• Energy Research
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* Technical Challenges - Technology is relatively simple and has high conversion efficiency. * Cost Challenges - Despite efficiency, levelised costs are high, due to mainly 2 factors (1) the input cost of raw material is high, and (2) operating costs are high due to feedstock (methanol) and distillation operations. Selling oilcake has a significant effect on final product cost, with a 50% oilcake internal subsidy reducing the costs by R 6,500/ t (0.65 R/kWh). This would bring production cost into line with current range of diesel prices. * Environmental Challenges - Greenhouse gas savings are significant provided land use changes are carbon neutral. Limiting cultivation to subsistence cropland should assist with this goal. * Social and Institutional Challenges - Conversion of subsistence farmers in former homeland areas, with high reliance on cattle and maize, to a cash crop with side products for own consumption and cattle feed will require significant community involvement. Cooperative farming and marketing channels need to be investigated.

ABSTRACT The progression of the organic loading rate (OLR) up to a certain limit increases biogas production. The limit and operation range vary according to the configuration of the reactor and are associated with other variables that generate different results with respect to biogas yield (BY) and biogas productiveness (BP). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the OLR on the BY and BP from swine manure in continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs) and upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors (UASBs). In the assay with the CSTR, the best operational condition was at an OLR of 0.7 gVS add L−1 reactor d−1 and a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 18 days. At this operational condition, 0.8 LN biogas gVS add−1 of BY and 0.6 LN biogas L−1 reactor d−1 of BP were obtained. In the assay with the UASB, the best operational condition was at an OLR of 2.2 gVS add L−1 reactor d−1 and an HRT of two days, and 0.7 LN biogas gvs add−1 of BY and 1.6 LN biogas L−1 reactor d−1 of BP were obtained. The results demonstrate the effects of OLR changes on the biogas production in the CSTR and UASB, avoiding the underutilization or overloading of such equipment and enabling collaboration in projects for power generation from biogas in swine farms.

Abstract Activated carbon is commonly used as a material for contaminant-adsorption processes in aqueous systems. However, its use is more restricted to charcoal than to coal, for the most part, in view of the fact of the higher cost (~ 40%) if the mineral is a fossil fuel which needs to be extracted from the earth by mining. For this reason, the peach stone that comes from alimentary industrial tailings can be a good choice for the separation of pollutants from aqueous suspensions and other soluble substances. The purpose of this research was the development of a low-cost filter, using stones to remove atrazine from water. Appraisal and characterization studies were performed along with batch experiments to investigate dosing effects of the activated carbon, atrazine concentration, contact time, and adsorption pH on removal procedures. From the results of the experiment, an excellent removal of the analyte in question was observed under conditions that can be considered as close as possible to the environment, such as pH = 6.5, room temperature and 10 minutes of agitation time, always choosing the best alternative with the lowest cost of energy and time. Batch system application has been recommended as versatile for utilization in seasonal problems such as pesticide contamination.

This is the dataset for our research on assessing CO2 emissions from Chinese inland waters, including streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs. The dataset includes three parts, including Part 1: Lakes and Reservoirs_1980s, Part 2: CO2 Dataset_2010s, and Part 3: Water chemistry records. Detailed information on these data can be found from the 'README' text file.

A subset of the Field Crop Boundaries data set, showing all subsistence farmland used for crop cultivation. Prepared by SAEON from data provided by DAFF.

Data on cropland was obtained from the global data set produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Data set was obtained as a raster image, and clipped to the boundaries of South Africa, before being converted to a vector layer. The BioEnergy Atlas bases its analyses on mesozones (Planning zones of approximately 50 km2, with relatively homogeneous attributes). This data set aggregates FAO Cropland to mesozones for planning purposes. The FGGD land cover occurrence maps are global raster data layers with a resolution of 5 arc-minutes. Each pixel in each map contains a value representing the percentage of the area belonging to the land

These are the soil quality data for each county (listed by fips code) for each scenario

The data consists of annual measurements of standing aboveground plant biomass, annual aboveground net primary productivity and annual soil respiration between 1998 and 2012. Data were collected from seven European shrublands that were subject to the climate manipulations drought and warming. Sites were located in the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands (NL), Denmark ( two sites, DK-B and DK-M), Hungary (HU), Spain (SP) and Italy (IT). All field sites consisted of untreated control plots, plots where the plant canopy air is artificially warmed during night time hours, and plots where rainfall is excluded from the plots at least during the plants growing season. Standing aboveground plant biomass (grams biomass per square metre) was measured in two undisturbed areas within the plots using the pin-point method (UK, DK-M, DK-B), or along a transect (IT, SP, HU, NL). Aboveground net primary productivity was calculated from measurements of standing aboveground plant biomass estimates and litterfall measurements. Soil respiration was measured in pre-installed opaque soil collars bi-weekly, monthly, or in measurement campaigns (SP only). The datasets provided are the basis for the data analysis presented in Reinsch et al. (2017) Shrubland primary production and soil respiration diverge along European climate gradient. Scientific Reports 7:43952 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43952 Standing biomass was measured using the non-destructive pin-point method to assess aboveground biomass. Measurements were conducted at the state of peak biomass specific for each site. Litterfall was measured annually using litterfall traps. Litter collected in the traps was dried and the weight was measured. Aboveground biomass productivity was estimated as the difference between the measured standing biomass in year x minus the standing biomass measured the previous year. Soil respiration was measured bi-weekly or monthly, or in campaigns (Spain only). It was measured on permanently installed soil collars in treatment plots. The Gaussen Index of Aridity (an index that combines information on rainfall and temperature) was calculated using mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature. The reduction in precipitation and increase in temperature for each site was used to calculate the Gaussen Index for the climate treatments for each site. Data of standing biomass and soil respiration was provided by the site responsible. Data from all sites were collated into one data file for data analysis. A summary data set was combined with information on the Gaussen Index of Aridity Data were then exported from these Excel spreadsheet to .csv files for ingestion into the EIDC.

Refrigerated road transport (RRT) vehicles are large users of energy, and reportedly have relatively high leakage of hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant gases, both of which contribute to global warming. The experience obtained from widespread research in leak reduction in stationary refrigeration systems can be instructive in combatting leakage in RRT systems, which has received less focus to date. This paper will take an integrated approach to develop and describe a preliminary model for sustainable RRT systems. It will first review lessons learned about refrigerant leakage in stationary systems in an effort to identify problematic/leak prone components common to transport refrigeration systems. This will then be followed by a survey of recent studies conducted in modelling transport refrigeration systems to advance energy efficiency. Initial results from the model illustrate the need to improve the efficiency of the refrigeration system, together with preventative maintenance of the box structure and refrigeration system as a whole.