scholarly journals Environmental Impacts of Biomass Energy Sources in Rwanda

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 62-71
Author(s):  
Eustache Hakizimana ◽  
U. G. Wali ◽  
Diego Sandoval ◽  
Kayibanda Venant
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Energy Sources

scholarly journals Solid Biomass Energy Potential as a Development Opportunity for Rural Communities

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3398
Author(s):  
Mariusz Jerzy Stolarski ◽  
Paweł Dudziec ◽  
Michał Krzyżaniak ◽  
Ewelina Olba-Zięty
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Development Opportunity ◽  
Biomass Resources ◽  
Administrative Units ◽  
Solid Biomass

Conventional energy sources often do not fully satisfy the needs of a modern economy, especially given the climate changes associated with them. These issues should be addressed by diversification of energy generation, including the development of renewable energy sources (RES). Solid biomass will play a major part in the process in Poland. The function of rural areas, along with a well-developed agricultural and forest economy sector, will be a key aspect in this as these areas are suitable for solid biomass acquisition in various ways. This study aimed to determine the solid biomass energy potential in the commune of Goworowo to illustrate the potential in the smallest administrative units of Poland. This research determined the environmental and natural conditions in the commune, which helped to identify the crucial usable solid biomass resources. The total energy potential of solid biomass resources in the commune of Goworowo amounted to 97,672 GJ y−1. The highest potential was accumulated in straw surplus (37,288 GJ y−1) and the lowest was in wood from roadside maintenance (113 GJ y−1). This study showed that rural areas could soon play a significant role in obtaining solid biomass, and individual communes could become spaces for the diversification of energy feedstock.

scholarly journals Gasification of Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.) Biomass–Energy Recovery and Environmental Impacts

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 4960
Author(s):  
Adam Koniuszy ◽  
Małgorzata Hawrot-Paw ◽  
Cezary Podsiadło ◽  
Paweł Sędłak ◽  
Ewa Możdżer
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Root Elongation ◽  
Biomass Yield ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Liquid Waste ◽  
Calorific Value ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Potential Hazard ◽  
Gas Generator ◽  
Phytotoxic Effect

Biomass from cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.) is considered a renewable energy source that can be converted into alternative fuel. Calorific syngas, a promising type of advanced fuel, can be produced through thermochemical biomass gasification. In this study, the suitability of cup plant biomass for gasification was assessed, including the process energy balance and environmental impacts of waste from syngas purification. Silphium perfoliatum L. was cultivated as a gasification feedstock in different conditions (irrigation, fertilization). The experiments were performed in a membrane gasifier. All obtained energy parameters were compared to the biomass yield per hectare. The toxic effects of liquid waste were assessed using tests analyzing germination/seed root elongation of Sinapsis alba. Leachates collected from condensation tanks of a gas generator were introduced to soil at the following doses: 100, 1000 and 10,000 mg kg−1 DM of soil. The usefulness of Silphium perfoliatum L. for gasification was confirmed. The factors of plant cultivation affected the biomass yield, the volume and calorific value of syngas and the amount of biochar. It was determined that the components found in condensates demonstrate a phytotoxic effect, restricting or inhibiting germination and root elongation of Sinapsis alba. Due to this potential hazard, the possibility of its release to the environment should be limited. Most of the biomass is only used for heating purposes, but the syngas obtained from the cup plant can be used to power cogeneration systems, which, apart from heat, also generate electricity.

scholarly journals Life-Cycle Assessment of a Rural Terraced House: A Struggle with Sustainability of Building Renovations

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2472
Author(s):  
Karel Struhala ◽  
Milan Ostrý
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
New Construction ◽  
Consumption Energy

Contemporary research stresses the need to reduce mankind’s environmental impacts and achieve sustainability. One of the keys to this is the construction sector. New buildings have to comply with strict limits regarding resource consumption (energy, water use, etc.). However, they make up only a fraction of the existing building stock. Renovations of existing buildings are therefore essential for the reduction of the environmental impacts in the construction sector. This paper illustrates the situation using a case study of a rural terraced house in a village near Brno, Czech Republic. It compares the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of the original house and its proposed renovation as well as demolition followed by new construction. The LCA covers both the initial embodied environmental impacts (EEIs) and the 60-year operation of the house with several variants of energy sources. The results show that the proposed renovation would reduce overall environmental impacts (OEIs) of the house by up to 90% and the demolition and new construction by up to 93% depending on the selected energy sources. As such, the results confirm the importance of renovations and the installation of environmentally-friendly energy sources for achieving sustainability in the construction sector. They also show the desirability of the replacement of inefficient old buildings by new construction in specific cases.

THE ROLE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN REGIONAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36
Author(s):  
Branko Blazevic
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
Geothermal Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Regional Tourism ◽  
Regional Sustainable Development

In this paper, the author focuses on the fundamental hypothesis that the adoption of a concept of regional sustainable development and the use of renewable energy sources are preconditions to organising an acceptable regional tourism offering based on an eco-philosophy The renewable development of tourism regions is the basic framework for research regarding opportunities for introducing renewable energy sources such as hydro energy, wind power, solar energy, geothermal energy, and biomass energy. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the real opportunities that exist for substituting conventional energy sources with renewable ones and the role of renewables in regional development from economic, environmental and sociological viewpoints. It should also be noted that renewable energy sources have a strong regional importance and can contribute significantly to local employment.

scholarly journals Sustainable Management of Biomass Energy in Rural and Urban Context

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
János Szendrei ◽  
Edit Szűcs ◽  
Gábor Grasselli
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Biomass Combustion ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Urban Energy ◽  
Solid Biomass

The most sustainable energy is the energy not used. Best way to (not) use energy is the proper design of a facility or an energy consuming system. The remaining energy needs have to be covered with energy utilisation of waste materials, renewable energy sources and, until the previous solutions are not sufficient to satisfy the energy demands, the last is the use of conventional fossil and nuclear energy sources. In terms of renewable energy, biomass has an important role today. However, there is a difference between available inputs and utilisation when considering biomass energy possibilities in rural and urban context. This paper suggests biomass energy possibilities that are recommendable in rural context: possibilities of solid biomass combustion, of liquid biofuels and of anaerobe digestion. Also important are possibilities of solid biomass combustion and wet biomass digestion for urban energy production, although with some remarks on system considerations of urban biomass. Most advanced solutions for sustainable management of biomass energy include circular systems, both in rural and urban context, as recommended.

Selection of Renewable Energy Sources for Buildings

2018 ◽  
pp. 69-97
Author(s):  
Hanna Irena Jędrzejuk
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Legal Regulations ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Standard Application ◽  
Technical Systems

This chapter describes a general issue of selecting renewable energy sources (RES) and technical systems. To achieve the nearly zero-energy building (nZEB) standard, application of an RES (e.g., solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and biomass energy) is necessary. Each type of RES has specific characteristics and can be used to produce electricity and/or heat in certain systems. A short review of various systems using renewable energy sources is presented. To find the required and satisfactory solution that guaranties meeting the nZEB standard, an analysis must be carried out considering a number of aspects: local availability, structure and time-dependence of energy demand, building construction, economic conditions, legal regulations, and specific requirements. Finally, two examples of modernisation towards the nZEB standard are included.

Analyzing the Efficiency of Renewable Energy Sources in Terms of Electricity Generation

2021 ◽  
pp. 155-176
Author(s):  
Talip Arsu
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Geothermal Energy ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Efficiency Determination ◽  
Energy Supply Security

Electricity generation, one of the renewable energy sources (RES), delivers a solution for various problems such as energy efficiency, energy supply security, reducing foreign dependency, and especially, environmental concerns. However, the solutions provided for these problems bring along the question of which RESs are produced more effectively. Therefore, in this research, RESs used for electricity generation in Turkey were analyzed by using generation data to show which one is more effective. Bi-objective multiple-criteria data envelopment analysis (BiO-MCDEA) method, a goal programming-based efficiency determination method, was used for the efficiency analysis conducted for five years between the years of 2014 and 2018. As a result of the analysis, geothermal energy came into prominence as the most effective RES for all of the years included in the solution. Geothermal energy was followed by biomass energy, wind energy, hydroelectric, and solar energy, respectively.

scholarly journals Integrated Optimization Design of Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power System Coupled with Solar and Biomass Energy

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizhi Zhang ◽  
Fan Li ◽  
Bo Sun ◽  
Chenghui Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Optimization Design ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Optimal Operation ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
System Structure ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Combined Cooling

The combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems coupled with solar energy and biomass energy can meet the needs of island or rural decentralized and small-scale integrated energy use, which have become increasingly popular in recent years. This study presents a renewable energy sources integrated combined cooling, heating, and power (RES-CCHP) system, driven by a biogas fueled internal combustion engine (ICE) and photovoltaic (PV) panels, which is different from the traditional natural gas CCHP system. Owing to the solar energy volatility and the constraint of biomass gas production, the traditional optimization design method is no longer applicable. To improve the energetic, economic and environmental performances of the system, an integrated design method with renewable energy capacity, power equipment capacity and key operating parameters as optimization variables is proposed. In addition, a case study of a small farm in Jinan, China, is conducted to verify the feasibility of the proposed RES–CCHP system structure and the corresponding optimal operation strategy. The results illustrate that the implementation of the optimal design is energy-efficient, economical and environmentally-friendly. The values of primary energy saving ratio, annual total cost saving rate and carbon emission reduction ratio are 20.94%, 11.73% and 40.79%, respectively. Finally, the influence of the volatility of renewable energy sources on the optimization method is analyzed, which shows that the RES–CCHP system and the method proposed are robust.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Performance of Various Energy Sources Used in the Czech Republic

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5833
Author(s):  
Markéta Šerešová ◽  
Jiří Štefanica ◽  
Monika Vitvarová ◽  
Kristina Zakuciová ◽  
Petr Wolf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Cycle Performance ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Black Coal ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Impact

As both the human population and living standards grow, so does the worldwide electricity demand. However, the power sector is also one of the biggest environmental polluters. Therefore, options are currently being sought aimed at reducing environmental impacts, one of the potential tools for which concerns the use of life cycle assessment. This study, therefore, focuses on the most commonly used nonrenewable (black coal, lignite, natural gas and nuclear) and renewable sources (wind, hydro and photovoltaic) in the Czech Republic in terms of their construction, operation, and decommissioning periods. Environmental impacts are assessed via the use of selected impact categories by way of product environmental footprint methodology. The results highlight the potential environmental impacts associated with electricity generation for each of the primary energy sources. Black coal and lignite power plants were found to contribute most to the global warming, resource use, energy carriers and respiratory inorganics categories. On the other hand, the impact on water depletion and resource use, mineral and metals categories were found to be most significantly affected by the production of electricity from photovoltaic power plants. Finally, it is proposed that the results be employed to design scenarios for the future energy mix.

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