The Regional Impact of Biofuel Economics

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-386
Author(s):  
Stefan Walter
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Living Standard ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Price Signals ◽  
Regulatory Measures

The European Commission has developed a series of regulatory measures to introduce alternative energy technologies, including a binding target for a specified share of biofuel in petrol and diesel, in European Union (EU) member states. The instruments to achieve this goal include taxation, subsidies and legal restraints. Biofuel suffers from the problem of being uncompetitive, and the intervention addresses the price gap between conventional fuel and biofuel. The enthusiasm for biofuel is particularly high in peripheral regions such as the northern provinces of Sweden and Finland. Expectations include renewed economic growth and employment opportunities. However, when studying the economic impact of the biofuel regulatory framework with the help of the concept of property economics, it becomes clear that the framework generates investment in biofuel production due to distorted price signals and expected profits. From the perspective of property economics, the biofuel framework challenges property rights as it requires people’s appropriated means to be put into the effort of biofuel production. The artificial change of investment conditions may lead to the formation of an investment bubble. This distorts the interweaving structure of capital goods, which contributes to the manufacturing of biofuel, including machinery and wood products. As bubbles are bound to burst, people in the affected territories may be left with a lower living standard and greater exposure to the consequences. Therefore, the biofuel regulatory framework leads to unsustainable conditions. JEL Classification: O10, O20

scholarly journals Critical Issues and Opportunities for Producing Biomethane in Italy

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2431
Author(s):  
Roberto Murano ◽  
Natascia Maisano ◽  
Roberta Selvaggi ◽  
Gioacchino Pappalardo ◽  
Biagio Pecorino
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Political Incentives ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Biogas Plants ◽  
High Level ◽  
By Products ◽  
Lack Of Knowledge

Nowadays, most Italian biogas produces electricity even though recent political incentives are promoting biomethane from biogas by “upgrading” it. The aim of this paper is to focus on the regulatory framework for producing biomethane from new or already-existent anaerobic digestion plants. The complexity and lack of knowledge of the regulations on biofuel production and of anaerobic digested biomethane from waste and by-products create difficulties of both interpretation and application. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to analyze the regulations for producing biomethane, underline the critical issues and opportunities, and evaluate whether an electrical plant built in the last 10 years in Italy can really be converted to a biomethane plant, thereby lengthening its lifespan. Three case studies were considered to look more closely into applying Italian biomethane incentives and to simulate the types of incentivization in agriculture with examples based on certain fuel types typical of a standard biomethane plant of 500 standard cubic meter per hour. All the considered cases put in evidence that biomethane is a further opportunity for development with a high level of efficiency for all biogas producers, especially for many biogas plants whose incentivization period is about to finish.

Past Infrastructures and Future Machine Intelligence (MI) for Biofuel Production: A Review and MI-Based Framework

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Hansen ◽  
Amin Mirkouei
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Ecological Integrity ◽  
Machine Intelligence ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Economic Resilience ◽  
Capture Process ◽  
Alternative Energy Sources ◽  
Comparative Review

Recent interest in alternative energy sources, particularly biofuels from biomass, is becoming increasingly evident due to energy security and environmental sustainability concerns, such as depletion of conventional energy reserves and carbon footprint effects, respectively. Existing fuels (e.g., biodiesel and ethanol) are neither sustainable nor cost-competitive. There is a need to integrate the recent advanced manufacturing approaches and machine intelligence (MI) techniques (e.g., machine learning and artificial intelligence), targeted on the midstream segment (i.e., pre-/post-conversion processes) of biomass-to-biofuel supply chains (B2BSC). Thus, a comparative review of the existing MI approaches developed in prior studies is performed herein. This review article, additionally, proposes an MI-based framework to enhance productivity and profitability of existing biofuel production processes through intelligent monitoring and control, optimization, and data-driven decision support tools. It is further concluded that a modernized conversion process utilizing MI techniques is essential to seamlessly capture process-level intricacies and enhance techno-economic resilience and socio-ecological integrity of B2BSC.

scholarly journals Modelling key market impacts and land allocation for biofuel production and forestry

2006 ◽  
Vol 2006 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
A. Korobeinikov ◽  
P. Read ◽  
A. Parshotam ◽  
J. Lermit
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Fuel Wood ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Levels ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

It has been suggested that the large scale use of biofuel, that is, fuel derived from biological materials, especially in combination with reforestation of large areas, can lead to a low-cost reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. In this paper, a model of three markets: fuel, wood products, and land are considered with the aim of evaluating the impact of large scale biofuel production and forestry on these markets, and to estimate the cost of a policy aimed at the reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is shown that the costs are lower than had been previously expected.

scholarly journals A Review of Combined Regenerative Suspension and Electromagnetic Braking system

2020 ◽  
Vol 06 (09) ◽  
pp. 19-23
Author(s):  
Prof. Gaffar G. Momin, Rushikesh Barve, Manasi Shah, Nikita Sutar and Dominic Jibin James
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Suspension System ◽  
Braking System ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Shock Absorbers ◽  
System A ◽  
Linear Vibrations ◽  
Vehicle Suspension System ◽  
Significant Attention

Considering the rate of depletion of the available oil-based fuels, Renewable Energy Technologies are receiving significant attention in these years. It is, therefore, necessary to find alternatives to energy sources. This project focusses on one such alternative. A study is done on a vehicle suspension system and braking system. Suspension in vehicles produces linear vibrations due to the roughness on the roads. These vibrations are absorbed the shock absorbers and dissipated in the form of heat. In the case of a conventional braking system,a huge amount of heat is lost due to friction. This study proposes a design of a system where the heat lost in the suspension system is extracted, converted into a usable form of electrical energy and stored in batteries. This stored energy is further used in the operation of electromagnet powered brakes. Using the Regenerative Suspension System reduces the waste of energy in the shock absorbers and gives an alternative energy source and use of the Electromagnetic Braking System ensures frictionless braking. Thus, the overall consumption of energy is reduced by a notable amount.

Considerations Regarding the Use of Fuel Cells in Combined Heat and Power for Stationary Applications

2021 ◽  
pp. 239-275
Author(s):  
Andrei Mircea Bolboaca
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Combined Heat And Power ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Energy Conversion Systems ◽  
Polluting Emissions

Covering the energy demands under environmental protection and satisfying economic and social restrictions, together with decreasing polluting emissions, are impetuous necessities, considering that over half of the pollutant emissions released in the environment are the effect of the processes of electricity and heat production from the classic thermoelectric powerplant. Increasing energy efficiency and intensifying the use of alternative resources are key objectives of global policy. In this context, a range of new energy technologies has been developed, based on alternative energy conversion systems, which have recently been used more and more often for the simultaneous production of electricity and heat. An intensification of the use of combined energy production correlated with the tendency towards the use of clean energy resources can be helpful in achieving the global objectives of increasing fuel diversity and ensuring energy demand. The chapter aims at describing the fuel cell technology, in particular those of the SOFC type, used in the CHP for stationary applications.

scholarly journals Economic Analysis of Sequestering Carbon in Green Ash Forests in the Lower Mississippi River Valley

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 731-740
Author(s):  
Ching-Hsun Huang ◽  
Gary D. Kronrad ◽  
Shiaolin D. Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Electric Utility ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Green Ash ◽  
Carbon Credits ◽  
Lower Mississippi River ◽  
The Cost

Since the U.S. is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), it has become crucial to develop options that are both cost effective and supportive of sustainable development to reduce atmospheric CO2. Electric utility companies have the options of reducing their use of fossil fuels, switching to alternative energy sources, increasing efficiency, or offsetting carbon emissions. This study determined the cost and profitability of sequestering carbon in green ash plantations, and the number of tons of carbon that can be sequestered. The profitability of green ash is $2,342 and $3,645 per acre on site indices (measurement of soil quality) 65 and 105 land, respectively, calculated with a 2.5% alternative rate of return (ARR). These figures shift to –$248 and –$240 calculated with a 15.0% ARR. If landowners who have an ARR of 2.5% can sell carbon credits for $10 per ton of carbon, profits will increase by $107 per acre on poor sites and $242 on good sites. Over one rotation (cutting cycle), 38.56 net tons of carbon can be sequestered on an acre of poor quality land and 51.35 tons on good quality land. The cost of sequestering carbon, without including revenues from timber production and carbon credits, ranges from a high of $15.20 per ton on poor sites to $14.41 on good sites, calculated with a 2.5% ARR; to a high of $8.51 per ton on poor sites to $7.63 on good sites, calculated with a 15.0% ARR. The cost of storing carbon can be reduced significantly if the trees can be sold for wood products.

Alternative energy technologies and health

1981 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-283
Author(s):  
A. P. Watson ◽  
E. L. Etnier ◽  
P. J. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Energy Technologies

The Bioceanic Amazon Corridors: An Opportunity for Development of Sustainable Energy System

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Mendoza G. ◽  
Maximiliano Arroyo Ulloa ◽  
Vincenzo Naso
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Renewable Sources ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Local Resources ◽  
Decentralized Energy ◽  
Sustainable Energy System ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Principal Energy

The bioceanic Amazon corridor represents a development opportunity for the Peruvian and Brazilian economy but this economic evolution is linked to the production and use of energy. Energy is a conditioning factor of economic growth and development and the application of conventional (or alternative) energy systems is strongly influenced by both quantitative and qualitative trends in energy consumption. Decentralized production of energy is necessary, and new decentralized energy technologies based on renewable sources could provide additional income opportunities, decreasing environmental risk along Amazon corridor, and providing clean fuel and electricity. It’s necessary that the bioceanic Amazon corridors call for the application of energy systems related to the renewable local resources in coast, mountain and forest. In Peru, firewood is the principal energy source for cooking and heating and this fuel is used in inefficient combustion system that increases the impact on ecosystems. Typical Peruvian biomass source are wood, agricultural residues, agro industrial waste and municipal solid waste. The most obvious it’s the availability of agricultural and agro industrial residues that could be used as a biomass fuel source in modern plant to produce electricity. Today, there is a growing interest for ethanol production from sugar cane, but it couldn’t be applied along bioceanic corridors; therefore it is necessary to integrate other renewable sources.

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