Pellet as a Technological Nutrient within the Circular Economy Model: Comparative Analysis of Combustion Efficiency and CO and NOx Emissions for Pellets from Olive and Almond Trees

This study analyzes the operation of Biomass System (BIO System) technology for the combustion of pellets from almond and olive trees within the circular economy model. Its aims are the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as well as waste removal and its energy use by reintroducing that waste into the production process as technological nutrient. In order to do so, combustion efficiency under optimal conditions at nominal power was analyzed. In addition, a TESTO 350-XL analyzer was employed to measure CO and NOx emissions. High combustion efficiency values were obtained, 87.7% and 86.3%, for pellets from olive tree and almond tree, respectively. The results of CO and NOx emission levels were very satisfactory. Under conditions close to nominal power, CO emission levels were 225.3 ppm at 6% O2 for pellet from almond tree and 351.6 ppm at 6% O2 for pellet from olive tree. Regarding NOx emissions, the values were 365.8 ppm at 6% O2 and 333.2 ppm at 6% O2 for pellets from almond tree and olive tree, respectively. In general, these values were below those legally established by current legislation in European countries. Therefore, BIO System technology is a perfectly feasible option in terms of energy use and circular economy.This study has been supported and co-financed by projects from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness ECO2010-15885 and ECO2013-47027-P, Andalusian Government P11-SEJ-7294 and European Union (ERDF funds)

Emissions from residential pellet combustion of an invasive acacia species

Currently, different types of raw materials are under investigation to fulfil the demand for pellet-based renewable energy. The aim of this study was to experimentally quantify and characterise the gaseous and particulate matter (PM10) emissions from the combustion of a pelletised invasive species growing in the Portuguese coastal areas. The combustion of acacia pellets in a stove used for domestic heating led to a noticeable production of environmentally relevant contaminants, such as carbon monoxide (CO, 2468 ± 485 mg MJ−1), sulphur dioxide (SO2, 222 ± 115 mg MJ−1) and nitrogen oxides (NOx, 478 ± 87 mg MJ−1). Besides gaseous pollutant emissions, substantial particle emissions (118 ± 14 mg MJ−1) were also generated. Particles consisted mostly of inorganic matter, mainly alkaline metals, sulphur and chlorine. About 25%wt. of the PM10 emitted had carbonaceous nature. The chromatographically resolved organic compounds were dominated by anhydrosugars, especially levoglucosan (284 μg g−1 PM10), and several types of phenolic compounds. Retene (8.77 μg g−1 PM10) was the chief compound among polyaromatic hydrocarbons.publishe

Investigation on co-firing of coal mine waste residues in pulverized coal combustion systems

Millions of tonnes of coal mine waste residues are piled up in dumping sites, causing serious environmental problems. Co-combustion in fluidized bed facilities is the most widespread alternative for the energy utilization of these by-products. However, no experiences have been so far reported of coal mine waste residues co-firing under pulverized fuel combustion technology. This work proves the technical feasibility of co-firing coal with up to 20% coal mine waste residues and investigates the impacts of transferring this co-firing alternative into a commercial unit. Experimental co-firing tests of coal mine waste residues were conducted on a 500 kWth pulverized fuel pilot plant. Regulated emissions (CO, CO2, SO2 and NOx) and visible flame radiation were monitored, obtaining regular and stable flicker and acceptable emissions levels for CO (200 mg/m3N) and NOx (700–800 mg/m3N). Finally, the impact analysis of co-firing coal mine waste residues in a full-scale pulverized fuel plant was performed by simulating the power cycle and combustion process in a 160 MWe pulverized coal combustion unit. Simulation results show the viability of this alternative in terms of plant efficiency, increase in power consumptions of auxiliary equipment and pollutant emissions for co-firing ratios under 10% in energy basis

Características químicas e toxicológicas de partículas de queima doméstica de biomassa

Biomass combustion for residential heating is recognised as an important source of particulate matter, not only in the ambient air, but also inside the dwellings. Exposure to biomass burning particles has been linked to a vast array of adverse health effects. The physical and chemical properties of inhaled particles are thought to greatly affect the biological responses. Over the years, many studies have focused on emission source profiles of residential biomass combustion. However, with the advent and growing market share of new small-scale appliances automatically fed with compressed biofuels, research efforts need to be devoted to the characterisation of emissions from these appliances either from new commercially available pellets or from pellets made from potentially relevant raw materials. Despite the wealth of publications on emissions and composition of particles from residential biomass combustion, the impact of this source on the indoor air quality has been scarcely studied, especially with regard to the chemical and toxicological characteristics of the particles. The two main objectives of this thesis were: i) to obtain chemical and toxicological profiles for pellet-fuelled heating systems, and ii) to evaluate the impact of traditional appliances on indoor air quality, properties of particulate matter, deposited dose in the respiratory tract and biological responses. For the fulfilment of the first objective, four types of pellets were selected (two brands of ENplus A1 certified pellets, one brand of non-certified pellets, and laboratory-produced acacia pellets) to carry out experiments in a laboratory combustion facility to determine emission factors of gaseous compounds and particulate matter (PM10). To achieve the second objective, particulate samples were collected in two households equipped with distinct combustion appliances (open fireplace and woodstove) in the absence of other indoor sources. The dose of inhaled indoor particles deposited in the human respiratory tract was estimated using an exposure dose model (ExDoM2). The chemical composition of PM10 from both laboratory experiments and residential microenvironments was analysed for water soluble inorganic ions, organic and elemental carbon and detailed organic speciation. Additionally, in samples collected indoors, major and trace elements were also determined. A battery of in vitro assays was used to assess the ecotoxicity, cytotoxicity and mutagenicity of the PM10 samples. The results obtained from the laboratory measurements indicated that the alternative woody raw material selected for pelletising contributed to a dramatic increase in particulate emissions, with distinctive chemical properties and increased toxicological potential. It was observed that even certified material does not always meet emission requirements set by the Ecodesign directive. Particles from pellet combustion were mainly composed of water soluble inorganic constituents. The carbonaceous fraction of particulate samples from commercial pellets was dominated by elemental carbon, while organic carbon was the most abundant constituent in samples from the combustion of acacia pellets. The results showed that particles from acacia pellets were the most ecotoxic and cytotoxic, while mutagenicity was not detected for any biofuel. In the sampling campaign carried out in residential microenvironments while using different combustion devices, higher exposures, higher doses in the human respiratory tract and higher toxicity of the particles collected during the operation of the open fireplace were observed, as a result of the lower combustion efficiency. When using this combustion equipment, a higher increase in particulate matter levels (over 12 times compared to background concentrations) was registered compared to that measured with the woodstove (2-fold increase). The carbonaceous material accounted for a PM10 mass fraction of about 44% in samples from the room equipped with fireplace, while the woodstove operation almost halved the total particulate carbon content. Water soluble ions and trace elements showed variable contributions to the mass of the indoor particles and were generally higher during the operation of the woodstove. Several chemical markers of biomass combustion were detected in both residential microenvironments, highlighting the input of this source to indoor particles. The bioreactivity assessment showed that particles emitted by the fireplace were the most ecotoxic and cytotoxic, while mutagenicity was not detected in any of the tested samples. Combustion-related organic compounds in indoor particles, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, displayed significant correlations with the increase in toxicity. In view of the results obtained, homeowners should be encouraged to upgrade the wood burning technology in order to reduce the products of incomplete combustion inside their dwellings.A combustão de biomassa para aquecimento residencial é reconhecida como uma fonte importante de material particulado não apenas no ar ambiente, mas também no interior das habitações. A exposição a partículas resultantes da queima de biomassa tem sido associada a um vasto leque de efeitos adversos na saúde. Sabe-se que as propriedades físicas e químicas das partículas inaladas afetam acentuadamente as respostas biológicas. Ao longo dos anos, muitos estudos tiveram como foco os perfis de emissão da combustão residencial de biomassa. No entanto, com o aparecimento e a crescente quota de mercado de novos equipamentos de pequena escala alimentados automaticamente com biocombustíveis prensados, a investigação deve ser direcionada para a caracterização das emissões desses sistemas de combustão alimentados quer com novos pellets disponíveis no mercado, quer com pellets produzidos a partir de novas matérias primas potencialmente relevantes. Apesar da abundância de publicações dedicadas às emissões e composição das partículas da queima residencial de biomassa, o impacto desta fonte na qualidade do ar interior tem sido pouco estudado, sobretudo no que diz respeito às características químicas e toxicológicas do material particulado. Os dois objetivos principais desta tese foram: i) obter os perfis químicos e toxicológicos para sistemas alimentados a pellets, e ii) avaliar o impacto de equipamentos tradicionais na qualidade do ar interior, propriedades do material particulado, dose depositada no trato respiratório e respostas biológicas. Para atingir o primeiro objetivo, foram selecionados quatro tipos de pellets (duas marcas de pellets com certificação ENplus A1, uma marca de pellets sem certificação e pellets de acácia produzidos em laboratório) para realizar experiências numa instalação laboratorial de combustão e determinar fatores de emissão de gases e material particulado (PM10). Para atingir o segundo objetivo, realizaram-se amostragens de partículas em duas habitações com equipamentos de combustão distintos (lareira aberta e recuperador de calor), na ausência de outras fontes interiores. A dose de partículas inaladas no interior das habitações e depositadas no trato respiratório humano foi estimada utilizando um modelo de exposição/dose (ExDoM2). A composição química das PM10 resultantes quer dos ensaios laboratoriais, quer dos microambientes residenciais, foi analisada em termos de iões inorgânicos solúveis em água, carbono orgânico e elementar e especiação orgânica detalhada. Adicionalmente, nas amostras de partículas colhidas no interior das habitações, foram também determinados elementos maioritários e traço. Foi utilizada uma bateria de ensaios in vitro para avaliar a ecotoxicidade, citotoxicidade e mutagenicidade das amostras de PM10. Os resultados obtidos nos ensaios laboratoriais indicaram que o material lenhoso alternativo selecionado para a peletização contribuiu para um aumento dramático das emissões de partículas, as quais apresentaram propriedades químicas distintas e um potencial toxicológico elevado. Observou-se que mesmo o material certificado nem sempre cumpre os requisitos de emissão estabelecidos pela diretiva Ecodesign. As partículas emitidas pela combustão de pellets apresentaram na sua composição maioritariamente iões inorgânicos solúveis em água. O carbono elementar dominou a fração de material carbonáceo nas partículas dos pellets comerciais, ao passo que o carbono orgânico constitui a componente mais abundante nas amostras resultantes da queima de pellets de acácia. Os resultados mostraram que as partículas dos pellets de acácia foram as mais ecotóxicas e citotóxicas, enquanto não foi detetada mutagenicidade para nenhum biocombustível. Na campanha de amostragem realizada em microambientes residenciais durante a utilização de diferentes equipamentos de combustão, observou-se uma exposição mais elevada, dose depositada no trato respiratório humano mais alta e uma toxidade superior para as partículas colhidas durante a operação da lareira aberta, refletindo a menor eficiência de combustão deste equipamento. Durante a sua utilização, foi registado um aumento superior nos níveis de material particulado (mais de 12 vezes relativamente às concentrações de fundo) em comparação com o observado para o recuperador de calor (aumento de 2 vezes). O material carbonáceo representou cerca de 44% da massa de PM10 nas amostras colhidas durante a operação da lareira, enquanto a operação do recuperador de calor reduziu quase pela metade o conteúdo total de carbono nas partículas. Os iões solúveis em água e os elementos apresentaram contribuições variáveis para a massa das partículas no interior das habitações, sendo geralmente superiores durante a operação do recuperador de calor. Em ambos os microambientes residenciais foram detetados vários traçadores químicos de combustão de biomassa, assinalando a contribuição desta fonte para as partículas interiores. A avaliação da biorreatividade revelou que as partículas emitidas pela lareira foram as mais ecotóxicas e citotóxicas, enquanto que não foi detetada mutagenicidade em quaisquer das amostras testadas. Vários constituintes detetados nas partículas internas, como os hidrocarbonetos aromáticos policíclicos, apresentaram correlações significativas com o aumento da toxicidade. Considerando os resultados obtidos, os proprietários devem ser encorajados a atualizar a tecnologia de combustão, a fim de reduzir os produtos de combustão incompleta dentro das suas habitações.Programa Doutoral em Ciências e Engenharia do Ambient

Guidelines for small scale biochar production system to optimise carbon sequestration outcome : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Bioprocessing Engineering at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Figures 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.8 & 2.9 have been removed for copyright reasons but may be accessed via their source listed in the References. They correspond respectively with Equation 1 (Brownsort, 2009), Fig 1 (Brownsort, 2009), Fig 10 (Cimò, 2014), Fig 4 (Antal & Grønli, 2003), Fig 3 (Antal & Grønli, 2003) & Fig 1 (Neves et al., 2011).Biochar is made in a 60 kg batch pyrolysis reactor developed by Massey University in both prior work and during this project. This thesis details the design and control features necessary to produce biochar (charcoal) at temperatures ranging from 400-700°C. It also examines the emissions abatement necessary to achieve the best possible carbon footprint by combusting the gases to avoid release to the atmosphere. The feedstock for this work was Pinus radiata without bark. The biochar reactor is a vertical drum mounted on top of a combustion chamber containing two forced draft LPG burners. The combustion gases pass through an outer annular drum and so heat the biomass through the external wall. Evolving pyrolysis gases then move toward a central perforated core inside the drum, then descend into the combustion chamber where they are partially combusted. The range of highest treatment temperatures (400-700°C) was extended by controlling the partial combustion by varying a secondary air supply into the combustion chamber (previously only 700°C was achievable). Effective emissions abatement requires complete combustion. This work reveals that the flammability of the pyrolysis gases is not high enough to self-combust and so does not remove soot and other products of incomplete combustion, such as CO and CH4. Therefore, supplementary fuel is always needed. Here, this was achieved using modulated LPG burners at the flare. This system has the problem of batch pyrolysis reactors, where the release of volatiles from the reactor is uncontrolled, making the design of a variable rate flare system a non-trivial matter. Modifications made to the reactor design in this project include insulating the flare chimney, extending it to provide sufficient residence time, and installing adjustable vents to ensure sufficient air entrainment for complete combustion. This achieved emissions of CO and CxHy (hydrocarbon, mostly CH4) of 32 and 51 ppm respectively, which were well within the US EPA limits for both suspension and fluidised bed biomass burners(2.400 and 240 ppm respectively). The net environmental impact was determined for char made at 700°C, through carbon footprint analysis. An efficient system is needed to achieve a net sequestration benefit. Here, even with emissions abatement and the above mentioned very low CO and CxHy emissions, no net benefit was achieved. With the flare working, the net fractional sequestration was -0,14 (kg C sequestered)/(kg C in biomass). Then, when the flare is turned OFF, the net fractional sequestration was -1,2401 (kg C sequestered)/(kg C in biomass). Therefore, another frame of reference for well-operated systems is that the permissible emission should be less than 0.001 (kg C emitted as CO)/(kg C biomass), without considering methane or other GHGs

Cogeneration Technology Alternatives Study (CTAS). Volume 3: Industrial processes

Cogenerating electric power and process heat in single energy conversion systems rather than separately in utility plants and in process boilers is examined in terms of cost savings. The use of various advanced energy conversion systems are examined and compared with each other and with current technology systems for their savings in fuel energy, costs, and emissions in individual plants and on a national level. About fifty industrial processes from the target energy consuming sectors were used as a basis for matching a similar number of energy conversion systems that are considered as candidate which can be made available by the 1985 to 2000 time period. The sectors considered included food, textiles, lumber, paper, chemicals, petroleum, glass, and primary metals. The energy conversion systems included steam and gas turbines, diesels, thermionics, stirling, closed cycle and steam injected gas turbines, and fuel cells. Fuels considered were coal, both coal and petroleum based residual and distillate liquid fuels, and low Btu gas obtained through the on site gasification of coal. An attempt was made to use consistent assumptions and a consistent set of ground rules specified by NASA for determining performance and cost. Data and narrative descriptions of the industrial processes are given

Studies in Pressurized Oxy-Combustion: Process Development and Control of Radiative Heat Transfer

Fossil fuels supply over 80% of the world’s primary energy and more than two-thirds of the world’s electricity. Of this, coal alone accounts for over 41% of the electricity supplied globally. Though coal is globally well-distributed and can provide stable and reliable energy on demand, it emits a large amount of carbon dioxide—a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Serious concerns over the implication of the increased global temperature have prompted the investigation into low carbon energy alternatives. The idea of capturing the carbon dioxide emitted from the combustion sources is considered as one of the viable alternatives. This would allow the utilization of vast and widespread fuel resources (coal, oil, gas and biomass) that are capable of delivering power on demand, while mitigating the potentially harmful impact of CO2. Support for carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) for power plants is, however, limited due to the high cost of electricity associated with the currently available technologies. The ultimate requirement of high pressure CO2 for either sequestration or utilization has led to the investigation of pressurized oxy-combustion technologies. Since at higher pressure, the dew point of the flue gas is higher than at atmospheric pressure, pressurized oxy-combustion can be utilized to extract the latent heat of condensation of the flue gas moisture, leading to an increase in plant efficiency. A new staged, pressurized oxy-combustion (SPOC) process for power generation with carbon capture is presented in the first part of this dissertation. The proposed staged, pressurized oxy-combustion process not only extracts the latent heat of condensation of the flue gas moisture, but unlike first generation oxy-combustion or even other pressurized oxy-combustion processes, it also minimizes the recycle of flue gas. The net plant efficiency of this proposed process is more than 25% higher than that of first generation oxy-combustion. A detailed analysis of the capital and operating costs shows that the cost of electricity generated from this process would meet the U.S. Dept. of Energy target for power generation with carbon capture. The design of a low-recycle oxy-combustion boiler is not trivial. A number of designs have been proposed, but were deemed unfit for the utility industry due to much higher heat flux than could be safely tolerated by the boiler tubes. In the second part of this dissertation, a new burner and boiler design is proposed that could be utilized in the low-recycle SPOC process. The proposed burner/boiler design 1) accommodates low flue gas recycle without exceeding wall heat flux limits, 2) increases the share of radiative over convective heat transfer in the boiler, 3) significantly reduces ash fouling and slagging, and 4) is flexible in that it is able to operate under various thermal loads. The proposed burner design would also lead to reduced soot, as compared to a normal burner. These aspects of the burner/boiler design are investigated in the dissertation

Use of principal component analysis to evaluate thermal properties and combustibility of coffee-pine wood briquettes

Submitted: February 1st, 2021 ; Accepted: March 30th, 2021 ; Published: May 21st, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] coffee production chain is a potential source of residual biomass inherent to the high productivity that can contribute to the generation of value-added products. The residues from the coffee sector are typically disposed to landfill without treatment causing potential environmental inconveniences. Briquetting presents an alternative process to produce a uniform fuel with high energy density. Briquettes facilitates easy transportation, enables better handling and storage of biomass residues. Properties such as low equilibrium moisture content, high energy density and compressive strength were reported for different coffee-pine wood briquettes treatments. Moreover, understanding of the thermal properties of the briquettes during combustion is crucial to evaluate their final application. This research is the first study that investigates the combustibility properties and kinetic parameters of the thermal decomposition of briquettes from coffee-pine wood using differential and integral thermal analysis under non-isothermal conditions. Multivariate analysis of the collected parameters through principal components analysis (PCA), was implemented to reduce the dimensionality of the data. The desired profile in the combustibility is directly related to high temperatures and long burning times, thus, the tested briquettes displayed a significant combustibility potential, reporting peak temperatures and burnout times around 600 °C and 27 minutes, respectively. Activation energy kinetic parameter in the range of 12–42 kJ mol-1 and average reactivity of 0.14–0.22 min-1 , were also found. The results revealed the not thermally hard material to degrade when compared to biomasses typically used for combustion

Constraining a hybrid volatility basis-set model for aging of wood-burning emissions using smog chamber experiments : A box-model study based on the VBS scheme of the CAMx model (v5.40)

In this study, novel wood combustion aging experiments performed at different temperatures (263 and 288 K) in a ∼ 7 m³ smog chamber were modelled using a hybrid volatility basis set (VBS) box model, representing the emission partitioning and their oxidation against OH. We combine aerosol–chemistry box-model simulations with unprecedented measurements of non-traditional volatile organic compounds (NTVOCs) from a high-resolution proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) and with organic aerosol measurements from an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). Due to this, we are able to observationally constrain the amounts of different NTVOC aerosol precursors (in the model) relative to low volatility and semi-volatile primary organic material (OM$_{sv}$), which is partitioned based on current published volatility distribution data. By comparing the NTVOC ∕ OM$_{sv}$ ratios at different temperatures, we determine the enthalpies of vaporization of primary biomass-burning organic aerosols. Further, the developed model allows for evaluating the evolution of oxidation products of the semi-volatile and volatile precursors with aging. More than 30 000 box-model simulations were performed to retrieve the combination of parameters that best fit the observed organic aerosol mass and O : C ratios. The parameters investigated include the NTVOC reaction rates and yields as well as enthalpies of vaporization and the O : C of secondary organic aerosol surrogates. Our results suggest an average ratio of NTVOCs to the sum of non-volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds of ∼ 4.75. The mass yields of these compounds determined for a wide range of atmospherically relevant temperatures and organic aerosol (OA) concentrations were predicted to vary between 8 and 30 % after 5 h of continuous aging. Based on the reaction scheme used, reaction rates of the NTVOC mixture range from 3.0 × 10$^{-11}$ to 4. 0 × 10$^{-11}$ cm³ molec$^{-1}$ s$^{-1}$. The average enthalpy of vaporization of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) surrogates was determined to be between 55 000 and 35 000 J mol$^{-1}$, which implies a yield increase of 0.03-0.06 % K$^{-1}$ with decreasing temperature. The improved VBS scheme is suitable for implementation into chemical transport models to predict the burden and oxidation state of primary and secondary biomass-burning aerosols

Life cycle assessment of energy generation from agricultural biomass via innovative energy conversion systems

The fundamental role that energy plays in all activities makes sustainability a crucial goal for the energy sector. Biomass is one of the most important parts of the energy sustainability sector due to the inevitability of biomass existence (linked to the existence of life), the interactions with other sectors (such as food, material, and human health), and the complexity of this source, which can be processed in many ways into different energy intermediates and final uses (heat, electricity, and transport fuels). Biomass can even help reduce oil dependency and global warming. However, it also has some undesirable impacts on ecosystems and the price of food commodities under direct and indirect land use change policies. One way to help minimize these impacts is to extend the range of feedstocks that can be used, particularly agricultural and forestry residues. However, a long-term successful bioenergy strategy must also take all sustainability issues into consideration. Unlike all other renewable energy resources, biomass needs conversion steps to transform raw biomass into a variety of marketable intermediate chemical and energy products as solids, liquids, and gases. The diversity of biomass nature and conversion steps creates the need for specific technologies to be developed for each case. Gasification and pyrolysis appear to be the most promising biomass conversion technologies, due to the fact that they, as highly versatile processes, can convert almost any biomass feedstock into syngas, bio-oil, and biochar with a very high carbon conversion and thermal efficiency. Furthermore, syngas and bio-oil are intermediate products that offer a large range of possible secondary conversion and final energy uses. Pyrolysis-based biochar application to the soil on a stable and carbon-rich substance can have substantial advantages from social, economic, and environmental points of view, leading to such outcomes as soil improvement, climate change mitigation, and bioenergy production, in addition to biochar production. Hydrogen from biomass is an attractive product, due to multiple applications in industrial market (chemical, refineries, metal processing, etc.), stationary power generation, and particularly in transport due to growing demand for zero-emission fuels and the implementation of fuel cell systems. Although the environmental benefits of these products in the application have been substantiated, the sustainability of the entire chain, from the production to the end uses, remains unclear. In fact, it is still to be determined whether the production of hydrogen and biochar is economical and environmentally and socially feasible considering costs linked to environmental impacts of its production process. Furthermore, no link has yet been made between the environmental performance of these products from the above-mentioned processes and the achieved economic performance. This study plans to assess the environmental burdens of the various stages of life cycle of hydrogen and biochar using life cycle assessment (LCA), a well-known technique for assessing the potential impacts associated with a product. In addition, the economic concept of shadow prices is applied to assign relative weights of socio-economic importance to the estimated life cycle impacts. This novel integration of approaches complements the assessment of considered bioenergy systems with the inclusion of long-term global environmental impacts and the investigation of trade-offs between different environmental impacts through a single monetary unit. This study also addresses the risk related to economies of scale for bio-hydrogen from small-scale gasification. With the exception of technologies for heating applications, most commercially available technologies generally suffer from poor economics at small scale. This is a particular problem because of the difficulty in supplying mainly lignocellulosic feedstocks to large plants due to insufficient resource availability, distribution, density, and logistics. Therefore, a techno-economic analysis was conducted on small-scale (100 kWth) system to identify system costs and find options to reduce production cost to the competitive rate in the market. The plant is mainly composed of a gasifier (double-bubbling fluidized bed reactor) coupled with a portable purification system (PPS: catalytic filter candles, water gas shift, and pressure swing absorption). The results show that hydrogen production cost is a function of hydrogen production efficiency and a PPS, which is a vital and high-cost unit in the system to provide purified hydrogen. Distributed hydrogen can be supplied at a competitive cost if the PPS unit cost falls by 50 percent and if the efficiency can rise by 50 percent (for example, increasing the steam-to-biomass ratio up to 1.5). Regarding the environmental impacts, this plant has a significant advantage over conventional hydrogen production technology (steam methane reforming) in global warming impact -0.213 kg CO2eq vs. 0.1 kg CO2 eq – and a relatively high score of hydrogen renewability (75 percent). In particular, the application of byproduct to generate electricity considerably affects environmental performance and has positive impacts per 1 MJ H2 produced on global warming (kg CO2 eq), marine aquatic ecotoxicity (1.4-DB eq), and cumulative energy demand (MJ). On the contrary, the significant negative impact on abiotic depletion (MJ) and acidification kg SO2 eq comes from fertilizer application and consumption in the biomass production phase. Weighing the impact assessment into the single monetary unit using three valuation methods indicates that the societal costs of biohydrogen production are higher than the societal benefits, with biomass cultivation being mostly responsible for these costs. This implies that modification in agri-food production management such as substituting chemical fertilizers with green fertilizer and policies to improve biomass supply chain can decrease environmental burdens, not only in its sector but also in linked bioenergy systems. The LCA has also been applied to a set of 50 vineyards. The results showed that the application and production of fertilizers are mainly responsible for all impact categories. After optimizing inputs by DEA, the on-orchard emissions had the greatest potential to reduce the environmental consequences in vineyards, which are connected to drops in manure and N fertilizer consumption. Furthermore, similar to the hydrogen production cycle, byproduct utilization (vineyard waste) by the installation of gasifiers could play a considerable role in improving the environmental performance of crops produced. In biochar production and application in the soil, expected savings in CO2 emissions can be explained by the substituted amount of heat and electricity production from (bio-oil and syngas) and reduced fertilizer production, amongst other things, but the highest share in total CO2 savings is attributable to the application of biochar in soils. The difference in savings of CO2 emissions can be explained by the different stable carbon content of the produced biochar. The biochar produced from willow can reduce GHG emissions more than pig manure biochar (2.2 t CO2 vs 0.98 t CO2 t-1 of biochar) because the stable carbon content of willow biochar is higher than the pig manure biochar. The results of a monetary valuation of environmental impacts for biochar production from willow and pig manure reveal that biochar application in soil significantly increases environmental revenue related to global warming impact due to C sequestration and reduction in fertilizer consumption. Therefore, biochar production from willow is more environmentally favourable based on all valuation methods