The availability of land for perennial energy crops in Great Britain

This paper defines the potentially available land for perennial energy crops across Great Britain as the first component of a broader appraisal undertaken by the ‘Spatial Modelling of Bioenergy in Great Britain to 2050’ project. Combining data on seven primary constraints in a GIS reduced the available area to just over 9 M ha (40% of GB). Adding other restrictions based on land cover naturalness scores to represent landscape considerations resulted in a final area of 8.5 M ha (37% of GB). This distribution was compared with the locations of Miscanthus and SRC willow established under the English Energy Crop Scheme during 2001–2011 and it was found that 83% of the planting fell within the defined available land. Such a correspondence provides confidence that the factors considered in the analysis were broadly consistent with previous planting decisions

Chapter 7 - Energy systems

Stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations will require large-scale transformations in human societies, from the way that we produce and consume energy to how we use the land surface. A natural question in this context is what will be the .transformation pathway. towards stabilization; that is, how do we get from here to there? The topic of this chapter is transformation pathways. The chapter is primarily motivated by three questions. First, what are the near-term and future choices that define transformation pathways, including the goal itself, the emissions pathway to the goal, technologies used for and sectors contributing to mitigation, the nature of international coordination, and mitigation policies? Second, what are the key characteristics of different transformation pathways, including the rates of emissions reductions and deployment of low-carbon energy, the magnitude and timing of aggregate economic costs, and the implications for other policy objectives such as those generally associated with sustainable development? Third, how will actions taken today influence the options that might be available in the future? As part of the assessment in this chapter, data from over 1000 new scenarios published since the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) were collected from integrated modelling research groups, many from large-scale model intercomparison studies. In comparison to AR4, new scenarios, both in this AR5 dataset and more broadly in the literature assessed in this chapter, consider more ambitious concentration goals, a wider range of assumptions about technology, and more possibilities for delays in additional global mitigation beyond that of today and fragmented international action

Biorefining of wheat straw:accounting for the distribution of mineral elements in pretreated biomass by an extended pretreatment–severity equation

BACKGROUND: Mineral elements present in lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks may accumulate in biorefinery process streams and cause technological problems, or alternatively can be reaped for value addition. A better understanding of the distribution of minerals in biomass in response to pretreatment factors is therefore important in relation to development of new biorefinery processes. The objective of the present study was to examine the levels of mineral elements in pretreated wheat straw in response to systematic variations in the hydrothermal pretreatment parameters (pH, temperature, and treatment time), and to assess whether it is possible to model mineral levels in the pretreated fiber fraction. RESULTS: Principal component analysis of the wheat straw biomass constituents, including mineral elements, showed that the recovered levels of wheat straw constituents after different hydrothermal pretreatments could be divided into two groups: 1) Phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, manganese, zinc, and calcium correlated with xylose and arabinose (that is, hemicellulose), and levels of these constituents present in the fiber fraction after pretreatment varied depending on the pretreatment-severity; and 2) Silicon, iron, copper, aluminum correlated with lignin and cellulose levels, but the levels of these constituents showed no severity-dependent trends. For the first group, an expanded pretreatment-severity equation, containing a specific factor for each constituent, accounting for variability due to pretreatment pH, was developed. Using this equation, the mineral levels could be predicted with R(2) > 0.75; for some with R(2) up to 0.96. CONCLUSION: Pretreatment conditions, especially pH, significantly influenced the levels of phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, manganese, zinc, and calcium in the resulting fiber fractions. A new expanded pretreatment-severity equation is proposed to model and predict mineral composition in pretreated wheat straw biomass

Gender and HIV-associated pulmonary tuberculosis: presentation and outcome at one year after beginning antituberculosis treatment in Uganda

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is responsible for more female deaths around the earth than any other infectious disease. Reports have suggested that responses to tuberculosis may differ between men and women. We investigated gender related differences in the presentation and one year outcomes of HIV-infected adults with initial episodes of pulmonary tuberculosis in Uganda. METHODS: We enrolled and followed up a cohort of 105 male and 109 female HIV-infected adults on treatment for initial episodes of culture-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis between March 1993 and March 1995. A favorable outcome was defined as being cured and alive at one year while an unfavorable outcome was not being cured or dead. Subjects were followed-up by serial medical examinations, complete blood counts, serum β(2) microglobulin, CD4+ cell counts, sputum examinations, and chest x-rays. RESULTS: Male patients were older, had higher body mass indices, and lower serum β(2) microglobulin levels than female patients at presentation. At one year, there was no difference between male and female patients in the likelihood of experiencing a favorable outcome (RR 1.02, 95% CI 0.89–1.17). This effect persisted after controlling for symptoms, serum β(2) microglobulin, CD4+ cell count, and severity of disease on chest x-ray (OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.54–2.13) with a repeated measures model. CONCLUSIONS: While differences existed between males and females with HIV-associated pulmonary tuberculosis at presentation, the outcomes at one year after the initiation of tuberculosis treatment were similar in Uganda. Women in areas with a high HIV and tuberculosis prevalence should be encouraged to present for screening at the first sign of tuberculosis symptoms

Toward an improved representation of middle atmospheric dynamics thanks to the ARISE project

This paper reviews recent progress toward understanding the dynamics of the middle atmosphere in the framework of the Atmospheric Dynamics Research InfraStructure in Europe (ARISE) initiative. The middle atmosphere, integrating the stratosphere and mesosphere, is a crucial region which influences tropospheric weather and climate. Enhancing the understanding of middle atmosphere dynamics requires improved measurement of the propagation and breaking of planetary and gravity waves originating in the lowest levels of the atmosphere. Inter-comparison studies have shown large discrepancies between observations and models, especially during unresolved disturbances such as sudden stratospheric warmings for which model accuracy is poorer due to a lack of observational constraints. Correctly predicting the variability of the middle atmosphere can lead to improvements in tropospheric weather forecasts on timescales of weeks to season. The ARISE project integrates different station networks providing observations from ground to the lower thermosphere, including the infrasound system developed for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty verification, the Lidar Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change, complementary meteor radars, wind radiometers, ionospheric sounders and satellites. This paper presents several examples which show how multi-instrument observations can provide a better description of the vertical dynamics structure of the middle atmosphere, especially during large disturbances such as gravity waves activity and stratospheric warming events. The paper then demonstrates the interest of ARISE data in data assimilation for weather forecasting and re-analyzes the determination of dynamics evolution with climate change and the monitoring of atmospheric extreme events which have an atmospheric signature, such as thunderstorms or volcanic eruptions

Challenge clusters facing LCA in environmental decision-making—what we can learn from biofuels

Purpose Bioenergy is increasingly used to help meet greenhouse gas (GHG) and renewable energy targets. However, bioenergy’s sustainability has been questioned, resulting in increasing use of life cycle assessment (LCA). Bioenergy systems are global and complex, and market forces can result in significant changes, relevant to LCA and policy. The goal of this paper is to illustrate the complexities associated with LCA, with particular focus on bioenergy and associated policy development, so that its use can more effectively inform policymakers. Methods The review is based on the results from a series of workshops focused on bioenergy life cycle assessment. Expert submissions were compiled and categorized within the first two workshops. Over 100 issues emerged. Accounting for redundancies and close similarities in the list, this reduced to around 60 challenges, many of which are deeply interrelated. Some of these issues were then explored further at a policyfacing workshop in London, UK. The authors applied a rigorous approach to categorize the challenges identified to be at the intersection of biofuels/bioenergy LCA and policy. Results and discussion The credibility of LCA is core to its use in policy. Even LCAs that comply with ISO standards and policy and regulatory instruments leave a great deal of scope for interpretation and flexibility. Within the bioenergy sector, this has led to frustration and at times a lack of obvious direction. This paper identifies the main challenge clusters: overarching issues, application and practice and value and ethical judgments. Many of these are reflective of the transition from application of LCA to assess individual products or systems to the wider approach that is becoming more common. Uncertainty in impact assessment strongly influences planning and compliance due to challenges in assigning accountability, and communicating the inherent complexity and uncertainty within bioenergy is becoming of greater importance. Conclusions The emergence of LCA in bioenergy governance is particularly significant because other sectors are likely to transition to similar governance models. LCA is being stretched to accommodate complex and broad policy-relevant questions, seeking to incorporate externalities that have major implications for long-term sustainability. As policy increasingly relies on LCA, the strains placed on the methodology are becoming both clearer and impedimentary. The implications for energy policy, and in particular bioenergy, are large

Ionic liquids at electrified interfaces

Until recently, “room-temperature” (<100–150 °C) liquid-state electrochemistry was mostly electrochemistry of diluted electrolytes(1)–(4) where dissolved salt ions were surrounded by a considerable amount of solvent molecules. Highly concentrated liquid electrolytes were mostly considered in the narrow (albeit important) niche of high-temperature electrochemistry of molten inorganic salts(5-9) and in the even narrower niche of “first-generation” room temperature ionic liquids, RTILs (such as chloro-aluminates and alkylammonium nitrates).(10-14) The situation has changed dramatically in the 2000s after the discovery of new moisture- and temperature-stable RTILs.(15, 16) These days, the “later generation” RTILs attracted wide attention within the electrochemical community.(17-31) Indeed, RTILs, as a class of compounds, possess a unique combination of properties (high charge density, electrochemical stability, low/negligible volatility, tunable polarity, etc.) that make them very attractive substances from fundamental and application points of view.(32-38) Most importantly, they can mix with each other in “cocktails” of one’s choice to acquire the desired properties (e.g., wider temperature range of the liquid phase(39, 40)) and can serve as almost “universal” solvents.(37, 41, 42) It is worth noting here one of the advantages of RTILs as compared to their high-temperature molten salt (HTMS)(43) “sister-systems”.(44) In RTILs the dissolved molecules are not imbedded in a harsh high temperature environment which could be destructive for many classes of fragile (organic) molecules

Valorisation of agricultural biomass‑ash with CO2

This work is part of a study of different types of plant-based biomass to elucidate their capacity for valorisation via a managed carbonation step involving gaseous carbon dioxide (co2). the perspectives for broader biomass waste valorisation was reviewed, followed by a proposed closed‑loop process for the valorisation of wood in earlier works. the present work newly focusses on combining agricultural biomass with mineralised co2. Here, the reactivity of selected agricultural biomass ashes with co2 and their ability to be bound by mineralised carbonate in a hardened product is examined. three categories of agricultural biomass residues, including shell, fibre and soft peel, were incinerated at 900 ± 25 °C. The biomass ashes were moistened (10% w/w) and moulded into cylindrical samples and exposed to 100% CO2 gas at 50% RH for 24 h, during which they cemented into hardened monolithic products. the calcia in ashes formed a negative relationship with ash yield and the microstructure of the carbonate‑cementing phase was distinct and related to the particular biomass feedstock. this work shows that in common with woody biomass residues, carbonated agricultural biomass ash‑based monoliths have potential as novel low‑carbon construction products