Emerging applications of green coconut: A promising lignocellulosic biomass

Waste accumulation is a grave concern and becoming a transboundary challenge for environment. During Covid-19 pandemic, diverse type of waste were collected due to different practices employed in order to fight back the transmission rate of the virus. Covid-19 was proved to be capricious catastrophe of this 20th century and even not completely eradicated from the world. The havoc created by this imperceptible quick witted, pleomorphic deadly virus can't be ignored. Though a number of vaccines have been developed by the scientists but there is a fear of getting this virus again in our life. Medical studies prove that immunity drinks will help to reduce its reoccurrences. Coconut water is widely used among all drinks available globally. Its massive consumption created an incalculable pile of green coconut shells around the different corners of the world. This practice generating enormous problem of space acquisition for the environment. Both the environment and public health will benefit from an evaluation of quantity of coconut waste that is being thrown and its potential to generate value added products. With this context, present article has been planned to study different aspects like, coconut waste generation, its biological properties and environmental hazards associated with its accumulation. Additionally, this review illustrates, green technologies for production of different value added products from coconut waste.     

改性生物质电厂灰钝化修复南方镉污染土壤及其长效性研究

选取我国南方生物质发电厂的灰渣为原料,经物理和化学改性制成重金属钝化剂,针对我国南方重金属Cd污染的土壤开展钝化修复研究.底灰中Cd等重金属含量明显低于其对应的飞灰,这是选择底灰作原料的重要原因.用其制备的BFA型钝化剂在水中对Cd的吸附量可达16mg/g以上.室内盆栽试验中,添加土壤干重1%的钝化剂,第一季稻米Cd含量降低80%以上,从超标2.8倍降至达标;第二季小麦籽粒Cd降低70%,从超标0.9倍降至达标.在我国南方Cd重度污染的农田中开展的原位修复试验表明,添加1%的钝化剂,稻米和小麦籽粒中Cd降低70%~90%,其中稻米Cd持续降低,2017年降低率相较2016年继续提升10%~20%,最终从超标20倍降至达标;Ni降低60%以上,且保留有益的Cu、Zn元素不受明显影响;此BFA型钝化剂还能促进作物生长,第一季稻米产量提高40%~60%,第二季仍有一定的增长效果.综合安全性考虑,我国南方生物质电厂的灰渣重金属含量很低,经过改性加工可制成安全高效的重金属钝化剂.可为钝化修复我国南方重金属污染农田提供一种经济有效的方法,也为现阶段难以处置的灰渣提供一个重要的利用途径.     

西南部分地区麻疯树种子油的理化性质及脂肪酸组成分析

从西南6个地区采集了麻疯树种子并分析比较了其生物学性状和种子油的理化性质及脂肪酸组成.所有样品的百粒重范围为41.80~71.39g,出仁率60.02%~81.43%,种仁含油率51.76%~57.93%,种子含油率31.07%~47.17%,不饱和脂肪酸含量74.89%~79.68%.其中永胜产麻疯树的种子品质最好,其出仁率为81.43%,种仁含油率57.93%,种子含油率47.17%,不饱和脂肪酸含量79.68%.攀枝花和宁南产麻疯树的种子品质次之.双柏和罗甸麻疯树的种子油酸值为0.81,在所有样品(0.81~9.46)中最低.对麻疯树种子及种子油性质的相关数据进行方差分析,结果表明,产地不同,麻疯树种子的生物学性质、种子油理化性质和脂肪酸组成都有一些差异.图2表3参18     

Biofuel Plantations on Forested Lands: Double Jeopardy for Biodiversity and Climate

Abstract: The growing demand for biofuels is promoting the expansion of a number of agricultural commodities, including oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). Oil‐palm plantations cover over 13 million ha, primarily in Southeast Asia, where they have directly or indirectly replaced tropical rainforest. We explored the impact of the spread of oil‐palm plantations on greenhouse gas emission and biodiversity. We assessed changes in carbon stocks with changing land use and compared this with the amount of fossil‐fuel carbon emission avoided through its replacement by biofuel carbon. We estimated it would take between 75 and 93 years for the carbon emissions saved through use of biofuel to compensate for the carbon lost through forest conversion, depending on how the forest was cleared. If the original habitat was peatland, carbon balance would take more than 600 years. Conversely, planting oil palms on degraded grassland would lead to a net removal of carbon within 10 years. These estimates have associated uncertainty, but their magnitude and relative proportions seem credible. We carried out a meta‐analysis of published faunal studies that compared forest with oil palm. We found that plantations supported species‐poor communities containing few forest species. Because no published data on flora were available, we present results from our sampling of plants in oil palm and forest plots in Indonesia. Although the species richness of pteridophytes was higher in plantations, they held few forest species. Trees, lianas, epiphytic orchids, and indigenous palms were wholly absent from oil‐palm plantations. The majority of individual plants and animals in oil‐palm plantations belonged to a small number of generalist species of low conservation concern. As countries strive to meet obligations to reduce carbon emissions under one international agreement (Kyoto Protocol), they may not only fail to meet their obligations under another (Convention on Biological Diversity) but may actually hasten global climate change. Reducing deforestation is likely to represent a more effective climate‐change mitigation strategy than converting forest for biofuel production, and it may help nations meet their international commitments to reduce biodiversity loss.     

The importance of agricultural yield elasticity for indirect land use change: a Bayesian network analysis for robust uncertainty quantification

ABSTRACT

A major barrier to realising biofuels’ climate change mitigation potential is uncertainty concerning carbon emissions from indirect land use change (ILUC). Central to this uncertainty is the extent to which yields can respond dynamically to increased demand for agricultural commodities. This study examines the elasticity of soybean and corn yields in the USA for 1990–2017 using Bayesian network models to robustly quantify uncertainty. The central finding is that a single parameter value for yield elasticity does not adequately represent the effects of technology, policy and price pressures through time. The models demonstrate the limiting role of technological progress as well as farmers’ capital investment in response to system shocks. Results suggest evaluation of parameter uncertainty alone is unlikely to capture a full range of future ILUC scenarios and reiterate the need for ILUC studies to use probabilistic approaches as standard to robustly inform climate change mitigation policies.     

生物液体燃料发展的环境影响研究进展

第二代生物燃料生产技术已发展起来,有关生物液体燃料发展的环境影响研究,毁誉参半、争论激烈。论文在查阅大量国内外相关文献的基础上,评述了生物液体燃料的发展进程及其对温室气体减排、水土资源及生物多样性等方面的影响,并就生物液体燃料环境影响的研究趋势与发展方向进行了讨论。研究认为:①一些学者认为,就温室气体减排来看,尽管效益不同,但生物液体燃料均在一定程度上减轻了温室气体排放。也有学者认为生物液体燃料与化石燃料相比并没有减少温室气体排放,甚至更糟。②大规模的能源作物集约种植消耗了大量水资源,污染了地下水,破坏了土壤碳库,降低了土壤肥力,加剧了水土流失。此外,土地利用方式改变造成的潜在影响具有很大的不确定性。但也有研究表示选择合适的能源物种及科学的耕作方式也有可能对水土资源带来积极的影响。③生物液体燃料发展对生物多样性产生了危害,但恰当的管理方式亦可能带来正效益。导致研究结论差异巨大的原因主要在于研究角度与尺度不同、研究方法的复杂性和数据的精度及可获得性等。明确边界、统一路径,细化指标、规范标准,系统分析、定量评价应是生物液体燃料的环境影响研究的发展方向。     

Energy analysis of algae-to-biofuel production chains integrated with a combined heat and power plant

ABSTRACT

This study examines the energy and mass balances of algae cultivation and different post-processing pathways. Flue gases and excess heat from a combined heat and power (CHP) plant are used in algae cultivation, with nutrients from municipal wastewater. In the studied pathways, algae are cultivated in open ponds and photobioreactors with or without artificial lighting. Algal mass is used for methane, biodiesel or ethanol production, or it is combusted in a boiler. Results show that in most process pathways energy output exceeds the energy consumption in processing, and the energy returns are approximately twice as large as the electricity input. A large fraction of input energy is low-temperature heat, while the products have a higher value. Energy outputs from different pathways are similar, but heat and electricity consumption in processing vary significantly. Supercritical water gasification pathway is identified as a possible future option, whereas lipid extraction pathways are suggested to be the most likely candidates for industrial scale operations.     

Analysing household decision-making on oil palm cultivation in Thailand

This paper analyses the dynamics of land use via the perspectives, motivations and behaviours of local landowners looking at land-use change (through the landowner’s eyes) in the way that the landowners would prefer to do and not to do in various situations. The dynamics are explored in the context of an oil-palm-based biodiesel development in Thailand where the advent of oil palm (OP) has caused the loss of paddy areas. A sequential mixed-method strategy, including 10 in-depth interviews and 180 responses to a questionnaire survey, indicates that the likelihood of a landowner switching traditional land for OP cultivation is affected by a number of factors including age and education of the head of household, number of household farming labourers, amount and source of income, land size and land right. Moreover, the results indicate that success of switching land to OP cultivation was determined by factors influencing willingness and capacity to change. Willingness-related factors are relevant to outcome expectation and social networks and connections while capacity-related factors are relevant to finance, labour, capital, land rights and transportation.     

A comparative study of particle size distribution from two oxygenated fuels and diesel fuel

Oxygenated fuels are known to reduce particulate matter (PM) emissions from diesel engines. In this study, 100% soy methyl ester (SME) biodiesel fuel (B100) and a blend of 10% acetal denoted by A-diesel with diesel fuel were tested as oxygenated fuels. Particle size and number distributions from a diesel engine fueled with oxygenated fuels and base diesel fuel were measured using an Electrical Low Pressure Impactor (ELPI). Measurements were made at ten steady-state operational modes of various loads at two engine speeds. It was found that the geometric mean diameters of particles from SME and Adiesel were lower than that from base diesel fuel. Compared to diesel fuel, SME emitted more ultra-fine particles at rated speed while emitting less ultra-fine particles at maximum speed. Ultra-fine particle number concentrations of A-diesel were much higher than those of base diesel fuel at most test modes.