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This paper conveniently skips any controversy associated with the science of climate change. On the assumption that greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change that is detrimental to humanity, the paper focuses on some economic dimensions of the issue which seem to be poorly understood by Australian media commentators, policy analysts, interest groups and the political parties. Using a neoclassical welfare economics framework the paper explores the costs and benefits of greenhouse gas abatement with reference to the findings of the Stern Report, the setting of greenhouse gas targets by Australian political parties, the danger of the government “picking winners” and the emerging carbon theory of value. The paper concludes with a brief review of the relative merits of a carbon tax and a cap and trade approach. Key Words: This paper conveniently skips any controversy associated with the science of climate change. On the assumption that greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change that is detrimental to humanity, the paper focuses on some economic dimensions of the issue which seem to be poorly understood by Australian media commentators, policy analysts, interest groups and the political parties. Using a neoclassical welfare economics framework the paper explores the costs and benefits of greenhouse gas abatement with reference to the findings of the Stern Report, the setting of greenhouse gas targets by Australian political parties, the danger of the government “picking winners” and the emerging carbon theory of value. The paper concludes with a brief review of the relative merits of a carbon tax and a cap and trade approach.

Lignite-fired power plants in Northern Greece produce about 50% of the electricity and account for nearly 60% of the allocated CO2 emissions. The implementation of biomass co-firing is considered a cost effective and efficient method for minimizing GHG emissions. However, despite a favorable legislative framework, co-firing in Greece has not progressed since low lignite costs and distance of power plants from harbor facilities limit access to internationally traded solid biomass. The improvement and optimization of local biomass supply chains is thus a strategic priority in the national context. The purpose of the present work is to present preliminary investigations of a wheat straw supply chain for a Greek lignite-fired power plant to be converted into biomass co-firing operation. On¬field demonstration data are analyzed in order to estimate costs for supply chains involving either pelletized straw or straw bales. Information of energy consumption is also presented for different cases and GHG emissions calculated according to the methodology of (COM 2010)11. Results indicate that the cost of straw delivered at the power plant varies depending on whether pelletization is included as a supply chain step. Overall, over short distances, transfer of baled biomass is more economic and results in lower GHG emissions, however the increase in the cost of the supply chain suggest that a pelletization step should be considered for longer distances. The transport cost of the supply chain also depends on whether the vehicles are assumed to return empty at their starting point or loaded. Also, compared to imported or domestic wood pellets, straw pellets have lower prices and could be more attractive to plant operators. Long-term fuel contracts are essential in order to ensure the financial viability of co-firing, especially if a reduction in the feed-in tariff is expected. Proceedings of the 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 18-22 June 2012, Milan, Italy, pp. 136-142

Two studies conducted in Guadeloupe (West Indies) and Réunion (Indian Ocean) islands were designed to investigate the benefits of producing sugarcane as an energy crop and to assess the influence of agroclimatic factors on energy efficiency, respectively. In this context, it is essential to know the low heating value of the dry above-ground biomass (LHVd, MJ/kg) and its energy yield (EY, MJ/m2) in order to select the best varieties and set up a payment method for growers. Eighteen Poaceae (sugarcane and Erianthus) cultivars were compared under wet tropical environmental conditions in Guadeloupe. Three sugarcane cultivars were studied in four contrasting environments in Réunion. The partition sampling and biomass measurement procedures were identical at both locations. Low heating value (LHV) predictions were achieved using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) after specific calibration (Guadeloupe), or arithmetically after lignocellulosic compound prediction (Réunion). In both studies, LHV variability was very low and slightly dependent on the site, cultivar and above-ground biomass components (millable stalks and tops, and green and dead leaves). Considering the overall dry above-ground biomass (DAB, kg/m2), the LHVd was calculated by averaging 159 samples (mean 16.65 MJ/kg) in Guadeloupe and 315 samples (mean 16.45 MJ/kg) for Réunion. An excellent linear relationship between the DAB and its EY, regardless of cultivar, age and environment, was found (n = 474 and R² = 0.99). Sugarcane energy content assessment could thus be simplified by measuring the DAB, while enabling development of a faster method of payment for growers based on the DAB measurement and the correlation between DAB and EY. Finally, the findings of this study should allow growers to rapidly determine the commercial value of their sugarcane crops, and also enable purchasers to assess the amount of recoverable energy. (Résumé d'auteur)

Mix design is a process in which one determines the relative quantities of the ingredients prior to mixing to produce the desired quality of concrete. By varying the mix proportions of the ingredients, different strength grades of concrete can be obtained. Several factors, which include water cement ratio, workability, curing type and duration, sizes of coarse aggregate, and sand silt content are among the several factors attributing to the quality of concrete. In this paper, attempts have been made to provide mix design proposals considering the most important factors contributing to the quality of concrete. Fxtensive concrete mix preparations were made to obtain concrete strength grades up to C-45 using .Hessebo Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). Realizing the various factors contributing to the quality of concrete, 43 trial batches of different mix designs were investigated. Based on the test results, equations were derived to relate compressive strength to w/c and to predict the 28 days compressive strength from the 7 days compressive strength. In all cases, Messebo OPC was used and the results show that it can be used to produce concrete grades of higher quality (up to C-45) for the construction industry of normal practices.Key words: Aggregate, Compressive strength, Concrcte, Curing, Mix proportion, Portland cement, Tensile strength, W/c ratio, Workability. 

The study takes into account the two Romanian Eastern regions (North East and South East) trying to emphasize the post-communist dynamics of the energy sector in order to draw a general perspective for the future evolution towards both energy security and a clean environment. Before 1989, the energy sector, that had to sustain not only the population needs, but also an oversized manufacturing industry, was based on big power plants usually using coal and oil and highly polluting the environment. The hydropower had a rather small share in the total energy production. This inherited system was very much resistant after the end of the centralized political system, therefore after the general industrial decline the energy sector remained the main source of air pollution in many towns and cities from Romania. Meanwhile, in the last 6-7 years, due to a favourable national political context, we assisted, especially in the analysed area, to an important emergence of renewable energy investments (mainly wind and solar energy, but also biomass or hydro-energy). Our purpose is to evaluate, from a geographical point of view, the extent and the implications of a desirable progressive shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy that could radically change the territorial relations and sustain development on the long term.

The importance of emission control has increased sharply due to increased need of energy from combustion. However, biomass utilization in energy production is not free from problems because of physical and chemical characteristics which are substantially different from conventional energy sources. In this situation, the quantity and quality of emissions as well as used renewable source as wood or corn grain are often unknown. To assess this problem the paper addresses the objectives to quantify the amount of greenhouse gases during the combustion of corn as compared to the emissions in fossil combustion (natural gas, LPG and diesel boiler). The test was carried out in Friuli Venezia Giulia in 2006-2008 to determine the air pollution (CO, NO, NO2, NOx, SO2 and CO2) from fuel combustion in the family boilers with power between 20-30 kWt. The flue gas emission was measured with a professional semi-continuous multi-gas analyzer, (Vario plus industrial, MRU air Neckarsulm-Obereisesheim). Data showed a lower emission of fossil fuel compared to corn in family boilers in reference to pollutants in the flue gas (NOx, SO2 and CO). In particular way the biomass combustion make a higher concentration of carbon monoxide (for a incomplete combustion because there aren’t a good mixing between fuel and air) and nitrogen oxides (in relation at higher content of nitrogen in herbaceous biomass in comparison of another fuel). Proceedings of the 19th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 6-10 June 2011, Berlin, Germany, pp. 1296-1304

Research in the field of precision agriculture is becoming increasingly important due to the growing world population whilst area for cultivation remains constant or declines. In this context, methods of monitoring in?season plant development with high resolution and accuracy are necessary. Studies show that terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) can be applied to capture small objects like crops. In this contribution, the results of multi-temporal field campaigns with the terrestrial laser scanner Riegl LMS-Z420i are shown. Four surveys were carried out in the growing period 2012 on a field experiment where various barley varieties were cultivated in small-scale plots. In order to measure the plant height above ground, the TLS-derived point clouds are interpolated to generate Crop Surface Models with a very high resolution of 1 cm. For all campaigns, a common reference surface, representing the Digital Elevation Model was used to monitor plant height in the investigated period. Manual plant height measurements were carried out to verify the results. The very high coefficients of determination (R² = 0.89) between both measurement methods show the applicability of the approach presented. Furthermore, destructive biomass sampling was performed to investigate the relation to plant height. Biomass is an important parameter for evaluating the actual crop status, but non-destructive methods of directly measuring crop biomass do not exist. Hence, other parameters like reflectance are considered. The focus of this study is on non-destructive measurements of plant height. The high coefficients of determination between plant height and fresh as well as dry biomass (R² = 0.80, R² = 0.77) support the usability of plant height as a predictor. The study presented here demonstrates the applicability of TLS in monitoring plant height development with a very high spatial resolution. Proceedings of the Workshop on UAV-based Remote Sensing Methods for Monitoring Vegetation Kölner geographische Arbeiten, 94 ISSN:0454-1294

Recent extreme weather events have resulted in an ongoing discussion on the issues of land use and compensation payments within Austrian agriculture. Building on a functional evaluation system for agricultural lands as developed within the Interreg IIIB project “ILUP”, the national project “Agriculture and Flooding” has as its goal to classify the flood-protection contribution and flood sensitivity of agricultural lands. This, in turn, enables the recommendation of targeted measures for potentially improving flood situations, as well as an estimate of their implementation costs. In addition to the digital soil map, other fundamental sources used for the project are the digital flood risk map, IACS land-use data and works by the Institute for Land and Water Management Research. Reference values and marginal returns sourced from the Federal Institute of Agricultural Economics also flow into the cost estimates for the recommended combination. The results will contribute to an understanding of the multifunctionality of agricultural lands and to the setting of priorities on a regional scale regarding packaged flood-prevention and damage-minimization. However, the results at hand can only serve as one step toward regional flood protection projects, whose development will require the cooperation of all interest groups.

The project between tthe Deutsche Biomasseforschungszentrum (DBFZ) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) focuses on the pr rovision of alternative fuels by thermochemical conversion. Biogenic residues and wastes which are not used yet or which could be utilised more efficiently are studied. The selection of possible feedstock was supported by a techhnical potential analysis including the competition to th he food industry. The technical suitability of raw materials for the fast pyrolysis (FP) process was of special in nterest. As a possible feedstock following types of biomass were studied: corn stover, corn cobs, biogenic floating re efuse (river Rhine and Baltic Sea), scrap wood, bark, rape s straw, sunflower straw, draff, diverse residues of flour production and hay. A process development unit (PDU) with a biomass feeding rate of 10 kg/h and a twin screw m mixer reactor was used for all experiments. It was found that different types of biomass form different char, condensate e and gas yields due to varying ash levels and lignocellulosic composition. Elemental formulas for feedstock, char, organic condensate and gas were estimated independent on t the feedstock due to similar elemental compositions. Pyrolysis gas analysis during the experiments gave information on the mass yields. A CO/CO2-ratio of 1 (i.e. wood) corresponds to organic condensate yields of about 50 wt.-%%, whereas a ratio of 0.3-0.7 (straw) corresponds to 18-32 wt. .-% respectively. Proceedings of the 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 18-22 June 2012, Milan, Italy, pp. 973-977

The EU funded project BioGrace­II is creating a user­friendly greenhouse gas calculation tool for the use of solid and gaseous biomass sources in electricity, heating and cooling. By doing so it aims at unambiguously defining key parameters of the calculation and thus enhancing the level playing field on the European bioenergy market. The methodology follows the methodology recommended by the European Commission. Proceedings of the 22nd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 23-26 June 2014, Hamburg, Germany, pp. 1359-1361