Sustainability evaluation of high value-added products

In this report the authors present a brief overview of the methods that are presently in use for evaluating sustainability. They discuss more deeply the pros and cons of the various methods, with a strong focus on the LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) method. Given is an overview of the available literature on sustainability of high added-value products and present the main conclusions from this literature

Options for sustainability improvement and biomass use in Malaysia : Palm oil production chain and biorefineries for non-food use of residues and by-products including other agricultural crops

The Division Biobased Products of the WUR institute A&F was approached by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality with a policy support question about the potential of Bio-based economic developments in Malaysia. Malaysia is one of the major international trade partners of the Netherlands. Annually 4.500 – 5.000 million euro’s worth of goods are imported from Malaysia. The Netherlands are Malaysia’s most important trading partner within the EU. The volume of agricultural commodities and especially palm oil products are substantial and the use of biobased resources for the generation of energy or biofuel has created a fierce debate on the sustainability of expansion of use of the biomass resources. In the context of the international policy to support the transition towards a biobased economy the potential resources that can be used for production of materials, chemicals and energy needs to be indentified. This report is reviewing the options that the current Malaysian agro-forestry sector may provide for sustainable developments. The main conclusions are that especially the currently underutilized residues and polluting wastes from the palm oil production have big potential for value addition and technical product development that also could substantially contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Examples can be found in fermentation of residues and effluents to produce bio-gas / ethanol or bioplastics but also fibre boards and building materials. Demonstration on pilot scale of such technologies could create new business and bilateral interactions between Malaysia and The Netherlands

Economic feasibility of second generation ethanol with and without indirect greenhouse gas reduction benefits : a simulation for Brazil

The aim of this study is to determine the economic feasibility of second generation ethanol from sugar cane, whereby traditional ethanol production is combined with the use of lignocellulosic biomass for ethanol production. By applying cost-benefit analysis, this study evaluated the viability of the second generation ethanol technology as an alternative to conventional sugarcaneto- ethanol, both in terms of processing technology, and of land use impacts. Furthermore, an attempt is made to analyze impacts on CO2 mitigation and land use in economic. The research results indicate that: i) from an economic point of view, the first generation plant is clearly preferable. With IRR of 18.7%, Minimum selling price of US$0.31 per liter, and NPV of US$ 213.0 million, first generation ethanol production from sugar cane has a large economic advantage compared to the second generation plant (IRR of 13.5%, Minimum selling price of US$0.40 per liter and NPV of US$ 78.5 million). ii) from an environmental point of view, a second generation biofuel that makes use of lignocellulosic biomass plant is clearly preferable. The second generation plant uses 49.6% less land and avoids a CO2 debt average of 942,282 ton per year throughout the life of the project. iii) Productivity gains improve profitability (IRR) and reduce biofuel prices (Minimum selling prices). Increasing the yearlt Ethanol and sugar cane productivity’s growth rate from 0.5% to 4.0% leads to a range of IRR from 17.5% to 21.5%, and of price from 0.29 US$/l to 0.32 US$/l for first generation plant, and from 13.2% to 14.2% and of price from 0.39 US$/l to 0.40 US$/l for second generation plant. iv) Process improvement shows little economic impact but matters on environmental side because less land is needed. Up to 10% more land can be saved compared to least advanced technology. v) Energy conversion development can improve income of the plant, especially for the first generation plant. Each 5% improvement can lead to 0.6% change in IRR project, and a reduction of 1.1% in the Minimum selling price. vi) Equipment investment is the most sensitive parameter to alter biofuel prices and profitability. The conventional plant is more sensitive to equipment investment, land prices and trash costs in this order while second generation plant is sensitive to equipment investment and almost insensitive to land prices and trash costs changes. vii) Assuming an average payment of US$29.43 or higher per ton CO2 debt, the second generation plant may become a competing alternative to conventional, first generation plant. On average, the technology could be paid at reasonable cost (Revenue average of US$ 27.7 million). viii) Productivity gains reduce the repayment time of CO2 debt, with ethanol productivity having a stronger contribution. Besides, from a growth rate of ethanol and sugar cane productivity from 0.5% to 4.0% per year, the repayment time changes from 11.8 years to a range between 6.5 years and 5.5 years and 13 and 9.5, respectively. In conclusion, the appraisal model represents a useful tool for analyzing many issues related with the dilemmas involved in biofuel production

A method for high accuracy geo-referencing of data from field operations

In this project a Real Time Kinematic Global Position System (RTKGPS) was used to provide high accuracy field operation data. The deviations and errors of the RTKGPS when used in static and dynamic modes were studied as well as the accuracy of RTK GPS in eastern Denmark (55 40 N, 12 18 E) during a 24-hour test. The project introduced a novel real time data acquisition system and post-processing algorithms for improving positioning by merging RTKGPS data with vehicle altitude

Research activities in the first two cycles of European Biosystems engineering university studies - Situation in the Netherlands

Wageningen University has implemented the bachelor – master model by 2003. The biosystems related programmes of Wageningen University are the BSc Agrotechnology and the MSc Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering. The bachelor programme has a size of 180 credits and the master programme a size of 120 credits. Both 1st and 2nd cycle programmes have a strong focus on research. A thesis is part of both programmes; the size is 12 credits for the bachelor thesis (to be increased to 24 by 2010) and 36 for the master thesis. An important difference between the bachelor and the master thesis is the level of independence. The bachelor thesis work is more structured than the master thesis work. Most of the thesis work is related to ongoing research projects. In the bachelor programme there are several courses that confront students with research and in which they learn research and academic skills. In this way the students gradually learn what research is and how to do it. In the master programme there are only a few courses related to the research skills; the students that start with the master are supposed to posses these skills. The BSc degree is not considered as an end point but is a pivot point for choosing a master. Therefore there are no research positions for persons having only BSc degree. Research positions in industry require at least a MSc degree but the trend is that more and more a PhD is required. Senior research positions within the research organizations require in most cased a PhD and within the university it is a basic requirement

Analysis Of Bakery Properties Of Grain Of New Varieties And Lines Of Wheat Spelts

There were studied technological properties of grain of different varieties and lines of wheat spelt. There were analyzed differences between the quality of bread of flour of the highest sort and wholemeal, demonstrated the topicality of the differentiated approach to technological properties of flour for its production, elucidated the possibility of using wholemeal of wheat spelt for producing bread of the increased biological value.It was experimentally confirmed that a value of gloss of the bread surface and its general assessment is influenced by the protein content in grain. The gluten content influences bread quality parameters a bit less. At the same time, the index of gluten deformation also influences the crust surface, size of pores, general assessment of the bread quality. Its quality is high in all studied samples. The highest general culinary mark is put to bread, obtained from flour of the variety Zorya of Ukraine, LPP 3132, lines NAK34/12-2 and TV 1100.Based on studied of organoleptic, physical-chemical parameters of bread, there was confirmed the possibility of the promising use of wheat spelt grain in the bakery technology for raising the quality of products and widening the assortment

Investigation of the Influence of Antimicrobial Preparations on the Shelf Life of Broccoli Cabbage

Studies of the effect of antimicrobial agents on the conservation of broccoli cabbage have been conducted. The late hybrids of broccoli Ironman F1, Agassi F1, Beaumont F1, grown under the conditions of the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine were studied. The content of the main components of the chemical composition (dry substances, dry soluble substances, sugars, vitamin C) of broccoli cabbage is analyzed depending on the characteristics of the hybrid. The effect of antimicrobial treatment on the natural loss of cabbage, microbiological lesions during storage has been studied. Antimicrobial preparations Baikal EM-1 (dilution of working solution in water 1: 500), 0.5 % solution of citric, 0.2 % benzoic, 0.05 % sorbic acid, and also 0.5:0.5 % solution of vitamins C and P (ascorutin), water for the preparation of solutions had a temperature of 23 ... 25 °C.The processing of fruit and vegetable products with various chemicals is aimed at prolonging the shelf life, increasing the shelf life and increasing the yield of commercial products at the end of storage.It is established that the natural loss of broccoli cabbage during storage depends on the characteristics of the hybrid and the type of antimicrobial preparation. Treatment with preparations increases the shelf life of broccoli cabbage to 30 - 50 days with a natural weight loss of up to 6.1 %, and ensures minimal disease burden.Treatment with antimicrobial agents reduces the loss of dry substances, dry soluble substances, sugars, vitamin C. The most effective is the treatment of broccoli with acids. It has been established that ascorbic acid is contained in broccoli cabbage, with hydrolysis from which ascorbic acid is split off, the content of which is increased.The maximum effective storage of broccoli cabbage at a temperature of 0 ± 1 oС and relative humidity of 90-95 %, pretreatment with preparations of antimicrobial action.The proposed method of processing broccoli cabbage with antimicrobial preparations before storage allows the use of vegetable raw materials for post-harvest treatment. In the development of new, low-cost, environmentally friendly and affordable storage technologies, this is an important technique

Understanding the links between agriculture and health:

CONTENTS: 1.Overview / Corinna Hawkes and Marie T. Ruel; 2. Agriculture, Food, and Health: Perspectives on a Long Relationship / Tim Lang; 3. Agricultural Technology and Health / Michael Lipton, Saurabh Sinha, and Rachel Blackman; 4. Agriculture and Nutrition Linkages: Old Lessons and New Paradigms / Corinna Hawkes and Marie T. Ruel; 5. Agriculture, Food Safety, and Foodborne Diseases / Ewen C. D. Todd and Clare Narrod; 6. Agriculture, Malaria, and Water-Associated Diseases / Clifford M. Mutero, Matthew McCartney, and Eline Boelee; 7. Agriculture and HIV/AIDS / Stuart Gillespie; 8. Occupational Health Hazards of Agriculture / Donald Cole; 9. Livestock and Health / Maria Angeles O. Catelo; 10. Fish and Health / Nanna Roos, Md. Abdul Wahab, Chhoun Chamnan, and Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted; 11. Agroforesty, Nutrition, and Health / Brent Swallow and Sophie Ochola; 12. Agrobiodiversity, Nutrition, and Health / Timothy Johns, Ifeyironwa Francisca Smith, and Pablo B. Eyzaguirre; 13. Urban Agriculture and Health / Diana Lee-Smith and Gordon Prain; 14. Agriculture, Environment, and Health: Toward Sustainable Solutions / Rachel Nugent and Axel Drescher; 15. Agriculture and Health in the Policymaking Process / Todd Benson; 16. Opportunities for Improving the Synergies between Agriculture and Health / Robert Bos.Agriculture, Agroforestry, Health and nutrition, Agricultural technology, Food safety, Malaria, Diseases, HIV/AIDS, Sustainability, Biodiversity, Agrobiodiversity, Environmental management,