Life cycle analysis of Jatropha curcas as a sustainable biodiesel feedstock in Argentina

Despite constant changes to the industry in recent years, Argentina remains one of the most important producers of biodiesel in the world. Approximately 90% of the biodiesel produced in Argentina is from soybean, a fact which has raised concern over the fuel´s sustainability. For this reason, alternative crops such as Jatropha curcas are being explored. The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impact of Jatropha-based biodiesel for the specific case of Argentina through life cycle assessment (LCA). The processes considered in this study include Jatropha seed cultivation, seed transportation, oil extraction, and transesterification. Two cultivation scenarios are examined in order to explore trade-offs between land use type and agricultural inputs. This study also incorporates land and water use, which are typically omitted from LCA due to complexity and lack of available information. Inventory data for the system were collected and analyzed using the ReCiPe impact assessment method. The results show a 21% reduction of kg CO2 equivalent for the overall Jatropha biodiesel production process when using fertile land with low-input agriculture instead of marginal land use with fertilizer and irrigation.Fil: Beaver, Alexa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez Castaño, Fabio Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; ArgentinaFil: Díaz, María Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentin

Nursery rearing of seabass fry and importance of grading and seed transportation

The Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) is an important food fish and a potential aquaculture species in tropical countries. It exhibits catadromous habits within its areas of distribution. It is an advantageous culture species because after early larval rearing in seawater, it can be cultured in all levels of salinity, from fresh to seawater, and in a variety of culture systems from open ponds and cages to flow-through and closed recirculation systems. In addition, this species produces large number of eggs that can be reared intensively on fresh and pelleted feeds, and can reach a market size of 350 to 700 g in one year or less periods under optimum culture conditions

Open sea cage farming of Asian sea bass Lates calcarifer in the Bay of Bengal, off Chennai- National Training on Sea cage farming- 2010

Controlled captive culture of fin fishes in open water bodies (seas, reservoirs, lakes) is mostly done in pens and cages. Open sea cage culture of the Asian sea bass Lates calcarifer ,was carried out for the first time in the Bay of Bengal off Chennai by CMFRI during February - August 2010. The execution of the programme began with the fabrication of suitable cages with proper accessories, identification of site, procuring and nursery rearing of seed, transportation and stocking of fingerlings and open sea rearing till harves

Genetic Diversity Of A Parasitic Weed, Striga Hermonthica, On Sorghum And Pearl Millet In Mali

Eleven populations of witchweed, Striga her-monthica, were collected in four regions of Mali and investigated with 12 microsatellite markers. Extensive genetic diversity was observed, with most plants heterozy-gous for most markers. Allelic diversity was broadly distributed across populations with little genetic differenti-ation and large amounts of gene flow. Nearby fields of pearl millet and sorghum were found to have indistinguishable witchweed populations. Some population structure was apparent, but did not correlate with the local environment or host genotype, suggesting that seed transportation or other human-driven variables act to differentiate central Malian S. hermonthica populations from southern Malian populations

Retention Time Variability as a Mechanism for Animal Mediated Long-Distance Dispersal

Long-distance dispersal (LDD) events, although rare for most plant species, can strongly influence population and community dynamics. Animals function as a key biotic vector of seeds and thus, a mechanistic and quantitative understanding of how individual animal behaviors scale to dispersal patterns at different spatial scales is a question of critical importance from both basic and applied perspectives. Using a diffusion-theory based analytical approach for a wide range of animal movement and seed transportation patterns, we show that the scale (a measure of local dispersal) of the seed dispersal kernel increases with the organisms' rate of movement and mean seed retention time. We reveal that variations in seed retention time is a key determinant of various measures of LDD such as kurtosis (or shape) of the kernel, thinkness of tails and the absolute number of seeds falling beyond a threshold distance. Using empirical data sets of frugivores, we illustrate the importance of variability in retention times for predicting the key disperser species that influence LDD. Our study makes testable predictions linking animal movement behaviors and gut retention times to dispersal patterns and, more generally, highlights the potential importance of animal behavioral variability for the LDD of seeds

Life cycle assessment of biofuels from Jatropha curcas in West Africa: a field study

In recent years, liquid biofuels for transport have benefited from significant political support due to their potential role in curbing climate change and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. They may also participate to rural development by providing new markets for agricultural production. However, the growth of energy crops has raised concerns due to their high consumption of conventional fuels, fertilizers and pesticides, their impacts on ecosystems and their competition for arable land with food crops. Lowinput species such as Jatropha curcas, a perennial, inedible crop well adapted to semiarid regions, has received much interest as a new alternative for biofuel production, minimizing adverse effects on the environment and food supply. Here, we used life-cycle assessment to quantify the benefits of J. curcas biofuel production inWest Africa in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and fossil energy use, compared with fossil diesel fuel and other biofuels. Biodiesel from J. curcas has a much higher performance than current biofuels, relative to oil-derived diesel fuels. Under West Africa conditions, J. curcas biodiesel allows a 72% saving in greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional diesel fuel, and its energy yield (the ratio of biodiesel energy output to fossil energy input) is 4.7. J. curcas production studied is eco-compatible for the impacts under consideration and fits into the context of sustainable development

Farm-economics of genetically improved carp strains in major Asian countries and carp seed price policy model

The study has conducted the micro level analysis of hatchery operators, fishseed-rearing farmers and carp farmers with respect to their socio-economic characteristics, infrastructural development, husbandry practices and economics returns, based on the survey and on-farm trial data collected by the research partners in six Asian countries, viz. Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The genetically-improved carp strain is economically viable and socially acceptable. The attractive profits to hatchery operators and nursery and carp farmers have created conducive environment for the dissemination of improved carp strain. Price policy models for improved strains have been developed. The premium price for fingerlings and broodstock with improved strain has been assessed. The high price of genetically-improved nuclear seed and broodstock would build self-supportive research and extension systems in the country. A business plan for Jayanti rohu has been worked out, as an example for replacement of rohu by Jayanti rohu.Livestock Production/Industries,

Transportation of live Finfishes and Shellfishes

Livefish trade, especially the live ornamental fish and live seafood trade, is emerging as a major business venture in most of the tropical countries. Production of livefish through aquaculture has also undergone vast changes during the past 20 years. In aquaculture, transport of broodstock from the wild to the hatchery or seed from the hatchery to the growouts forms one of the basic requirements. The demandfor livefiriflsh and shellfish is rapidly increasir^g and in most of the developed countries, more and more livefish traders and restaurants are offering live fishery products to their customers. Air liftiry of live se<^ood has also increased during the last few years. The mcgor constraint to the development of live seafood export is the lack of information on handling the aquatic organisms after they are caught, right through the transport and sale to the customers. Necessary precautions have to be taken while catching, packing and transporting the aquatic organisms. Apart from careful handling, a thorough knowledge of the behaviour and physiology of the animal is necessary to minimise the stress during storage and transportation

Genetic Variation in Quercus acutissima Carruth., in Traditional Japanese Rural Forests and Agricultural Landscapes, Revealed by Chloroplast Microsatellite Markers

uercus acutissima Carruth. is an economically important species that has long been cultivated in Japan, so is a valuable subject for investigating the impact of human activities on genetic variation in trees. In total, 2152 samples from 18 naturally regenerated populations and 28 planted populations in Japan and 13 populations from the northeastern part of Eurasia, near Japan, were analyzed using six maternally inherited chloroplast (cpDNA) simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Although 23 haplotypes were detected in total, both the Japanese natural and artificial populations exhibited much lower genetic diversity than the continental populations. The level of genetic differentiation among natural populations in Japan was also much lower (G’ST = 0.261) than that on the continent (G’ST = 0.856). These results suggest that human activities, such as historical seed transfer, have reduced genetic diversity within and among populations and resulted in a homogeneous genetic structure in Japan. The genetic characteristics of natural and artificial populations of Quercus acutissima in Japan are almost the same and it is likely that most of the natural populations are thought to have originated from individuals that escaped from plantations