scholarly journals Empirical Studies on Biomass Briquette Production: A Literature Review

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (24) ◽  
pp. 8320
Author(s):  
Hívila M. P. Marreiro ◽  
Rogério S. Peruchi ◽  
Riuzuani M. B. P. Lopes ◽  
Silvia L. F. Andersen ◽  
Sayonara A. Eliziário ◽  
...  

The densification of raw material into fuel briquettes is one of the routes to convert biomass into energy. This method provides uniformity to the solid fuel, better physical and energy properties, facilitating its storage and transport, in addition to more homogeneous combustion. Given the importance of these characteristics, this work presents a literature review, emphasizing the experimental levels of the variables of the briquetting process, as well as on the most relevant quality parameters for obtaining briquettes. We also carry out a survey of the main technologies used in the production of briquettes, as well as the experimental methodologies and statistical analysis used in the planning and validation of processes. It was observed among the studies that the raw material granulometry, followed by pressure, initial moisture, compaction time and binder are the most used process variables for the production of briquettes. Other factors, such as the proportion of biomass, process temperature and thermal pre-treatments are used to obtain greater energetic and physical responses. Among the works, divergences were observed regarding the relevance and interaction of some process variables on the quality variables of the briquettes, indicating the need for the experiments to be mathematically modeled.

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.P. Bhagat

The present investigation deals with the sinterability of Goa (India) iron ore having high Fe (65.2%) content. The sinter basicity (CaO/SiO2) and its MgO were varied in the 2.0 to 2.5 and 1.5 to 3.0 range. The effect of process variables on the quality parameters of sinter namely, tumbler index (TI), reduction-degradation index (RDI) and reducibility index (RI) as well as the productivity of sinter was studied. The studies have shown that the consumption of coke (C: 74%) was inter-influenced by the sinter basicity and its MgO content. Increasing the solid fuel consumption was not a viable solution to improve TI and RI simultaneously. The content of coke in the mix could be reduced to as low as 4% through `low temperature sintering? at the balanced return fines recirculation (~ 33 wt. percent). The sintering indices in terms of productivity of sinter and its quality improve quite significantly at a higher sinter basicity (CaO/SiO2 ~ 2.5) and its lower MgO content (1.5%).


Author(s):  
Debi A. LaPlante ◽  
Heather M. Gray ◽  
Pat M. Williams ◽  
Sarah E. Nelson

Abstract. Aims: To discuss and review the latest research related to gambling expansion. Method: We completed a literature review and empirical comparison of peer reviewed findings related to gambling expansion and subsequent gambling-related changes among the population. Results: Although gambling expansion is associated with changes in gambling and gambling-related problems, empirical studies suggest that these effects are mixed and the available literature is limited. For example, the peer review literature suggests that most post-expansion gambling outcomes (i. e., 22 of 34 possible expansion outcomes; 64.7 %) indicate no observable change or a decrease in gambling outcomes, and a minority (i. e., 12 of 34 possible expansion outcomes; 35.3 %) indicate an increase in gambling outcomes. Conclusions: Empirical data related to gambling expansion suggests that its effects are more complex than frequently considered; however, evidence-based intervention might help prepare jurisdictions to deal with potential consequences. Jurisdictions can develop and evaluate responsible gambling programs to try to mitigate the impacts of expanded gambling.


Author(s):  
Yaqoob Iqbal Memon ◽  
Sundus Saeed Qureshi ◽  
Imdad Ali Kandhar ◽  
Naeem Ahmed Qureshi ◽  
Sumbul Saeed ◽  
...  

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3271
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Izabela Baruk

The aim of this article was to identify the role of good mutual relationships with offerors for final purchasers, as well as define the meaning of the perception of offerors in the scope of listening to purchasers’ opinions and profiting from purchasers’ readiness to cooperate for the specificities of the prosumeric activity. A deep analysis of the world literature was used to prepare the theoretical part of this paper. The results of this analysis confirm the existing cognitive gap and research gap regarding mentioned aspects, including energy market. Empirical studies were conducted to reduce identified gaps. The survey method was used to collect primary data. The collected data were subjected to quantitative analysis, during which statistical analysis methods and tests were applied (Pearson chi-square independence test, V-Cramer factor analysis, Kruskal–Wallis test (KW), and exploratory factor analysis). The results of the statistical analysis and testing allowed the three research hypotheses formulated to be checked. Between the significance of good relationships with offerors and their perception, a statistically significant dependence was identified for all groups of offerors. The perception of offerors was a feature differentiating respondents’ opinions about the significance of good relationships with offerors for the two following groups: producers and traders. Additionally, the perception of offerors was a feature differentiating forms of prosumeric activity of respondents only for three interpurchase behaviors. The results obtained have a visible cognitive and applicability value. They contribute to the theory of marketing, as well as possibly facilitating the formation of good mutual relationships between offerors (including offerors of energy) and final purchasers as key partners cooperating with offerors in the marketing process. The approach presented in this paper has not been studied and analyzed so far, either in theoretical or in practical terms. This fact confirms its originality and value.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Tamás Mizik ◽  
Gábor Gyarmati

As Earth’s fossil energy resources are limited, there is a growing need for renewable resources such as biodiesel. That is the reason why the social, economic and environmental impacts of biofuels became an important research topic in the last decade. Depleted stocks of crude oil and the significant level of environmental pollution encourage researchers and professionals to seek and find solutions. The study aims to analyze the economic and sustainability issues of biodiesel production by a systematic literature review. During this process, 53 relevant studies were analyzed out of 13,069 identified articles. Every study agrees that there are several concerns about the first-generation technology; however, further generations cannot be price-competitive at this moment due to the immature technology and high production costs. However, there are promising alternatives, such as wastewater-based microalgae with up to 70% oil content, fat, oils and grease (FOG), when production cost is below 799 USD/gallon, and municipal solid waste-volatile fatty acids technology, where the raw material is free. Proper management of the co-products (mainly glycerol) is essential, especially at the currently low petroleum prices (0.29 USD/L), which can only be handled by the biorefineries. Sustainability is sometimes translated as cost efficiency, but the complex interpretation is becoming more common. Common elements of sustainability are environmental and social, as well as economic, issues.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 386
Author(s):  
Natalia Matłok ◽  
Józef Gorzelany ◽  
Adam Figiel ◽  
Maciej Balawejder

The study presents the effects of fertilisation on selected quality parameters of the dried material obtained from plants of lovage and coriander. During the crop production process, the plants were treated with two fertilisers containing substances potentially acting as elicitors. The dried material was obtained in course of a drying process carried out in optimum conditions and based on the CD-VMFD method which combines convective pre-drying (CD) at a low temperature (40 °C) with vacuum-microwave finish drying with the use of 240 W microwaves (VMFD). The quality of the dried material was evaluated through measurement of the total contents of polyphenols, total antioxidant potential (ABTS and DPPH method), and the profile of volatile compounds (headspace-solid phase microextractio-HS-SPME) as well as assessment of the colour. It was found that by applying first fertilisation (with organic components) it is possible to significantly increase the contents of both bioactive compounds and volatile substances responsible for the aroma. It was determined that the higher content of bioactive compounds was related to the composition of the first fertiliser, presumably the extract from common nettle. The study showed that the application of the first fertiliser contributed to enhanced quality parameters of the raw material obtained.


Author(s):  
Florentine U. Salmony ◽  
Dominik K. Kanbach

AbstractThe personality traits that define entrepreneurs have been of significant interest to academic research for several decades. However, previous studies have used vastly different definitions of the term “entrepreneur”, meaning their subjects have ranged from rural farmers to tech-industry start-up founders. Consequently, most research has investigated disparate sub-types of entrepreneurs, which may not allow for inferences to be made regarding the general entrepreneurial population. Despite this, studies have frequently extrapolated results from narrow sub-types to entrepreneurs in general. This variation in entrepreneur samples reduces the comparability of empirical studies and calls into question the reviews that pool results without systematic differentiation between sub-types. The present study offers a novel account by differentiating between the definitions of “entrepreneur” used in studies on entrepreneurs’ personality traits. We conduct a systematic literature review across 95 studies from 1985 to 2020. We uncover three main themes across the previous studies. First, previous research applied a wide range of definitions of the term “entrepreneur”. Second, we identify several inconsistent findings across studies, which may at least partially be due to the use of heterogeneous entrepreneur samples. Third, the few studies that distinguished between various types of entrepreneurs revealed differences between them. Our systematic differentiation between entrepreneur sub-types and our research integration offer a novel perspective that has, to date, been widely neglected in academic research. Future research should use clearly defined entrepreneurial samples and conduct more systematic investigations into the differences between entrepreneur sub-types.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174701612110540
Author(s):  
Laurel E Meyer ◽  
Lauren Porter ◽  
Meghan E Reilly ◽  
Caroline Johnson ◽  
Salman Safir ◽  
...  

Automated, wearable cameras can benefit health-related research by capturing accurate and objective information about individuals’ daily experiences. However, wearable cameras present unique privacy- and confidentiality-related risks due to the possibility of the images capturing identifying or sensitive information from participants and third parties. Although best practice guidelines for ethical research with wearable cameras have been published, limited information exists on the risks of studies using wearable cameras. The aim of this literature review was to survey risks related to using wearable cameras, and precautions taken to reduce those risks, as reported in empirical research. Forty-five publications, comprising 36 independent studies, were reviewed, and findings revealed that participants’ primary concerns with using wearable cameras included physical inconvenience and discomfort in certain situations (e.g. public settings). None of the studies reviewed reported any serious adverse events. Although it is possible that reported findings do not include all risks experienced by participants in research with wearable cameras, our findings suggest a low level of risk to participants. However, it is important that investigators adopt recommended precautions, which can promote autonomy and reduce risks, including participant discomfort.


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