scholarly journals Edible Energy Production and Energy Return on Investment—Long-Term Analysis of Global Changes

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1011
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Bajan ◽  
Joanna Łukasiewicz ◽  
Agnieszka Poczta-Wajda ◽  
Walenty Poczta
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Energy Return On Investment

The projected increase in the world’s population requires an increase in the production of edible energy that would meet the associated increased demand for food. However, food production is strongly dependent on the use of energy, mainly from fossil fuels, the extraction of which requires increasing input due to the depletion of the most easily accessible deposits. According to numerous estimations, the world’s energy production will be dependent on fossil fuels at least to 2050. Therefore, it is vital to increase the energy efficiency of production, including food production. One method to measure energy efficiency is the energy return on investment (EROI), which is the ratio of the amount of energy produced to the amount of energy consumed in the production process. The literature lacks comparable EROI calculations concerning global food production and the existing studies only include crop production. The aim of this study was to calculate the EROI of edible crop and animal production in the long term worldwide and to indicate the relationships resulting from its changes. The research takes into account edible crop and animal production in agriculture and the direct consumption of fossil fuels and electricity. The analysis showed that although the most underdeveloped regions have the highest EROI, the production of edible energy there is usually insufficient to meet the food needs of the population. On the other hand, the lowest EROI was observed in highly developed regions, where production ensures food self-sufficiency. However, the changes that have taken place in Europe since the 1990s indicate an opportunity to simultaneously reduce the direct use of energy in agriculture and increase the production of edible energy, thus improving the EROI.

A Fuels Cost Comparison of Gasoline and Electric Powered Vehicles

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Ford ◽  
Paul Yanik
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cost Comparison ◽  
Environmentally Safe ◽  
Personal Transportation ◽  
Fuel Costs

Per British thermal unit (BTU), in the United States, gasoline currently costs about 7.6 times as much as coal. Due to the prevalence of coal fired electricity generating stations in the country, electrically powered vehicles may provide a fuel cost savings over similar gasoline powered vehicles. Fuel costs for electric vehicles have been reported to cost about $0.045 per mile to operate. Higher efficiency, gasoline operated automobiles such as the Toyota Corolla have reported fuel costs of about $0.093 per mile. This paper provides a first glance examination of electrically powered and gasoline powered vehicles in the United States. While gasoline costs continue to rise, a cheap, environmentally safe transportation alternative is needed to maintain the flexible lifestyle currently enjoyed by Americans. The cycle energy efficiency of coal produced electricity for personal transportation is much lower than the energy efficiency of gasoline, but the large cost differences between these two forms of fossil fuels may provide a temporary fix to a looming transportation crisis in the United States. The long-term environmental effects of an electrically powered, private transportation fleet could prove catastrophic due to increased use of coal and accompanying combustion product air pollution, but clean, renewable, electricity producing technologies may support more prolific long-term use of electrically powered transportation modes.

Embodied Energy and Energy Return on Investment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Rez
Keyword(s):  
Return On Investment ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Energy Generation ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Energy Costs ◽  
Energy Return On Investment

It is nearly always the case that the energy used to make the materials dominates, whereas the energy used in shipping either the raw materials or the finished product is usually small in comparison. For most things that we use, the embodied energy is much less than the energy consumed in operational use. When considering energy generation, there are two energy costs that should be considered. There is the energy needed to build the system, which can be thought of as a ‘capital’ or investment energy, and the energy needed to provide the fuel. For fossil fuels, the energy needed to provide the fuel dominates; for renewables, the fuel is free, so there is only an investment energy. The investment energy for nuclear power is greater than the energy needed to make the fuel, but only by a factor of about 4.

Energy Return on Investment (EROI) of China's conventional fossil fuels: Historical and future trends

Energy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 352-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Hu ◽  
Charles A.S. Hall ◽  
Jianliang Wang ◽  
Lianyong Feng ◽  
Alexandre Poisson
Keyword(s):  
Return On Investment ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Energy Return On Investment

scholarly journals Food Production Security in Times of a Long-Term Energy Shortage Crisis: The Example of Poland

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4725
Author(s):  
Jacek Buko ◽  
Jarosław Duda ◽  
Adam Makowski
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Fossil Energy ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Oil And Gas Resources ◽  
External Sources ◽  
Term Energy

In countries with industrialized agriculture, the contribution of fossil energy equals or exceeds the energy provided to society in food. Poland is one of the countries which, in the absence of its own sufficient oil and gas resources, is forced to import these fossil fuels in order to benefit from modern solutions in the field of food production and distribution. This situation poses a serious threat to food security if there is a prolonged shortage of energy from such sources. Using the example of Poland, the following were identified: the causes and level of agricultural dependence on fossil fuels, energy threats to agriculture and energy source alternative to fossil fuels. The results of these considerations indicate that Poland is not a country that has irretrievably lost its ability to restore its food self-sufficiency in the event of loss of access to external sources of fossil fuels.

scholarly journals Significance of energy efficiency for energy security

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 46-52
Author(s):  
L. Jovanović ◽  
V. Radović ◽  
M. Lukinović
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Term Energy ◽  
Supply Capacity ◽  
Gas Supply

Energy security of the European Union is one of the most important parameters that determine the present and the future on the world's geopolitical scene. EU countries are characterized by: insufficient fossil fuels from their own sources, continuous increase in consumption and strict environmental regulations (which limit the use of coal and oil). From all of the above, it follows that the long-term energy security of the European Union can be ensured by increase of gas supply capacity and diversification of sources of supply. The main objective of the paper is to analyze the situation and perspective of optimizing energy efficiency in the countries of the European Union through the application of resource of energy saving and new and innovative technologies of renewable resources.

scholarly journals Potencjał energetyczny biomasy roślinnej i możliwości wykorzystania do celów energetycznych

2017 ◽  
Vol 17(32) (2) ◽  
pp. 81-92
Author(s):  
Zuzanna Jarosz
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Gas Emission ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Agricultural Census ◽  
Perennial Energy Crops

The need to ensure energy security, decouple energy production from fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emission are driving the use of renewable energy sources. The purpose of the study is to assess the energy potential of agricultural crops biomass and to indicate its potential for electricity and heat production. The data from the Agricultural Census 2010 were used for analyses. On the basis of the detailed analysis of the changes in agricultural production in the years 2010-2015 the data has been updated. Is was assumed that the changes in communes were similar to those in voivodships. The energy potential of the crop biomass was estimated taking into account surpluses of straw, hay and perennial energy crops biomass. The study shows that energy potential of the biomass without jeopardizing food production amounts at 305,8 thousand TJ per year.

scholarly journals Assessing Global Long-Term EROI of Gas: A Net-Energy Perspective on the Energy Transition

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 5112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Delannoy ◽  
Pierre-Yves Longaretti ◽  
David. J. Murphy ◽  
Emmanuel Prados
Keyword(s):  
Energy Production ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Net Energy ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Energy Return On Investment ◽  
Gross Energy ◽  
Low Carbon Energy ◽  
Standard Energy

Natural gas is expected to play an important role in the coming low-carbon energy transition. However, conventional gas resources are gradually being replaced by unconventional ones and a question remains: to what extent is net-energy production impacted by the use of lower-quality energy sources? This aspect of the energy transition was only partially explored in previous discussions. To fill this gap, this paper incorporates standard energy-return-on-investment (EROI) estimates and dynamic functions into the GlobalShift bottom-up model at a global level. We find that the energy necessary to produce gas (including direct and indirect energy and material costs) corresponds to 6.7% of the gross energy produced at present, and is growing at an exponential rate: by 2050, it will reach 23.7%. Our results highlight the necessity of viewing the energy transition through the net-energy prism and call for a greater number of EROI studies.

scholarly journals Impact of the structure of agricultural production to the financial health of farms

2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
pp. 2317-2325
Author(s):  
Daniel Kopta
Keyword(s):  
Cash Flow ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
Production Yield ◽  
Production Structure ◽  
Financial Health ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Production Losses

The first part of the paper deals with the influence of individual commodities on the profitability and risks of farms. Production structure was given thought share of twelve basic crops in total agricultural production yield. Volume of accumulated profit for five-year income was chosen as viability criterion. The research did not show that specialization in one of the commodities had significantly influenced achieved profitability. The only exception is the production of milk, which clearly lead to lower profitability. Production structure determined the risk of farms. Farms were constantly threatened by both negative profitability, and also steep fluctuations of cash flow (in other of long-term positive profitability), leading to temporary loss of solvency. The analysis showed that different types of production structures lead to different types of threats. The probability of falling into production losses, or that the loss is so great that not even cover variable costs (a farm finds itself under the point of termination of production) was calculated using the EaR method. The results again supported previous findings. Loss is highly likely to be achieved in commodities of animal production. For commodities of crop production the probability of loss was roughly a half, but the probability of exceeding a period of variable costs is higher.

scholarly journals Micronutrients in Food Production: What Can We Learn from Natural Ecosystems?

Soil Systems ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Denton-Thompson ◽  
Emma J. Sayer
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Organic Fertilizers ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Nutrient Mobilization ◽  
Widespread Application ◽  
Effective Manner

Soil micronutrients limit crop productivity in many regions worldwide, and micronutrient deficiencies affect over two billion people globally. Microbial biofertilizers could combat these issues by inoculating arable soils with microorganisms that mobilize micronutrients, increasing their availability to crop plants in an environmentally sustainable and cost-effective manner. However, the widespread application of biofertilizers is limited by complex micronutrient–microbe–plant interactions, which reduce their effectiveness under field conditions. Here, we review the current state of seven micronutrients in food production. We examine the mechanisms underpinning microbial micronutrient mobilization in natural ecosystems and synthesize the state-of-knowledge to improve our overall understanding of biofertilizers in food crop production. We demonstrate that, although soil micronutrient concentrations are strongly influenced by soil conditions, land management practices can also substantially affect micronutrient availability and uptake by plants. The effectiveness of biofertilizers varies, but several lines of evidence indicate substantial benefits in co-applying biofertilizers with conventional inorganic or organic fertilizers. Studies of micronutrient cycling in natural ecosystems provide examples of microbial taxa capable of mobilizing multiple micronutrients whilst withstanding harsh environmental conditions. Research into the mechanisms of microbial nutrient mobilization in natural ecosystems could, therefore, yield effective biofertilizers to improve crop nutrition under global changes.

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