1,721,042 research outputs found
The impact of plant size and location on profitability of biogas plants in Germany under consideration of processing digestates
No full textThe production of bioenergy is considered to be a promising energy source for a sustainable energy mix and it is politically promoted in many countries. With the exception of Brazilian ethanol, bioenergy is not competitive with fossil energy sources, and therefore needs to be subsidised. Several types of bioenergy are based on bulky raw biomass with high per unit transport costs, importantly impacting on the plant's production costs and profitability. In addition, considerable quantities of digestates are released, causing disposal costs. Various studies in the past aimed primarily at analysing transport costs of inputs. In this paper we focus on disposal costs of fermentation digestates from biogas production in Germany and analyse different processing techniques and their impact on profitability for three plant size in three case study areas. Our results show that especially in regions with only a small amount of agricultural land and a large heterogeneity in its agricultural area, processing of digestates increases the profitability of biogas production. The same accounts for regions with high livestock density, where the area needed for disposal is comparatively large. The cost efficiency is enforced by a high share of animal excrements on input and the biogas plant size. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Digestate treatment: The influence of the location and size of the plant on the cost
No full textWith an increasing number of biogas plants, this technology has become an important area in agricultural production. This kind of energy production requires large amounts of biomass, and considerable quantities of digestate are also released. Animal excrement (for example slurry or solid manure) is also an oft-used substrate. Various studies in the past aimed primarily at analysing the substrate supply; in this paper we focus on fermentation digestate. With a linear transport model in which different proportions of slurry are applied and various plant sizes and processing techniques are considered, we show that the different spatial features of a county substantially influence the processing and treatment costs of digestate. For this study we selected three different counties in North Rhine-Westphalia. Aachen represents a county dominated by intensive agriculture. The second county, Borken, has a large amount of livestock, predominantly sandy soils and a high number of biogas plants. Another contrast is displayed by the county of Siegen-Wittgenstein, which typifies a grassland region in the highlands. Our results show that especially in counties with only a small amount of agricultural land (such as Siegen-Wittgenstein) and a large heterogeneity in its agricultural area, the digestate treatment is already cost efficient for smaller biogas plants. The same applies in the case of regions with high livestock density such as Borken, where the area needed for disposal is comparatively large. The cost efficiency is enforced by a high amount of animal excrement as substrate
Digestate treatment: The influence of the location and size of the plant on the cost
No full textWith an increasing number of biogas plants, this technology has become an important area in agricultural production. This kind of energy production requires large amounts of biomass, and considerable quantities of digestate are also released. Animal excrement (for example slurry or solid manure) is also an oft-used substrate. Various studies in the past aimed primarily at analysing the substrate supply; in this paper we focus on fermentation digestate. With a linear transport model in which different proportions of slurry are applied and various plant sizes and processing techniques are considered, we show that the different spatial features of a county substantially influence the processing and treatment costs of digestate. For this study we selected three different counties in North Rhine-Westphalia. Aachen represents a county dominated by intensive agriculture. The second county, Borken, has a large amount of livestock, predominantly sandy soils and a high number of biogas plants. Another contrast is displayed by the county of Siegen-Wittgenstein, which typifies a grassland region in the highlands. Our results show that especially in counties with only a small amount of agricultural land (such as Siegen-Wittgenstein) and a large heterogeneity in its agricultural area, the digestate treatment is already cost efficient for smaller biogas plants. The same applies in the case of regions with high livestock density such as Borken, where the area needed for disposal is comparatively large. The cost efficiency is enforced by a high amount of animal excrement as substrate
Addressing future trade-offs between biodiversity and cropland expansion to improve food security (vol 17, pg 1429, 2017)
No full textAddressing future trade-offs between biodiversity and cropland expansion to improve food security
Get PDFPotential trade-offs between providing sufficient food for a growing human population in the future and sustaining ecosystems and their services are driven by various biophysical and socio-economic parameters at different scales. In this study, we investigate these trade-offs by using a three-step interdisciplinary approach. We examine (1) how the expected global cropland expansion might affect food security in terms of agricultural production and prices, (2) where natural conditions are suitable for cropland expansion under changing climate conditions, and (3) whether this potential conversion to cropland would affect areas of high biodiversity value or conservation importance. Our results show that on the one hand, allowing the expansion of cropland generally results in an improved food security not only in regions where crop production rises, but also in net importing countries such as India and China. On the other hand, the estimated cropland expansion could take place in many highly biodiverse regions, pointing out the need for spatially detailed and context-specific assessments to understand the possible outcomes of different food security strategies. Our multidisciplinary approach is relevant with respect to the Sustainable Development Goals for implementing and enforcing sustainable pathways for increasing agricultural production, and ensuring food security while conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services
Aussenraum im Kanton Basel-Landschaft. Methodische Grundlagenarbeit zur Klassifikation von Aussenraum und dessen Veränderung zwischen 2001 und 2015
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Essays on sustainable agriculture: Studies on water, deforestation and family farming
Get PDFThis cumulative dissertation comprises three independent studies concerning fundamental topics of sustainable agriculture. Chapter 2 draws from the absence of water data, which limits the development of economic models gauging water scarcity impacts. The paper makes a central contribution by developing an in-depth description of national statistics, international and global water databases. Chapter 3 concerns the relationship between deforestation data and widely used institutional indices. The paper offers empirical-based evidence about the relationship between governmental performance, public corruption perception and forest resources. Moreover, computer-intensive data management was employed to convert georeferenced raster data into a format compatible with economic statistical software and enable sample replications of large original data. Chapter 4 investigates the presence of spatial spillovers as providing beneficial opportunities to family farming credit in the Brazilian Amazon. Credit rationing is argued to target wealthier farmers engaged in livestock production while neglecting those producing crops. The paper employs a spatial Durbin error model of credit acquisition for husbandry and agricultural systems in 103 microregions. To enhance the paper’s discussion, 35 semi-structured interviews with key informants were conducted
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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