BUILDING PROFESSIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY IN THREE WESTERN UPPER PENINSULA COUNTIES: RESULTS OF A DIAGNOSTIC STUDY AND FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

This paper is a part of a series of reports of the activities conducted under a grant from the Fund for Rural America, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Funds for the three year grant entitled "Enhancing Rural Economies Through Comprehensive Extension, Research & Partnering Approaches Using Multi-County Clusters in Michigan With Application to National Rural Settings" were received by Michigan State University's Department of Agricultural Economics in March, 1998. The major goal of the grant is to increase economic development activity in four clusters of rural counties in Michigan through the utilization of the resources of the Michigan State University Extension Service, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, and other resources of Michigan State University. Various local, state, and federal public partners as well as the private sector are to co-sponsor projects. This paper represents the first stages of a continuing project to explore the utilization of retirement community human resources in rural Michigan and to develop Extension programs to meet their needs. Future activities include focus groups, labor supply analysis, a conference, and perhaps a rural academy to be developed by Michigan State University and its partners.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

What will fuel transport systems of the future?

This paper seeks to decry the notion of a single solution or “silver bullet” to replace petroleum products with renewable transport fuel. At different times, different technological developments have been in vogue as the panacea for future transport needs: for quite some time hydrogen has been perceived as a transport fuel that would be all encompassing when the technology was mature. Liquid biofuels have gone from exalted to unsustainable in the last ten years. The present flavor of the month is the electric vehicle. This paper examines renewable transport fuels through a review of the literature and attempts to place an analytical perspective on a number of technologies

Roasting and Leaching of Montana Chromite

The United States, although the leading consumer of chromite, depends almost entirely on imports for its supply. Domestic production of chromite is limited, because high-grade imported ore is plentiful and inexpensive in normal times. There are several large deposits of chromite in the United States, representing millions of tons of low grade ore. These deposits form a strategic reserve that must be used in time of national emergency

What is the level of incentivisation required for biomethane upgrading technologies with carbon capture and reuse?

This paper documents a techno-economic assessment of biomethane feedstocks from urban, rural, and coastal settings. Additionally, the effect of three upgrading technologies was investigated, ranging from commercialised systems (water scrubbing) to more advanced systems: power to gas systems employing hydrogen to capture CO2; and microalgae cultivation utilising CO2 in biogas. In total, nine scenarios were investigated based on a combination of the three feedstock groups and the three upgrading technologies. The levelized cost of energy and the incentive required to allow financial sustainability were assessed. The assessment showed that water scrubbing was the cheapest upgrading method. The optimum scenario was the combination of urban based feedstock (food waste) with water scrubbing upgrading costing 87€/MWh, equivalent to 87c/L diesel equivalent. The incentive required was 0.13 €/m3 (or per L of diesel equivalent), however if power to gas was used to upgrade, an incentive of 0.40 €/m3 was required. This was expected as food waste attracts a gate fee. Rural-based plants (using slurries and grasses) are expected to provide the majority of the resource however, for this to become a reality incentive in the range 0.86–1.03 €/m3 are required

Comparison of pre-treatments to reduce salinity and enhance biomethane yields of Laminaria digitata harvested in different seasons

Pre-treatment can enhance anaerobic digestion of seaweed; however, seasonal variation in the biochemical composition of seaweed has a significant impact on the pre-treatment effect. In this study, various pre-treatments were employed for the brown seaweed Laminaria digitata harvested in March (with high ash content and low carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio) and September (with low ash content and high C:N ratio). Washing of L. digitata harvested in March with hot water (defined as 40 °C) removed 54% of the ash and improved the volatile solids (VS) content by 31% leading to an improved biomethane yield of 282 L CH4 kg VS−1. This pre-treatment affected a 16% increase in biodegradability, reduced salt accumulation in the digestate by 54%, and increased specific methane yield per wet weight by 25%. This level of effect was not noted for seaweed harvested in September, when the biodegradability is higher