scholarly journals FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY OF SHORT ROTATION ENERGY CROPS IN HUNGARY: A CASE STUDY

2017 ◽  
Vol XIX (3) ◽  
pp. 41-45
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Deák ◽  
Árpád Ferencz
Keyword(s):  
Energy Production ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Capital Outlay ◽  
Short Rotation ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Energy Forest ◽  
Rotation Energy ◽  
The Eu

Biomass is a readily available, renewable and environmentally friendly source of energy. Exploiting renewable organic matter for energy production is showing a growing tendency worldwide including in Hungary. Forest plantations with large numbers of plants (short rotation coppices) that provide a homogeneous, locally available raw material of various fast growing deciduous wood species are broadly supported. In our research we have investigated the financial viability of a short rotation energy forest plantation in the Kunság region of Hungary. Both the EU and Hungary provide economic incentives for the creation and propagation of bio-energy producing facilities. Our results show that the enterprise could not generate profit for the period examined without the help of such subsidies. There are several obstacles that farmers are facing such as the initial high capital outlay, technological shortcomings of the harvesting methods, high logistics costs and suppressed purchasing prices.

scholarly journals Application fields of wood as a renewable energy source in Europe

2012 ◽  
pp. 31-35
Author(s):  
Nándor Csatári
Keyword(s):  
Energy Source ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Short Rotation ◽  
Renewable Energy Production ◽  
Application Fields ◽  
The Eu

Fuelwood, and wood wastes provide almost half of the renewable energy production of the European Union. Enhancing the use of wood in renewable energy production has more constraint than wind- or solar energy. Forests in the EU member states are sustainably used, they are increasing both in terms of area, and growing stocks. There are possibilities to enhance the fallings and use more fuelwood. Short rotation coppices could fulfill the long term demand for fuelwood; because these plantations surpass the dendromass yield of forests.

scholarly journals Carbon Footprint of Different Harvesting Work Systems in Short Rotation Energy Plantations

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-126
Author(s):  
András Polgár ◽  
Adrienn Horváth ◽  
Katalin Szakálosné Mátyás ◽  
Attila László Horváth ◽  
János Rumpf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Work Systems ◽  
The Third ◽  
Short Rotation ◽  
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Energy Plantations ◽  
Rotation Energy

Abstract Almost half of the total area of Hungary is arable land. Nearly one-third of this area is poor-quality arable land where agriculture would be uneconomical. Energy plantations can be grown extremely well on poor-quality land. Currently, the carbon neutrality of wood as a raw material must also be justified, considering several factors. Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) was developed as a tool for sustainable, decision-supporting, environmental management, which is an outstanding tool for the well-established analysis of environmental impacts, although the application of it in forestry remained a challenge for the LCA community. No sector specific LCA and life cycle inventory methodology has been developed in forestry; thus, implementing such a methodology remains a big challenge. Calculated on a common functional unit (100 m3/ha wood chips, 100% energy purpose), we have performed a comparative environmental life cycle assessment for harvesting technologies of short rotation energy plantations (technology related to stands of 3 ha of poplar, 5–10 ha of willow, 20 ha of willow), specifically for the third year harvesting work system. Research results on global warming potential show the carbon footprint of harvesting work systems, the knowledge of which has a strong influence on the environmental consideration of raw material (wood chips) and also on the more precise definition of carbon sequestration capacity. The typical values of carbon balance ratio (1.37–1.46) indicate a positive carbon sequestration potential and a magnitude well within the system boundaries of the third year harvesting work system submodule. The results obtained enable the estimation and prediction of environmental impacts for the whole lifecycle of the plantation.

Modernisation of Higher Education – Willful Action or Wishful Thinking? The Case of Bulgaria

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-17
Author(s):  
Elena Blagoeva
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
National Level ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

The impact of the last global economic crisis (2008) on the European economy put a strain on higher education (HE), yet it also pushed the sector towards intensive reforms and improvements. This paper focuses on the “Strategy for the Development of Higher Education in the Republic of Bulgaria 2014-2020”. With a case study methodology, we explore the strategic endeavours of the Bulgarian government to comply with the European directions and to secure sustainable growth for the HE sector. Our research question is ‘How capable is the Bulgarian HE Strategy to overcome the economic and systemic restraints of Bulgarian higher education?’. Because the development of strategies for HE within the EU is highly contextual, a single qualitative case study was chosen as the research approach. HE institutions are not ivory towers, but subjects to a variety of external and internal forces. Within the EU, this is obviated by the fact that Universities obtain their funds from institutions such as governments, students and their families, donors, as well as EU-level programmes. Therefore, to explore how these pressures interact to affect strategic action on national level, the case method is well suited as it enabled us to study the phenomena thoroughly and deeply. The paper suggests the actions proposed within the Strategy have the potential to overcome the delay, the regional isolation and the negative impact of the economic crisis on the country. Nevertheless, the key elements on which the success or failure of this Strategy hinges are the control mechanisms and the approach to implementation. Shortcomings in these two aspects of strategic actions in HE seem to mark the difference between gaining long-term benefits and merely saving face in front of international institutions.

Storage Problems of Poplar Chips from Short Rotation Plantations with Special Emphasis on Fungal Development

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Horváth ◽  
Béla Marosvölgyi ◽  
Christine Idler ◽  
Ralf Pecenka ◽  
Hannes Lenz
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Ph Value ◽  
Wood Chips ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Fungal Development ◽  
Short Rotation ◽  
Fungal Particles

Abstract - There are several problems in storing wood chips freshly harvested from short rotation plantations, which result in quality losses as well as in dry matter and energy losses. The factors influencing the degradation of raw material are examined in this paper with special focus on fungal development. An excessive growth of fungi is connected to dry matter losses and also to an increased health risk during raw material handling. The following factors were measured during 6 months storage of poplar wood chips depending on particle size: box temperature, moisture content, pH-value, appearance of fungi in the storage and the concentration of fungal particles in the air. The results show a close connection between particle size, temperature and attack of fungi. During the storage mesophilic and termophilic species of the genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Mucor and Penicillium appeared. The concentration of fungal particles is the highest for fine chips and decreases in bigger particles. There was a special focus on the investigation of the properties of coarse chips (G 50), which represent a good compromise between handling, storage losses and health risk due to fungal development.

Producers' Response to Changes in Prices and Marketing Policies: A Case Study of Sugarcane and Paddy in Eastern U.P. by S. C. Gupta and A. Majid. New York: Asia Publishing House, 1965.

1968 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 308-309
Author(s):  
Mohammad Irshad Khan
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
The Other ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Northern India

It is alleged that the agricultural output in poor countries responds very little to movements in prices and costs because of subsistence-oriented produc¬tion and self-produced inputs. The work of Gupta and Majid is concerned with the empirical verification of the responsiveness of farmers to prices and marketing policies in a backward region. The authors' analysis of the respon¬siveness of farmers to economic incentives is based on two sets of data (concern¬ing sugarcane, cash crop, and paddy, subsistence crop) collected from the district of Deoria in Eastern U.P. (Utter Pradesh) a chronically foodgrain deficit region in northern India. In one set, they have aggregate time-series data at district level and, in the other, they have obtained data from a survey of five villages selected from 170 villages around Padrauna town in Deoria.

scholarly journals Tagasaste, leucaena and paulownia: three industrial crops for energy and hemicelluloses production

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Palma ◽  
Javier Mauricio Loaiza ◽  
Manuel J. Díaz ◽  
Juan Carlos García ◽  
Inmaculada Giráldez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Activation Energy ◽  
Acid Hydrolysis ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Energy Of Combustion ◽  
Increasing Temperature ◽  
Hydrolysis Of ◽  
Chamaecytisus Proliferus

Abstract Background Burning fast-growing trees for energy production can be an effective alternative to coal combustion. Thus, lignocellulosic material, which can be used to obtain chemicals with a high added value, is highly abundant, easily renewed and usually inexpensive. In this work, hemicellulose extraction by acid hydrolysis of plant biomass from three different crops (Chamaecytisus proliferus, Leucaena diversifolia and Paulownia trihybrid) was modelled and the resulting solid residues were used for energy production. Results The influence of the nature of the lignocellulosic raw material and the operating conditions used to extract the hemicellulose fraction on the heat capacity and activation energy of the subsequent combustion process was examined. The heat power and the activation energy of the combustion process were found to depend markedly on the hemicellulose content of the raw material. Thus, a low content in hemicelluloses resulted in a lower increased energy yield after acid hydrolysis stage. The process was also influenced by the operating conditions of the acid hydrolysis treatment, which increased the gross calorific value (GCV) of the solid residue by 0.6–9.7% relative to the starting material. In addition, the activation energy of combustion of the acid hydrolysis residues from Chamaecytisus proliferus (Tagasaste) and Paulownia trihybrid (Paulownia) was considerably lower than that for the starting materials, the difference increasing with increasing degree of conversion as well as with increasing temperature and acid concentration in the acid hydrolysis. The activation energy of combustion of the solid residues from acid hydrolysis of tagasaste and paulownia decreased markedly with increasing degree of conversion, and also with increasing temperature and acid concentration in the acid hydrolysis treatment. No similar trend was observed in Leucaena diversifolia (Leucaena) owing to its low content in hemicelluloses. Conclusions Acid hydrolysis of tagasaste, leucaena and paulownia provided a valorizable liquor containing a large amount of hemicelluloses and a solid residue with an increased heat power amenable to efficient valorization by combustion. There are many potential applications of the hemicelluloses-rich and lignin-rich fraction, for example as multi-components of bio-based feedstocks for 3D printing, for energy and other value-added chemicals.

scholarly journals The Biosimilar Landscape: An Overview of Regulatory Approvals by the EMA and FDA

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Ioana Gherghescu ◽  
M. Begoña Delgado-Charro
Keyword(s):  
Drug Administration ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
European Medicines Agency ◽  
Patient Access ◽  
Clinical Evaluations ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Us ◽  
Improve Patient ◽  
The Eu

Biosimilar medicines expand the biotherapeutic market and improve patient access. This work looked into the landscape of the European and US biosimilar products, their regulatory authorization, market availability, and clinical evaluation undergone prior to the regulatory approval. European Medicines Agency (EMEA, currently EMA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) repositories were searched to identify all biosimilar medicines approved before December 2019. Adalimumab biosimilars, and particularly their clinical evaluations, were used as a case study. In the past 13 years, the EMA has received 65 marketing authorization applications for biosimilar medicines with 55 approved biosimilars available in the EU market. Since the first biosimilar approval in 2015, the FDA has granted 26 approvals for biosimilars with only 11 being currently on the US market. Five adalimumab biosimilars have been approved in the EU and commercialized as eight different medicines through duplicate marketing authorizations. Whilst three of these are FDA-approved, the first adalimumab biosimilar will not be marketed in the US until 2023 due to Humira’s exclusivity period. The EU biosimilar market has developed faster than its US counterpart, as the latter is probably challenged by a series of patents and exclusivity periods protecting the bio-originator medicines, an issue addressed by the US’s latest ‘Biosimilar Action Plan’.

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