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Waste to Bioenergy: A Sustainable Approach
Published in Jos T. Puthur, Om Parkash Dhankher, Bioenergy Crops, 2022
Monika Yadav, Gurudatta Singh, Jayant Karwadiya, Akshaya Prakash Chengatt, Delse Parekkattil Sebastian, R.N. Jadeja
Increasing population growth requires more energy that automatically results in enhanced utilization of non-renewable energy resources; thereby, search of novel sustainable energy resource is highly recommended (Yi et al. 2018, Khalil et al. 2019). High consumption of fossil related fuels enhances global environmental problems such as global warming and air pollution that adversely affect the environment (Abdeshahian et al. 2016). After energy crisis of the 1970s, many countries showed their interest in developing biomass as a fuel source. Up until recently, biomass energy interest has been lessened due to the technological breakthrough that makes fossil energy relatively inexpensive. However, enhanced greenhouse gas emissions, severe air pollution, unstable fossil-based energy prices as well as intense growth of global transportation of fuel demand have raised extensive research efforts in development of bioenergy. Bioenergy is a form of energy derived from any fuel that has been originated from biomass. Since biomass is a renewable resource, it has been considered as an alternative feedstock for production of sustainable energy in future. Historically, biomass has been traditionally used as form of firewood for providing energy to humans through direct combustion.
Environmental literacy for the sustainable designer
Published in Rob Fleming, Saglinda H Roberts, Sustainable Design for the Built Environment, 2019
Rob Fleming, Saglinda H Roberts
Today, we have many innovative ways of using earth’s natural resources to create, harness, distribute, and use energy. The terms stocks and flows are used to define the type of energy in use. Stocks are those resources that are used once. Some stocks, such as firewood, can be renewed by regrowing the forest. Therefore, firewood is a renewable stock. Oil, on the other hand, is a nonrenewable stock because it would take millions of years to restock that resource. Flows are readily available energy sources such as solar, wind, or water which can be harnessed over and over again when available. A consistently flowing river offers a source of energy that is harnessed via a dam. Solar power is another example. Energy from flows is most often referred to as renewable energy.
Socially sustainable solar power development
Published in Sharlissa Moore, Sustainable Energy Transformations, Power, and Politics, 2018
While energy systems are seemingly invisible and taken for granted in Western countries, energy usage is visible in the Province of Ouarzazate. When a group of US students and I stopped for lunch outside Ouarzazate in 2013, a shopkeeper charged the students a high price for water. When they questioned the price, the shopkeeper—who did not speak English—gestured toward the bottle of butane running the refrigerator. Our drink was not cold for free. Butane improves human capabilities: It heats water for showers, fuels portable stovetops and refrigerators, and pumps water for irrigation. It also avoids the negative health implications caused by inhaling particulate matter from burning charcoal, which disproportionately affects women. However, there is a lack of access to and affordability of butane, even with subsidies. Villagers trek to Ouarzazate city and haul butane bottles back over treacherous roads with the help of donkeys. Some traditional fuels are also used in the region; I often saw hunchbacked Amazigh women plodding along the highway with large bushels of firewood slung over their backs. The firewood is used for cooking and heating; it is a cheaper fuel source but increases risk of lung disease. An interviewee who works in local development said that the most demanded renewable energy technology in rural areas is a subsidized solar water pump. These pumps allow people to avoid the journey to obtain butane bottles.
Biogas purification processes: review and prospects
Published in Biofuels, 2023
J. E. Castellanos-Sánchez, F. A. Aguilar-Aguilar, R. Hernández‐Altamirano, José Apolonio Venegas Venegas, Deb Raj Aryal
From this combustion reaction (Equation (1)), one mole of methane can generate up to 890 KJ mol−1, like natural gas (900 KJ mol−1), and greater than hydrogen (286 KJ mol−1). It is important mention that CO2 and H2O, products of combustion, are less polluting than the release of methane into the environment. Nevertheless, using conventional fuels (LP gas, biodiesel, gasoline, among others) contributes to GHG generation and they are not renewable. Hydrogen can be an alternative to fuels since it is generated from renewable and non-renewable sources from reforming or hydrolysis [26, 27]. Though, hydrogen has certain disadvantages such as the production process, difficult to store, and expensive to obtain; that has yet to be further explored for distribution and commercial use. Also, firewood is used as fuel in developing countries since its heating value is 16–22.5 MJ kg−1 (Table 1) [26–29]. The irrational use of firewood has led to deforestation with serious ecological damage, and during combustion generates fine particles (PM2.5) that have caused irreversible problems for users; therefore, firewood must be replaced by an ecological fuel that is not harmful to the environment and humans. In this way, the biogas from anaerobic digestion can be a strategic alternative for the valuation of organic waste, and be a source of renewable energy. The comprehensive assessment of industrial and agro-industrial waste can bring socioeconomic and environmental benefits and local development.
Lab-scale anaerobic digestion of cassava peels: the first step of energy recovery from cassava waste and water hyacinth
Published in Environmental Technology, 2021
Yaovi Sylvestre Ahou, Jean-Romain Bautista Angeli, Sary Awad, Lamine Baba-Moussa, Yves Andres
Cassava is a staple food for about 500 million people in the tropical countries [1] while Benin produces on average about 4 million tons of cassava root every year [2]. Out of this, 90% is used in artisanal and semi-industrial methods to produce different food products [3]. The main problems of cassava processing are linked to high energy consumption and environmental pollution. For instance, processing of 1 kg of gari flour consumes about 1.30–2.40 kg of filao wood [4]. This fuelwood energy corresponds to 0.320–0.939 MJ of electrical energy and 1.141–2.749 MJ of thermal energy [5]. The intensive consumption of firewood affects considerably the forest resources and contributes to global warming. Moreover, one ton of starch processed requires about 20 m3 of washing water [6]. It also results in a discharge of 20–35% mass of cassava peels [7] and 12 m3 of effluent [7–9]. Despite having reasonably high starch contents, cassava waste is often left to rot in an open field, which later becomes an environmental problem [10].
Utilizing heat from rice hull biochar production for steam pasteurization of mushroom fruiting bags
Published in Cogent Engineering, 2018
Ricardo F. Orge, Lolita V. Leal
This paper highlights the use of heat that is generated during the production of biochar from rice hull. Biochar is simply charcoal that is produced with the intention of incorporating it into the soil to enhance the property of the soil and make it more conducive for plant growth. Biochar has been recognized globally as a simple but power tool for mitigating climate change. In this paper, the machine used in rice hull biochar production was described focusing on how the heat generated during its operation was utilized in mushroom production, particularly in the heat treatment of the media (composed of rice straw and saw dust) where mushrooms grow. Traditionally, this heat is supplied by the combustion of firewood. Mushroom production is a typical component of Palayamanan, a diversified and integrated rice-based farming system introduced to Filipino farmers to diversify their sources of income as a climate change adaptation strategy.