Everything About Wood: 04/06/16

Wednesday, 6 April 2016

BIOENERGY IN CHINA

China has set the goal of attaining one percent of its renewable energy generation through bioenergy in 2020.

The development of bioenergy in China is needed to meet the rising energy demand.

Several institutions are involved in this development, most notably the Asian Development Bank and China's Ministry of Agriculture. There is also an added incentive to develop the bioenergy sector which is to increase the development of the rural agricultural sector.

As of 2005, bioenergy use has reached more than 20 million households in the rural areas, with methane gas as the main biofuel. Also more than 4000 bioenergy facilities produce 8 billion cubic metres every year of methane gas. By 2006 20% of "gasoline" consumed was actually a 10% ethanol-gasoline blend. (People's Daily Online. As of 2010, electricity generation by bioenergy is expected to reach 5 GW, and 30 GW by 2020. The annual use of methane gas is expected to be 19 cubic kilometers by 2010, and 40 cubic kilometers by 2020.

China is the world's third-largest producer of ethanol, after Brazil and the United States (RFA).
Although only 0.71% of the country's grain yield (3.366 million tons of grain) in 2006 was used for production of ethanol, concern has been expressed over potential conflicts between demands for food and fuel, as crop prices rose in late 2006.

Events

10–12 October 2006, Beijing, China: Asia Biofuels Conference and Expo IV.
24–27 October 2006, Beijing, China: Great Wall Renewable Energy Forum, Includes a technical conference and trade show.
7–9 November 2006; Beijing, China: Hart's 5th Annual World Refining and Fuels Conference: Asia, Hotel Kunlun.

Developments

Chinese Enterprise Wins Award for Energy Efficiency, 23 June 2007 from chinagate.com.cn. Daxu wins an Ashden Award for producing over 25,000 efficient stoves that can burn crop waste for cooking and hot water. More details available here.
CASP agreement to benefit biofuel producers in Mekong, 11 April 2007 from Biofuelreview.com. Agriculture ministers from 6 countries, Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam have endorsed the Core Agricultural Support Program, which will work toward increasing trade and investment in agriculture in the Greater Mekong Subregion. A major focus will be helping farmers reap the benefits of new energy crops and related technologies.
Chinese Biofuels Expansion Threatens Ecological Balance, March 27, 2007 from Renewable Energy Access. A recent agreement between China's top forestry authority and one of the nation's biggest energy giants to develop biofuels plantations in the southwest may come at great environmental loss to the region's forests and biological diversity.
China plans to plant an area the size of England with biofuel trees 8 February 2007 from China Daily. China will plant 130,000 square kilometres, an area the size of England, with Jatropha trees to produce oil amounting to nearly 6 million tons of biodiesel every year. The jatropha trees can also provide wood fuel for a power plant with an installed capacity of 12 million kilowatts, will account for 30% of the country's renewable energy by 2010.
Ethanol fuels hopes of China's small farmers, 29 January 2007 from The Standard. Beijing's push to create more ethanol from cassava and sugar cane may benefit farmers in Guanxi, but with China already a net-importer of tapioca and sugar it is not clear that there will be enough feedstocks to go around.
Biodiesel Sweeps China in Controversy 23 January 2007 from Renewable Energy Access. China is looking at new biodiesel feedstocks including a new variety of rapeseed, Chinese pistachio and jatropha. However, standards and regulations are lacking and concerns over food vs fuel are growing.
Biofuels eat into China's food stocks - 21 December 2006 from Asia Times Online. China has clamped down on the use of corn and other edible grains for producing biofuels due to concerns that it will impact on food security.
China Clean Energy outlines plan to expand biodiesel capacity using palm oil leavings as a feedstock (go to story) - 18 December 2006 from Biofuel Review.
China halts expansion of corn-based ethanol industry to arrest food price rise (go to story) - 20 December 2006 from newKerala.com.
Shaanxi Mothers win top environmental award, 16 June 2006 from blueskieschina.com. Shaanxi Mothers wins an Ashden Award for the fitting of almost 1,300 biogas systems in farming households across China’s Shaanxi Province. More details available here.

Policy

The Renewable Energy Law of the People's Republic of China - English translation of the law, which took effect 1 January 2006.

Targets

Target of 10% renewable energy of the country's total energy consumption by 2010.
Alternative fuels: 6 million tons by 2010 and 15 million tons by 2020.
Target of 50% use of ethanol-blended gasoline by 2010.
China has an annual production capacity of 1.02 million tons of ethanol. (source:People's Daily Online).

Issues
Biofuel Production

"Corn accounted for 76 percent of the 1.02 million tons of ethanol produced" in 2005.

Bioenergy Potential

"Non-grain crops in China could eventually produce as much as 300 million tonnes of ethanol a year, according to a report on the National Development and Reform Commission's website.

Organizations
Regional Organizations

Core Agriculture Support Program - A program that includes southern China and the countries of the Mekong Subregion in South-East Asia, that provides support for biofuel feedstock and other agricultural programs.

Goverment Organization

english.gov.net is the main English language portal for the Chinese Government. Many agencies do not yet have English language pages.

China's circulars on bioenergy policy have been co-released by the following agencies:

National Development and Reform Commission English overview of the NDRC, which is "a macro-economic regulatory department, with a mandate to develop national economic strategies". It deals with China's targets for biofuels.
- NDRC (Chinese only)
State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
Ministry of Finance The Ministry of Finance helps regulate subsidies and tax policy for bioenergy.
- MOF (Chinese)
Ministry of Agriculture (Chinese)
State Forestry Administration (Chinese)
State Administration of Taxation

Government websites (English)Edit

Cleaner Production in China with an overview of Chinese environmental law, policy and case studies relating to cleaner production and the circular economy.
China Climate Change Info-Net Information on laws, events, organizations and news dealing with climate change and renewable energy in China.

Non - Govermental Organizations (NGOs)
Companies

China National Petroleum Corporation.
- CNPC, through its subsidiary Jilin Fuel Ethanol Ltd. Co, built China's first ethanol plant using corn as a feedstock and now runs several other ethanol projects. Press Release: China's First fuel ethanol line into production in Jilin 27 November 2003.
China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (Chinese only)
- Plans to invest more than US$1 billion in ethanol projects to increase production capacity to 3 million tons.
- Currently owns an ethanol plant in Heilongjiang Province and has a 20 percent stake in another plant in Jilin Province, both using corn as a feedstock
- The company is constructing an ethanol plant, which will use cassava as a feedstock, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
- Is awaiting Government permission to build two 300,000-ton-per-year ethanol plants in Hebei Province, using corn and sweet potatoes, and Liaoning Province, using only sweet potatoes.

(source: Climate Change China Info-Net (.gov site).

BBCA (Mostly Chinese ) Large scale ethanol and biomass producer, using corn and cassava. Also doing research into cellulosic ethanol.
China Integrated Energy, China Integrated Energy, Inc. is a leading non-state-owned, integrated energy company in China engaged in three business segments: the wholesale distribution of finished oil and heavy oil products, the production and sale of biodiesel, and the operation of retail gas stations.

Publicly traded companies

At least two publicly traded companies, China Clean Energy, Inc. and Gushan, manufacture and sell significant amounts of biodiesel in China.

Publication

People's Republic of China Bio-Fuels: An Alternative Future for Agriculture 2006 prepared by Kevin Latner, Caleb O'Kray, Junyang Jiang; USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, 8 August 2006.
Environmental and Social Impact Analysis: Stora Enso Plantation project in Guangxi, China, UNDP , 5 February 2006. This analyzes the social and environmental impact of a large-scale forest plantation project. Although this project is intended to supply pulp, its impacts are the same as if it were supplying bioenergy.
Liquid Biofuels for Transportation: Chinese Potential and Implications for Sustainable Agriculture and Energy in the 21st Century (PDF file) - GTZ, 2005.
Health, Ecological, Energy And Economic Impacts Of Integrated Agricultural Bioenergy Systems In China And Institutional Strategies For Their Successful Diffusion (pdf) by John Byrne, Young-Doo Wang, William Ritter (supervisors); Center for Energy and Environment Policy, U. of Delaware, October 2004.

Other

Biomass energy in China and its potential
Rethinking China’s bioenergy future, Lin Gan - May 21, 2007

References

China - BioenergyWiki

- Wikipedia

How to Cook a Boston Butt in a Crock Pot for a BBQ

Contrary to popular belief, the Boston butt is actually the cut of meat from the upper portion of the pig's shoulder. These roasts come with fat marbled through the muscle, which lends loads of flavor to the dish. The Boston butt is used often to create pulled pork because the meat is flavorful and tender when cooked low and slow. For this reason, using a slow cooker to cook the Boston butt for several hours will result in well seasoned, tender barbecue that will fall off the bone.

Rinse the outside of the pork well with cool, running water. Pat the outside of the meat dry with a paper towel.

Rub the outside of the pork with the olive oil until the meat is coated evenly. Sprinkle the spices evenly on the meat and massage the spices in. Wrap the butt in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to marinate

Take the pork out of the refrigerator and remove the plastic. Place the butt in the slow cooker.

Top the pork with the garlic and onions. Pour the apple cider over the pork, followed by the apple cider vinegar and liquid smoke. Finish by covering the pork with water until it is completely submerged.

Turn the heat to high and cook for 3 hours. Turn the heat to medium after 3 hours and cook for another 5 hours. Turn the heat down to low to finish the cooking for 2 hours.

Take the lid off the slow cooker and use a pair of metal tongs to remove the meat and place in a large bowl.

To make barbecue, or pulled pork, use two forks to separate the meat by inserting the forks back to back in the meat and pulling in opposite directions. Top the pulled pork with your favorite barbecue sauce.

Place the slow cooker on a countertop away from the reach of children.
Never leave the slow cooker unattended while the heat is on high.

Pour the barbecue sauce on the meat after it has been removed from the slow cooker to prevent the sauce from burning.

5 to 6 lb. Boston butt
Paper towel
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
Plastic wrap
Slow cooker
6 cloves garlic, peeled
Large onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup apple cider or juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. liquid smoke

www.livestrong.com

BIOENERGY

Bioenergy is renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources. Biomass is any organic material which has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. As a fuel it may include wood, wood waste, straw, manure, sugarcane and many other byproducts from a variety of agricultural processes. By 2010, there was 35 GW (47,000,000 hp) of globally installed bioenergy capacity for electricity generation, of which 7 GW (9,400,000 hp) was in the United States.

A Stirling engine, capable of producing electricity from biomass combustion heat

In its most narrow sense it is a synonym to biofuel, which is fuel derived from biological sources. In its broader sense it includes biomass, the biological material used as a biofuel, as well as the social, economic, scientific and technical fields associated with using biological sources for energy. This is a common misconception, as bioenergy is the energy extracted from the biomass, as the biomass is the fuel and the bioenergy is the energy contained in the fuel.

There is a slight tendency for the word bioenergy to be favoured in Europe compared with biofuel in America.

Solid Biomass

Simple use of biomass fuel (Combustion of wood for heat)

One of the advantages of biomass fuel is that it is often a by-product, residue or waste-product of other processes, such as farming, animal husbandry and forestry. In theory this means there is no competition between fuel and food production, although this is not always the case. Land use, existing biomass industries and relevant conversion technologies must be considered when evaluating suitability of developing biomass as feedstock for energy.

Biomass is the material derived from recently living organisms, which includes plants, animals and their byproducts. Manure, garden waste and crop residues are all sources of biomass. It is a renewable energy source based on the carbon cycle, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal and nuclear fuels. Another source includes Animal waste, which is a persistent and unavoidable pollutant produced primarily by the animals housed in industrial-sized farms.

There are also agricultural products specifically being grown for biofuel production. These include corn, and soybeans and to some extent willow and switchgrass on a pre-commercial research level, primarily in the United States; rapeseed, wheat, sugar beet and willow (15,000 ha or 37,000 acres in Sweden) primarily in Europe; sugarcane in Brazil; palm oil and miscanthus in Southeast Asia; sorghum and cassava in China; and jatropha in India. Hemp has also been proven to work as a biofuel. Biodegradable, outputs from industry, agriculture, forestry and households can be used for biofuel production, using e.g. anaerobic digestion, to produce biogas gasification to produce syngas or by direct combustion. Examples of biodegradable waster, include straw, timber, manure, rice husks, sewage, and food waste. The use of biomass fuels can therefore contribute to waste management as well as fuel security and help to prevent or slow down climate change, although alone they are not a comprehensive solution to these problems.

Biomass can be converted to other usable forms of energy like methane gas or transportation fuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Rotting garbage, and agricultural and human waste, all release methane gas—also called "landfill gas" or "biogas." Crops, such as corn and sugar cane, can be fermented to produce the transportation fuel, ethanol. Biodiesel, another transportation fuel, can be produced from left-over food products like vegetable oils and animal fats. Also, Biomass to liquids (BTLs) and cellulosic ethanol are still under research.

Sewage Biomass

A new bioenergy sewage treatment process aimed at developing countries is now on the horizon; the Omni Processor is a self-sustaining process which uses the sewerage solids as fuel to convert sewage waste water into drinking water and electrical energy.

Electricity generation from biomass

The biomass used for electricity production ranges by region. Forest byproducts, such as wood residues, are popular in the United States. Agricultural waste is common in Mauritius (sugar cane residue) and Southeast Asia (rice husks). Animal husbandry residues, such as poultry litter, is popular in the UK.

Electricity from Sugarcane Bagasse in Brazil

Sugarcane, (Saccharum officinarum) plantation ready for harvest, Ituverava, São Paulo State, Brazil.

Sucrose accounts for little more than 30% of the chemical energy stored in the mature plant; 35% is in the leaves and stem tips, which are left in the fields during harvest, and 35% are in the fibrous material (bagasse) left over from pressing.

The production process of sugar and ethanol in Brazil takes full advantage of the energy stored in sugarcane. Part of the bagasse is currently burned at the mill to provide heat for distillation and electricity to run the machinery. This allows ethanol plants to be energetically self-sufficient and even sell surplus electricity to utilities; current production is 600 MW (800,000 hp) for self-use and 100 MW (130,000 hp) for sale. This secondary activity is expected to boom now that utilities have been induced to pay "fair price "(about US$10/GJ or US$0.036/kWh) for 10 year contracts. This is approximately half of what the World Bank considers the reference price for investing in similar projects (see below). The energy is especially valuable to utilities because it is produced mainly in the dry season when hydroelectric dams are running low. Estimates of potential power generation from bagasse range from 1,000 to 9,000 MW (1,300,000 to 12,100,000 hp), depending on technology. Higher estimates assume gasification of biomass, replacement of current low-pressure steam boilers and turbines by high-pressure ones, and use of harvest trash currently left behind in the fields. For comparison, Brazil's Angra I nuclear plant generates 657 MW (881,000 hp).

Presently, it is economically viable to extract about 288 MJ of electricity from the residues of one tonne of sugarcane, of which about 180 MJ are used in the plant itself. Thus a medium-size distillery processing 1,000,000 tonnes (980,000 long tons; 1,100,000 short tons) of sugarcane per year could sell about 5 MW (6,700 hp) of surplus electricity. At current prices, it would earn US$18 million from sugar and ethanol sales, and about US$1 million from surplus electricity sales. With advanced boiler and turbine technology, the electricity yield could be increased to 648 MJ per tonne of sugarcane, but current electricity prices do not justify the necessary investment. (According to one report, the World Bank would only finance investments in bagasse power generation if the price were at least US$19/GJ or US$0.068/kWh.)

A sugar/ethanol plant located in Piracicaba, São Paulo State. This plant produces the electricity it needs from bagasse, residuals from sugarcane left over by the milling process, and it sells the surplus electricity to the public grid.

Bagasse burning is environmentally friendly compared to other fuels like oil and coal. Its ash content is only 2.5% (against 30–50% of coal), and it contains very little sulfur. Since it burns at relatively low temperatures, it produces little nitrous oxides. Moreover, bagasse is being sold for use as a fuel (replacing heavy fuel oil) in various industries, including citrus juice concentrate, vegetable oil, ceramics, and tyre recycling. The state of São Paulo, alone used 2,000,000 tonnes (1,970,000 long tons; 2,200,000 short tons), saving about US$35 million in fuel oil imports.

Researchers working with cellulosic ethanol are trying to make the extraction of ethanol from sugarcane bagasse and other plants viable on an industrial scale.

Electricity from electrogenic micro-organisms

Another form of bioenergy can be attained from microbial fuel cells, in which chemical energy stored in wastewater or soil is converted directly into electrical energy via the metabolic processes of electrogenic micro-organisms. The power generation capability of this technology has not been economical to date, however, and this technology has found more utility for chemical treatment processes and student education.

Environmental Impact

Some forms of forest bioenergy have recently come under fire from a number of environmental organizations, including Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council, for the harmful impacts they can have on forests and the climate. Greenpeace recently released a report entitled Fuelling a BioMes, which outlines their concerns around forest bioenergy. Because any part of the tree can be burned, the harvesting of trees for energy production encourages Whole-Tree Harvesting, which removes more nutrients and soil cover than regular harvesting, and can be harmful to the long-term health of the forest. In some jurisdictions, forest biomass is increasingly consisting of elements essential to functioning forest ecosystems, including standing trees, naturally disturbed forests and remains of traditional logging operations that were previously left in the forest. Environmental groups also cite recent scientific research which has found that it can take many decades for the carbon released by burning biomass to be recaptured by regrowing trees, and even longer in low productivity areas; furthermore, logging operations may disturb forest soils and cause them to release stored carbon. In light of the pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the short term in order to mitigate the effects of climate change, a number of environmental groups are opposing the large-scale use of forest biomass in energy production.
References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Frauke Urban and Tom Mitchell 2011. Climate change, disasters and electricity generation, London: Overseas Development Institute and Institute of Development Studies.
^ "What is bioenergy?".
^ Kosinkova, Jana; Doshi, Amar; Maire, Juliette; Ristovski, Zoran; Brown, Richard; Rainey, Thomas (September 2015). "Measuring the regional availability of biomass for biofuels and the potential for microalgae".. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 49: 1271–1285. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.04.084.
^ "Bioenergy".
^ Darby, Thomas. "What is biomass renewable energy". http://www.realworldenergy.com/. External link in |website= (help).
^ "Janicki Bioenergy website". Retrieved 11 January 2015.
^ "BBC news article "Bill Gates drinks water distilled from human faeces",". Retrieved 11 January 2015.
^ "Watch Bill Gates Sip Water Made From Sewer Sludge". Forbes.
^ "- Cambrian Innovation - Biology For a Cleaner Planet™. Cambrian Innovation. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
^ MudWatt. "MudWatt Science Kit. MudWatt. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
^ Greenpeace.org.
^ "NRDC fact sheet lays out biomass basics, campaign calls for action to tell EPA our forests aren't fuel. nrdc.org. Retrieved 28 February 2015.

Everything About Wood

Blog List

Wednesday, 6 April 2016

BIOENERGY IN CHINA

Government websites (English)Edit

How to Cook a Boston Butt in a Crock Pot for a BBQ

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Warnings

Tips

Things You'll Need

BIOENERGY

Advantages and Disadvantages of Fasting for Runners

Nuffnang Ads

nuffnang ads