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Energy Forestry
Energy forestry is a form of forestry in which a fast-growing species of tree or woody shrub is grown specifically to provide biomass or biofuel for heating or power generation. The two forms of energy forestry are short rotation coppice and short rotation forestry: *Short rotation coppice may include tree crops of poplar, willow or eucalyptus, grown for two to five years before harvest. *Short rotation forestry are crops of alder, ash, birch, eucalyptus, poplar, and sycamore, grown for eight to twenty years before harvest. Benefits The main advantage of using "grown fuels", as opposed to fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil, is that while they are growing they absorb the near-equivalent of carbon dioxide (an important greenhouse gas) to that which is later released in their burning. In comparison, burning fossil fuels increases atmospheric carbon unsustainably, by using carbon that was added to the Earth's carbon sink millions of years ago. This is a prime contribu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biomass
Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how biomass is defined, e.g., only from plants, from plants and algae, from plants and animals. The vast majority of biomass used for bioenergy does come from plants and fecal matter. Bioenergy is a type of renewable energy that the bioenergy industry claims has the potential to assist with climate change mitigation. Uses in different contexts Ecology * Biomass (ecology), the mass of living biological organisms in a given area or ecosystem at a given time. This can be the biomass of particular species or the biomass of a particular community or habitat. Energy * Biomass (energy), biomass used for energy production or in other words: biological mass used as a renewable energy source (usually produced through agriculture, forestry or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Sink
A carbon sink is a natural or artificial carbon sequestration process that "removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere". These sinks form an important part of the natural carbon cycle. An overarching term is carbon pool, which is all the places where carbon on Earth can be, i.e. the atmosphere, oceans, soil, florae, fossil fuel reservoirs and so forth. A carbon sink is a type of carbon pool that has the capability to take up more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. Globally, the two most important carbon sinks are vegetation and the ocean. Soil is an important carbon storage medium. Much of the organic carbon retained in the soil of agricultural areas has been depleted due to intensive farming. '' Blue carbon'' designates carbon that is fixed via certain marine ecosystems. ''Coastal blue carbon'' includes mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses. These make up a majority of ocean plant life and store large quantities of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biofuels Technology
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial bio waste. Biofuels are mostly used for transportation, but can also be used for heating and electricity. Biofuels (and bio energy in general) are regarded as a renewable energy source. The use of biofuel has been subject to criticism regarding the "food vs fuel" debate, varied assessments of their sustainability, and ongoing deforestation and biodiversity loss as a result of biofuel production. In general, biofuels emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions when burned in an engine and are generally considered carbon-neutral fuels as the carbon emitted has been captured from the atmosphere by the crops used in production. However, life-cycle assessments of biofuels have shown large emissions associated with the potential land-use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treethanol
Treethanol is an ethanol fuel (more precisely cellulosic ethanol) made from trees. Summary The biofuel is a contender in the race to find an energy alternative to fossil fuels. Proponents of Treethanol claim that its energy yield is higher compared to the energy required for production when compared with more common sources of ethanol i.e. sugar cane and corn. Production Cellulosic ethanol is produced using the lignocellulose biomass that comprises much of the mass of plants. Essentially at the core of the plant material is cellulose, which can be broken down into simple carbohydrate sugars. After these sugars have been extracted, they can be then be fermented into an alcohol, which is known as ethanol. The most widely used and promising means of creating cellulosic ethanol is called the cellulolysis process. The process consists of hydrolysis on pretreated lignocellulosic materials. Then enzymes are used to break down cellulose into glucose. This glucose is then fermented ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Rotation Forestry
Short rotation forestry (SRF) is grown as an energy crop for use in power stations, alone or in combination with other fuels such as coal. It is similar to historic fuelwood coppice systems. Species used SRF is the practice of cultivating fast-growing trees that reach their economically optimum size between 8 and 20 years old. Species used are selected on this basis and include alder, ash, southern beech, birch, ''Eucalyptus'', poplar, willow, new varieties of ''Paulownia elongata'', paper mulberry, Australian blackwood and sycamore. Planting and harvesting Trees are planted at widths that allow for quick growth and easy harvesting. They are usually felled when they are around 15 cm wide at chest height, this takes from 8 to 20 years. This compares with 60 years or more for standard forestry crops. When felled, SRF trees are replaced by new planting or, more usually, allowed to regenerate from the stumps as coppice. The wood chip produced by SRF is preferred in the powe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Rotation Coppice
Short rotation coppice (SRC) is coppice grown as an energy crop. This woody solid biomass can be used in applications such as district heating, electric power generating stations, alone or in combination with other fuels. Currently, the leading countries in area planted for energy generation are Sweden and the UK. Species used SRC uses high yield varieties of poplar and willow. Typically willow species chosen are varieties of the common osier or basket willow, ''Salix viminalis''. Poplar is generally planted for visual variation rather than being a commercial crop, although some varieties can outperform willow on suitable sites. Species are selected for their acceptance of varying climate and soil conditions, relative insusceptibility to pests and diseases, ease of propagation and speed of vegetative growth. To combat pests such as brassy and blue willow beetles, as well as the fungal pathogen '' Melampsora'' (a rust), planting a carefully selected mix of varieties is reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Issues Relating To Biofuels
Issues relating to biofuel are social, economic, environmental and technical problems that may arise from biofuel production and use. Social and economic issues include the "food vs fuel" debate and the need to develop responsible policies and economic instruments to ensure sustainable biofuel production. Farming for biofuels feedstock can be detrimental to the environment if not done sustainably. Environmental concerns include deforestation, biodiversity loss and soil erosion as a result of land clearing for biofuels agriculture. While biofuels can contribute to reduction in global carbon emissions, Indirect land use change impacts of biofuels, indirect land use change for biofuel production can have the inverse effect. Technical issues include possible modifications necessary to run the engine on biofuel, as well as Energy returned on energy invested, energy balance and efficiency. The International Resource Panel outlined the wider and interrelated factors that need to be consi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Food Vs
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells to provide energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth. Different species of animals have different feeding behaviours that satisfy the needs of their metabolisms and have evolved to fill a specific ecological niche within specific geographical contexts. Omnivorous humans are highly adaptable and have adapted to obtaining food in many different ecosystems. Humans generally use cooking to prepare food for consumption. The majority of the food energy required is supplied by the industrial food industry, which produces food through intensive agriculture and distributes it through complex food processing and food distribution systems. This system of conventional agriculture relies h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Energy Crop
Energy crops are low-cost and low-maintenance crops grown solely for renewable bioenergy production (not for food). The crops are processed into solid, liquid or gaseous fuels, such as pellets, bioethanol or biogas. The fuels are burned to generate electrical power or heat. The plants are generally categorized as woody or herbaceous. Woody plants include willow and poplar, herbaceous plants include '' Miscanthus x giganteus'' and ''Pennisetum purpureum'' (both known as arrell, G., Simons, S. A., & Hillock ...'' (both known as elephant grass). Herbaceous crops, while physically smaller than trees, store roughly twice the amount of CO2 (in the form of carbon) below ground compared to woody crops. Through biotechnological procedures such as genetic modification">biotechnology">biotechnological procedures such as genetic modification, plants can be manipulated to create higher yields. Relatively high yields can also be realized with existing cultivars. However, some additio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biomass
Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how biomass is defined, e.g., only from plants, from plants and algae, from plants and animals. The vast majority of biomass used for bioenergy does come from plants and fecal matter. Bioenergy is a type of renewable energy that the bioenergy industry claims has the potential to assist with climate change mitigation. Uses in different contexts Ecology * Biomass (ecology), the mass of living biological organisms in a given area or ecosystem at a given time. This can be the biomass of particular species or the biomass of a particular community or habitat. Energy * Biomass (energy), biomass used for energy production or in other words: biological mass used as a renewable energy source (usually produced through agriculture, forestry or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biofuel
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic or industrial Biodegradable waste, bio waste. Biofuels are mostly used for transportation, but can also be used for heating and electricity. Biofuels (and bioenergy, bio energy in general) are regarded as a renewable energy source. The use of biofuel has been subject to criticism regarding the "food vs fuel" debate, varied assessments of their Sustainable biofuel, sustainability, and ongoing deforestation and biodiversity loss as a result of biofuel production. In general, biofuels emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions when burned in an engine and are generally considered carbon-neutral fuels as the carbon emitted has been captured from the atmosphere by the crops used in production. However, life-cycle assessments of biofue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soil Carbon
Soil carbon is the solid carbon stored in global Soil, soils. This includes both soil organic matter and Inorganic compound, inorganic carbon as carbonate minerals. It is vital to the soil capacity in our ecosystem. Soil carbon is a carbon sink in regard to the global carbon cycle, playing a role in biogeochemistry, climate change mitigation, and constructing global Climate model, climate models. Microorganism, Microorganisms play an important role in breaking down carbon in the soil. Changes in their activity due to rising temperatures could possibly influence and even contribute to climate change. Human activities have caused a massive loss of soil organic carbon. For example, anthropogenic fires destroy the top layer of the soil, exposing soil to excessive oxidation. Overview Soil carbon is present in two forms: inorganic and organic. Soil inorganic carbon consists of mineral forms of carbon, either from weathering of parent material, or from reaction of soil minerals with atm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
