstorf, Julian; Jensen, Kai

    2016-10-01

    Tidal wetlands provide both habitats for coastal populations and wildlife, and ecosystem services for human welfare. Building with nature regarding cost-effective coastal protection is of increasing interest. Much research has been carried out on plant reproduction capacities in mangroves and salt marshes, but less is known on this issue in tidal freshwater wetlands. Willows are being successfully used for bank stabilization in riverine habitats, however, today white willow softwood forests in tidal wetlands are highly fragmented, and restoration is required e.g. by the European Habitats Directive. Recently, tolerance to increasing salinity and tidal flooding was found for vegetative propagules of floodplain willows. However, the establishment of autochthonous sexual recruits is necessary to conserve the genetic diversity of local populations, and thus may be preferable in restoration. The germination and early seedling establishment of Salix alba (white willow) was experimentally studied under simulated estuarine conditions. The species tolerance to increasing salinity (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2) was tested in a climate chamber, and its tolerance to flooding at different tidal treatments (control, spring tide, daily tide 15 min and 2 h flooding) in the greenhouse. Germination was neither affected by increasing salinity nor by tidal flooding. Salix seedlings established up to salinity 1.5, but cotyledon performance and radicle growth was largely reduced at salinity 2. Under tidal flooding, seedling growth was similar in all treatments. However, in the treatments with daily tides seedling anchorage in the substrate took more than two weeks, and fewer seedlings reached a suitable length to approach the high water line. We assess S. alba sexual regeneration under estuarine conditions as generally possible. Further studies are needed on the effects of sedimentation-erosion processes on willow establishment in the field, especially on feedbacks between Salix survival and

  8. Recycling crop residues for use in recirculating hydroponic crop production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackowiak, C. L.; Garland, J. L.; Sager, J. C.

    1996-01-01

    As part of bioregenerative life support feasibility testing by NASA, crop residues are being used to resupply elemental nutrients to recirculating hydroponic crop production systems. Methods for recovering nutrients from crop residues have evolved from water soaking (leaching) to rapid aerobic bioreactor processing. Leaching residues recovered the majority of elements but it also recovered significant amounts of soluble organics. The high organic content of leachates was detrimental to plant growth. Aerobic bioreactor processing reduced the organic content ten-fold, which reduced or eliminated phytotoxic effects. Wheat and potato production studies were successful using effluents from reactors having with 8- to 1-day retention times. Aerobic bioreactor effluents supplied at least half of the crops elemental mass needs in these studies. Descriptions of leachate and effluent mineral content, biomass productivity, microbial activity, and nutrient budgets for potato and wheat are presented.

  9. Arthropods of native and exotic vegetation and their association with willow flycatchers and Wilson's warblers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linda S. DeLay; Deborah M. Finch; Sandra Brantley; Richard Fagerlund; Michael D. Means; Jeffrey F. Kelly

    1999-01-01

    We compared abundance of migrating Willow Flycatchers and Wilson's Warblers to the abundance of arthropods in exotic and native vegetation at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. We trapped arthropods using glue-boards in 1996 and 1997 in the same cottonwood, saltcedar, and willow habitats where we mist-netted birds during spring and fall migration. There...

  10. The potential of Arachis pintoi biomass to improve quality of soil continuously used for cassava cropping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Muddarisna

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A field experiment that was aimed to elucidate the effects of application of Arachis pintoi biomass and animal dung on quality of soil continuously used for cassava cropping was conducted at Jatikerto Village, Kromengan District of Malang Regency. Eight treatments tested were 100% NPK inorganic fertilizer, 100 kg N Arachis pintoi/ha, (3 100 kg N chicken dung/ ha, 100 kg N cow dung /ha, 100 kg N goat dung /ha, 100 kg N Arachis pintoi + chicken dung /ha, 100 kg N Arachis pintoi + cow dung /ha, and 100 kg N Arachis pintoi + goat dung /ha. Monitoring quality of top soil (0-20 cm was carried out at planting time and 3 months after planting. Soil samples were collected and analyzed for chemical and physical properties. Yield of cassava was measured at 6 months after planting. Results of this study showed that application of organic fertilizer in forms of green manure (Arachis pintoi biomass, and animal dung significantly improved physical and chemical properties of soil. Application of 50% NPK combined with organic manures did not significantly gave different tuber yield with that of 100% NPK.

  11. Weed Control with Cover Crops in Irrigated Potatoes

    OpenAIRE

    G.H. Mehring; J.E. Stenger; H.M. Hatterman-Valenti

    2016-01-01

    Field experiments at Oakes, ND, USA in 2010 and Carrington, ND, USA in 2011 were conducted to evaluate the potential for cover crops grown in the Northern Great Plains, USA in order to reduce weed emergence and density in irrigated potatoes. Treatments included five cover crop treatments and three cover crop termination treatments. Termination of cover crops was done with glyphosate, disk-till, and roto-till. Cover crop biomass accumulation was greatest for rye/canola and triticale at Oakes, ...

  12. EERC Center for Biomass Utilization 2006

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zygarlicke, Christopher J. [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy and Environmental Research Center; Hurley, John P. [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy and Environmental Research Center; Aulich, Ted R. [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy and Environmental Research Center; Folkedahl, Bruce C. [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy and Environmental Research Center; Strege, Joshua R. [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy and Environmental Research Center; Patel, Nikhil [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy and Environmental Research Center; Shockey, Richard E. [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy and Environmental Research Center

    2009-05-27

    The Center for Biomass Utilization® 2006 project at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) consisted of three tasks related to applied fundamental research focused on converting biomass feedstocks to energy, liquid transportation fuels, and chemicals. Task 1, entitled Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass to Syngas and Chemical Feedstocks, involved three activities. Task 2, entitled Crop Oil Biorefinery Process Development, involved four activities. Task 3, entitled Management, Education, and Outreach, focused on overall project management and providing educational outreach related to biomass technologies through workshops and conferences.

  13. Life cycle assessment of various cropping systems utilized for producing biofuels: Bioethanol and biodiesel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Seungdo; Dale, Bruce E.

    2005-01-01

    A life cycle assessment of different cropping systems emphasizing corn and soybean production was performed, assuming that biomass from the cropping systems is utilized for producing biofuels (i.e., ethanol and biodiesel). The functional unit is defined as 1 ha of arable land producing biomass for biofuels to compare the environmental performance of the different cropping systems. The external functions are allocated by introducing alternative product systems (the system expansion allocation approach). Nonrenewable energy consumption, global warming impact, acidification and eutrophication are considered as potential environmental impacts and estimated by characterization factors given by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-TRACI). The benefits of corn stover removal are (1) lower nitrogen related environmental burdens from the soil, (2) higher ethanol production rate per unit arable land, and (3) energy recovery from lignin-rich fermentation residues, while the disadvantages of corn stover removal are a lower accumulation rate of soil organic carbon and higher fuel consumption in harvesting corn stover. Planting winter cover crops can compensate for some disadvantages (i.e., soil organic carbon levels and soil erosion) of removing corn stover. Cover crops also permit more corn stover to be harvested. Thus, utilization of corn stover and winter cover crops can improve the eco-efficiency of the cropping systems. When biomass from the cropping systems is utilized for biofuel production, all the cropping systems studied here offer environmental benefits in terms of nonrenewable energy consumption and global warming impact. Therefore utilizing biomass for biofuels would save nonrenewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gases. However, unless additional measures such as planting cover crops were taken, utilization of biomass for biofuels would also tend to increase acidification and eutrophication, primarily because large nitrogen (and phosphorus

  14. The biomass file

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-01-01

    As biomass represents the main source of renewable energy to reach the 23 per cent objective in terms of energy consumption by 2020, a first article gives a synthetic overview of its definition, its origins, its possible uses, its share in the French energy mix, its role by 2020, strengths and weaknesses for its development, the growth potential of its market, and its implications in terms of employment. A second article outlines the assets of biomass, indicates the share of some crops in biomass energy production, and discusses the development of new resources and the possible energy valorisation of various by-products. Interviews about biomass market and development perspectives are proposed with representatives of institutions, energy industries and professional bodies concerned with biomass development and production. Other articles comments the slow development of biomass-based cogeneration, the coming into operation of a demonstration biomass roasting installation in Pau (France), the development potential of biogas in France, the project of bio natural gas vehicles in Lille, and the large development of biogas in Germany

  15. A Simultaneous Density-Integral System for Estimating Stem Profile and Biomass: Slash Pine and Willow Oak

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernard R. Parresol; Charles E. Thomas

    1996-01-01

    In the wood utilization industry, both stem profile and biomass are important quantities. The two have traditionally been estimated separately. The introduction of a density-integral method allows for coincident estimation of stem profile and biomass, based on the calculus of mass theory, and provides an alternative to weight-ratio methodology. In the initial...

  16. Assessing the ecological and economic sustainability of energy crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanegraaf, M.C.; Biewinga, E.E.; Bijl, G. van der

    1998-01-01

    The production and use of biomass for energy has both positive and negative impacts on the environment. The environmental impacts of energy crops should be clarified before political choices concerning energy are made. An important aid to policy-making would be a systematic methodology to assess the environmental sustainability of energy crops. So far, most studies on the environmental aspects of energy crops deal mainly with the energy production of the crops and the possible consequences for CO 2 mitigation. The Dutch Centre for Agriculture and Environment (CLM) has developed a systematic methodology to assess the ecological and socio-economic sustainability of biomass crops. The method is best described as a multicriteria analysis of process chains and is very much related to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Characteristics of our methodology are the use of: definition of functional units; analysis of the entire lifecycle; definition of yield levels and corresponding agricultural practices; analysis of both ecological and economic criteria; definition of reference systems; definition of procedures for normalisation and weighting. CLM has applied the method to assess the sustainability of ten potentially interesting energy crops in four European regions. The results are used to outline the perspectives for large scale production of biomass crops with regard to the medium and long term land availability in Europe. For the crops considered, net energy budget ranges from 85 GJ net avoided energy per ha for rape seed for fuel to 248 GJ net avoided fossil energy per ha for silage maize for electricity from gasification. The methodology of the tool and its results were discussed at the concerted action ''Environmental aspects of biomass production and routes for European energy supply'' (AIR3-94-2455), organised by CLM in 1996. Major conclusions of the research: multicriteria analyhsis of process lifecycles is at present the best available option to assess the ecological

  17. Can phosphorus application and cover cropping alter arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities and soybean performance after a five-year phosphorus-unfertilized crop rotational system?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higo, Masao; Sato, Ryohei; Serizawa, Ayu; Takahashi, Yuichi; Gunji, Kento; Tatewaki, Yuya; Isobe, Katsunori

    2018-01-01

    Understanding diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is important for optimizing their role for phosphorus (P) nutrition of soybeans ( Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in P-limited soils. However, it is not clear how soybean growth and P nutrition is related to AMF colonization and diversity of AMF communities in a continuous P-unfertilized cover cropping system. Thus, we investigated the impact of P-application and cover cropping on the interaction among AMF colonization, AMF diversity in soybean roots, soybean growth and P nutrition under a five-year P-unfertilized crop rotation. In this study, we established three cover crop systems (wheat, red clover and oilseed rape) or bare fallow in rotation with soybean. The P-application rates before the seeding of soybeans were 52.5 and 157.5 kg ha -1 in 2014 and 2015, respectively. We measured AMF colonization in soybean roots, soybean growth parameters such as aboveground plant biomass, P uptake at the flowering stage and grain yields at the maturity stage in both years. AMF community structure in soybean roots was characterized by specific amplification of small subunit rDNA. The increase in the root colonization at the flowering stage was small as a result of P-application. Cover cropping did not affect the aboveground biomass and P uptake of soybean in both years, but the P-application had positive effects on the soybean performance such as plant P uptake, biomass and grain yield in 2015. AMF communities colonizing soybean roots were also significantly influenced by P-application throughout the two years. Moreover, the diversity of AMF communities in roots was significantly influenced by P-application and cover cropping in both years, and was positively correlated with the soybean biomass, P uptake and grain yield throughout the two years. Our results indicated that P-application rather than cover cropping may be a key factor for improving soybean growth performance with respect to AMF diversity in P-limited cover

  18. Physiological and morphological responses of pine and willow saplings to post-fire salvage logging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millions, E. L.; Letts, M. G.; Harvey, T.; Rood, S. B.

    2015-12-01

    With global warming, forest fires may be increasing in frequency, and post-fire salvage logging may become more common. The ecophysiological impacts of this practice on tree saplings remain poorly understood. In this study, we examined the physiological and morphological impacts of increased light intensity, due to post-fire salvage logging, on the conifer Pinus contorta (pine) and deciduous broadleaf Salix lucida (willow) tree and shrub species in the Crowsnest Pass region of southern Alberta. Photosynthetic gas-exchange and plant morphological measurements were taken throughout the summer of 2013 on approximately ten year-old saplings of both species. Neither species exhibited photoinhibition, but different strategies were observed to acclimate to increased light availability. Willow saplings were able to slightly elevate their light-saturated rate of net photosynthesis (Amax) when exposed to higher photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), thus increasing their growth rate. Willow also exhibited increased leaf inclination angles and leaf mass per unit area (LMA), to decrease light interception in the salvage-logged plot. By contrast, pine, which exhibited lower Amax and transpiration (E), but higher water-use efficiency (WUE = Amax/E) than willow, increased the rate at which electrons were moved through and away from the photosynthetic apparatus in order to avoid photoinhibition. Acclimation indices were higher in willow saplings, consistent with the hypothesis that species with short-lived foliage exhibit greater acclimation. LMA was higher in pine saplings growing in the logged plot, but whole-plant and branch-level morphological acclimation was limited and more consistent with a response to decreased competition in the logged plot, which had much lower stand density.

  19. The biofuel potential of crop based biomass in Denmark in 2020; Danmarks potentiale for afgroedebaseret biobraendstofproduktion i aar 2020

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertelsen Blume, S

    2008-02-15

    According to climate change observations and foresights several countries including Denmark have committed to reduce GHGemissions. However, the transport sector is still increasing its GHGemissions. Substitution of fossil fuels with biofuels seems to be the best way to reduce CO{sub 2}-emission from this sector on the shorter term. This project evaluates how Denmark can produce enough biofuels to fulfil the political goal of 10 % substitution of the fossil fuel consumption in the year of 2020. This project also approaches the suitability of different crop species to the biofuel industry. Maize and sugar beet are the most suitable crops for biofuel production when only focusing on maximum biofuel yield. Alfalfa is likewise showings great potential and is the most suitable crop in terms of sustainable biofuel production, because of low energy requirements (diesel, fertilizer, pesticide and irrigation) during cropping. Even though maize has higher needs for energy during cropping, it will still be suitable for sustainable biofuel production because of the high biofuel yield. Present calculations show that it is possible to meet the required amount of biofuels by using domestic biomass, which is currently exported (cereal grain) or not utilized (eg. straw). However, these calculations assume that it will become possible to convert the whole amount of carbohydrates into biofuel before 2020. In terms of assessing the biofuel production potential three storylines are defined for the development until 2020. Changes in land use and crop composition are suggested for each storyline to adjust the biofuel production to Danish agriculture. The biofuel production potential is also assessed for two regions in Denmark. Here the region of Storstroem shows greater potential than the region of Soenderjylland because of low density of domestic animals. (au)

  20. The effect of water availability on stand-level productivity, transpiration, water use efficiency and radiation use efficiency of field-grown willow clones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Linderson, Maj-Lena; Iritz, Zinaida; Lindroth, Anders

    2007-01-01

    The effect of water availability on stand-level productivity, transpiration, water use efficiency (WUE) and radiation use efficiency (RUE) is evaluated for different willow clones at stand level. The measurements were made during the growing season 2000 in a 3-year-old plantation in Scania, southernmost Sweden. Six willow clones were included in the study: L78183, SW Rapp, SW Jorunn, SW Jorr, SW Tora and SW Loden. All clones were exposed to two water treatments: rain-fed, non-irrigated treatment and reduced water availability by reduced soil water recharge. Field measurements of stem sap-flow and biometry are up-scaled to stand transpiration and stand dry substance production and used to assess WUE. RUE is estimated from the ratio between the stand dry substance production and the accumulated absorbed photosynthetic active radiation over the growing season. The total stand transpiration rate for the 5 months lies between 100 and 325 mm, which is fairly low compared to the Penman-Monteith transpiration for willow, reaching 400-450 mm for the same period. Mean WUE of all clones and treatments is 5.3 g/kg, which is high compared to earlier studies, while average RUE is 0.31 g/mol, which is slightly low compared to other results. Generally, all clones, except for Jorunn, seem to be better off concerning biomass production, WUE and RUE than the reference clone. Jorr, Jorunn and Loden also seem to be able to cope with the reduced water availability with increase in the water use efficiency. Tora performs significantly better than the other clones concerning both growth and efficiency in light and water use, but the effect of the dry treatment on stem growth shows sensitivity to water availability. The reduced stem growth could be due to a change in allocation patterns

  1. The effect of D123 wheat as a companion crop on soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Hui Xu

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The growth of watermelon is often threatened by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (Fon in successively monocultured soil, which results in economic loss. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of D123 wheat as a companion crop on soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon and to explore the relationship between the effect and the incidence of wilt caused by Fon. The results showed that the activities of soil polyphenol oxidase, urease and invertase were increased, the microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN and microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP were significantly increased, and the ratio of MBC/MBN was decreased (P<0.05. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the Fon population declined significantly in the watermelon/wheat companion system compared with the monoculture system (P<0.05. The analysis of microbial communities showed that the relative abundance of microbial communities was changed in the rhizosphere of watermelon. Compared with the monoculture system, the relative abundances of Alphaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes and Sordariomycetes were increased, and the relative abundances of Gammaproteobacteria, Sphingobacteria, Cytophagia, Pezizomycetes, and Eurotiomycetes were decreased in the rhizosphere of watermelon in the watermelon/wheat companion system; importantly, the incidence of Fusarium wilt was also decreased in the watermelon/wheat companion system. In conclusion, this study indicated that D123 wheat as a companion crop increased soil enzyme activities and microbial biomass, decreased the Fon population, and changed the relative abundance of microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon, which may be related to the reduction of Fusarium wilt in the watermelon/wheat companion system.

  2. Microeconomic aspects of energy crops cultivation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartolelli, V.; Mutinati, G.; Pisani, F.

    1992-01-01

    The topic of energy crops, namely of those crops designed to produce biomass to transform into ethanol, has been explored, in Italy and abroad, in all its technical and agronomical aspects. The microeconomic aspect, including the evaluation of convenience for the farmer in adopting such crops, is, on the contrary, less well researched. RENAGRI has developed a research methodology able to give information about the level of convenience of two energy crops (Sweet Sorghum and Topinambour) and has applied it to different Italian agricultural situations, in order to verify the existence of conditions favourable to the cultivation of the two crops, or to indicate the necessity of eventual subvention. (author)

  3. Environmental performance of gasified willow from different lands including land-use changes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saez de Bikuna Salinas, Koldo; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Pilegaard, Kim

    2017-01-01

    A life-cycle assessment (LCA) of a low-input, short rotation coppice (SRC) willow grown on different Danish lands was performed. Woodchips are gasified, producer gas is used for co-generation of heat and power (CHP) and the ash-char output is applied as soil amendment in the field. A hybrid model...... for abandoned farmland, as a relative C stock loss compared to natural regeneration. ILUC results show that area related GHG emissions are dominant (93% of iLUCfood and 80% of iLUCfeed), transformation being more important (82% of iLUCfood) than occupation (11%) impacts. LCA results show that CHP from willow...

  4. Biomass potential

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Asplund, D [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

    1997-12-31

    Biomass resources of the industrialised countries are enormous, if only a small fraction of set-aside fields were used for energy crops. Forest resources could also be utilised more efficiently than at present for large-scale energy production. The energy content of the annual net growth of the total wood biomass is estimated to be 180 million toe in Europe without the former USSR, and about 50 million toe of that in the EC area, in 1990. Presently, the harvesting methods of forest biomass for energy production are not yet generally competitive. Among the most promising methods are integrated harvesting methods, which supply both raw material to the industry and wood fuel for energy production. Several new methods for separate harvesting of energy wood are being developed in many countries. (orig.)

  5. Biomass potential

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Asplund, D. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

    1996-12-31

    Biomass resources of the industrialised countries are enormous, if only a small fraction of set-aside fields were used for energy crops. Forest resources could also be utilised more efficiently than at present for large-scale energy production. The energy content of the annual net growth of the total wood biomass is estimated to be 180 million toe in Europe without the former USSR, and about 50 million toe of that in the EC area, in 1990. Presently, the harvesting methods of forest biomass for energy production are not yet generally competitive. Among the most promising methods are integrated harvesting methods, which supply both raw material to the industry and wood fuel for energy production. Several new methods for separate harvesting of energy wood are being developed in many countries. (orig.)

  6. Cover crop residue effects on machine-induced soil compaction

    OpenAIRE

    Ess, Daniel R.

    1994-01-01

    Crop production systems which utilize the biomass produced by rye (Secale cereale ) to suppress weed growth and conserve soil moisture have been developed at Virginia Tech. The success of alternative, reduced-input crop production systems has encouraged research into the potential for breaking the traffic-tillage cycle associated with conventional tillage crop production systems. The fragile residues encountered in agricultural crop production, whether incorporated into the ...

  7. Prospects for arable farm uptake of Short Rotation Coppice willow and miscanthus in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glithero, Neryssa J; Wilson, Paul; Ramsden, Stephen J

    2013-07-01

    Biomass will play a role in the UK meeting EU targets on renewable energy use. Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and miscanthus are potential biomass feedstocks; however, supply will rely on farmer willingness to grow these crops. Despite attractive crop establishment grants for dedicated energy crops (DECs) in the UK, uptake remains low. Drawing on results from an on-farm survey with 244 English arable farmers, 81.6% (87.7%) of farmers would not consider growing miscanthus (SRC), while respectively, 17.2% (11.9%) would consider growing and 1.2% (0.4%) were currently growing these crops. Farmer age, location, land ownership, farm type, farm size and farmer education level were not significant factors in determining acceptance of DECs. The main reasons cited for not growing DECs were impacts on land quality, lack of appropriate machinery, commitment of land for a long period of time, time to financial return and profitability. Reasons cited for willingness to grow DECs included land quality, ease of crop management, commitment of land for a long period of time, and profitability. Farmers cited a range of 'moral' (e.g. should not be using land for energy crops when there is a shortage of food), land quality, knowledge, profit and current farming practice comments as reasons for not growing DECs, while those willing to grow DECs cited interest in renewable energy, willingness to consider new crops, and low labour needs as rationale for their interest. Farm business objectives indicated that maximising profit and quality of life were most frequently cited as very important objectives. Previous research in the UK indicates that farmers in arable areas are unlikely to convert large areas of land to DECs, even where these farmers have an interest and willingness to grow them. Assuming that those farmers interested in growing DECs converted 9.29% (average percentage of arable land set-aside between 1996 and 2005) of their utilised agricultural area to these crops, 50,700

  8. Residue and soil carbon sequestration in relation to crop yield as affected by irrigation, tillage, cropping system and nitrogen fertilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Information on management practices is needed to increase surface residue and soil C sequestration to obtain farm C credit. The effects of irrigation, tillage, cropping system, and N fertilization were evaluated on the amount of crop biomass (stems and leaves) returned to the soil, surface residue C...

  9. Effects of crop species richness on pest-natural enemy systems based on an experimental model system using a microlandscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, ZiHua; Shi, PeiJian; Men, XingYuan; Ouyang, Fang; Ge, Feng

    2013-08-01

    The relationship between crop richness and predator-prey interactions as they relate to pest-natural enemy systems is a very important topic in ecology and greatly affects biological control services. The effects of crop arrangement on predator-prey interactions have received much attention as the basis for pest population management. To explore the internal mechanisms and factors driving the relationship between crop richness and pest population management, we designed an experimental model system of a microlandscape that included 50 plots and five treatments. Each treatment had 10 repetitions in each year from 2007 to 2010. The results showed that the biomass of pests and their natural enemies increased with increasing crop biomass and decreased with decreasing crop biomass; however, the effects of plant biomass on the pest and natural enemy biomass were not significant. The relationship between adjacent trophic levels was significant (such as pests and their natural enemies or crops and pests), whereas non-adjacent trophic levels (crops and natural enemies) did not significantly interact with each other. The ratio of natural enemy/pest biomass was the highest in the areas of four crop species that had the best biological control service. Having either low or high crop species richness did not enhance the pest population management service and lead to loss of biological control. Although the resource concentration hypothesis was not well supported by our results, high crop species richness could suppress the pest population, indicating that crop species richness could enhance biological control services. These results could be applied in habitat management aimed at biological control, provide the theoretical basis for agricultural landscape design, and also suggest new methods for integrated pest management.

  10. Conservation assessment for the autumn willow in the Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota and Wyoming

    Science.gov (United States)

    J. Hope Hornbeck; Carolyn Hull Sieg; Deanna J. Reyher

    2003-01-01

    Autumn willow, Salix serissima (Bailey) Fern., is an obligate wetland shrub that occurs in fens and bogs in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Disjunct populations of autumn willow occur in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Only two populations occur on Black Hills National Forest lands: a large population at McIntosh Fen and a small...

  11. Ecophysiology of riparian cottonwood and willow before, during, and after two years of soil water removal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hultine, K R; Bush, S E; Ehleringer, J R

    2010-03-01

    Riparian cottonwood/willow forest assemblages are highly valued in the southwestern United States for their wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and watershed protection. Yet these forests are under considerable threat from climate change impacts on water resources and land-use activities to support human enterprise. Stream diversions, groundwater pumping, and extended drought have resulted in the decline of cottonwood/willow forests along many riparian corridors in the Southwest and, in many cases, the replacement of these forests with less desirable invasive shrubs and trees. Nevertheless, ecophysiological responses of cottonwood and willow, along with associated ecohydrological feedbacks of soil water depletion, are not well understood. Ecophysiological processes of mature Fremont cottonwood and coyote willow stands were examined over four consecutive growing seasons (2004-2007) near Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The tree stands occurred near the inlet of a reservoir that was drained in the spring of 2005 and remained empty until mid-summer of 2006, effectively removing the primary water source for most of two growing seasons. Stem sap flux density (Js) in cottonwood was highly correlated with volumetric soil moisture (theta) in the upper 60 cm and decreased sevenfold as soil moisture dropped from 12% to 7% after the reservoir was drained. Conversely, Js in willow was marginally correlated with 0 and decreased by only 25% during the same period. Opposite patterns emerged during the following growing season: willow had a lower whole-plant conductance (kt) in June and higher leaf carbon isotope ratios (delta13C) than cottonwood in August, whereas k(t) and delta13C were otherwise similar between species. Water relations in both species recovered quickly from soil water depletion, with the exception that sapwood area to stem area (As:Ast) was significantly lower in both species after the 2007 growing season compared to 2004. Results suggest that cottonwood has a greater

  12. Effect of different cover crops on C and N cycling in sorghum NT systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frasier, Ileana; Quiroga, Alberto; Noellemeyer, Elke

    2016-08-15

    In many no-till (NT) systems, residue input is low and fallow periods excessive, for which reasons soil degradation occurs. Cover crops could improve organic matter, biological activity, and soil structure. In order to study changes in soil carbon, nitrogen and microbial biomass a field experiment (2010-2012) was set up with sorghum (Sorghum bicolor Moench.) monoculture and with cover crops. Treatments were control (NT with bare fallow), rye (Secale cereale L.) (R), rye with nitrogen fertilization (R+N), vetch (Vicia villosa Roth.) (V), and rye-vetch mixture (VR) cover crops. A completely randomized block design with 4 replicates was used. Soil was sampled once a year at 0.06 and 0.12m depth for total C, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and-nitrogen (MBN) determinations. Shoot and root biomass of sorghum and cover crops, litter biomass, and their respective carbon and nitrogen contents were determined. Soil temperatures at 0.06 and 0.12m depth, volumetric water contents and nitrate concentrations were determined at sowing, and harvest of each crop, and during sorghum's vegetative phase. NT led to a small increase in MBC and MBN, despite low litter and root biomass residue. Cover crops increased litter, root biomass, total C, MBC, and MBN. Relationships between MBC, MBN, and root-C and -N adjusted to logistic models (R(2)=0.61 and 0.43 for C and N respectively). Litter cover improved soil moisture to 45-50% water filled pore space and soil temperatures not exceeding 25°C during the warmest month. Microbial biomass stabilized at 20.1gCm(-2) and 1.9gNm(-2) in the upper 0.06m. Soil litter disappearance was a good indicator of mineral N availability. These findings support the view that cover crops, specifically legumes in NT systems can increase soil ecosystem services related to water and carbon storage, habitat for biodiversity, and nutrient availability. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Insight on Biomass Supply and Feedstock Definition for Fischer-Tropsch Based BTL Processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coignac, Julien

    2013-01-01

    Process chains of thermo chemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass through gasification and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (known as BTL) represent promising alternatives for biofuels production. Since biomass is heterogeneous and not homogeneously spread over territories, one of the major technological stakes of the project is to develop a flexible industrial chain capable of co-treating the widest possible range of biomass and fossil fuel feedstock. The present study aims at characterizing biomass diversity (availability and potentials by area, cost and mineral composition) by carrying out a state of the art, as a preliminary step in order to define a series of biomass to be tested in the demonstration plant and therefore define specifications for the process. Fifty different biomass were considered for their bio-energy application potential and were finally classified into four categories: agricultural by-products, dedicated energy crops, (Very) Short Rotation Coppice ((V)SRC) and forestry biomass. Biomass availability and potentials were investigated by the mean of a literature review of past and current projects (e.g. RENEW project, Biomass Energy Europe Project, etc.) and scientific articles. Most collected data are technical potentials, meaning that they take into account biophysical limits of crops and forests, technological possibilities, competition with other land uses and ecological constraints (e.g. natural reserves). Results show various emerging markets: North and South America have considerable amounts of agricultural by-products, forest residues, and large land areas which could be dedicated to energy crops; Africa shows relevant possibilities to grow Short Rotation Forestry (SRF) and energy crops; Russia has large available quantities of agricultural by-products and forest residues, as well as little valuable land where energy crops and SRC could be grown, and Asia shows relevant amounts of forest residues and possibilities of growing SRC, as well

  14. Development of a farm-firm modelling system for evaluation of herbaceous energy crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    English, B.C.; Alexander, R.R.; Loewen, K.H.; Coady, S.A.; Cole, G.V.; Goodman, W.R.

    1992-01-01

    A complete analysis is performed to simulate biomass production incorporated into a realistic whole farm situation, including or replacing a typical crop mix. Representative farms are constructed to accommodate such simulation. Four management systems are simulated for each firm, with each simulation depicting a different crop mix and/or use of different farming technologies and production methods. The first simulation was a base farm plan in which the operator would maintain the historical crop mix for the area, participate in all price support programs, and not participate in either a conservative reserve or a biomass production program. In the second simulation, the operator would again maintain the historical crop mix, would not participate in a conservation reserve or biomass production program, and would be ineligible to participate in any price support system. The third simulation introduced the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and included participation in all price support programs. The fourth simulation introduced a biomass crop production enterprise (switchgrass) as an alternative to enrolling highly erodible cropland in the CRP and allowed participation in price support programs. Simulations were made for three farms, two in West Tennessee and on in South Georgia. Results indicate that erosion is likely to be reduced more by the diversion of cropland to permanent vegetative cover on farms similar to the more highly erodible West Tennessee farms than on the less erodible Tift County, Georgia farm. Equivalent reductions in erosion rates result from entering highly erodible cropland in the CRP and from production of switchgrass as a biomass energy crop. Both switchgrass and CRP farm plans result in decreased net returns from the base plan, although the biomass farm plans are, in general, more profitable than the CRP plans

  15. Alley cropping of legumes with grasses as forages : Effect of different grass species and row spacing of gliricidia on the growth and biomass production of forages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Yuhaeni

    1998-12-01

    Full Text Available A study to evaluate the effect of different grass species and row spacing of gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium on the growth and biomass production of forages in an alley cropping system was conducted in two different agroclimatical zones i.e. Bogor, located at 500 m a .s .l . with an average annual rainfall of 3,112 nun/year and Sukabumi located at 900 m a .s .l . with an average annual rainfall of 1,402 mm/year . Both locations have low N, P, and K content and the soil is classified as acidic. The experimental design used was a split plot design with 3 replicates . The main plots were different grass species i.e. king grass (Pennisetum purpureum x P. typhoides and elephant grass (P. purpureum. The sub plots were the row spacing of gliricidia at 2, 3, 4, 6 m (1 hedgerows and 4 m (2 hedgerows. The results indicated that the growth and biomass production of grasses were significantly affected (P<0 .05 by the treatments in Bogor. The highest biomass productions was obtained from the 2 m row spacing which gave the highest dry matter production of grasses (1 .65 kg/hill and gliricidia (0 .086 kg/tree . In Sukabumi the growth and biomass production of grasses and gliricidia were also significantly affected by the treatments . The highest dry matter production was obtained with 2 m row spacing (dry matter of grasses and gliricidia were 1 .12 kg/hill and 0 .026 kg/tree, respectively . The result further indicated that biomass production of forages increased with the increase in gliricidia population. The alley cropping system wich is suitable for Bogor was the 2 m row spacing of gliricidia intercropped with either king or elephant grass and for Sukabumi 2 and 4 m (2 rows of gliricidia row spacing intercropped with king or elephant grass .

  16. Diversity of segetal weeds in pea (Pisum sativum L. depending on crops chosen for a crop rotation system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta K. Kostrzewska

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This study, lasting from 1999 to 2006, was conducted at the Research Station in Tomaszkowo, which belongs to the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. The experiment was set up on brown rusty soil classified as good rye complex 5 in the Polish soil valuation system. The analysis comprised weeds in fields sown with pea cultivated in two four-field crop rotation systems with a different first crop: A. potato – spring barley – pea – spring barley; B. mixture of spring barley with pea – spring barley – pea – spring barley. Every year, at the 2–3 true leaf stage of pea, the species composition and density of individual weed species were determined; in addition, before harvesting the main crop, the dry matter of weeds was weighed. The results were used to analyze the constancy of weed taxa, species diversity, and the evenness and dominance indices, to determine the relationships between all biological indicators analyzed and weather conditions, and to calculate the indices of similarity, in terms of species composition, density and biomass of weeds, between the crop rotations compared. The species richness, density and biomass of weeds in fields with field pea were not differentiated by the choice of the initial crop in a given rotation system. In the spring, the total number of identified taxa was 28 and it increased to 36 before the harvest of pea plants. Chenopodium album and Echinochloa crus-galli were the most numerous. Chenopodium album, Echinochloa crus-galli, Sonchus arvensis, Fallopia convolvulus and Viola arvensis were constant in all treatments, regardless of what the first crop in rotation was or when the observations were made. The species diversity and the evenness and species dominance indices varied significantly between years and dates of observations. Species diversity calculated on the basis of the density of weed species was higher in the rotation with a mixture of cereals and legumes, while that calculated on

  17. Willow yield is highly dependent on clone and site

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ugilt Larsen, Søren; Jørgensen, Uffe; Lærke, Poul Erik

    2014-01-01

    Use of high-yielding genotypes is one of the means to achieve high yield and profitability in willow (Salix spp.) short rotation coppice. This study investigated the performance of eight willow clones (Inger, Klara, Linnea, Resolution, Stina, Terra Nova, Tora, Tordis) on five Danish sites......, differing considerably in soil type, climatic conditions and management. Compared to the best clone, the yield was up to 36 % lower for other clones across sites and up to 51 % lower within sites. Tordis was superior to other clones with dry matter yields between 5.2 and 10.2 Mg ha−1 year−1 during the first...... 3-year harvest rotation, and it consistently ranked as the highest yielding clone on four of the five sites and not significantly lower than the highest yielding clone on the fifth site. The ranking of the other clones was more dependent on site with significant interaction between clone and site...

  18. Short-term contributions of cover crop surface residue return to soil carbon and nitrogen contents in temperate Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xiaoqi; Wu, Hanwen; Li, Guangdi; Chen, Chengrong

    2016-11-01

    Cover crop species are usually grown to control weeds. After cover crop harvest, crop residue is applied on the ground to improve soil fertility and crop productivity. Little information is available about quantifying the contributions of cover crop application to soil total carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents in temperate Australia. Here, we selected eight cover crop treatments, including two legume crops (vetch and field pea), four non-legume crops (rye, wheat, Saia oat, and Indian mustard), a mixture of rye and vetch, and a nil-crop control in temperate Australia to calculate the contributions of cover crops (crop growth + residue decomposition) to soil C and N contents. Cover crops were sown in May 2009 (autumn). After harvest, the crop residue was placed on the soil surface in October 2009. Soil and crop samples were collected in October 2009 after harvest and in May 2010 after 8 months of residue decomposition. We examined cover crop residue biomass, soil and crop total C and N contents, and soil microbial biomass C and N contents. The results showed that cover crop application increased the mean soil total C by 187-253 kg ha -1 and the mean soil total N by 16.3-19.1 kg ha -1 relative to the nil-crop treatment, except for the mixture treatment, which had similar total C and N contents to the nil-crop control. Cover crop application increased the mean soil microbial biomass C by 15.5-20.9 kg ha -1 and the mean soil microbial biomass N by 4.5-10.2 kg ha -1 . We calculated the apparent percentage of soil total C derived from cover crop residue C losses and found that legume crops accounted for 10.6-13.9 %, whereas non-legume crops accounted for 16.4-18.4 % except for the mixture treatment (0.2 %). Overall, short-term cover crop application increased soil total C and N contents and microbial biomass C and N contents, which might help reduce N fertilizer use and improve sustainable agricultural development.

  19. Effects of different crop associations and fertilizer types on weed ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Experiments were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Ibadan in 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 cropping seasons to determine the effects of different crop associations and fertilizer types on the weed biomass. The results showed that crop associations did not significantly affect weed density and ...

  20. Phytoscreening and phytoextraction of heavy metals at Danish polluted sites using willow and poplar trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Algreen, Mette; Trapp, Stefan; Rein, Arno

    2014-01-01

    The main purpose of this study was to determine typical concentrations of heavy metals (HM) in wood from willows and poplars, in order to test the feasibility of phytoscreening and phytoextraction of HM. Samples were taken from one strongly, one moderately, and one slightly polluted site and from three reference sites. Wood from both tree species had similar background concentrations at 0.5 mg kg(-1) for cadmium (Cd), 1.6 mg kg(-1) for copper (Cu), 0.3 mg kg(-1) for nickel (Ni), and 25 mg kg(-1) for zinc (Zn). Concentrations of chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) were below or close to detection limit. Concentrations in wood from the highly polluted site were significantly elevated, compared to references, in particular for willow. The conclusion from these results is that tree coring could be used successfully to identify strongly heavy metal-polluted soil for Cd, Cu, Ni, Zn, and that willow trees were superior to poplars, except when screening for Ni. Phytoextraction of HMs was quantified from measured concentration in wood at the most polluted site. Extraction efficiencies were best for willows and Cd, but below 0.5% over 10 years, and below 1‰ in 10 years for all other HMs.

  1. Development of Sustainable Landscape Designs for Improved Biomass Production in the U.S. Corn Belt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonner, Ian J.

    Demand for renewable and sustainable energy options has resulted in a significant commitment by the US Government to research pathways for fuel production from biomass. The research presented in this thesis describes one potential pathway to increase the amount of biomass available for biofuel production by integrating dedicated energy crops into agricultural fields. In the first chapter an innovative landscape design method based on subfield placement of an energy crop into row crop fields in central Iowa is used to reduce financial loss for farmers, increase and diversify biomass production, and improve soil resources. The second chapter explores how subfield management decisions may be made using high fidelity data and modeling to balance concerns of primary crop production and economics. This work provides critical forward looking support to agricultural land managers and stakeholders in the biomass and bioenergy industry for pathways to improving land stewardship and energy security.

  2. Global Simulation of Bioenergy Crop Productivity: Analytical framework and Case Study for Switchgrass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nair, S. Surendran [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK); Nichols, Jeff A. {Cyber Sciences} [ORNL; Post, Wilfred M [ORNL; Wang, Dali [ORNL; Wullschleger, Stan D [ORNL; Kline, Keith L [ORNL; Wei, Yaxing [ORNL; Singh, Nagendra [ORNL; Kang, Shujiang [ORNL

    2014-01-01

    Contemporary global assessments of the deployment potential and sustainability aspects of biofuel crops lack quantitative details. This paper describes an analytical framework capable of meeting the challenges associated with global scale agro-ecosystem modeling. We designed a modeling platform for bioenergy crops, consisting of five major components: (i) standardized global natural resources and management data sets, (ii) global simulation unit and management scenarios, (iii) model calibration and validation, (iv) high-performance computing (HPC) modeling, and (v) simulation output processing and analysis. A case study with the HPC- Environmental Policy Integrated Climate model (HPC-EPIC) to simulate a perennial bioenergy crop, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and global biomass feedstock analysis on grassland demonstrates the application of this platform. The results illustrate biomass feedstock variability of switchgrass and provide insights on how the modeling platform can be expanded to better assess sustainable production criteria and other biomass crops. Feedstock potentials on global grasslands and within different countries are also shown. Future efforts involve developing databases of productivity, implementing global simulations for other bioenergy crops (e.g. miscanthus, energycane and agave), and assessing environmental impacts under various management regimes. We anticipated this platform will provide an exemplary tool and assessment data for international communities to conduct global analysis of biofuel biomass feedstocks and sustainability.

  3. Radiocaesium uptake and cycling in willow short rotation coppice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gommers, A.

    2002-01-01

    The document is an abstract of a PhD thesis. The study investigates the uptake and cycling of radiocaesium in willow short rotation coppice. Different factors influencing the soil-to-wood transfer of radiocaesium were investigated, among others the type of minerals, supply of potassium and soil composition

  4. A comprehensive review of biomass resources and biofuels potential in Ghana

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duku, Moses Hensley [School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, S017 1BJ (United Kingdom); Institute of Industrial Research, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P. Box LG 576, Legon (Ghana); Gu, Sai [School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, S017 1BJ (United Kingdom); Hagan, Essel Ben [Institute of Industrial Research, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P. Box LG 576, Legon (Ghana)

    2011-01-15

    Biomass is the major energy source in Ghana contributing about 64% of Ghana's primary energy supply. In this paper, an assessment of biomass resources and biofuels production potential in Ghana is given. The broad areas of energy crops, agricultural crop residues, forest products residues, urban wastes and animal wastes are included. Animal wastes are limited to those produced by domesticated livestock. Agricultural residues included those generated from sugarcane, maize, rice, cocoa, oil palm, coconut, sorghum and millet processing. The urban category is subdivided into municipal solid waste, food waste, sewage sludge or bio-solids and waste grease. The availability of these types of biomass, together with a brief description of possible biomass conversion routes, sustainability measures, and current research and development activities in Ghana is given. It is concluded that a large availability of biomass in Ghana gives a great potential for biofuels production from these biomass resources. (author)

  5. Crop residues for advanced biofuels workshop: A synposis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crop residues are being harvested for a variety of purposes including their use as livestock feed and to produce advanced biofuels. Crop residue harvesting, by definition, reduces the potential annual carbon input to the soil from aboveground biomass but does not affect input from plant roots. The m...

  6. Electricity from biomass in the European Union - with or without biomass import

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skytte, K.; Meibom, P.; Henriksen, T.C.

    2006-01-01

    The European Union has set up indicative targets for its 15 Member States to supply 22.1% of their total electricity consumption using renewable energy resources by 2010. This paper compares two ways to achieve target compliance-either with import of biomass from countries outside the EU or without...... is that increased imports of low-cost biomass will significantly reduce the cost of target compliance, but would hamper the use of energy crops and further development of wind power within the EU. Despite this, increased importation of biomass can be the cost-reducing factor making the target realisable, which...... would justify promotion of such trade. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

  7. Health effects of biomass exposure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rastogi, S.K.; Husain, Tanveer

    1993-01-01

    Biomass fuels such as coal, wood, crop residues, kerosene oil and dung-cakes meet the energy needs in the household sector in India and other developing countries. Crop residues and dung-cakes are largely used in rural areas, whereas wood forms the major source of fuel in urban as well as rural areas. Combustion of these fuels produces various kinds of poisonous gases such as CO, smoke, nitrogen dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and respirable particulates. These gases are released in the domestic environment and they pollute the indoor air. The women and children are the one who suffer most from this air pollution. This results into a variety of health problems principally pertaining to respiratory system among the women and children. Studies on this aspect are reviewed. They point towards the positive relationship between biomass smoke and various health effects, particularly respiratory diseases. Need for research on the ways to prevent pollution due to biomass and resultant health hazards is emphasised. (M.G.B.). 25 refs., 2 tabs

  8. Spatial distribution of arsenic and heavy metals in willow roots from a contaminated floodplain soil measured by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zimmer, Dana; Kruse, Jens; Baum, Christel; Borca, Camelia; Laue, Michael; Hause, Gerd; Meissner, Ralph; Leinweber, Peter

    2011-01-01

    Under changing redox conditions some plants create plaques at their root surface, which may affect the mobility and uptake of As and heavy metals but it is unknown to what extent this also holds true for willows in contaminated floodplain soils. Therefore, willow roots were sampled from a phytoremediation trial in the contaminated floodplain of the river Elbe (Germany), cryofixed, freeze-dried, and cross sections were mapped for the distribution of As, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, S and Zn by synchrotron based X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The elements Ca, Cu, Ni, S and Zn were concentrated in the aerenchymatic tissue, and not associated with Fe and Mn. Mixed Fe-Mn plaques covered the surface of the willow roots and As was accumulated in these plaques. The observed association pattern between As and Fe was explained by the different sorption/desorption properties of As(III) and As(V). The Cu and Zn intensities were not associated with the intensity of Fe in the plaque, which seems to be a willow-specific difference compared to other wetland plants. These results suggested that willows are especially suited to stabilize low-phytoextractable elements like Cu and As in their roots and rhizosphere. Thus, short rotation coppicing of willows may be a practical approach to mitigate the adverse effects of floodplain soil contamination. - Research highlights: → Elemental distributions were mapped on willow roots for the first time by synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence. → Ca, Cu, Ni, S and Zn were enriched in the aerenchyma but As, Fe and Mn formed root plaques. → The Cu and Zn enrichments in aerenchyma but absence in plaques appeared to be willow-specific. → In the plaques were three groups of pixels which strongly differed in the As to Fe and As to Mn ratios. → This indicated different species of these redox-sensitive elements.

  9. Spatial distribution of arsenic and heavy metals in willow roots from a contaminated floodplain soil measured by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zimmer, Dana, E-mail: dana.zimmer@uni-rostock.de [Soil Science, University of Rostock, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, D-18051 Rostock (Germany); Kruse, Jens; Baum, Christel [Soil Science, University of Rostock, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, D-18051 Rostock (Germany); Borca, Camelia [Paul Scherrer Institute, Swiss Light Source, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Laue, Michael [Electron Microscopy Centre, University of Rostock, Medical Faculty, Strempelstr. 14, D-18057 Rostock (Germany); Hause, Gerd [Microscopy Unit, Biocenter of the University of Halle, Weinbergweg 22, D-06120 Halle/Saale (Germany); Meissner, Ralph [UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Soil Physics, Lysimeter Station, Dorfstrasse 55, D-39615 Falkenberg (Germany); Leinweber, Peter [Soil Science, University of Rostock, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, D-18051 Rostock (Germany)

    2011-09-01

    Under changing redox conditions some plants create plaques at their root surface, which may affect the mobility and uptake of As and heavy metals but it is unknown to what extent this also holds true for willows in contaminated floodplain soils. Therefore, willow roots were sampled from a phytoremediation trial in the contaminated floodplain of the river Elbe (Germany), cryofixed, freeze-dried, and cross sections were mapped for the distribution of As, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, S and Zn by synchrotron based X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The elements Ca, Cu, Ni, S and Zn were concentrated in the aerenchymatic tissue, and not associated with Fe and Mn. Mixed Fe-Mn plaques covered the surface of the willow roots and As was accumulated in these plaques. The observed association pattern between As and Fe was explained by the different sorption/desorption properties of As(III) and As(V). The Cu and Zn intensities were not associated with the intensity of Fe in the plaque, which seems to be a willow-specific difference compared to other wetland plants. These results suggested that willows are especially suited to stabilize low-phytoextractable elements like Cu and As in their roots and rhizosphere. Thus, short rotation coppicing of willows may be a practical approach to mitigate the adverse effects of floodplain soil contamination. - Research highlights: {yields} Elemental distributions were mapped on willow roots for the first time by synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence. {yields} Ca, Cu, Ni, S and Zn were enriched in the aerenchyma but As, Fe and Mn formed root plaques. {yields} The Cu and Zn enrichments in aerenchyma but absence in plaques appeared to be willow-specific. {yields} In the plaques were three groups of pixels which strongly differed in the As to Fe and As to Mn ratios. {yields} This indicated different species of these redox-sensitive elements.

  10. Hemp: A more sustainable annual energy crop for climate and energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finnan, John; Styles, David

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this study was to compare the fuel-chain greenhouse gas balance and farm economics of hemp grown for bioenergy with two perennial bioenergy crops, Miscanthus and willow, and two more traditional annual bioenergy crops, sugar beet and oil seed rape (OSR). The GHG burden of hemp cultivation is intermediate between perennial and traditional annual energy crops, but net fuel chain GHG abatement potential of 11 t/CO 2 eq./ha/year in the mid yield estimate is comparable to perennial crops, and 140% and 540% greater than for OSR and sugar beet fuel chains, respectively. Gross margins from hemp were considerably lower than for OSR and sugar beet, but exceeded those from Miscanthus when organic fertilizers were used and in the absence of establishment grants for the latter crop. Extrapolated up to the EU scale, replacing 25% of OSR and sugar beet production with hemp production could increase net GHG abatement by up to 21 Mt CO 2 eq./year. Hemp is a considerably more efficient bioenergy feedstock than the dominant annual energy crops. Integrated into food crop rotations, hemp need not compete with food supplies, and could provide an appealing option to develop more sustainable non-transport bioenergy supply chains. - Highlights: ► The GHG burden of hemp is intermediate between perennial and annual energy crops. ► Replacing 25% of OSR/beet with hemp could increase GHG abatement by 21 Mt/CO 2 eq./year. ► Hemp is a more efficient bioenergy feedstock than the dominant annual energy crops

  11. Differential impacts of willow and mineral fertilizer on bacterial communities and biodegradation in diesel fuel oil-contaminated soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary-Cathrine C.E. Leewis

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite decades of research there is limited understanding of how vegetation impacts the ability of microbial communities to process organic contaminants in soil. Using a combination of traditional and molecular assays, we examined how phytoremediation with willow and/or fertilization affected the microbial community present and active in the transformation of diesel contaminants. In a pot study, willow had a significant role in structuring the total bacterial community and resulted in significant decreases in diesel range organics (DRO. However, stable isotope probing (SIP indicated that fertilizer drove the differences seen in community structure and function. Finally, analysis of the total variance in both pot and SIP experiments indicated an interactive effect between willow and fertilizer on the bacterial communities. This study clearly demonstrates that a willow native to Alaska accelerates DRO degradation, and together with fertilizer, increased aromatic degradation by shifting microbial community structure and the identity of active naphthalene degraders.

  12. Agricultural policies and biomass fuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flaim, S.; Hertzmark, D.

    The potentials for biomass energy derived from agricultural products are examined. The production of energy feedstocks from grains is discussed for the example of ethanol production from grain, with consideration given to the beverage process and the wet milling process for obtaining fuel ethanol from grains and sugars, the nonfeedstock costs and energy requirements for ethanol production, the potential net energy gain from ethanol fermentation, the effect of ethanol fuel production on supplies of protein, oils and feed and of ethanol coproducts, net ethanol costs, and alternatives to corn as an ethanol feedstock. Biomass fuel production from crop residues is then considered; the constraints of soil fertility on crop residue removal for energy production are reviewed, residue yields with conventional practices and with reduced tillage are determined, technologies for the direct conversion of cellulose to ethanol and methanol are described, and potential markets for the products of these processes are identified. Implications for agricultural policy of ethanol production from grain and fuel and chemical production from crop residues are also discussed.

  13. Comparing biobased products from oil crops versus sugar crops with regard to non-renewable energy use, GHG emissions and land use

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bos, Harriëtte L.; Meesters, Koen P.H.; Conijn, Sjaak G.; Corré, Wim J.; Patel, Martin K.

    2016-01-01

    Non-renewable energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and land use of two biobased products and biofuel from oil crops is investigated and compared with products from sugar crops. In a bio-based economy chemicals, materials and energy carriers will be produced from biomass. Next to side streams,

  14. Seasonal response of biomass growth and allocation of a boreal bioenergy crop (Phalaris arundinacea L.) to climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang Zhang

    2013-06-01

    The aim of this work was to analyse how the seasonal biomass growth and allocation in a boreal bioenergy crop (Phalaris arundinacea L., hereafter RCG) were affected by elevated temperature and CO{sub 2} under different levels of groundwater. For this purpose, plants in peat monoliths representing young and old cultivations were grown in auto-controlled environmental chambers over two growing seasons (April-September, 2009 and 2010) under elevated temperature (ambient + 3.5 deg C) and CO{sub 2} (700 {mu}mol mol{sup -1}). (CON: ambient conditions, EC: elevated CO{sub 2}, ET: elevated temperature, ETC: elevated temperature and CO{sub 2}). Three levels of groundwater, ranging from high (HW, 0 cm below the soil surface), to normal (NW, 20 cm below the soil surface) and low (LW, 40 cm below the soil surface), were used. Compared to growth under CON, ET enhanced leaf development and photosynthesis in the RCG plant. Consequently, ET enhanced biomass growth during early growing periods. It also reduced photosynthesis and caused earlier leaf senescence during later growing periods. ET therefore reduced total biomass growth across the entire growing season. EC significantly increased biomass growth throughout the growing period primarily because of increased leaf area and photosynthesis. LW decreased the growth of RCG, mainly because of lower leaf area and photosynthesis. Furthermore, LW accelerated the cessation of growth, thus making the growing season shorter compared with the effects of higher groundwater levels. The LW- induced reductions in biomass growth were exacerbated by ET and partially mitigated by EC. The ETC slightly increased final plant growth. The age of cultivation did not affect the biomass growth among the three major organs (leaf, stem and root) and thus did not affect total biomass growth. Biomass growth was mainly allocated to leaves (LMF) and stems (SMF) in the early growing season, to stems in the middle of the growing season and to roots (RMF) later

  15. Energy crops in rotation. A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zegada-Lizarazu, Walter; Monti, Andrea [Department of Agroenvironmental Science and Technology, University of Bologna, Viale G. Fanin, 44 - 40127, Bologna (Italy)

    2011-01-15

    The area under energy crops has increased tenfold over the last 10 years, and there is large consensus that the demand for energy crops will further increase rapidly to cover several millions of hectares in the near future. Information about rotational systems and effects of energy crops should be therefore given top priority. Literature is poor and fragmentary on this topic, especially about rotations in which all crops are exclusively dedicated to energy end uses. Well-planned crop rotations, as compared to continuous monoculture systems, can be expected to reduce the dependence on external inputs through promoting nutrient cycling efficiency, effective use of natural resources, especially water, maintenance of the long-term productivity of the land, control of diseases and pests, and consequently increasing crop yields and sustainability of production systems. The result of all these advantages is widely known as crop sequencing effect, which is due to the additional and positive consequences on soil physical-chemical and biological properties arising from specific crops grown in the same field year after year. In this context, the present review discusses the potential of several rotations with energy crops and their possibilities of being included alongside traditional agriculture systems across different agro-climatic zones within the European Union. Possible rotations dedicated exclusively to the production of biomass for bioenergy are also discussed, as rotations including only energy crops could become common around bio-refineries or power plants. Such rotations, however, show some limitations related to the control of diseases and to the narrow range of available species with high production potential that could be included in a rotation of such characteristics. The information on best-known energy crops such as rapeseed (Brassica napus) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) suggests that conventional crops can benefit from the introduction of energy crops in

  16. Influence of Seeding Ratio, Planting Date, and Termination Date on Rye-Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Mixture Performance under Organic Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Andrew; Cogger, Craig; Bary, Andy; Fortuna, Ann-Marie

    2015-01-01

    Cover crop benefits include nitrogen accumulation and retention, weed suppression, organic matter maintenance, and reduced erosion. Organic farmers need region-specific information on winter cover crop performance to effectively integrate cover crops into their crop rotations. Our research objective was to compare cover crop seeding mixtures, planting dates, and termination dates on performance of rye (Secale cereale L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) monocultures and mixtures in the maritime Pacific Northwest USA. The study included four seed mixtures (100% hairy vetch, 25% rye-75% hairy vetch, 50% rye-50% hairy vetch, and 100% rye by seed weight), two planting dates, and two termination dates, using a split-split plot design with four replications over six years. Measurements included winter ground cover; stand composition; cover crop biomass, N concentration, and N uptake; and June soil NO3(-)-N. Rye planted in mid-September and terminated in late April averaged 5.1 Mg ha(-1) biomass, whereas mixtures averaged 4.1 Mg ha(-1) and hairy vetch 2.3 Mg ha(-1). Delaying planting by 2.5 weeks reduced average winter ground cover by 65%, biomass by 50%, and cover crop N accumulation by 40%. Similar reductions in biomass and N accumulation occurred for late March termination, compared with late April termination. Mixtures had less annual biomass variability than rye. Mixtures accumulated 103 kg ha(-1) N and had mean C:N ratio rye, 97 kg ha(-1) for the mixtures, and 119 kg ha(-1) for hairy vetch. Weeds comprised less of the mixtures biomass (20% weeds by weight at termination) compared with the monocultures (29%). Cover crop mixtures provided a balance between biomass accumulation and N concentration, more consistent biomass over the six-year study, and were more effective at reducing winter weeds compared with monocultures.

  17. SELECTIVE FORAGING ON WOODY SPECIES BY THE BEAVER CASTOR FIBER, AND ITS IMPACT ON A RIPARIAN WILLOW FOREST

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    NOLET, BA; HOEKSTRA, A; OTTENHEIM, MM

    1994-01-01

    Beavers were re-introduced in the Biesbosch, The Netherlands, a wood dominated by willows Salix spp. Conservationists expected that herbivory by beavers would enhance succession to a mixed broad-leaved forest. Willows formed the staple food of the beavers, but they removed only 1.4% of the standing

  18. Integrated production of warm season grasses and agroforestry for biomass production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samson, R.; Omielan, J. [Resource Efficient Agricultural Production-Canada, Ste, Anne de Bellevue, Quebec (Canada); Girouard, P.; Henning, J. [McGill Univ., Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec (Canada)

    1993-12-31

    Increased research on C{sub 3} and C{sub 4} perennial biomass crops is generating a significant amount of information on the potential of these crops to produce large quantities of low cost biomass. In many parts of North America it appears that both C{sub 3} and C{sub 4} species are limited by water availability particularly on marginal soils. In much of North America, rainfall is exceeded by evaporation. High transpiration rates by fast growing trees and rainfall interception by the canopy appear to indicate that this can further exacerbate the problem of water availability. C{sub 4} perennial grasses appear to have distinct advantages over C{sub 3} species planted in monoculture systems particularly on marginal soils. C{sub 4} grasses historically predominated over much of the land that is now available for biomass production because of their adaptation to low humidity environments and periods of low soil moisture. The planting of short rotation forestry (SRF) species in an energy agroforestry system is proposed as an alternative production strategy which could potentially alleviate many of the problems associated with SRF monocultures. Energy agroforestry would be complementary to both production of conventional farm crops and C{sub 4} perennial biomass crops because of beneficial microclimatic effects.

  19. Development Potentials and Policy Options of Biomass in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Lei; Liu, Litao; Yao, Zhijun; Liu, Gang; Lucas, Mario

    2010-10-01

    Biomass, one of the most important renewable energies, is playing and will continue to play an important role in the future energy structure of the world. This article aims to analyze the position and role, assess the resource availability, discuss the geographic distribution, market scale and industry development, and present the policy options of biomass in China. The resource availability and geographical distribution of biomass byproducts are assessed in terms of crop residues, manure, forest and wood biomass byproducts, municipal waste and wastewater. The position of biomass use for power generation is just next to hydropower among types of renewable energy in China. The potential quantity of all biomass byproducts energy in 2004 is 3511 Mtce (Mtce is the abbreviation of million tons of coal equivalents and 1 Mtce is equal to106 tce.), while the acquirable quantity is 460 Mtce. Biomass energy plays a critical role in rural regions of China. The geographical distribution and quantity of biomass byproducts resources depends mainly on the relationship between ecological zones and climate conditions. Our estimation shows that the total quantity of crop residues, manure, forest and wood biomass byproducts, municipal waste and wastewater resources are 728, 3926, 2175, 155 and 48240 Mt (million tons), respectively. Crop residues come mainly from the provinces of Henan, Shandong, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Sichuan. All manure is mainly located in the provinces of Henan, Shandong, Sichuan, Hebei and Hunan. Forest and wood biomass byproducts are mainly produced in the provinces or autonomous regions of Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, while most of municipal waste mainly comes from Guangdong, Shandong, Heilongjiang, Hubei and Jiangsu. Most of wastewater is largely discharged from advanced provinces like Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Henan. Biomass byproducts’ energy distribution also varies from province to province in China. Based on

  20. Development of Genomic and Genetic Tools for Foxtail Millet, and Use of These Tools in the Improvement of Biomass Production for Bioenergy Crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Doust, Andrew, N.

    2011-11-11

    The overall aim of this research was to develop genomic and genetic tools in foxtail millet that will be useful in improving biomass production in bioenergy crops such as switchgrass, napier grass, and pearl millet. A variety of approaches have been implemented, and our lab has been primarily involved in genome analysis and quantitative genetic analysis. Our progress in these activities has been substantially helped by the genomic sequence of foxtail millet produced by the Joint Genome Institute (Bennetzen et al., in prep). In particular, the annotation and analysis of candidate genes for architecture, biomass production and flowering has led to new insights into the control of branching and flowering time, and has shown how closely related flowering time is to vegetative architectural development and biomass accumulation. The differences in genetic control identified at high and low density plantings have direct relevance to the breeding of bioenergy grasses that are tolerant of high planting densities. The developmental analyses have shown how plant architecture changes over time and may indicate which genes may best be manipulated at various times during development to obtain required biomass characteristics. This data contributes to the overall aim of significantly improving genetic and genomic tools in foxtail millet that can be directed to improvement of bioenergy grasses such as switchgrass, where it is important to maximize vegetative growth for greatest biomass production.

  1. Transport and supply logistics of biomass fuels: Vol. 1. Supply chain options for biomass fuels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Allen, J; Browne, M; Palmer, H; Hunter, A; Boyd, J

    1996-10-01

    The study which forms part of a wider project funded by the Department of Trade and Industry, looks at the feasibility of generating electricity from biomass-fuelled power stations. Emphasis is placed on supply availabilty and transport consideration for biomass fuels such as wood wastes from forestry, short rotation coppice products, straw, miscanthus (an energy crop) and farm animal slurries. The study details the elements of the supply chain for each fuel from harvesting to delivery at the power station. The delivered cost of each fuel, the environmental impact of the biomass fuel supply and other relevant non-technical issues are addressed. (UK)

  2. Tradeoffs around crop residue biomass in smallholder crop-livestock systems - What's next?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tittonell, P.A.; Gérard, B.; Erenstein, O.

    2015-01-01

    Much has been written on the tradeoffs that smallholder farmers face when having to allocate their biomass resources among competing objectives such as feed, fuel, mulch, compost or the market. This paper summarises yet a new body of evidence from 10 studies on tradeoffs in the allocation of cereal

  3. The effect of aqueous ammonia soaking pretreatment on methane generation uing different lignocellulosic feedstocks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Antonopoulou, Georgia; Jonuzaj, Suela; Gavala, Hariklia N.

    2014-01-01

    Lignocellulosic biomass including agricultural and forestry residues, perennial crops, softwoods and hardwoods, can be used as feedstock for methane production. Although being abundant and almost zero cost feedstocks, the main obstacles of their use are the low efficiencies and yields attained, d...... methane potential of switchgrass. Transactions of the ASABE. 53, 1921-1927 (2010) [3] Jurado, E., Gavala., H.N., Skiadas, I.V., :Enhancement of methane yield from wheat straw, miscanthus and willow using aqueous ammonia soaking. Environmental Tecnology. 34(13-14), 2069-2075 (2013)...

  4. The effect of active forms of silicon on the biomass of agricultural crops during their growth period on technogenically altered soils of the Nikopol Manganese Ore Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    І. V. Wagner

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The problem of recovery of technogenically affected soils remains unsolved. Silicon which moves in the “soil – plant” system has been insufficiently studied, though this element takes part in many processes. For assessing the role of silicon compounds, we selected samples of technogenically affected soils of different types in the territory of the research station for land reclamation of Dnіpro State Agrarian-Economic University in the Nikopol Manganese Ore Basin. We conducted a vegetative experiment and a series of laboratory tests with adding SiO2. We chose the following crops: buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench, 1794, vetch (Vicia sativa Linnaeus, 1753 and sunflower (Helianthus annuus Linnaeus, 1753. The рН of the studied soils fluctuated between 7.1 to 7.8. The content of available nitrogen and phosphorus in the soils was low, except the content of phosphorus in pedozems. We analyzed 240 samples of plants and measured their biomass. Vetch grew best on sod-lithogenous soils on forest-like lomy soils, buckwheat and sunflower – on sod-lithogenous soils on grey-green clays. The variant of experiment with 0.2% solution of SiO2 was most the efficient during growing all chosen crops on all types of studied soils. After adding amphoteric silicon, the best biomass indicators of vetch and buckwheat were observed on sod-lithogenous soils on forest-like loam, and indicators for sunflower – on sod-lithogenous soils on grey-green clays. After using 0.3% and 0.4% solution of SiO2, a gel film forms, which the seeds have no energy to penetrate and run out. Thus it slows the plant’s growth. An exception was an experiment with pedozems with adding 0.4% solution of SiO2, when the biomass of vetch was 1.5 times greater than in the experiment with 0.2% solution. We observed no similar positive effect in other variants of the experiment. All chosen crops on technogenically affected soils reacted to addition of silicon compounds by increasing

  5. Diseases and pests in biomass production systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Royle, D.J.; Hunter, Tom; McNabb, H.S. Jr.

    1998-01-01

    The current status of disease and pest problems in willow and poplar biomass systems for energy within Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States is described. The IEA Disease and Pest Activities within the recent Task XII (1995-1997), and previous Tasks since 1987, have provided outstanding opportunities for international co-operation which has served substantially to augment national research programmes. Work is described on recognizing different forms of an insect pest or pathogen and understanding the genetic basis of its variability, which is of fundamental importance in developing pest management strategies that exclude inputs of energy-rich materials such as pesticides. Options for more natural pest control are considered including breeding for resistance, plantation designs based on host genotype diversity and biological control 16 refs, 2 figs

  6. Biomass in a sustainable energy system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boerjesson, Paal

    1998-04-01

    In this thesis, aspects of an increase in the utilization of biomass in the Swedish energy system are treated. Modern bioenergy systems should be based on high energy and land use efficiency since biomass resources and productive land are limited. The energy input, including transportation, per unit biomass produced is about 4-5% for logging residues, straw and short rotation forest (Salix). Salix has the highest net energy yield per hectare among the various energy crops cultivated in Sweden. The CO 2 emissions from the production and transportation of logging residues, straw and Salix, are equivalent to 2-3% of those from a complete fuel-cycle for coal. Substituting biomass for fossil fuels in electricity and heat production is, in general, less costly and leads to a greater CO 2 reduction per unit biomass than substituting biomass derived transportation fuels for petrol or diesel. Transportation fuels produced from cellulosic biomass provide larger and less expensive CO 2 emission reductions than transportation fuels from annual crops. Swedish CO 2 emissions could be reduced by about 50% from the present level if fossil fuels are replaced and the energy demand is unchanged. There is a good balance between potential regional production and utilization of biomass in Sweden. Future biomass transportation distances need not be longer than, on average, about 40 km. About 22 TWh electricity could be produced annually from biomass in large district heating systems by cogeneration. Cultivation of Salix and energy grass could be utilized to reduce the negative environmental impact of current agricultural practices, such as the emission of greenhouse gases, nutrient leaching, decreased soil fertility and erosion, and for the treatment of municipal waste and sludge, leading to increased recirculation of nutrients. About 20 TWh biomass could theoretically be produced per year at an average cost of less than 50% of current production cost, if the economic value of these

  7. Biomass in a sustainable energy system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boerjesson, Paal

    1998-04-01

    In this thesis, aspects of an increase in the utilization of biomass in the Swedish energy system are treated. Modern bioenergy systems should be based on high energy and land use efficiency since biomass resources and productive land are limited. The energy input, including transportation, per unit biomass produced is about 4-5% for logging residues, straw and short rotation forest (Salix). Salix has the highest net energy yield per hectare among the various energy crops cultivated in Sweden. The CO{sub 2} emissions from the production and transportation of logging residues, straw and Salix, are equivalent to 2-3% of those from a complete fuel-cycle for coal. Substituting biomass for fossil fuels in electricity and heat production is, in general, less costly and leads to a greater CO{sub 2} reduction per unit biomass than substituting biomass derived transportation fuels for petrol or diesel. Transportation fuels produced from cellulosic biomass provide larger and less expensive CO{sub 2} emission reductions than transportation fuels from annual crops. Swedish CO{sub 2} emissions could be reduced by about 50% from the present level if fossil fuels are replaced and the energy demand is unchanged. There is a good balance between potential regional production and utilization of biomass in Sweden. Future biomass transportation distances need not be longer than, on average, about 40 km. About 22 TWh electricity could be produced annually from biomass in large district heating systems by cogeneration. Cultivation of Salix and energy grass could be utilized to reduce the negative environmental impact of current agricultural practices, such as the emission of greenhouse gases, nutrient leaching, decreased soil fertility and erosion, and for the treatment of municipal waste and sludge, leading to increased recirculation of nutrients. About 20 TWh biomass could theoretically be produced per year at an average cost of less than 50% of current production cost, if the economic

  8. Spatially and Temporally Optimal Biomass Procurement Contracting for Biorefineries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Subbu Kumarappan

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper evaluates the optimal composition of annual and perennial biomass feedstocks for a biorefinery. A generic optimization model is built to minimize costs – harvest, transport, storage, seasonal, and environmental costs – subject to various constraints on land availability, feedstock availability, processing capacity, contract terms, and storage losses. The model results are demonstrated through a case study for a midwestern U.S. location, focusing on bioethanol as the likely product. The results suggest that high-yielding energy crops feature prominently (70 to 80% in the feedstock mix in spite of the higher establishment costs. The cost of biomass ranges from 0.16 to 0.20 $ l-1 (US$ 0.60 to $0.75 per gallon of biofuel. The harvest shed shows that high-yielding energy crops are preferably grown in fields closer to the biorefinery. Low-yielding agricultural residues primarily serve as a buffer crop to meet the shortfall in biomass requirement. For the case study parameters, the model results estimated a price premium for energy crops (2 to 4 $ t-1 within a 16 km (10-mile radius and agricultural residues (5 to 17 $ t-1 in a 16 to 20 km (10 to 20 mile radius.

  9. Spatial distribution of arsenic and heavy metals in willow roots from a contaminated floodplain soil measured by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmer, Dana; Kruse, Jens; Baum, Christel; Borca, Camelia; Laue, Michael; Hause, Gerd; Meissner, Ralph; Leinweber, Peter

    2011-09-01

    Under changing redox conditions some plants create plaques at their root surface, which may affect the mobility and uptake of As and heavy metals but it is unknown to what extent this also holds true for willows in contaminated floodplain soils. Therefore, willow roots were sampled from a phytoremediation trial in the contaminated floodplain of the river Elbe (Germany), cryofixed, freeze-dried, and cross sections were mapped for the distribution of As, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, S and Zn by synchrotron based X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The elements Ca, Cu, Ni, S and Zn were concentrated in the aerenchymatic tissue, and not associated with Fe and Mn. Mixed Fe-Mn plaques covered the surface of the willow roots and As was accumulated in these plaques. The observed association pattern between As and Fe was explained by the different sorption/desorption properties of As(III) and As(V). The Cu and Zn intensities were not associated with the intensity of Fe in the plaque, which seems to be a willow-specific difference compared to other wetland plants. These results suggested that willows are especially suited to stabilize low-phytoextractable elements like Cu and As in their roots and rhizosphere. Thus, short rotation coppicing of willows may be a practical approach to mitigate the adverse effects of floodplain soil contamination. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Combined use of FORMOSAT-2 images with a crop model for biomass and water monitoring of permanent grassland in Mediterranean region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courault, D.; Hadria, R.; Ruget, F.; Olioso, A.; Duchemin, B.; Hagolle, O.; Dedieu, G.

    2010-09-01

    The aim of this study is to propose methods to improve crop and water management in Mediterranean regions. At landscape scale, there is a spatial variability of agricultural practices, particularly for grasslands irrigated by flooding. These grasslands are harvested three times per year and produce high quality hay, but their productions decreased significantly during the last few years because of the water scarcity. It is therefore important to assess the real water requirement for crops in order to predict productions in the case of agricultural practice modifications. Until now, the spatial variability of agricultural practices was obtained through surveys from farmers, but this method was tedious to describe an entire region. Thus, the specific aim of the study is to develop and assess a new method based on a crop model for estimating water balance and crop yield constrained by products derived from optical remote sensing data with high spatio-temporal resolution. A methodology, based on the combined use of FORMOSAT-2 images and the STICS crop model, was developed to estimate production, evapotranspiration and drainage of irrigated grasslands in "the Crau" region in the South Eastern France. Numerous surveys and ground measurements were performed during an experiment conducted in 2006. Simple algorithms were developed to retrieve the dynamic of Leaf Area Index (LAI) for each plot and the main agricultural practices such as mowing and irrigation dates. These variables computed from remote sensing were then used to parameterize STICS, applied at region scale to estimate the spatial variability of water budget associated with the biomass productions. Results are displayed at the farm scale. Satisfactory results were obtained when compared to ground measurements. The method for the extrapolation to other regions or crops is discussed as regard to data available.

  11. Combined use of FORMOSAT-2 images with a crop model for biomass and water monitoring of permanent grassland in Mediterranean region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Courault

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to propose methods to improve crop and water management in Mediterranean regions. At landscape scale, there is a spatial variability of agricultural practices, particularly for grasslands irrigated by flooding. These grasslands are harvested three times per year and produce high quality hay, but their productions decreased significantly during the last few years because of the water scarcity. It is therefore important to assess the real water requirement for crops in order to predict productions in the case of agricultural practice modifications. Until now, the spatial variability of agricultural practices was obtained through surveys from farmers, but this method was tedious to describe an entire region. Thus, the specific aim of the study is to develop and assess a new method based on a crop model for estimating water balance and crop yield constrained by products derived from optical remote sensing data with high spatio-temporal resolution.

    A methodology, based on the combined use of FORMOSAT-2 images and the STICS crop model, was developed to estimate production, evapotranspiration and drainage of irrigated grasslands in "the Crau" region in the South Eastern France. Numerous surveys and ground measurements were performed during an experiment conducted in 2006. Simple algorithms were developed to retrieve the dynamic of Leaf Area Index (LAI for each plot and the main agricultural practices such as mowing and irrigation dates. These variables computed from remote sensing were then used to parameterize STICS, applied at region scale to estimate the spatial variability of water budget associated with the biomass productions. Results are displayed at the farm scale. Satisfactory results were obtained when compared to ground measurements. The method for the extrapolation to other regions or crops is discussed as regard to data available.

  12. A comparison of the suitability of different willow varieties to treat on-site wastewater effluent in an Irish climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curneen, S J; Gill, L W

    2014-01-15

    Short rotation coppiced willow trees can be used to treat on-site wastewater effluent with the advantage that, if planted in a sealed basin and sized correctly, they produce no effluent discharge. This paper has investigated the evapotranspiration rate of four different willow varieties while also monitoring the effects of three different effluent types on each variety. The willow varieties used are all cultivars of Salix viminalis. The effluents applied were primary (septic tank) effluent, secondary treated effluent and rain water (control). The results obtained showed that the addition of effluent had a positive effect on the evapotranspiration. The willows were also found to uptake a high proportion of the nitrogen and phosphorus from the primary and secondary treated effluents added during the first year. The effect of the different effluents on the evapotranspiration rate has been used to design ten full scale on-site treatment systems which are now being monitored. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Allometries for Widely Spaced Populus ssp. and Betula ssp. in Nurse Crop Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hendrik Stark

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Nurse crops of widely spaced pioneer trees are a silvicultural approach to protect the regeneration of frost sensitive target tree species. If overstorey nurse crops are harvested, they can provide additional short-term benefits through increased biomass production, e.g., for bioenergy. However, the intensification of biomass exports from forests might impact negatively on ecosystem nutrient pools. Thus, precise allometric biomass equations are required to quantify biomass and nutrient removals. Since an analysis of published allometric equations developed for typical, dense aspen or birch forests showed that the tree height-to-diameter ratio correlated positively and the proportion of branch biomass negatively with stand density, we developed new allometric biomass equations for widely spaced aspen and birch growing at 4 x 4 m spacing. These equations yielded a root mean squared error of 13% when predicting total aboveground woody biomass for our sample trees. In contrast, the corresponding root mean squared error produced by allometric biomass equations from the literature ranged between 17% to 106% of actual dry biomass. Our results show that specific allometric biomass equations are needed for widely spaced pioneer trees both for accurate estimates of biomass and the nutrients contained within.

  14. Cadmium concentrations in tissues of willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) and rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in Nunavik, Northern Quebec

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodrigue, Jean [Environment Canada, Service canadien de la faune, 1141 route de l' Eglise, Sainte-Foy, Quebec, G1V 4H5 (Canada)]. E-mail: jean.rodrigue@ec.gc.ca; Champoux, Louise [Environment Canada, Service canadien de la faune, 1141 route de l' Eglise, Sainte-Foy, Quebec, G1V 4H5 (Canada); Leclair, Daniel [Centre de recherche du Nunavik, Societe Makivik, C.P. 179, Kuujjuaq, Quebec, J0M 1C0 (Canada); Duchesne, Jean-Francois [Unite de recherche en sante publique du CHUQ, 945, avenue Wolfe, Sainte-Foy, Quebec, G1V 5B3 (Canada)

    2007-06-15

    Willow and rock ptarmigan were obtained from Northern Quebec. Willow ptarmigan were found to have mean cadmium concentrations of 179.7 {mu}g/g (dw) in the kidneys and 25.8 {mu}g/g (dw) in the liver; these levels were three times higher than those found in the rock ptarmigan. The cadmium levels in the ptarmigan were below the threshold above which adverse effects can be observed in birds. The difference between the two ptarmigan species in cadmium content is explained by the diet. A comparison of their diet showed that willow, which stores cadmium, is an important food resource for willow ptarmigan but not for rock ptarmigan. Because there is limited information available on the consumption of ptarmigan kidneys and liver by the Inuit, and the fact that this is a traditional way of life and provides nutritional benefits to the Inuit population, no consumption guidelines are proposed. - High levels of cadmium were found in ptarmigan in Northern Quebec. No consumption guidelines are proposed for the Inuit people.

  15. Cadmium concentrations in tissues of willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) and rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in Nunavik, Northern Quebec

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodrigue, Jean; Champoux, Louise; Leclair, Daniel; Duchesne, Jean-Francois

    2007-01-01

    Willow and rock ptarmigan were obtained from Northern Quebec. Willow ptarmigan were found to have mean cadmium concentrations of 179.7 μg/g (dw) in the kidneys and 25.8 μg/g (dw) in the liver; these levels were three times higher than those found in the rock ptarmigan. The cadmium levels in the ptarmigan were below the threshold above which adverse effects can be observed in birds. The difference between the two ptarmigan species in cadmium content is explained by the diet. A comparison of their diet showed that willow, which stores cadmium, is an important food resource for willow ptarmigan but not for rock ptarmigan. Because there is limited information available on the consumption of ptarmigan kidneys and liver by the Inuit, and the fact that this is a traditional way of life and provides nutritional benefits to the Inuit population, no consumption guidelines are proposed. - High levels of cadmium were found in ptarmigan in Northern Quebec. No consumption guidelines are proposed for the Inuit people

  16. Quantitative Estimation of Above Ground Crop Biomass using Ground-based, Airborne and Spaceborne Low Frequency Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koyama, C.; Watanabe, M.; Shimada, M.

    2016-12-01

    Estimation of crop biomass is one of the important challenges in environmental remote sensing related to agricultural as well as hydrological and meteorological applications. Usually passive optical data (photographs, spectral data) operating in the visible and near-infrared bands is used for such purposes. The virtue of optical remote sensing for yield estimation, however, is rather limited as the visible light can only provide information about the chemical characteristics of the canopy surface. Low frequency microwave signals with wavelength longer 20 cm have the potential to penetrate through the canopy and provide information about the whole vertical structure of vegetation from the top of the canopy down to the very soil surface. This phenomenon has been well known and exploited to detect targets under vegetation in the military radar application known as FOPEN (foliage penetration). With the availability of polarimetric interferometric SAR data the use PolInSAR techniques to retrieve vertical vegetation structures has become an attractive tool. However, PolInSAR is still highly experimental and suitable data is not yet widely available. In this study we focus on the use of operational dual-polarization L-band (1.27 GHz) SAR which is since the launch of Japan's Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS, 2006-2011) available worldwide. Since 2014 ALOS-2 continues to deliver such kind of partial polarimetric data for the entire land surface. In addition to these spaceborne data sets we use airborne L-band SAR data acquired by the Japanese Pi-SAR-L2 as well as ultra-wideband (UWB) ground based SAR data operating in the frequency range from 1-4 GHz. By exploiting the complex dual-polarization [C2] Covariance matrix information, the scattering contributions from the canopy can be well separated from the ground reflections allowing for the establishment of semi-empirical relationships between measured radar reflectivity and the amount of fresh-weight above

  17. Crop residue inventory estimates for Texas High Plains cotton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Interest in the use of cotton crop by-products for the production of bio-fuels and value-added products is increasing. Research documenting the availability of cotton crop by-products after machine harvest is needed. The objectives of this work were to document the total biomass production for moder...

  18. Determination of Micronutrient Accumulation in Greenhouse Cucumber Crop Using a Modeling Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lino J. Ramírez-Pérez

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The control of micronutrient application in cucumber cultivation has great importance as they participate in many functions of metabolism. In addition, micronutrient application efficiency is fundamental to avoid periods of overconsumption or deficits in the crop. To determine micronutrient accumulation using a dynamic model, two cycles of Vitaly and Luxell cucumber crops were grown. During the development of the crop, micronutrient content (Fe, B, Mn, Cu, and Zn in the different organs of the cucumber plant was quantified. The model dynamically simulated the accumulation of biomass and micronutrients using climatic variables recorded inside the greenhouse as inputs. It was found that a decrease in photosynthetically active radiation and temperature significantly diminished the accumulation of biomass by the cucumber plants. On the other hand, the results demonstrated that the model efficiently simulated both the accumulation of biomass and micronutrients in a cucumber crop. The efficiency evaluation showed values higher than R2 > 0.95. This dynamic model can be useful to define adequate strategies for the management of cucumber cultivation in greenhouses as well as the application of micronutrients.

  19. Biomass Biorefinery for the production of Polymers and Fuels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dr. Oliver P. Peoples

    2008-05-05

    The conversion of biomass crops to fuel is receiving considerable attention as a means to reduce our dependence on foreign oil imports and to meet future energy needs. Besides their use for fuel, biomass crops are an attractive vehicle for producing value added products such as biopolymers. Metabolix, Inc. of Cambridge proposes to develop methods for producing biodegradable polymers polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) in green tissue plants as well as utilizating residual plant biomass after polymer extraction for fuel generation to offset the energy required for polymer extraction. The primary plant target is switchgrass, and backup targets are alfalfa and tobacco. The combined polymer and fuel production from the transgenic biomass crops establishes a biorefinery that has the potential to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil imports for both the feedstocks and energy needed for plastic production. Concerns about the widespread use of transgenic crops and the grower’s ability to prevent the contamination of the surrounding environment with foreign genes will be addressed by incorporating and expanding on some of the latest plant biotechnology developed by the project partners of this proposal. This proposal also addresses extraction of PHAs from biomass, modification of PHAs so that they have suitable properties for large volume polymer applications, processing of the PHAs using conversion processes now practiced at large scale (e.g., to film, fiber, and molded parts), conversion of PHA polymers to chemical building blocks, and demonstration of the usefulness of PHAs in large volume applications. The biodegradability of PHAs can also help to reduce solid waste in our landfills. If successful, this program will reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil, as well as contribute jobs and revenue to the agricultural economy and reduce the overall emissions of carbon to the atmosphere.

  20. Thermogravimetry/mass spectrometry study of woody residues and an herbaceous biomass crop using PCA techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gomez, C.J.; Velo, E.; Puigjaner, L. [Department of Chemical Engineering, ETSEIB, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Avinguda Diagonal 647, G2, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Meszaros, E.; Jakab, E. [Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Chemical Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 17, Budapest 1525 (Hungary)

    2007-10-15

    The devolatilization behaviour of pine and beech wood from carpentry residuals and an herbaceous product from an energy plantation (artichoke thistle) was investigated by thermogravimetry/mass spectrometry (TG/MS). The effect of three pre-treatments, hot-water washing, ethanol extraction and their combination, was also studied. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to help in the evaluation of the large data set of results. The characteristics of the thermal decomposition of the herbaceous crop are considerably different from that of the woody biomass samples. The evolution profiles of some characteristic pyrolysis products revealed that the thermal behaviour of wood and thistle is still considerably different after the elimination of some of the inorganic ions and extractive compounds, although the macromolecular components of the samples decompose at similar temperatures. With the help of the PCA calculations, the effect of the different pre-treatments on the production of the main pyrolysis products was evidenced. (author)

  1. With willows and poplars against the heavy metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaros, M.

    2002-01-01

    Special kinds of trees take out cadmium, lead and zinc from the soil, helping its rehabilitation in contaminated regions. A new method for soil rehabilitation (phytoremediation) based on plants is described. Special willows and poplars have the capability to extract as a sponge heavy metals from the soils and store them in their leaves. For example, they can uptake 700 times the amount of cadmium than the normal plants do. (nevyjel)

  2. Effects of Irrigating with Treated Oil and Gas Product Water on Crop Biomass and Soil Permeability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Terry Brown; Jeffrey Morris; Patrick Richards; Joel Mason

    2010-09-30

    Demonstrating effective treatment technologies and beneficial uses for oil and gas produced water is essential for producers who must meet environmental standards and deal with high costs associated with produced water management. Proven, effective produced-water treatment technologies coupled with comprehensive data regarding blending ratios for productive long-term irrigation will improve the state-of-knowledge surrounding produced-water management. Effective produced-water management scenarios such as cost-effective treatment and irrigation will discourage discharge practices that result in legal battles between stakeholder entities. The goal of this work is to determine the optimal blending ratio required for irrigating crops with CBNG and conventional oil and gas produced water treated by ion exchange (IX), reverse osmosis (RO), or electro-dialysis reversal (EDR) in order to maintain the long term physical integrity of soils and to achieve normal crop production. The soils treated with CBNG produced water were characterized with significantly lower SAR values compared to those impacted with conventional oil and gas produced water. The CBNG produced water treated with RO at the 100% treatment level was significantly different from the untreated produced water, while the 25%, 50% and 75% water treatment levels were not significantly different from the untreated water. Conventional oil and gas produced water treated with EDR and RO showed comparable SAR results for the water treatment technologies. There was no significant difference between the 100% treated produced water and the control (river water). The EDR water treatment resulted with differences at each level of treatment, which were similar to RO treated conventional oil and gas water. The 100% treated water had SAR values significantly lower than the 75% and 50% treatments, which were similar (not significantly different). The results of the greenhouse irrigation study found the differences in biomass

  3. Influence of Seeding Ratio, Planting Date, and Termination Date on Rye-Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Mixture Performance under Organic Management.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Lawson

    Full Text Available Cover crop benefits include nitrogen accumulation and retention, weed suppression, organic matter maintenance, and reduced erosion. Organic farmers need region-specific information on winter cover crop performance to effectively integrate cover crops into their crop rotations. Our research objective was to compare cover crop seeding mixtures, planting dates, and termination dates on performance of rye (Secale cereale L. and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth monocultures and mixtures in the maritime Pacific Northwest USA. The study included four seed mixtures (100% hairy vetch, 25% rye-75% hairy vetch, 50% rye-50% hairy vetch, and 100% rye by seed weight, two planting dates, and two termination dates, using a split-split plot design with four replications over six years. Measurements included winter ground cover; stand composition; cover crop biomass, N concentration, and N uptake; and June soil NO3(--N. Rye planted in mid-September and terminated in late April averaged 5.1 Mg ha(-1 biomass, whereas mixtures averaged 4.1 Mg ha(-1 and hairy vetch 2.3 Mg ha(-1. Delaying planting by 2.5 weeks reduced average winter ground cover by 65%, biomass by 50%, and cover crop N accumulation by 40%. Similar reductions in biomass and N accumulation occurred for late March termination, compared with late April termination. Mixtures had less annual biomass variability than rye. Mixtures accumulated 103 kg ha(-1 N and had mean C:N ratio <17:1 when planted in mid-September and terminated in late April. June soil NO3(--N (0 to 30 cm depth averaged 62 kg ha(-1 for rye, 97 kg ha(-1 for the mixtures, and 119 kg ha(-1 for hairy vetch. Weeds comprised less of the mixtures biomass (20% weeds by weight at termination compared with the monocultures (29%. Cover crop mixtures provided a balance between biomass accumulation and N concentration, more consistent biomass over the six-year study, and were more effective at reducing winter weeds compared with monocultures.

  4. Standing crops and ecology of aquatic invertebrates in agricultural drainwater ponds in California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Euliss, N.H.; Jarvis, R.L.; Gilmer, D.S.

    1991-01-01

    We examined standing crops and ecology of aquatic invertebrates in agricultural drainwater evaporation ponds in California from October 1982 to March 1983 and September 1983 to March 1984. Evaporation ponds supported low diversities but high standing crops of aquatic invertebrates. A water boatman (Trichocorixa reticulata) and a midge (Tanypus grodhausi) were the most abundant invertebrates, constituting 44.9% and 51.4% of total macroinvertebrate biomass. Regression models indicated that of 6 environmental variables measured, only electrical conductivity (EC) and Julian date affected biomass and density of water boatmen. EC was the only significant correlate of midge biomass in evaporation ponds.

  5. "The Wind in the Willows" and the Style of Romance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gill, R. B.

    2012-01-01

    The style of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" arises from an alternative vision and choice of values characteristic of romance. Romance seeks fulfillment beyond the consequences of everyday relationships and the constrictions of ordinary life. Causal relationships give way to lists of independent items, unmotivated outcomes, and…

  6. Pathogenic and Ice-Nucleation Active (INA) Bacteria causing Dieback of Willows in Short Rotation Forestry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nejad, Pajand

    2005-03-01

    To find out whether bacteria isolated from diseased plant parts can be the main causal agent for the dieback appearing in Salix energy forestry plantations in Sweden during the last few years, and if the joint effects of bacteria and frost injury are synergistic, extensive sampling of shoots from diseased Salix plants was performed. We performed several laboratory and greenhouse investigations and used evaluation techniques on the functions of the Ice-Nucleation Active (INA) bacteria. We carried out a comparison between spring and autumn bacterial communities isolated from within (endophytically) and surface (epiphytically) plant tissues of Salix viminalis. Seasonal variation of bacteria in willow clones with different levels of frost sensitivity and symptoms of bacterial damage was also investigated. We further focussed on possible effect of fertilisation and nutrient availability on the bacterial community in relation to plant dieback in Estonian willow plantations. The identification and detection of INA bacteria which cause damage in combination with frost to willow (Salix spp) plants in late fall, winter and spring was performed using BIOLOG MicroPlate, biochemical tests, selective INA primers and 16S rDNA analysis. To distinguish the character for differentiation between these bacteria morphologically and with respect to growing ability different culture media were used. We studied the temperature, at which ice nucleation occurred for individual bacteria, estimated the population of INA bacteria, effect of growth limiting factors, and evaluated the effect of chemical and physical agents for disruption and possible inhibition of INA among individual bacterial strains. The concentration of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus on INA is discussed. We demonstrate that among the bacterial isolates recovered from the willow plantations, there were many that were capable of ice nucleation at temperatures between -2 and -10 deg C, many that were capable of inducing a

  7. Land-use change to bioenergy production in Europe: implications for the greenhouse gas balance and soil carbon

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Don, Axel; Osborne, Bruce; Hastings, Astley

    2012-01-01

    for Miscanthus). However, there was no positive or even negative effects on the C balance if energy crops are established on former grassland. Increased bioenergy production may also result in direct and indirect land-use changes with potential high C losses when native vegetation is converted to annual crops......Bioenergy from crops is expected to make a considerable contribution to climate change mitigation. However, bioenergy is not necessarily carbon neutral because emissions of CO2, N2O and CH4 during crop production may reduce or completely counterbalance CO2 savings of the substituted fossil fuels...... of lower fertilizer requirements as well as a higher N-use efficiency, due to effective N-recycling. Perennial energy crops have the potential to sequester additional carbon in soil biomass if established on former cropland (0.44 Mg soil C ha 1 yr 1 for poplar and willow and 0.66 Mg soil C ha 1 yr 1...

  8. Performance evaluation of biomass sorghum in Hawaii and Texas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Although biomass sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] has been identified as a high yielding bioenergy feedstock crop on the continental USA, there is lack of conclusive data on its performance in HI. The objective of this study was to (i) determine the adaptability and productivity of two biomass...

  9. The Willow Microbiome is Influenced by Soil Petroleum-Hydrocarbon Concentration with Plant Compartment-Specific Effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stacie Tardif

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The interaction between plants and microorganisms, which is the driving force behind the decontamination of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC contamination in phytoremediation technology, is poorly understood. Here, we aimed at characterizing the variations between plant compartments in the microbiome of two willow cultivars growing in contaminated soils. A field experiment was set-up at a former petrochemical plant in Canada and, after two growing seasons, bulk soil, rhizosphere soil, roots and stems samples of two willow cultivars (Salix purpurea cv. FishCreek and Salix miyabeana cv. SX67 growing at three PHC contamination concentrations were taken. DNA was extracted and bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS regions were amplified and sequenced using an Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine. Following multivariate statistical analyses, the level of PHC-contamination appeared as the primary factor influencing the willow microbiome with compartment-specific effects, with significant differences between the responses of bacterial and fungal communities. Increasing PHC contamination levels resulted in shifts in the microbiome composition, favoring putative hydrocarbon degraders and microorganisms previously reported as associated with plant health. These shifts were less drastic in the rhizosphere, root and stem tissues as compared to bulk soil, probably because the willows provided a more controlled environment and thus protected microbial communities against increasing contamination levels. Insights from this study will help to devise optimal plant microbiomes for increasing the efficiency of phytoremediation technology.

  10. Energy balance and evaporation of a short-rotation willow forest. Variation with season and stand development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iritz, Z.

    1996-10-01

    Energy balance and evaporation of a short-rotation willow (Salix viminalis L.) forest was studied in relation to season and stand development. The developmental stage of the forest stand considerably influenced how the energy, received as net radiation, was partitioned between the connective fluxes and the storage components. The main part of the available energy was utilised for evaporation during most of the season. Only at the beginning of the season did the willow forest supply heat to the atmosphere. Later in the season, energy was taken from air and utilised for evaporation, which resulted in negative sensible heat fluxes. Soil heat storage was also a significant term in the energy balance and also strongly depended on canopy development. Changes in energy partitioning relative to leaf area indices indicated the existence of a threshold value for leaf area index of the developing canopy. The analysis suggested that the canopy of the willow forest could be considered as closed at a leaf area index of 2. It was further found that evaporation from well-irrigated willow forest occurred also during night-time, particularly in windy and dry weather conditions. The sources of nocturnal evaporation were both the canopy, i.e. indicating non-closed stomata, and the soil surface. Partitioning of the total evaporation into components was investigated using a physically-based model with a two-layer aboveground representation and a two-layer soil module. The model estimates evaporation with respect to developmental stage of the willow stand and also takes into account the interaction between the fluxes from the canopy and the soil surface. Good performance of the model indicated that, after further testing in drier conditions, it could be used as a tool for analysing the prerequisites for energy-forest establishment, and practical management of energy forest stands. 37 refs, 9 figs

  11. Biomass plantations - energy farming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paul, S.

    1981-02-01

    Mounting oil import bills in India are restricting her development programmes by forcing the cutting down of the import of other essential items. But the countries of the tropics have abundant sunlight and vast tracts of arable wastelands. Energy farming is proposed in the shape of energy plantations through forestry or energy cropping through agricultural media, to provide power fuels for transport and the industries and also to provide fuelwoods for the domestic sector. Short rotation cultivation is discussed and results are given of two main species that are being tried, ipil-ipil and Casuarina. Evaluations are made on the use of various crops such as sugar cane, cassava and kenaf as fuel crops together with hydrocarbon plants and aquatic biomass. (Refs. 20)

  12. Yield Mapping in Salix; Skoerdekartering av salix

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, Christoffer; Gilbertsson, Mikael; Rogstrand, Gustav; Thylen, Lars

    2004-09-01

    The most common species for energy forest production is willow. Willow is able to produce a large amount of biomass in a short period of time. Growing willow has a potential to render a good financial result for the farmer if cultivated on fields with the right conditions and plenty of water. Under the right conditions growing willow can give the farmer a net income of 3,000 SEK (about 430 USD) per hectare and year, which is something that common cereal crops cannot compete with. However, this is not the common case since willow is often grown as a substitute crop on fields where cereal crop yield is low. The aim of this study was to reveal if it is possible to measure yield variability in willow, and if it is possible to describe the reasons for yield variation both within the field but also between different fields. Yield mapping has been used in conventional farming for about a decade. The principles for yield mapping are to continuously measure the yield while registering location by the use of GPS when harvesting the field. The collected data is then used to search for spatial variations within the field, and to try to understand the reasons for this variation. Since there is currently no commercial equipment for yield mapping in willow, a yield mapping system had to be developed within this project. The new system was installed on a Claas Jaguar harvester. The principle for yield mapping on the Claas Jaguar harvester is to measure the distance between the feeding rollers. This distance is correlated to the flow through the harvester. The speed and position of the machine was registered using GPS. Knowing the working width of the harvester this information was used to calculate the yield. All collected data was stored on a PDA computer. Soil samples were also collected from the yield mapped fields. This was to be able to test yield against both physical and chemical soil parameters. The result shows that it is possible to measure spatial variations of yield in

  13. Economic and greenhouse gas emission analysis of bioenergy production using multi-product crops-case studies for the Netherlands and Poland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dornburg, V.; Termeer, G.; Faaij, A.P.C.

    2005-01-01

    In the face of climate change that may result from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the scarcity of agricultural land and limited competitiveness of biomass energy on the market, it is desirable to increase the performance of bioenergy systems. Multi-product crops, i.e. using a crop partially for energy and partially for material purposes can possibly create additional incomes as well as additional GHG emission reductions. In this study, the performance of several multi-product crop systems is compared to energy crop systems, focused on the costs of primary biomass fuel costs and GHG emission reductions per hectare of biomass production. The sensitivity of the results is studied by means of a Monte-Carlo analysis. The multi-product crops studied are wheat, hemp and poplar in the Netherlands and Poland. GHG emission reductions of these multi-product crop systems are found to be between 0.2 and 2.4 Mg CO 2eq /(ha yr) in Poland and 0.9 and 7.8 Mg CO 2eq /(ha yr) in the Netherlands, while primary biomass fuel costs range from -4.1 to -1.7 EURO /GJ in the Netherlands and from 0.1 to 9.8 EURO /GJ in Poland. Results show that the economic attractiveness of multi-product crops depends strongly on material market prices, crop production costs and crop yields. Net annual GHG emission reductions per hectare are influenced strongly by the specific GHG emission reduction of material use, reference energy systems and GHG emissions of crop production. Multi-product use of crops can significantly decrease primary biomass fuel costs. However, this does not apply in general, but depends on the kind of crops and material uses. For the examples analysed here, net annual GHG emission reductions per hectare are not lowered by multi-product use of crops. Consequently, multi-product crops are not for granted an option to increase the performance of bioenergy systems. Further research on the feasibility of large-scale multi-product crop systems and their impact on land and material markets

  14. Genetic variation in the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Busch, Joseph; Miller, Mark P.; Paxton, E.H.; Sogge, M.K.; Keim, Paul

    2000-01-01

    The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) is an endangered Neotropical migrant that breeds in isolated remnants of dense riparian habitat in the southwestern United States. We estimated genetic variation at 20 breeding sites of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (290 individuals) using 38 amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). Our results suggest that considerable genetic diversity exists within the subspecies and within local breeding sites. Statistical analyses of genetic variation revealed only slight, although significant, differentiation among breeding sites (Mantel's r = 0.0705, P UPGMA cluster analysis of the AFLP markers indicates that extensive gene flow has occurred among breeding sites. No one site stood out as being genetically unique or isolated. Therefore, the small level of genetic structure that we detected may not be biologically significant. Ongoing field studies are consistent with this conclusion. Of the banded birds that were resighted or recaptured in Arizona during the 1996 to 1998 breeding seasons, one-third moved between breeding sites and two-thirds were philopatric. Low differentiation may be the result of historically high rangewide diversity followed by recent geographic isolation of breeding sites, although observational data indicate that gene flow is a current phenomenon. Our data suggest that breeding groups of E. t. extimus act as a metapopulation.

  15. Differential effects of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) on photosynthesis and chlorophyll metabolism in willow plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes, Marcelo Pedrosa; Le Manac'h, Sarah Gingras; Maccario, Sophie; Labrecque, Michel; Lucotte, Marc; Juneau, Philippe

    2016-06-01

    We used a willow species (Salix miyabeana cultivar SX64) to examine the differential secondary-effects of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), the principal glyphosate by-product, on chlorophyll metabolism and photosynthesis. Willow plants were treated with different concentrations of glyphosate (equivalent to 0, 1.4, 2.1 and 2.8kgha(-1)) and AMPA (equivalent to 0, 0.28, 1.4 and 2.8kgha(-1)) and evaluations of pigment contents, chlorophyll fluorescence, and oxidative stress markers (hydrogen peroxide content and antioxidant enzyme activities) in leaves were performed after 12h of exposure. We observed that AMPA and glyphosate trigger different mechanisms leading to decreases in chlorophyll content and photosynthesis rates in willow plants. Both chemicals induced ROS accumulation in willow leaves although only glyphosate-induced oxidative damage through lipid peroxidation. By disturbing chlorophyll biosynthesis, AMPA induced decreases in chlorophyll contents, with consequent effects on photosynthesis. With glyphosate, ROS increases were higher than the ROS-sensitive threshold, provoking chlorophyll degradation (as seen by pheophytin accumulation) and invariable decreases in photosynthesis. Peroxide accumulation in both AMPA and glyphosate-treated plants was due to the inhibition of antioxidant enzyme activities. The different effects of glyphosate on chlorophyll contents and photosynthesis as described in the literature may be due to various glyphosate:AMPA ratios in those plants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Model Research of Gas Emissions From Lignite and Biomass Co-Combustion in a Large Scale CFB Boiler

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krzywański Jarosław

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper is focused on the idea of a combustion modelling of a large-scale circulating fluidised bed boiler (CFB during coal and biomass co-combustion. Numerical computation results for three solid biomass fuels co-combustion with lignite are presented in the paper. The results of the calculation showed that in previously established kinetics equations for coal combustion, some reactions had to be modified as the combustion conditions changed with the fuel blend composition. Obtained CO2, CO, SO2 and NOx emissions are located in borders of ± 20% in the relationship to the experimental data. Experimental data was obtained for forest biomass, sunflower husk, willow and lignite cocombustion tests carried out on the atmospheric 261 MWe COMPACT CFB boiler operated in PGE Turow Power Station in Poland. The energy fraction of biomass in fuel blend was: 7%wt, 10%wt and 15%wt. The measured emissions of CO, SO2 and NOx (i.e. NO + NO2 were also shown in the paper. For all types of biomass added to the fuel blends the emission of the gaseous pollutants was lower than that for coal combustion.

  17. Biomass fuels - effects on the carbon dioxide budget

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eriksson, H.; Hallsby, G.

    1992-02-01

    It is highly desirable that the effects on the carbon dioxide balance of alternative energy sources are evaluated. Two important alternatives studied in Sweden are the extraction of logging residues left in the forest and willow production on farmland. Considered in isolation, a conversion from stem-wood harvest to whole-tree harvest has a negative effect on the carbon dioxide balance, because the amount of soil organic matter decreases. With the assumption that it takes 20 years for the logging residues to decompose, the net decrease in emissions that would result from the replacement of fossil fuels by logging residues appear moderate after 20 years. However, it will grow significantly as time passes. After 100 years with an annual combustion of logging residues the emissions are 12% of those associated with the production of an equivalent amount of energy through oil combustion. Corresponding values for 300 and 500 years are 4% and 2.5% respectively. In less than 100 years there should be a considerable reduction in the Swedish CO 2 -C emissions even if only every second new logging residue-produced TWH replaces a fossil-fuel-produced TWh. From a long-term perspective, effects on carbon reservoirs in Sweden, caused by conversions to whole-tree harvesting in forestry and to willow production on redundant farmland, can be considered negligible in terms of their influence on the carbon dioxide budget of Sweden. The orders of magnitude of influencing fluxes is exemplified in the following: The annual production of 50 TWh, whereof 40 TWh from logging residues, 8 TWh from willow and 2 TWh from annual crops is estimated to cause a total net decrease of the carbon reservoirs within Sweden corresponding to 32 Tg CO 2 -C, whereas the annual production of 50 TWh from oil combustion should emit 1200 Tg CO 2 -C in 300 years, 2000 Tg CO 2 -C in 500 years and so on. (au). 17 refs., 4 tabs

  18. Radiation and nitrogen use in wheat and oilseed rape crops

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dreccer, M.F.

    1999-01-01

    Raising yield potential of crops with an efficient use of nutrients is imperative, given the prospects of increase in world population and the need to reduce environmental problems. Yield potential is proportional to the total biomass of a crop, which is highly responsive to nitrogen

  19. A Natural History Summary and Survey Protocol for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sogge, Mark K.; ,; Ahlers, Darrell; ,; Sferra, Susan J.; ,

    2010-01-01

    The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) has been the subject of substantial research, monitoring, and management activity since it was listed as an endangered species in 1995. When proposed for listing in 1993, relatively little was known about the flycatcher's natural history, and there were only 30 known breeding sites supporting an estimated 111 territories rangewide (Sogge and others, 2003a). Since that time, thousands of presence/absences surveys have been conducted throughout the historical range of the flycatcher, and many studies of its natural history and ecology have been completed. As a result, the ecology of the flycatcher is much better understood than it was just over a decade ago. In addition, we have learned that the current status of the flycatcher is better than originally thought: as of 2007, the population was estimated at approximately 1,300 territories distributed among approximately 280 breeding sites (Durst and others, 2008a). Concern about the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher on a rangewide scale was brought to focus by Unitt (1987), who described declines in flycatcher abundance and distribution throughout the Southwest. E. t. extimus populations declined during the 20th century, primarily because of habitat loss and modification from activities, such as dam construction and operation, groundwater pumping, water diversions, and flood control. In 1991, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) designated the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher as a candidate category 1 species (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1991). In July 1993, the USFWS proposed to list E. t. extimus as an endangered species and to designate critical habitat under the Act (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1993). A final rule listing E. t. extimus as endangered was published in February 1995 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1995); critical habitat was designated in 1997 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1997). The USFWS Service released a Recovery Plan for

  20. Crop and varietal diversification of rainfed rice based cropping systems for higher productivity and profitability in Eastern India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lal, B; Gautam, Priyanka; Panda, B B; Raja, R; Singh, Teekam; Tripathi, R; Shahid, M; Nayak, A K

    2017-01-01

    Rice-rice system and rice fallows are no longer productive in Southeast Asia. Crop and varietal diversification of the rice based cropping systems may improve the productivity and profitability of the systems. Diversification is also a viable option to mitigate the risk of climate change. In Eastern India, farmers cultivate rice during rainy season (June-September) and land leftovers fallow after rice harvest in the post-rainy season (November-May) due to lack of sufficient rainfall or irrigation amenities. However, in lowland areas, sufficient residual soil moistures are available in rice fallow in the post-rainy season (November-March), which can be utilized for raising second crops in the region. Implementation of suitable crop/varietal diversification is thus very much vital to achieve this objective. To assess the yield performance of rice varieties under timely and late sown conditions and to evaluate the performance of dry season crops following them, three different duration rice cultivars were transplanted in July and August. In dry season several non-rice crops were sown in rice fallow to constitute a cropping system. The results revealed that tiller occurrence, biomass accumulation, dry matter remobilization, crop growth rate, and ultimately yield were significantly decreased under late transplanting. On an average, around 30% yield reduction obtained under late sowing may be due to low temperature stress and high rainfall at reproductive stages of the crop. Dry season crops following short duration rice cultivars performed better in terms of grain yield. In the dry season, toria was profitable when sown earlier and if sowing was delayed greengram was suitable. Highest system productivity and profitability under timely sown rice may be due to higher dry matter remobilization from source to sink. A significant correlation was observed between biomass production and grain yield. We infer that late transplanting decrease the tiller occurrence and assimilate

  1. Biotechnology Towards Energy Crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margaritopoulou, Theoni; Roka, Loukia; Alexopoulou, Efi; Christou, Myrsini; Rigas, Stamatis; Haralampidis, Kosmas; Milioni, Dimitra

    2016-03-01

    New crops are gradually establishing along with cultivation systems to reduce reliance on depleting fossil fuel reserves and sustain better adaptation to climate change. These biological assets could be efficiently exploited as bioenergy feedstocks. Bioenergy crops are versatile renewable sources with the potential to alternatively contribute on a daily basis towards the coverage of modern society's energy demands. Biotechnology may facilitate the breeding of elite energy crop genotypes, better suited for bio-processing and subsequent use that will improve efficiency, further reduce costs, and enhance the environmental benefits of biofuels. Innovative molecular techniques may improve a broad range of important features including biomass yield, product quality and resistance to biotic factors like pests or microbial diseases or environmental cues such as drought, salinity, freezing injury or heat shock. The current review intends to assess the capacity of biotechnological applications to develop a beneficial bioenergy pipeline extending from feedstock development to sustainable biofuel production and provide examples of the current state of the art on future energy crops.

  2. Biomass will grow as a chemical feedstock

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coombs, J

    1979-11-30

    This article discusses the possibility of biomass replacing a large fraction of oil use both as a fuel and a chemical feedstock. Problems arise from the low density, calorific value and diffuse nature of plant material which makes collection and processing expensive on both a financial and an energy cost basis. Two distinct sources of biomass are identified: (a) wastes and residues and (b) purpose grown crops. In the same way it is possible to distinguish thermal and biological conversion technologies. Finally, worldwide biomass energy programmes are reviewed.

  3. Introduction to energy balance of biomass production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manzanares, P.

    1997-01-01

    During last years, energy crops have been envisaged as an interesting alternative to biomass residues utilization as renewable energy source. In this work, main parameters used in calculating the energy balance of an energy crop are analyzed. The approach consists of determining energy equivalents for the different inputs and outputs of the process, thus obtaining energy ratios of the system, useful to determine if the energy balance is positive, that is, if the system generates energy. Energy costs for inputs and assessment approaches for energy crop yields (output) are provided. Finally, as a way of illustration, energy balances of some representative energy crops are shown. (Author) 15 refs

  4. An evaluation of harvesting machinery for short rotation coppice willow in Denmark

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kofman, P.D.; Spinelli, R.

    1997-12-31

    During the harvesting seasons 1994-1995 and 1995-1996 several harvesting trials were carried out within the EU project on harvesting and storage of Short Rotation Crops and within a national project. During this period the following machines were investigated: Diemelstadt poplar harvester, cut and chip; Claas forage harvester with SRF header, cut and chip; Austoft sugarcane harvester, adapted to SRF, cut and chip; Bender II, cut and chip; Hvidsted Energy Allrounder, whole shoot harvester; Dansalix whole shoot harvester. In the 1994-1995 season the intention was to harvest 300 tonnes of whole shoots, chunks and chips for a storage trial. The main conclusions of the 1994-1995 harvesting season must be that harvesting willow with the existing machines in wet winters without frozen ground is very difficult. The machines will have to be developed further and special interest should be given to developing shuttle vehicles with the same flotation as the tracked harvester. Several of the problems encountered with the machines in Denmark were confirmed by the experience in the other trials. Road transportation of chips from SRF plantations is just as expensive as transporting energy chips from the forest at about Dkr 50 per tonne over 48 km. Transporting whole shoots is very expensive due to the low bulk density. Transportation of whole shoots over 48 km costs on the average Dkr 133 per tonne fresh. A very short pilot study into chipping of whole shoots from a three metre high pile indicated that this comminution with a normal forest chipper has a low productivity (8.9 tonnes fresh per work place hour) and is very expensive at Dkr 157 per tonne. This productivity can be improved by equipping the chipper with a special feeding table and better feed rollers for the SRF crop. (EG)

  5. Supply evaluation of a herbaceous and woody energy crop at three midwest regions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    English, B.C.; Dillivan, K.D.; Ojo, M.A.

    1994-01-01

    While substantial research has been conducted on the argronomic issues of biomass production and on the processes of converting biofuel crops into energy, little work has been completed analyzing the economic and physical impacts of biofuel production on an agriculturally based region. Acres currently devoted to traditional crops will be replaced by biomass crops if such a conversion proves to be economically attractive. These shifts could have impacts on local and regional levels of farm income, current farmland market values, commodity prices received, and the demand for and prices of farm level inputs. This paper examines the economic and physical ramifications of introducing biomass production to three Midwest regions centered in the following counties; Cass County, North Dakota, Olmsted County, Minnesota, and Orange County, Indiana. Using a regional linear programming model that maximizes net returns to producers subject to several constraints, a supply curve for biomass is developed for each of the three regions. The model predicts that at a plant gate price of $26, $40, and $52 per dry ton, biomass begins to enter into production in the Cass, Olmsted, and Orange Regions respectively. Prices of $28, $44, and $54 per dry ton of biomass are sufficient to supply a quantity necessary to operate a power plant requiring 5,000 dry tons per day in Cass, Olmsted, and Orange regions respectively. In the Olmsted and Orange regions, biomass production results in fertilizer being applied, however, in the Cass Region a slight increase in fertilizer use corresponds to biomass production

  6. Regional biomass supply: three case studies in the Midwest, US

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    English, B.C.; Dillivan, K.D.; Ojo, M.A.; Alexander, R.R.; Graham, R.L. [Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (United States)

    1995-06-01

    Increased interest in the development and utilization of alternative energy sources has generated research demonstrating that fuels developed from energy crops (biofuels) can be a viable substitute for fossil fuels. A national energy program dedicated to the advancement of fuel derived from lignocellulosic crops could have major impacts on conventional energy supplied in the United States. Sufficient biofuel demand would allow conversion of croplands, as well as some pasture and forest lands, into biomass producing lands and possibly return to production acres formerly idled. A shift from crop, pasture or forest production activities to biomass production would likely require changes in the levels of inputs, outputs, and costs associated with these activities, which would impact producers and ultimately consumers. The conversion of cropland or idled land to biomass production will also have impacts on the physical characteristics of the soil. Soil erosion levels, soil chemical composition, soil structure, and organic matter content are some of the many soil attributes which will be impacted as a result of conversion. Research is needed to estimate the impact conversion activities have on these variables.

  7. Sustainable Biofuels from Forests: Woody Biomass

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edwin H. White

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The use of woody biomass feedstocks for bioenergy and bioproducts involves multiple sources of material that together create year round supplies. The main sources of woody biomass include residues from wood manufacturing industries, low value trees including logging slash in forests that are currently underutilized and dedicated short-rotation woody crops. Conceptually a ton of woody biomass feedstocks can replace a barrel of oil as the wood is processed (refined through a biorefinery. As oil is refined only part of the barrel is used for liquid fuel, e.g., gasoline, while much of the carbon in oil is refined into higher value chemical products-carbon in woody biomass can be refined into the same value-added products.

  8. Influence of leafy biomass transfer of agroforestry trees with nitrogen ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cultivation of leguminous tree crops and biomass transfer is the main possibility for soil enrichment with nutrients, especially with nitrogen and play alternative role as source of organic fertilizer. This study investigated the influence of leafy biomass transfer of Albizia lebbeck and Parkia biglobosa leguminous agroforestry ...

  9. EnerGEO biomass pilot

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tum, M.; Guenther, K.P.; McCallum, I.; Balkovic, J.; Khabarov, N.; Kindermann, G.; Leduc, S.; Biberacher, M.

    2013-01-01

    In the framework of the EU FP7 project EnerGEO (Earth Observations for Monitoring and Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Energy Use) sustainable energy potentials for forest and agricultural areas were estimated by applying three different model approaches. Firstly, the Biosphere Energy Transfer Hydrology (BETHY/DLR) model was applied to assess agricultural and forest biomass increases on a regional scale with the extension to grassland. Secondly, the EPIC (Environmental Policy Integrated Climate) - a cropping systems simulation model - was used to estimate grain yields on a global scale and thirdly the Global Forest Model (G4M) was used to estimate global woody biomass harvests and stock. The general objective of the biomass pilot is to implement the observational capacity for using biomass as an important current and future energy resource. The scope of this work was to generate biomass energy potentials for locations on the globe and to validate these data. Therefore, the biomass pilot was focused to use historical and actual remote sensing data as input data for the models. For validation purposes, forest biomass maps for 1987 and 2002 for Germany (Bundeswaldinventur (BWI-2)) and 2001 and 2008 for Austria (Austrian Forest Inventory (AFI)) were prepared as reference. (orig.)

  10. EnerGEO biomass pilot

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tum, M.; Guenther, K.P. [German Aerospace Center (DLR), Wessling (Germany). German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD); McCallum, I.; Balkovic, J.; Khabarov, N.; Kindermann, G.; Leduc, S. [International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg (Austria); Biberacher, M. [Research Studios Austria AG (RSA), Salzburg (Austria)

    2013-07-01

    In the framework of the EU FP7 project EnerGEO (Earth Observations for Monitoring and Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Energy Use) sustainable energy potentials for forest and agricultural areas were estimated by applying three different model approaches. Firstly, the Biosphere Energy Transfer Hydrology (BETHY/DLR) model was applied to assess agricultural and forest biomass increases on a regional scale with the extension to grassland. Secondly, the EPIC (Environmental Policy Integrated Climate) - a cropping systems simulation model - was used to estimate grain yields on a global scale and thirdly the Global Forest Model (G4M) was used to estimate global woody biomass harvests and stock. The general objective of the biomass pilot is to implement the observational capacity for using biomass as an important current and future energy resource. The scope of this work was to generate biomass energy potentials for locations on the globe and to validate these data. Therefore, the biomass pilot was focused to use historical and actual remote sensing data as input data for the models. For validation purposes, forest biomass maps for 1987 and 2002 for Germany (Bundeswaldinventur (BWI-2)) and 2001 and 2008 for Austria (Austrian Forest Inventory (AFI)) were prepared as reference. (orig.)

  11. Biomass productivity and radiation utilisation of innovative cropping systems for biorefinery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manevski, Kiril; Lærke, Poul Erik; Jiao, Xiurong

    2017-01-01

    rotation of annual crops (maize, beet, hemp/oat, triticale, winter rye and winter rapeseed), ii) perennial crops intensively fertilised (festulolium, reed canary, cocksfoot and tall fescue), low-fertilised (miscanthus) or unfertilised (grass-legume mixtures) and iii) traditional systems (continuous...

  12. Energy crops - where are they?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coombs, Jim [CPL Scientific Ltd., Newbury (United Kingdom)

    1999-07-01

    The author examines briefly the factors controlling the growth of energy crops, particularly the relationship between dry matter yield and fuel costs and conversion efficiency and electricity price. The EU target is for 135 Mtoe from biomass by 2010 and consideration is given on how this can be met.

  13. Biomass energy - Definitions, resources and transformation processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Damien, Alain

    2013-01-01

    Biomass energy is today considered as a new renewable energy source, and thus, has entered a regulatory framework aiming at encouraging its development for CO 2 pollution abatement. This book addresses the constraints, both natural and technological, of the exploitation of the biomass resource, and then the economical and regulatory aspects of this industry. This second edition provides a complement about the plants used and the new R and D progresses made in this domain. Content: 1 - Definitions and general considerations: natural organic products, regulatory and standardized definitions, energy aspects of biomass fuels; 2 - Resources: energy production dedicated crops, biomass by-products, biomass from wastes; 3 - Biomass to energy transformation processes: combustion, gasification, pyrolysis, torrefaction, methanation, alcoholic fermentation, landfill biogas, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, methanol synthesis, trans-esterification, synthetic natural gas production, bio-hydrogen production; 4 - Biofuels: solid fuels, solid automotive biofuels, gaseous biofuels, liquid biofuels, comparative efficiency; 5 - Situation of biomass energy: regulations, impact on non-energy purpose biomass, advantages and drawbacks

  14. Developing in situ non-destructive estimates of crop biomass to address issues of scale in remote sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Michael T.; Thenkabail, Prasad S.

    2015-01-01

    Ground-based estimates of aboveground wet (fresh) biomass (AWB) are an important input for crop growth models. In this study, we developed empirical equations of AWB for rice, maize, cotton, and alfalfa, by combining several in situ non-spectral and spectral predictors. The non-spectral predictors included: crop height (H), fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), leaf area index (LAI), and fraction of vegetation cover (FVC). The spectral predictors included 196 hyperspectral narrowbands (HNBs) from 350 to 2500 nm. The models for rice, maize, cotton, and alfalfa included H and HNBs in the near infrared (NIR); H, FAPAR, and HNBs in the NIR; H and HNBs in the visible and NIR; and FVC and HNBs in the visible; respectively. In each case, the non-spectral predictors were the most important, while the HNBs explained additional and statistically significant predictors, but with lower variance. The final models selected for validation yielded an R2 of 0.84, 0.59, 0.91, and 0.86 for rice, maize, cotton, and alfalfa, which when compared to models using HNBs alone from a previous study using the same spectral data, explained an additional 12%, 29%, 14%, and 6% in AWB variance. These integrated models will be used in an up-coming study to extrapolate AWB over 60 × 60 m transects to evaluate spaceborne multispectral broad bands and hyperspectral narrowbands.

  15. Developing in situ Non-Destructive Estimates of Crop Biomass to Address Issues of Scale in Remote Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Marshall

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Ground-based estimates of aboveground wet (fresh biomass (AWB are an important input for crop growth models. In this study, we developed empirical equations of AWB for rice, maize, cotton, and alfalfa, by combining several in situ non-spectral and spectral predictors. The non-spectral predictors included: crop height (H, fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR, leaf area index (LAI, and fraction of vegetation cover (FVC. The spectral predictors included 196 hyperspectral narrowbands (HNBs from 350 to 2500 nm. The models for rice, maize, cotton, and alfalfa included H and HNBs in the near infrared (NIR; H, FAPAR, and HNBs in the NIR; H and HNBs in the visible and NIR; and FVC and HNBs in the visible; respectively. In each case, the non-spectral predictors were the most important, while the HNBs explained additional and statistically significant predictors, but with lower variance. The final models selected for validation yielded an R2 of 0.84, 0.59, 0.91, and 0.86 for rice, maize, cotton, and alfalfa, which when compared to models using HNBs alone from a previous study using the same spectral data, explained an additional 12%, 29%, 14%, and 6% in AWB variance. These integrated models will be used in an up-coming study to extrapolate AWB over 60 × 60 m transects to evaluate spaceborne multispectral broad bands and hyperspectral narrowbands.

  16. The Giant Reed as an energy crop: assessing the energy requirements within its supply chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rodias, Efthymis; Busato, P.; Bochtis, Dionysis

    2013-01-01

    Biomass energy is one form of renewable energy sources that are in the core of interesting for many researchers. There many different biomass sources that can be exploited for energy production, such as crop residues, waste materials, forestry residues and energy crops. Regarding energy crops......, there are many different types of crops significantly varies in terms of energy potential yields, production and provision methods, etc. To this end, a thoroughly assessment of the energy inputs and outputs of each potential energy crop is necessary. In this paper, the Giant Reed is evaluated energetically...... as a potential energy crop. The assessment regards a 10 year period. The considered energy elements include direct inputs (e.g. fuel consumption) as well as indirect inputs (e.g. embodied energy of materials and machinery). According to the results, the balance between the estimated total energy input...

  17. Initial spacing of poplars and willows grown as arable coppice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Armstrong, A.; Johns, C.

    1997-11-01

    Two clones of poplar and two clones of willow were grown at two sites, on a three year cutting cycle, at six different square spacings, between 0.8 metres and 1.5 metres. The two willow clones 'Bowles hybrid' and 'Dasyclados' were planted at both sites. The poplar clones Populus interamericana 'Beaupre' and Populus trichocarpa 'Columbia River'' were planted at Wishanger in Hampshire. The poplar clones Populus interamericana 'Boelare' and Populus trichocarpa 'Trichobel' were planted at Downham Market in Norfolk. The highest yield of 17.55 oven dry tonnes per hectare (odt/ha/annum) was obtained from 'Bowles hybrid', at the closest spacing, grown on a water meadow adjacent to the River Wey at Wishanger. The highest yield for all clones at both sites was achieved at the closest spacing (in this first rotation). There was a significant linear effect. One of the most interesting observations was that when comparing the gradient of the linear relationship, within species, the gradient was steeper for the higher yielding clone. This was particularly so for the willows. This would suggest that higher yielding clones are more tolerant of crowding, or, that upright Salix viminalis make better use of close space than the more spreading Salix dasyclados. The new Salix x Salix schwerinnii hybrids should therefore also be responsive to closer spacing. The same effect was observed for the poplars at Wishanger only, but the difference was not as dramatic. There was a suggestion from the highest yielding poplar plots that optimum yield may still be obtained at the currently recommended spacing of 1.0 metre x 1.0 metre. (author)

  18. Physico-chemical characteristics of eight different biomass fuels and comparison of combustion and emission results in a small scale multi-fuel boiler

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forbes, E.G.A.; Easson, D.L.; Lyons, G.A.; McRoberts, W.C.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Physical parameters of the eight biomass fuels examined were all different. • Significant differences were found in Proximate, Ultimate and TGA results. • Energy outputs were not proportionate to dry matter energy content. • Highest flue ash production from fuels with highest fines content. • Flue gas emissions varied significantly, NOx levels correlated with fuel N content. - Abstract: This study describes the results from the investigation of 7 different biomass fuel types produced on a farm, and a commercial grade wood pellet, for their physical, chemical, thermo-gravimetric and combustion properties. Three types of short rotation coppice (SRC) willow, two species of conifers, forest residues (brash), commercially produced wood-pellets and a chop harvested energy grass crop Miscanthus giganteus spp., (elephant grass) were investigated. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found in most of the raw fuel parameters examined using particle distribution, Thermogravimetric, Ultimate and Proximate analysis. Combustion tests in a 120 kW multi-fuel boiler revealed differences, some significant, in the maximum output, energy conversion efficiency, gaseous emission profiles and ash residues produced from the fuels. It was concluded that some of the combustion results could be directly correlated with the inherent properties of the different fuels. Ash production and gaseous emissions were the aspects of performance that were clearly and significantly different though effects on energy outputs were more varied and less consistent. The standard wood pellet fuel returned the best overall performance and miscanthus produced the largest amount of total ash and clinker after combustion in the boiler

  19. Energy from biomass. Ethics and practice; Energie aus Biomasse. Ethik und Praxis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Franke, Silke [ed.

    2013-06-01

    The implementation of the energy policy turnaround inevitably results in modifications of the land use and landscape. Besides the discussion about the environmental consequences, a debate about ethical issues increasingly arose. Under this aspect, the booklet under consideration contains the following contributions: (1) Renewable energy sources - the role of bioenergy (Bernard Widmann); (2) Energy from biomass - An ethic analysis (Stephan Schleissing); (3) Culture for our landscapes - combination of biomass and water protection (Frank Wagener); (4) Cultivation of energy crops - short rotation coppices (Frank Burger); (5) Bioenergy region Straubing-Bogen: Excellent in the matter of renewable energy sources (Josefine Eichwald); (6) Rural development - motor for the energy policy turnaround (Roland Spiller).

  20. Global biomass production potentials exceed expected future demand without the need for cropland expansion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mauser, Wolfram; Klepper, Gernot; Zabel, Florian; Delzeit, Ruth; Hank, Tobias; Putzenlechner, Birgitta; Calzadilla, Alvaro

    2015-11-12

    Global biomass demand is expected to roughly double between 2005 and 2050. Current studies suggest that agricultural intensification through optimally managed crops on today's cropland alone is insufficient to satisfy future demand. In practice though, improving crop growth management through better technology and knowledge almost inevitably goes along with (1) improving farm management with increased cropping intensity and more annual harvests where feasible and (2) an economically more efficient spatial allocation of crops which maximizes farmers' profit. By explicitly considering these two factors we show that, without expansion of cropland, today's global biomass potentials substantially exceed previous estimates and even 2050s' demands. We attribute 39% increase in estimated global production potentials to increasing cropping intensities and 30% to the spatial reallocation of crops to their profit-maximizing locations. The additional potentials would make cropland expansion redundant. Their geographic distribution points at possible hotspots for future intensification.

  1. Reducing the rate of carbon dioxide buildup with biomass fuel under climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peart, R.; Curry, R.; Jones, J.; Boote, K.; Allen, L.

    1993-01-01

    The authors have been working for several years on estimating, through crop simulation and crop growth chamber experiments, the changes in yield and in irrigation demand which would be brought about by a doubling of atmospheric greenhouse gases, given the results of three General Circulation Models (GCM) that simulate the climate change that would be expected. They are now beginning to study the impact this might have in relation to biomass fuels. An important question is the effect of the changed climate on crop production, would the increased carbon dioxide concentration outweigh the negative climate change effects on crop yields? Results are quite variable due to different climate change effects at different locations and the differences in historical weather and in soils in different locations. However, on balance, climate change would result in reduced yields of the crops we studied, soybean, maize and peanut. However, US production of these crops could be maintained or increased by the use of irrigation on more acres. Irrigated crops, in general, would have increased yields under climate change because of the increased photosynthetic efficiency with higher carbon dioxide levels. Results on net remediation of carbon dioxide buildup by the use of biomass fuel rather than fossil fuel are not completed, but previous work has shown that Midwest non-irrigated maize production provides much more equivalent biomass energy than is required for its production. The studies with soybean show a ratio of equivalent energy output in the seed to energy used in producing the crop ranging from 4 to almost 9 under climate change

  2. Efficacy of Cotton Root Destruction and Winter Cover Crops for Suppression of Hoplolaimus columbus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, R F; Baird, R E; McNeil, R D

    2000-12-01

    The efficacy of rye (Secale cereale) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) winter cover crops and cotton stalk and root destruction (i.e., pulling them up) were evaluated in field tests during two growing seasons for Hoplolaimus columbus management in cotton. The effect of removing debris from the field following root destruction also was evaluated. Wheat and rye produced similar amounts of biomass, and both crops produced more biomass (P Cover crops did not suppress H. columbus population levels or increase subsequent cotton yields. Cotton root destruction did not affect cotton stand or plant height the following year. Cotton root destruction lowered (P rye or wheat cover crop or cotton root destruction following harvest is ineffective for H. columbus management in cotton.

  3. Biomass Thermochemical Conversion Program: 1986 annual report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schiefelbein, G.F.; Stevens, D.J.; Gerber, M.A.

    1987-01-01

    Wood and crop residues constitute a vast majority of the biomass feedstocks available for conversion, and thermochemical processes are well suited for conversion of these materials. Thermochemical conversion processes can generate a variety of products such as gasoline hydrocarbon fuels, natural gas substitutes, or heat energy for electric power generation. The US Department of Energy is sponsoring research on biomass conversion technologies through its Biomass Thermochemical Conversion Program. Pacific Northwest Laboratory has been designated the Technical Field Management Office for the Biomass Thermochemical Conversion Program with overall responsibility for the Program. This report briefly describes the Thermochemical Conversion Program structure and summarizes the activities and major accomplishments during fiscal year 1986. 88 refs., 31 figs., 5 tabs.

  4. EFFECT OF DIFFERENT COVER CROP RESIDUES, MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON SOIL MOISTURE CONTENT UNDER A TOMATO CROP (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Njomo Karuku

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available SUMMARYThe soil water storage, soil water content, available water content and soil water balance under various cover crop residue management practices in a Nitisol were evaluated in a field experiment at the Kabete Field Station, University of Nairobi. The effects of surface mulching, above and below ground biomass and roots only incorporated of (mucuna pruriens, Tanzanian sunnhemp (Crotalaria ochroleuca and Vetch (Vicia benghalensis cover crops, fertilizer and non fertilized plots on soil water balance were studied. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum was used as the test crop. Since water content was close to field capacity, the drainage component at 100 cm soil depth was negligible and evapotranspiration was therefore derived from the change in soil moisture storage and precipitation. Residue management showed that above and below ground biomass incorporated optimized the partitioning of the water balance components, increasing moisture storage, leading to increased tomato yields and water use efficiency. Furthermore, vetch above and below ground biomass incorporated significantly improved the quantity and frequency of deep percolation. Soil fertilization (F and non fertilization (NF caused the most unfavourable partitioning of water balance, leading to the lowest yield and WUE. Tomato yields ranged from 4.1 in NF to 7.4 Mg ha-1 in Vetch treated plots. Vetch above and belowground biomass incorporated had significant (p ≤ 0.1 yields of 11.4 Mg ha-1 compared to all other residue management systems. Vetch residue treatment had the highest WUE (22.7 kg mm-1 ha-1 followed by mucuna treated plots (20.7 kg mm-1 ha-1 and both were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05 compared to the others irrespective of residue management practices.

  5. Sources of Nitrogen for Winter Wheat in Organic Cropping Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Søren O; Schjønning, Per; Olesen, Jørgen E

    2013-01-01

    mineralizable N (PMN), microbial biomass N (MBN)] were monitored during two growth periods; at one site, biomass C/N ratios were also determined. Soil for labile N analysis was shielded from N inputs during spring application to isolate cumulated system effects. Potentially mineralizable N and MBN were...... explained 76 and 82% of the variation in grain N yields in organic cropping systems in 2007 and 2008, showing significant effects of, respectively, topsoil N, depth of A horizon, cumulated inputs of N, and N applied to winter wheat in manure. Thus, soil properties and past and current management all......In organic cropping systems, legumes, cover crops (CC), residue incorporation, and manure application are used to maintain soil fertility, but the contributions of these management practices to soil nitrogen (N) supply remain obscure. We examined potential sources of N for winter wheat (Triticum...

  6. Ontogenetic changes in radiation use efficiency of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trapani, N.; Hall, A.J.; Sadras, V.O.; Vilella, F.

    1992-01-01

    Radiation use efficiency (ϵ) values for sunflower were derived using data from periodic determinations of crop aerial or total (aerial + root) biomass and radiation interception in two experiments conducted at Junin and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Analysis showed that three distinct phases, each characterized by a different value of ϵ, could be distinquished. The phases were establishment (0–47 days after emergence (dae)), rapid growth (47 dae-anthesis) and postanthesis (anthesis-physiologcial maturity). The crops had reached the bud-visible stage and intercepted at least 85% of incident radiation by 47 dae. Efficiency values based on aerial biomass were highest during the rapid growth (ϵrg = 2.4 ± 0.22 g/MJ PAR) phase and lower during the establishment (ϵ e = 1.01 ± 0.25 g/MJ PAR) and postanthesis (ϵ pa = 1.3 ± 0.15 g/MJ PAR) phases. The differences between ϵ pa and ϵ rg are attributed to the increased respiration load, high synthesis costs of the oil-rich grains and leaf senescence during grain filling. The value of ϵe was less than of ϵ rg even when efficiencies were calculated on the basis of total crop biomass (i.e. including root biomass). Hence, ontogenetic changes in partitioning of biomass between the root and aerial organs do not seem to be the cause of the changes in the value of ϵ. No variations in photosynthetic capacity with leaf position could be found, and it is concluded that the most likely reason for the lower values of ϵ e lies in saturation of canopy photosynthesis at less than full sunlight while crop cover is incomplete. (author)

  7. Microbial biomass and nutrient dynamics during decomposition of cover crop mixtures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Drost, S.M.

    2016-01-01

    Sustainable agriculture is needed to reduce losses of soil organic matter (SOM) and to ensure crop production with a minimum of negative impact on the environment. Cover crops, planted in the fallow season, are commonly used to improve soil functions, such as soil structure, nutrient cycling,

  8. Potential transgenic routes to increase tree biomass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubouzet, Joseph G; Strabala, Timothy J; Wagner, Armin

    2013-11-01

    Biomass is a prime target for genetic engineering in forestry because increased biomass yield will benefit most downstream applications such as timber, fiber, pulp, paper, and bioenergy production. Transgenesis can increase biomass by improving resource acquisition and product utilization and by enhancing competitive ability for solar energy, water, and mineral nutrients. Transgenes that affect juvenility, winter dormancy, and flowering have been shown to influence biomass as well. Transgenic approaches have increased yield potential by mitigating the adverse effects of prevailing stress factors in the environment. Simultaneous introduction of multiple genes for resistance to various stress factors into trees may help forest trees cope with multiple or changing environments. We propose multi-trait engineering for tree crops, simultaneously deploying multiple independent genes to address a set of genetically uncorrelated traits that are important for crop improvement. This strategy increases the probability of unpredictable (synergistic or detrimental) interactions that may substantially affect the overall phenotype and its long-term performance. The very limited ability to predict the physiological processes that may be impacted by such a strategy requires vigilance and care during implementation. Hence, we recommend close monitoring of the resultant transgenic genotypes in multi-year, multi-location field trials. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  9. Trigeneration integrated with absorption enhanced reforming of lignite and biomass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yaodong Wang; Ye Huang; Anthony P. Roskilly [Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne (United Kingdom). Sir Joseph Swan Institute for Energy Research

    2009-10-15

    A technical investigation of an innovative trigeneration integrated with absorption enhanced reforming (AER) of lignite and biomass is carried out using the ECLIPSE process simulator. The system includes an internal combustion engine, an AER gasifier, a waste heat recovery and storage unit and an absorption refrigerator. The whole system is operated in the following sequence: The AER gasifier is used to generate hydrogen using lignite and biomass; the hydrogen generated is used to run the engine which drives a generator to produce electricity. Additionally, the heat recovery unit collects waste heat from the engine and is used to supply hot water and space heating. Furthermore, the waste heat is used to operate the absorption refrigerator. The electricity, heat and cooling can be used to meet the energy requirements for the households in a village, a resident building or a commercial building, or a supermarket. Within the study, the effects of lignite mixed with three different types of biomass (straw, willow and switch grass) on the system performance are investigated and the results are compared. The results show that it is feasible to use an AER system to reform the low quality fuels lignite and biomass to generate a cleaner fuel - hydrogen to replace fossil fuels (diesel or natural gas) and to fuel an engine based trigeneration system; the system works with high efficiencies and with a potential of carbon capture from the sorbent-regeneration process that would benefit the environment. 25 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.

  10. From waste water treatment to land management: Conversion of aquatic biomass to biochar for soil amelioration and the fortification of crops with essential trace elements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, David A; Paul, Nicholas A; Cole, Andrew J; de Nys, Rocky

    2015-07-01

    Macroalgae can be grown in industrial waste water to sequester metals and the resulting biomass used for biotechnological applications. We have previously cultivated the freshwater macroalga Oedogonium at a coal-fired power station to treat a metal-contaminated effluent from that facility. We then produced biochar from this biomass and determined the suitability of both the biomass and the biochar for soil amelioration. The dried biomass of Oedogonium cultivated in the waste water contained several elements for which there are terrestrial biosolids criteria (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, Se and Zn) and leached significant amounts of these elements into solution. Here, we demonstrate that these biomass leachates impair the germination and growth of radishes as a model crop. However, the biochar produced from this same biomass leaches negligible amounts of metal into solution and the leachates support high germination and growth of radishes. Biochar produced at 750 °C leaches the least metal and has the highest recalcitrant C content. When this biochar is added to a low-quality soil it improves the retention of nutrients (N, P, Ca, Mg, K and Mo) from fertilizer in the soil and the growth of radishes by 35-40%. Radishes grown in the soils amended with the biochar have equal or lower metal contents than radishes grown in soil without biochar, but much higher concentrations of essential trace elements (Mo) and macro nutrients (P, K, Ca and Mg). The cultivation of macroalgae is an effective waste water bioremediation technology that also produces biomass that can be used as a feedstock for conversion to biochar for soil amelioration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Energy from biomass and waste

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Faaij, A.P.C.

    1997-01-01

    Biomass, a broad term for all organic matter of plants, trees and crops, is currently regarded as a renewable energy source which can contribute substantially to the world's energy supply in the future. Various scenarios for the development of energy supply and demand, such as compiled by the

  12. On Farm Agronomic and First Environmental Evaluation of Oil Crops for Sustainable Bioenergy Chains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luca Lazzeri

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Energy crops, and in particular oil crops, could be an important occasion for developing new non food production rows for a new multi-functional agriculture in Italy. In this view, the use of local biomass is a fundamental starting point for the development of a virtuous energy chain that should pursue not only agricultural profitability, but also chain sustainability and that is less dependent on the global market, characterized by instability in terms of biomass availability and price. From this perspective, particular attention must be paid to crop choice on the basis of its rusticity and of its adaptability to local growing conditions and to low input cropping systems. In this context, alike woody and herbaceous biomasses, oil crops such as sunflower and rapeseed should be able to support local agricultural bioenergy chain in Italy. In addition, in a local bioenergy chain, the role of the farmers should not be limited just to grain production; but also grain processing should be performed at farm or consortium level in oilseed extraction plants well proportioned to the cropped surface. In this way, by means of a simple power generator, farmer could thus produce its own thermal and electric energy from the oil, maximizing his profit. This objective could also be achieved through the exploitation of the total biomass, including crop residues and defatted seed meals, that may be considered as fundamental additional economic and/or environmental benefits of the chain. This paper reports some results of three-years on-farm experiments on oil crop chain carried out in the framework of “Bioenergie” project, that was focused to enhance farmers awareness of these criteria and to the feasibility at open field scale of low-input cultivation of rapeseed, sunflower and Brassica carinata in seven Italian regions. In several on-farm experiences, these crops produced more than 800 kg ha-1 of oil with good energy properties. Defatted seed meals could be

  13. On Farm Agronomic and First Environmental Evaluation of Oil Crops for Sustainable Bioenergy Chains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luca Lazzeri

    Full Text Available Energy crops, and in particular oil crops, could be an important occasion for developing new non food production rows for a new multi-functional agriculture in Italy. In this view, the use of local biomass is a fundamental starting point for the development of a virtuous energy chain that should pursue not only agricultural profitability, but also chain sustainability and that is less dependent on the global market, characterized by instability in terms of biomass availability and price. From this perspective, particular attention must be paid to crop choice on the basis of its rusticity and of its adaptability to local growing conditions and to low input cropping systems. In this context, alike woody and herbaceous biomasses, oil crops such as sunflower and rapeseed should be able to support local agricultural bioenergy chain in Italy. In addition, in a local bioenergy chain, the role of the farmers should not be limited just to grain production; but also grain processing should be performed at farm or consortium level in oilseed extraction plants well proportioned to the cropped surface. In this way, by means of a simple power generator, farmer could thus produce its own thermal and electric energy from the oil, maximizing his profit. This objective could also be achieved through the exploitation of the total biomass, including crop residues and defatted seed meals, that may be considered as fundamental additional economic and/or environmental benefits of the chain. This paper reports some results of three-years on-farm experiments on oil crop chain carried out in the framework of “Bioenergie” project, that was focused to enhance farmers awareness of these criteria and to the feasibility at open field scale of low-input cultivation of rapeseed, sunflower and Brassica carinata in seven Italian regions. In several on-farm experiences, these crops produced more than 800 kg ha-1 of oil with good energy properties. Defatted seed meals could be

  14. Renewable methane from anaerobic digestion of biomass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chynoweth, D.P.; Owens, J.M.

    2001-01-01

    Production of methane via anaerobic digestion of energy crops and organic wastes would benefit society by providing a clean fuel from renewable feedstocks. This would replace fossil fuel-derived energy and reduce environmental impacts including global warming and acid rain. Although biomass energy is more costly than fossil fuel-derived energy, trends to limit carbon dioxide and other emissions through emission regulations, carbon taxes, and subsidies of biomass energy would make it cost competitive. Methane derived from anaerobic digestion is competitive in efficiencies and costs to other biomass energy forms including heat, synthesis gases, and ethanol. (author)

  15. Sex- and habitat-specific responses of a high arctic willow, Salix arctica, to experimental climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jones, M.H.; Macdonald, S.E. [Univ. of Alberta, Dept. of Renewable Resources, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Henry, G.H.R. [Univ. of British Columbia, Dept. of Geography, Vancouver, BC (Canada)

    1999-10-01

    Dioecious plant species and those occupying diverse habitats may present special analytical problems to researchers examining effects of climate change. Here we report the results from two complementary studies designed to determine the importance of sex and habitat on gas exchange and growth of male and female individuals of a dioecious, circumpolar willow, Salix arctica, in the Canadian High Arctic. In field studies, male and female willows from dry and wet habitats were subjected to passively enhanced summer temperature ({approx} to 1.3 deg C) using small open-top chambers over three years. Peak season gas exchange varied significantly by willow sex and habitat. Overall net assimilation was higher in the dry habitat than in the wet, and higher in females than in males. In the dry habitat, net assimilation of females was enhanced by experimental warming, but decreased in males. In the wet habitat, net assimilation of females was substantially depressed by experimental warming, while males showed an inconsistent response. Development and growth of male and female catkins were enhanced by elevated temperature more than leaf fascicles, but leaf fascicle development and growth varied more between the two habitats, particularly in males. In a controlled environment study, male and female willows from these same wet and dry habitats were grown in a 2x2 factorial experiment including 1 x or 2 x ambient [CO{sub 2}] and 5 or 12 deg. C. The sexes responded very differently to the experimental treatments, but we found no effect of original habitat. Net assimilation in males was affected by the interaction of temperature and CO{sub 2}, but in females by CO{sub 2} only. Our results demonstrate (a) significant intraspecific and intersexual differences in arctic willow physiology and growth, (b) that these differences are affected by environmental conditions expected to accompany global climate change, and (c) that sex- and habitat-specific responses should be explicitly

  16. The 2014 National Emission Inventory for Rangeland Fires and Crop Residue Burning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biomass burning has been identified as an important contributor to the degradation of air quality because of its impact on ozone and particulate matter. One component of the biomass burning inventory, crop residue burning, has been poorly characterized in the National Emissions I...

  17. Production of Probiotic Drink Using Pussy willow and Echium amoenum Extracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahbobeh Eksiri

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objective: Nowadays, due to the lack of lactose and cholesterol, demand for consumption of non-dairy probiotic products is increasing. Probiotic drinks mixed with medicinal plant have great beneficial effect on human health. The main problems of non-dairy probiotic drinks are lack of nutrients for the growth of probiotics and bad taste of the product. The aim of this study was to produce a probiotic medicinal plant drink with favorable physicochemical, viability and sensory properties.Material and Methods: Probiotic drink prepared by Pussy willow and Echium amoenum extract (0.5 % w v-1, for each extract or together, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus (108 CFU ml-1, individually and their combination. Glucose and whey powder (0.2% were used as a source of nutrition for the probiotics, and apple juice (20 and 30% was added to improve the taste of drink. The level of glucose was adjusted to reach the brix of 13 g100 g-1. Ascorbic acid (0.05% was used to improve micro-aerophilic conditions. The pH, acidity, glucose and viability of probiotic bacteria as well as the sensory properties of the prepared drink were investigated during 28 days at 4°C.Results and Conclusion: Based on the results, the treatment containing L. casei, Pussy willow, Echium amoenum and 30% apple juice due to the highest probiotic viability and the treatment containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Pussy willow, Echium amoenum and 30% apple juice because of higher total acceptance score, proper pH and acidity values were selected as the best treatments.Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  18. Cover crop and nitrogen fertilization influence soil carbon and nitrogen under bioenergy sweet sorghum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cover crop and N fertilization may maintain soil C and N levels under sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) biomass harvested for bioenergy production. The effect of cover crops (hairy vetch [Vicia villosa Roth], rye [Secaele cereale L.], hairy vetch/rye mixture, and the control [no cover crop...

  19. Energy Crops and the Common Agricultural Policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McCormick, Kes; Nilsson, Helen; Tomescu, Mihail [Lund Univ. (Sweden). International Inst. for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE)

    2006-07-15

    The Biomass Action Plan (BAP) for Europe outlines how to achieve the targets for bioenergy and energy crops defined by the European Commission and member states. However, it is the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that shapes the utilisation of agricultural land. This paper therefore reviews the supportive measures for energy crops in recent CAP reforms and investigates the effects on farmers in 'real-life' case studies from Sweden, Italy and Austria. This paper explores if the recent CAP reforms are sufficient to motivate farmers to cultivate energy crops; identifies the barriers and drivers for energy crops from the perspective of farmers; and suggests how to enhance supportive measures in the CAP to overcome barriers and complement the BAP.

  20. Using Winter Annual Cover Crops in a Virginia No-till Cotton Production System

    OpenAIRE

    Daniel, James B. II

    1997-01-01

    Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a low residue crop, that may not provide sufficient surface residue to reduce erosion and protect the soil. A winter annual cover crop could alleviate erosion between cotton crops. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate selected winter annual cover crops for biomass production, ground cover, and N assimilation. The cover crop treatments were monitored under no-till and conventional tillage systems for the effects on soil moisture, cotton yield and qu...

  1. The Study of Interactions between Active Compounds of Coffee and Willow (Salix sp. Bark Water Extract

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agata Durak

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Coffee and willow are known as valuable sources of biologically active phytochemicals such as chlorogenic acid, caffeine, and salicin. The aim of the study was to determine the interactions between the active compounds contained in water extracts from coffee and bark of willow (Salix purpurea and Salix myrsinifolia. Raw materials and their mixtures were characterized by multidirectional antioxidant activities; however, bioactive constituents interacted with each other. Synergism was observed for ability of inhibition of lipid peroxidation and reducing power, whereas compounds able to scavenge ABTS radical cation acted antagonistically. Additionally, phytochemicals from willow bark possessed hydrophilic character and thermostability which justifies their potential use as an ingredient in coffee beverages. Proposed mixtures may be used in the prophylaxis or treatment of some civilization diseases linked with oxidative stress. Most importantly, strong synergism observed for phytochemicals able to prevent lipids against oxidation may suggest protective effect for cell membrane phospholipids. Obtained results indicate that extracts from bark tested Salix genotypes as an ingredient in coffee beverages can provide health promoting benefits to the consumers; however, this issue requires further study.

  2. Uptake, removal, accumulation, and phytotoxicity of 4-chlorophenol in willow trees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ucisik, Ahmed Süheyl; Trapp, Stefan

    2008-01-01

    of implementing phytoremediation as a treatment method for 4-CP contamination was investigated. Willows were exposed to 4-CP levels ≤79.9 mg/L in hydroponic solution. The transpiration of the trees was used to determine toxic effects. Almost no inhibition of transpiration was detected at concentrations ≥15 mg...

  3. Phytoremediation potential of willow tress for aquifers contaminated with ethanol-blended gasoline

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Corseuil, H.X. [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis (Brazil). Departamento de Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental; Moreno, F.N. [Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Palhoca (Brazil). Centro de Ciencias Agrarias e das Engenharias

    2001-07-01

    Ethanol-blended gasoline has been used in Brazil for 20 years and, probably, is going to be more widely used in North America due to the MtBE environmental effects on groundwater. The potential impacts caused by the presence of ethanol in UST spills are related to the co-solvency effect and the preferential degradation of ethanol over the BTEX compounds. These interactions may increase the length of dissolved hydrocarbon plumes and the costs associated with site remediation. This study investigates the advantages of phytoremediation to overcome the problems associated with the presence of ethanol in groundwater contaminated with gasoline-ethanol mixtures. Experiments were performed under lab conditions with cuttings of Willow tree (Salix babylonica) cultivated hydroponically. Results showed that the cuttings were able to reduce ethanol and benzene concentrations by more than 99% in less than a week. The uptake of both contaminants was confirmed by blank controls and was significantly related to cuttings transpiration capacity. Sorption onto roots biomass also markedly affected the behavior of contaminants in solution. Experiments to evaluate plants' toxicity to ethanol indicated that plants were only affected when aqueous ethanol concentration reached 2000mgl{sup -1}. Results suggest that phytoremediation can be a good complement to intrinsic remediation in shallow aquifer sites contaminated with ethanol-blended gasoline spills. (Author)

  4. Biomass and biomass and biogas yielding potential of sorghum as affected by planting density, sowing time and cultivar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahmood, A.; Hussain, A.; Shahzad, A. N.; Honermeier, B.

    2015-01-01

    Biogas from biomass is a promising renewable energy source whose importance is increasing in European as well as in other countries. A field experiment at one location (Experimental Station Giessen, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Germany) over two years was designed to study the effect of altering sowing time (ST), planting density and cultivar on the biomass yield and chemical composition of biomass sorghum, and its potential for methane production. Of the two cultivars tested, cv. Goliath (intraspecific hybrid) was more productive with respect to biomass yield than cv. Bovital (S. bicolor x S. sudanense hybrid). ST also influenced biomass yield and most of the quality parameters measured. Delayed sowing was in general advantageous. The choice of cultivar had a marked effect on biogas and methane yield. The highest biogas and methane yields were produced by late sown cv. Bovital. Sub-optimal planting densities limited biomass accumulation of the crop, however neither the chemical composition nor the methane yield was affected by planting density. (author)

  5. Environmental effects of energy forest (short rotation willow)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frank, K.

    1994-01-01

    This paper deals with environmental effects of producing and combusting energy forest fuel. Energy forest means short rotation willow (Salix). Supposed effects of sewage sludge application are discussed as well. Energy forestry on agricultural land implies both advantages and disadvantages for the environment. Leaf litter (humified leaves) increases the humus content in the top soil. The soil fauna is also positively affected. Until now performed studies about nitrogen leakage from fields cultivated with energy forest (Salix), have not given any distinct results. A retarded drainage within energy forest fields is on the other hand noticed. While the root system of Salix is active during a long period of the year, the nitrogen leakage become less compared to traditional cultivation. The content of plant nutrients and organic matter in sewage sludge make a resource that can be useful for agricultural purposes, especially for energy forest cultivation. The content of heavy metals and organic emissions contradicts sludge application to agricultural land. Sewage sludge with todays quality increases somewhat the content of heavy metals in the soil. This condition can be counteracted to a certain extent by growing energy forest. It has been established that Salix has high ability to heavy metal uptake, especially cadmium. Growing energy forest on drained farm land is connected with a risk for root penetration into the drainage system. With enough water and plant nutrients in the top soil the risk is reduced. Shallow depth of the pipes increases the risk. Combustion of wood chip from energy forests (and other types of biomass) gives especially two advantages. It does not give any net contribution of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The sulphur discharge will be minimal since the sulphur content in wood fuels is low. Discharge of nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons may give some problems. These can be reduced by technological measures when combusting. 27 refs, 4 tabs

  6. Soil phosphatase and urease activities impacted by cropping systems and water management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soil enzymes can play an important role in nutrient availability to plants. Consequently, soil enzyme measurements can provide useful information on soil fertility for crop production. We examined the impact of cropping system and water management on phosphatase, urease, and microbial biomass C in s...

  7. Traits to Ecosystems: The Ecological Sustainability Challenge When Developing Future Energy Crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weih, Martin; Hoeber, Stefanie; Beyer, Friderike; Fransson, Petra

    2014-01-01

    Today, we are undertaking great efforts to improve biomass production and quality traits of energy crops. Major motivation for developing those crops is based on environmental and ecological sustainability considerations, which however often are de-coupled from the trait-based crop improvement programs. It is now time to develop appropriate methods to link crop traits to production system characteristics set by the plant and the biotic communities influencing it; and to the ecosystem processes affecting ecological sustainability. The relevant ecosystem processes involve the net productivity in terms of biomass and energy yields, the depletion of energy-demanding resources (e.g., nitrogen, N), the carbon dynamics in soil and atmosphere, and the resilience and temporal stability of the production system. In a case study, we compared aspects of N use efficiency in various varieties of an annual (spring wheat) and perennial (Salix) energy crop grown under two nutrient regimes in Sweden. For example, we found considerable variation among crops, varieties, and nutrient regimes in the energy yield per plant-internal N (megajoule per gram per year), which would result in different N resource depletion per unit energy produced.

  8. Traits to Ecosystems: The Ecological Sustainability Challenge When Developing Future Energy Crops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weih, Martin, E-mail: martin.weih@slu.se; Hoeber, Stefanie; Beyer, Friderike [Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden); Fransson, Petra [Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden)

    2014-05-22

    Today, we are undertaking great efforts to improve biomass production and quality traits of energy crops. Major motivation for developing those crops is based on environmental and ecological sustainability considerations, which however often are de-coupled from the trait-based crop improvement programs. It is now time to develop appropriate methods to link crop traits to production system characteristics set by the plant and the biotic communities influencing it; and to the ecosystem processes affecting ecological sustainability. The relevant ecosystem processes involve the net productivity in terms of biomass and energy yields, the depletion of energy-demanding resources (e.g., nitrogen, N), the carbon dynamics in soil and atmosphere, and the resilience and temporal stability of the production system. In a case study, we compared aspects of N use efficiency in various varieties of an annual (spring wheat) and perennial (Salix) energy crop grown under two nutrient regimes in Sweden. For example, we found considerable variation among crops, varieties, and nutrient regimes in the energy yield per plant-internal N (megajoule per gram per year), which would result in different N resource depletion per unit energy produced.

  9. Phytoextraction crop disposal--an unsolved problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sas-Nowosielska, A.; Kucharski, R.; Malkowski, E.; Pogrzeba, M.; Kuperberg, J.M.; Krynski, K.

    2004-01-01

    Several methods of contaminated crop disposal after phytoextraction process (composting, compaction, incineration, ashing, pyrolysis, direct disposal, liquid extraction) have been described. Advantages and disadvantages of methods are presented and discussed. Composting, compaction and pyrolysis are the pretreatment steps, since significant amount of contaminated biomass will still exist after each of the process. Four methods of final disposal were distinguished: incineration, direct disposal, ashing and liquid extraction. Among them, incineration (smelting) is proposed as the most feasible, economically acceptable and environmentally sound. - Methods of contaminated crop disposal are described and evaluated

  10. Solid biomass barometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2006-01-01

    The European (EU 25) wish to substitute solid biomass origin energy consumption (principally wood and wood waste, but also straw, crop harvest residues, vegetal and animal waste) for a part of that of fossil fuel origin (petrol, gas and coal) is beginning to pay off. 58,7 million tons oil equivalent (Mtoe) of solid biomass was produced in 2005, i.e. a 3.1 Mtoe increase with respect to 2004. Production of primary energy coming from direct combustion of renewable municipal solid waste in incineration plants should also be added on to this figure. The 0,2 Mtoe increase in this production with respect to 2004 brings valorization of this type of waste up to 5,3 Mtoe in 2005. (author)

  11. Long-term evaluation of biomass production and quality of two cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) cultivars for energy use

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Angelini, Luciana G.; Ceccarini, Lucia; Nassi o Di Nasso, Nicoletta [University of Pisa, Dipartimento di Agronomia e Gestione dell' Agroecosistema, Via S. Michele degli Scalzi, 2, 56100 Pisa (Italy); Bonari, Enrico [Scuola Sant' Anna, Piazza Martiri della Liberta, 33, 56100 Pisa (Italy)

    2009-05-15

    Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) is an herbaceous species indicated as one of the most suitable energy crop for southern European countries. The aim of this work was to outline the productivity of two cardoon cultivars, Bianco Avorio (BA) and Gigante di Romagna (GR), over 11 years of cultivation in rain fed field conditions in the temperate climate of Central Italy. The quantitative and qualitative aspects of its biomass (calorific value, ultimate and proximate analyses, ash composition) as well as its energy balance (energy efficiency, net energy yield) have been determined. Crop dry yield was not different between the two cultivars and it was rather stable with a mean value (averaged from year 3 to 11) of 14 and 13 t ha{sup -1} for GR and BA respectively. Furthermore the biomass dry matter content was higher in BA than GR (51% vs 42%). The chemical analysis of cardoon biomass showed a similar composition in both cultivars with good calorific value (15 MJ kg{sup -1}) but with an ash content (13.9% d.w.) higher than other herbaceous energy crops. The total energy input was higher in the establishing than in the following years, however from the planting year onward, both cardoon crops were characterised by a positive energy balance. Even if its mean net energy is lower than other perennial energy crops (182 GJ ha{sup -1} year{sup -1}), cardoon can be easily propagated by seed with important advantages for crop management and production costs. The results confirmed cardoon's good biomass yield and favourable energy balance even in cultivation systems characterised by limited water input. Moreover future works are necessary in order to improve cardoon biomass quality and to evaluate the possibility of using it in blends with other biomass sources. (author)

  12. Long-term evaluation of biomass production and quality of two cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) cultivars for energy use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelini, Luciana G.; Ceccarini, Lucia; Nassi o Di Nasso, Nicoletta; Bonari, Enrico

    2009-01-01

    Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) is an herbaceous species indicated as one of the most suitable energy crop for southern European countries. The aim of this work was to outline the productivity of two cardoon cultivars, Bianco Avorio (BA) and Gigante di Romagna (GR), over 11 years of cultivation in rain fed field conditions in the temperate climate of Central Italy. The quantitative and qualitative aspects of its biomass (calorific value, ultimate and proximate analyses, ash composition) as well as its energy balance (energy efficiency, net energy yield) have been determined. Crop dry yield was not different between the two cultivars and it was rather stable with a mean value (averaged from year 3 to 11) of 14 and 13 t ha -1 for GR and BA respectively. Furthermore the biomass dry matter content was higher in BA than GR (51% vs 42%). The chemical analysis of cardoon biomass showed a similar composition in both cultivars with good calorific value (15 MJ kg -1 ) but with an ash content (13.9% d.w.) higher than other herbaceous energy crops. The total energy input was higher in the establishing than in the following years, however from the planting year onward, both cardoon crops were characterised by a positive energy balance. Even if its mean net energy is lower than other perennial energy crops (182 GJ ha -1 year -1 ), cardoon can be easily propagated by seed with important advantages for crop management and production costs. The results confirmed cardoon's good biomass yield and favourable energy balance even in cultivation systems characterised by limited water input. Moreover future works are necessary in order to improve cardoon biomass quality and to evaluate the possibility of using it in blends with other biomass sources.

  13. Socio-economic impacts of energy crops for heat generation in Northern Greece

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panoutsou, Calliope

    2007-01-01

    Bioenergy is considered to be an attractive option mainly due to driving forces of an environmental nature (e.g. climate change and sustainability issues). This is particularly the case for energy crops, which show higher productivity per land unit than their conventional counterparts. In addition, by comparison, such crops are more homogeneous in terms of their physical and chemical characteristics than residual resources that are often described as the biomass resource of the future. However, despite the long-term research and the considerable efforts to promote them, implementation is still rather slow across Europe. In this paper, two perennial energy crops, cardoon and giant reed, are evaluated in Rodopi, northern Greece, as alternative land use, through comparative financial appraisal with the main conventional crops. Based on the output of this analysis, the breakeven for the two energy crops is defined and an economic and socio-economic evaluation of a biomass district heating system is conducted. Results prove that energy crops can be attractive alternatives if they are properly integrated into existing agricultural activities and complement the current cropping options. As such, they provide raw material for local heat applications, thus resulting in increased income for the region and an increase in the number of jobs. (author)

  14. Phytotoxicity of Sodium Fluoride and Uptake of Fluoride in Willow Trees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Lauge Peter Westergaard; Gosewinkel Karlson, Ulrich; Trapp, Stefan

    2015-01-01

    The willow tree (Salix viminalis) toxicity test and a cress seed germination test (Lepidium sativum) were used to determine uptake and phytotoxicity of NaF. Concentrations in hydroponic solutions were 0-1000 mg F/L and 0-400 mg F/L in the preliminary and definitive test. A third test was done...

  15. [Effects of different application rates of calcium cyanamide on soil microbial biomass and enzyme activity in cucumber continuous cropping].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xue-peng; Ning, Tang-yuan; Yang, Yan; Sun, Tao; Zhang, Shu-min; Wang, Bin

    2015-10-01

    A 2-year field experiment was conducted to study the effects of CaCN2 combined with cucumber straw retention on soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) , soil microbial biomass nitrogen (SMBN) and soil enzyme activities under cucumber continuous cropping system. Four treatments were used in this study as follows: CK (null CaCN2), CaCN2-90 (1350 kg CaCN2 . hm-2) CaCN2-60 (900 kg CaCN2 . hm-2), CaCN2-30 (450 kg CaCN2 . hm-2). The results indicated that, compared with the other treatments, CaCN2-90 treatment significantly decreased SMBC in 0-10 cm soil layer at seedling stage, but increased SMBC in 0-20 cm soil layer after early-fruit stage. Compared with CK, CaCN2 increased SMBC in 0-20 cm soil layer at late-fruit stage, and increased SMBN in 0-10 cm soil layer at mid- and late-fruit stages, however there was no significant trend among CaCN2 treatments in the first year (2012), while in the second year (2013) SMBN increased with the increasing CaCN2 amount after mid-fruit stage. CaCN2 increased straw decaying and nutrients releasing, and also increased soil organic matter. Furthermore, the CaCN2-90 could accelerate straw decomposition. Compared with CK, CaCN2 effectively increased soil urease, catalase and polyphenol oxidase activity. The soil urease activity increased while the polyphenol oxidase activity decreased with the increase of CaCN2, and CaCN2-60 could significantly improve catalase activity. Soil organic matter, urease activity and catalase activity had significant positive correlations with SMBC and SMBN. However, polyphenol oxidase activity was negatively correlated to SMBC and SMBN. Our findings indicated that CaCN2 application at 900 kg . hm-2 combined with cucumber straw retention could effectively improve soil environment, alleviating the soil obstacles under the cucumber continuous cropping system.

  16. Translocation of Cd and Mn from Bark to Leaves in Willows on Contaminated Sediments: Delayed Budburst Is Related to High Mn Concentrations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bart Vandecasteele

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Changes in the hydrology of sediments in tidal marshes or landfills may affect the uptake of metals in the vegetation. Leaf and stem samples of Salix cinerea (grey sallow were collected during four consecutive growing seasons at six contaminated plots on a polluted dredged sediment landfill and one plot on an uncontaminated reference site. The first three contaminated plots were already emerged in the first half of the first growing season, while the other three were submerged in the first year, but became increasingly dry over the study period. Foliar and stem cutting concentrations for Cd, Zn and Mn increased on the latter three plots over the four years. Willow bark contained high concentrations of Cd, Zn and Mn. In two consecutive greenhouse experiments with willow cuttings from different origins (uncontaminated and contaminated sites and grown under different soil conditions (uncontaminated and contaminated, we observed an important translocation of Mn from bark to shoots. In a third experiment with willow cuttings collected on soils with a range of heavy metal concentrations and, thus, with a broad range of Cd (4–67 mg/kg dry matter, Zn (247–660 mg/kg dry matter and Mn (38–524 mg/kg dry matter concentrations in the bark, high Mn concentrations in the bark were found to affect the budburst of willow cuttings, while no association of delayed budburst with Cd and Zn concentrations in the bark was found. We conclude that wood and, especially, bark are not a sink for metals in living willows. The high Mn concentrations in the bark directly or indirectly caused delayed or restricted budburst of the willow cuttings.

  17. Soil hydrology of agroforestry systems: Competition for water or positive tree-crops interactions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerjets, Rowena; Richter, Falk; Jansen, Martin; Carminati, Andrea

    2017-04-01

    In dry periods during the growing season crops may suffer from severe water stress. The question arises whether the alternation of crop and tree strips might enhance and sustain soil water resources available for crops during drought events. Trees reduce wind exposure, decreasing the potential evapotranspiration of crops and soils; additionally hydraulic lift from the deep roots of trees to the drier top soil might provide additional water for shallow-rooted crops. To understand the above and belowground water relations of agroforestry systems, we measured soil moisture and soil water potential in crop strips as a function of distance to the trees at varying depth as well as meteorological parameters. At the agroforestry site Reiffenhausen, Lower Saxony, Germany, two different tree species are planted, each in one separated tree strip: willow breed Tordis ((Salix viminalis x Salix Schwerinii) x Salix viminalis) and poplar clone Max 1 (Populus nigra x Populus maximowiczii). In between the tree strips a crop strip of 24 m width was established with annual crop rotation, managed the same way as the reference site. During a drought period in May 2016 with less than 2 mm rain in four weeks, an overall positive effect on hydrological conditions of the agroforestry system was observed. The results show that trees shaded the soil surface, lowering the air temperature and further increasing the soil moisture in the crop strips compared to the reference site, which was located far from the trees. At the reference site the crops took up water in the upper soil (sunlight. The two tree species behaved differently. The poplar strips showed more marked diurnal changes in soil water potential, with fast drying during daytime and rewetting during nighttime. We suppose that the rewetting during nighttime was caused by hydraulic lift, which supports passively the drier upper soil with water from the wetter, lower soil layers. This experimental study shows the importance of above- and

  18. The Danish energy crop research and development project - main conclusions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gylling, Morten

    2003-01-01

    Production of energy crops in Denmark is more or less non-existent in Denmark at the time being. However, the need for biomass on the other side of year 2005 exceeds the existing biomass resources and a substantial amount of energy crops will be necessary in order to fulfil the goals in Energy 21. The targeted share of the use of renewable energy sources by year 2030 is approximately 30%. Energy crops are seen as the most important new resource in order to create a balanced input mix of renewable in the energy system. The energy crops are mainly seen as fuel in small and medium sized CHP plants and in the big power plants. The Danish energy crop project consists of three main parts: a demonstration part, a research and development part, and an overall assessment part. Based on the results from the project the following overall conclusions can be made: Seen from a strictly market and production economic point of view energy crops will not be competitive in a foreseeable future, neither as a production for farmers nor as a fuel at the utility companies; The costs per GJ of energy crops are still higher than a GJ of straw; The cost difference between annual and perennial energy crops are slightly in favour of perennials, however the conditions on the individual farms should govern the choice between annual and perennial energy crops; Energy crops must be seen as part of an overall environmental scheme covering both agriculture and the energy sector; Given the right production scheme energy crops can be grown on environmental sensitive areas and on most ground water protection areas; Adding the potential sustainability benefits like reduced nutrient leakage and reduced CO 2 emissions energy crops seem to be a sensible and sustainable solution; Due to different handling, storage and fuel characteristics an all year delivery scheme of energy crops should include a mix of different energy crops to keep overall cost down. (BA)

  19. Sorghums: viable biomass candidates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McClure, T A; Arthur, M F; Kresovich, S; Scantland, D A

    1980-01-01

    Agronomic studies conducted at Battelle's Columbus Division to evaluate biomass and sugar yields of sweet sorghum are described and the major findings are summarized. Development opportunities for using sorghum cultivars as a large-scale energy crop are discussed. With presently available cultivars, sweet sorghum should produce 3500 to 4000 liters ethanol per hectare from the fermentable sugars alone. Conversion of the stalk fibers into alcohol could increase production by another 1600 to 1900 liters per hectare with existing cultivars. These yields are approximately 30 to 40% greater per hectare than would be obtained from above average yields of grain and stalk fiber with corn. There is reason to believe, that with hybrid sweet sorghum, these yields could be further increased by as much as 30%. Diminishing land availability for agricultural crops necessitates that maximum yields be obtained. Over the next decade, imaginative technological innovations in sorghum harvesting, processing, and crop preservation, coupled with plant breeding research should help this crop realize its full potential as a renewable resource for energy production.

  20. Nutrient cycling potential of camelina (Camelina sativa L. Crantz.) as a cover crop in the US Northern Great Plains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berti, Marisol; Samarappuli, Dulan

    2017-04-01

    Camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz.] is an industrial oilseed crop in the Brassicaceae family with multiple uses. Currently, camelina is not used as a cover crop, but it has the potential to be used as such in maize-soybean-wheat cropping systems. The objectives of this study were to determine the agronomic performance and nutrient scavenging potential of winter camelina in comparison with other common cover crops. Experiments were conducted in Fargo, ND in 2015 and 2016, and in Prosper, ND in 2015. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement with three replicates. The main plot was the sowing date and the subplot were camelina cultivars as well as other common cover crops in the area. Sowing dates were targeted to 15 August and September 1, although the final dates varied slightly each year. Biomass yield, N content of the biomass N uptake and P uptake was evaluated. Winter camelina N and P uptake ranged between 21 and 30.5 kg N ha-1 and 3.4 to 5.3 kg P ha-1. The nutrient scavenging potential of winter camelina was similar to other cover crops although slightly lower than turnip (Brassica rapa L.), radish (Raphanus sativus L.), and rape (Brassica napus L.) cultivars which had significantly higher P uptake than winter camelina and the other cover crops in the study. An evaluation of spring regrowth and cover indicated that only rye, winter camelina, and pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) survived the winter, although a few plants of triticale (x Trticosecale Witt.) and rape were found on a few plots. Because of the high variability on the plots there were no significant differences among the surviving cover crops on soil coverage. The soil coverage for rye cultivars was 25 and 35% and for camelina cv. Bison was 27%.In 2016, biomass yield was not significant for sowing date, cultivars, or their interaction. Winter camelina cultivars biomass yield fluctuated between 1.15 and 2.33 Mg dry matter ha-1 on the first sowing