Master's Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject Environmental Sciences, University of Teesside, language: English, abstract: Biofuels; this renewable source of energy is gaining popularity all over the world to fulfil the global energy requirements. In Europe, including the UK, biofuel is used as liquid transport fuel. However, it is not used as widely as what people estimate. Therefore, the world is facing the problems of harnessing of renewable energy resources, and there are greater concerns about the emissions produced by burning of fossil fuels, such as petroleum and coal, it’s use is unquantifiable and hampering the world’s living ecosystem. Accomplishing the ever increasing demand of energy and to mitigate the problems of climate change by reducing GHG emissions from transport fuel and to promote fuel security and reduces the imports of fuels from energy rich countries, European Union has formulated Biofuel Directive (2003/30/EC) stating that the member states will implement this policy to include at least 5.75% of biofuel in the fossil fuel and increased the recent scenarios of 7% to 20% by 2020. Supporting the directive, the UK government has formulated RTFO policy to implement to reduce the use of fossil fuel by 5% in 2010 and follow the process to obtain the renewable target. Basically, this study focuses on the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of biofuel crops as a source of biofuel, such as biodiesel and bioethanol to be used in transportation sectors to meet the renewable target by reducing the GHG emissions and imports of fossil fuel. The subject of the study also gives an overview of the comparative study of the impacts of growing biofuel crops in Nepal and in the UK on environmental and socio-economic issues, like impacts on land, water, biodiversity, and food and energy security. At the outcome of the study, will it be helpful to coin similar model to RTFO in Nepal and gives hint how the model is unfair to implement in Nepal.
Being depletable, scarce, hostile to the environment and non-renewable in nature, petroleum-based fossil fuels are diminishing much faster than a decade ago. These scarcity concerns, negative environmental consequences and the gradual depletion of petroleum fuels have led to explore alternate, inexhaustible and renewable energy resources. One promising energy resource is biofuel, which is produced from renewable biomass feedstock. The reasons for sustainability and viability of biofuels are that they are economically feasible to produce and have positive environmental impacts. Since biofuels research is quite diversified, the sustainability and viability of biofuels face many challenges. This thesis investigates existing and future technological and knowledge challenges and proposes new methods to improve bio-energy sustainability both economically and environmentally. The economic viability of biofuels is associated with biofuel cost estimation, the revenue earned, and the profit gained. This research evaluates the cost risk escalation and identifies the key cost factors associated with the economic viability of biofuels. To achieve this objective, this research presents an innovative methodology to perform probabilistic economic risk analysis of biofuel, and particularly biodiesel. Being stochastic in nature, the proposed methodology addresses the shortcomings of traditional biodiesel process economics and provides flexibility to deal with uncertainty in biodiesel process economics. The environmental aspects covered in this research are environmental impacts caused by all inputs to the biodiesel production process, including biomass feedstock, fresh or recycled materials and energy streams and outputs such as biodiesel, by-products and waste materials discharged into the soil and air. To address the influences of potential risks on biodiesel production and its environmental impacts, this thesis presents a new approach to perform probabilistic economic modelling, qualitative and quantitative risk assessment of biodiesel key performance indicators (KPIs) and life cycle assessment (LCA) of biodiesel fuel. Interpretive structural modelling (ISM) is used to model causation behaviour of the biodiesel process, operations and design risk factors. The basic premise of ISM is that qualitative interdependent relationships among various risk factors are achieved through experts' opinions and a scientific approach. This thesis develops an objective risk analysis approach to integrate ISM and uses a Bayesian network (BN) to define the relationship and the strength of relationship among various cost related risk factors and studies their impact on biodiesel process economics. Addressing global environmental issues and considering the vital need of edible oil for food, this thesis also presents the LCA of biodiesel being produced from inedible oils and waste cooking oil (WCO) and performs the investigation using a systematic approach of life cycle thinking. The negative environmental consequences of biodiesel fuels on climate change (global warming), ecosystem quality and human health are explored in detail. The study also identifies the total environmental impacts of using these biomass feedstocks. A comparative LCA study of technological processes identifies which biodiesel production process has the most and the fewest ecological impacts and energy requirements. Finally, this research develops advanced methods for biodiesel process economics such as process value at risk (VaR), to be used in assessing the performance of biodiesel systems. The stochastic modelling process and interdependence of a BN format help to investigate the most significant risk factors in the biodiesel process and operations. The results facilitate the decision-making process for new product development (NPD) and process development, especially at a large industrial scale. Applications of the proposed economic risk assessment framework along with an LCA study help to develop effective biodiesel policy-making by describing scientific uncertainties related to process economics and the environmental impact of biodiesel production technologies. In another arena of application, this thesis helps to develop a strategic decision-making process for supply chain management of biomass feedstock as well as biodiesel. It also enhances the biodiesel process-based risk informed decision-making process by incorporating techno-economic and life cycle accounting decisions.
Food Waste to Valuable Resources: Applications and Management compiles current information pertaining to food waste, placing particular emphasis on the themes of food waste management, biorefineries, valuable specialty products and technoeconomic analysis. Following its introduction, this book explores new valuable resource technologies, the bioeconomy, the technoeconomical evaluation of food-waste-based biorefineries, and the policies and regulations related to a food-waste-based economy. It is an ideal reference for researchers and industry professionals working in the areas of food waste valorization, food science and technology, food producers, policymakers and NGOs, environmental technologists, environmental engineers, and students studying environmental engineering, food science, and more. Presents recent advances, trends and challenges related to food waste valorization Contains invaluable knowledge on of food waste management, biorefineries, valuable specialty products and technoeconomic analysis Highlights modern advances and applications of food waste bioresources in various products’ recovery
People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but significantly more for producing things such as food, paper and cotton clothes. The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. Indirect use refers to the 'virtual water' embedded in tradable goods and commodities, such as cereals, sugar or cotton. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. This book offers a complete and up-to-date overview of the global standard on water footprint assessment as developed by the Water Footprint Network. More specifically it: o Provides a comprehensive set of methods for water footprint assessment o Shows how water footprints can be calculated for individual processes and products, as well as for consumers, nations and businesses o Contains detailed worked examples of how to calculate green, blue and grey water footprints o Describes how to assess the sustainability of the aggregated water footprint within a river basin or the water footprint of a specific product o Includes an extensive library of possible measures that can contribute to water footprint reduction
Food Industry Wastes: Assessment and Recuperation of Commodities presents emerging techniques and opportunities for the treatment of food wastes, the reduction of water footprint, and creating sustainable food systems. Written by a team of experts from around the world, this book provides a guide for implementing bioprocessing techniques. It also helps researchers develop new options for the recuperation of these wastes for community benefit. More than 34 million tons of food waste was generated in the United States in 2009, at a cost of approximately $43 billion. And while less than three percent of that waste was recovered and recycled, there is growing interest and development in recovering and recycling food waste. These processes have the potential not only to reduce greenhouse gases, but to provide energy and resources for other purposes. This book examines these topics in detail, starting with sources, characterization and composition of food wastes, and development of green production strategies. The book then turns to treatment techniques such as solid-state fermentation and anaerobic digestion of solid food waste for biogas and fertilizer. A deep section on innovative biocatalysts and bioreactors follows, encompassing hydrogen generation and thermophilic aerobic bioprocessing technologies. Rounding out the volume are extensive sections on water footprints, including electricity generation from microbial fuel cells (MFCs), and life cycle assessments. Food waste is an area of focus for a wide range of related industries from food science to energy and engineering Outlines the development of green product strategies International authoring team represents the leading edge in research and development Highlights leading trends of current research as well as future opportunities for reusing food waste
Life-Cycle Assessment of Biorefineries, the sixth and last book in the series on biomass-biorefineries discusses the unprecedented growth and development in the emerging concept of a global bio-based economy in which biomass-based biorefineries have attained center stage for the production of fuels and chemicals. It is envisaged that by 2020 a majority of chemicals currently being produced through a chemical route will be produced via a bio-based route. Agro-industrial residues, municipal solid wastes, and forestry wastes have been considered as the most significant feedstocks for such bio-refineries. However, for the techno-economic success of such biorefineries, it is of prime and utmost importance to understand their lifecycle assessment for various aspects. Provides state-of-art information on the basics and fundamental principles of LCA for biorefineries Contains key features for the education and understanding of integrated biorefineries Presents models that are used to cope with land-use changes and their effects on biorefineries Includes relevant case studies that illustrate main points
Greenhouse gas emissions by the livestock sector could be cut by as much as 30 percent through the wider use of existing best practices and technologies. FAO conducted a detailed analysis of GHG emissions at multiple stages of various livestock supply chains, including the production and transport of animal feed, on-farm energy use, emissions from animal digestion and manure decay, as well as the post-slaughter transport, refrigeration and packaging of animal products. This report represents the most comprehensive estimate made to-date of livestocks contribution to global warming as well as the sectors potential to help tackle the problem. This publication is aimed at professionals in food and agriculture as well as policy makers.
Tourism is an activity that anyone can take part in, regardless of their age, gender, nationality or level of income. This makes tourism one of the most rapidly developing industries in the world. Despite the number of benefits which tourism produces, it also has significant negative impacts on the environment. To minimise the scope of these negative impacts, joint efforts combining tourism and environmental management are called for. This book examines the application of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method and lifecycle thinking as a tool to generate more accurate and holistic appraisals of the environmental impacts of tourism. Looking at the issue of sustainability of tourism operations, the book evaluates how it can be improved. It highlights the potential of LCA to affect tourist behaviour and contribute to tourism policy-making and managerial practice. This book provides a valuable resource for undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers interested in sustainable tourism, sustainable development and environmental impact assessment.
Interdisciplinary exploration of the best scientific and political strategies to attain global sustainability, from many Nobel Prize-winning and other high-profile authors.
