Biomass gasification in India — DNES activities

Gasification of biomass, which includes a series of interlinked thermochemical processes like pyrolysis and gasoline refining, offers a promising scope to meet energy needs both for stationary and mobile purposes. The present communication is aimed at discussing the gasification programme in India with particular reference to the following five main areas: R& D, pilot-testing and evaluation including prototype production, demonstrative application and evaluation of biomass gasification, training and manpower development, commercialisation and manufacture development. Emphasis is laid upon the need to integrate energy plantation on sub-standard soils with biomass gasification.     

Marginal Land-based Biomass Energy Production in China

Fast economic development in China has resulted in a significant increase in energy demand. Coal accounts for 70% of China's primary energy consumption and its combustion has caused many environmental and health problems. Energy security and environmental protection requirements are the main drivers for renewable energy development in China. Small farmland and food security make bioenergy derived from corn or sugarcane unacceptable to China: the focus should be on generating bioenergy from lignocellulosic feedstock sources. As China cannot afford biomass energy production from its croplands, marginal lands may play an important role in biomass energy production. Although on a small scale, marginal land has already been used for various purposes. It is estimated that some 45 million hm2 of marginal land could be brought into high potential biomass energy production. For the success of such an initiative, it will likely be necessary to develop multipurpose plants. A case study, carried out on marginal land in Ningnan County, Sichuan Province with per capita cropland of 0.07 ha, indicated that some 380 000 tons of dry biomass could be produced each year from annual pruning of mulberry trees. This study supports the feasibility of producing large quantities of biomass from marginal land sources.     

Biomass Allocation Patterns across China’s Terrestrial Biomes

Root to shoot ratio (RS) is commonly used to describe the biomass allocation between below- and aboveground parts of plants. Determining the key factors influencing RS and interpreting the relationship between RS and environmental factors is important for biological and ecological research. In this study, we compiled 2088 pairs of root and shoot biomass data across China’s terrestrial biomes to examine variations in the RS and its responses to biotic and abiotic factors including vegetation type, soil texture, climatic variables, and stand age. The median value of RS (RSm) for grasslands, shrublands, and forests was 6.0, 0.73, and 0.23, respectively. The range of RS was considerably wide for each vegetation type. RS values for all three major vegetation types were found to be significantly correlated to mean annual precipitation (MAP) and potential water deficit index (PWDI). Mean annual temperature (MAT) also significantly affect the RS for forests and grasslands. Soil texture and forest origin altered the response of RS to climatic factors as well. An allometric formula could be used to well quantify the relationship between aboveground and belowground biomass, although each vegetation type had its own inherent allometric relationship.     

Biomass: Is it a useful tool in paleocommunity reconstruction?

In general, more of the biomass of the community is preserved than is its numerical abundance. Thus, the paleontologist, on the average, works with more of the community when biomass is used. Community characteristics such as taxon dominance and habitat proportions are at least as accurately derived from biomass as numerical abundance. The use of biomass is clearly more appropriate in describing energy flow and trophic proportions. Whenever possible, biomass should be used as a complement to numerical abundance in future paleoecologic reconstructions.     

Biomass as source of chemicals VII — Synthesis of new oxiranes

Application of a solid-liquid phase transfer technique in low hydrated organic medium makes the synthesis of the corresponding oxiranes possible for the first time. These new molecules, obtained from biomass, can be applied in many different ways in macromolecular chemistry.     

Biomass briquettes: a novel incentive for managing papyrus wetlands sustainably?

Recent innovations in the briquetting of carbonized biomass have the potential to improve the efficacy of papyrus as a fuel source. Selective harvesting of only mature stems may prove more sustainable than experimental clear-cutting approaches to regeneration pursued in earlier studies, whilst still providing up to 90 % of available biomass. Briquettes produced from papyrus compare favourably with alternative local fuels, both in physical properties and from the perspectives of potential end-users. Papyrus wetlands at Lake Naivasha, Kenya, may have the potential to provide 1.5 × 10⁹ cuboid briquettes (volume c. 90 cm³; weight c. 25 g) from a biannual harvest, satisfying the domestic fuel requirements of > 85 % of the District’s population whilst simultaneously reducing pressure on forests exploited for the production of wood charcoal.     

Biomass production by alders on four abandoned agricultural soils in Québec

The production of aboveground tissue of three alder species (Alnus crispa (Ait.) Pursh,A. rugosa (Du Roi) Spreng. andA. glutinosa (L) Gaertn.) on four sites ranged from 0.4 t ha^–1 yr^–1 to 4.0 t ha^–1 yr^–1 after four growing seasons. Large differences were observed among the four sites studied and among species. Soil nutrient levels affected the biomass production and foliar symptoms of P and Mg deficiency occurred withA. crispa andA. rugosa. Because of their poor aboveground biomass production (0.4–1.4 t ha^–1 yr^–1),A. crispa andA. rugosa should be used mainly as nurse trees. For its higher potential for biomass production (up to 4.0 t ha^–1 yr^–1), and its apparent higher ability to use P and Mg on deficient sites,A. glutinosa should be used preferably toA. crispa andA. rugosa for the production of biomass.     

The Allometry of Coarse Root Biomass: Log-Transformed Linear Regression or Nonlinear Regression?

Precise estimation of root biomass is important for understanding carbon stocks and dynamics in forests. Traditionally, biomass estimates are based on allometric scaling relationships between stem diameter and coarse root biomass calculated using linear regression (LR) on log-transformed data. Recently, it has been suggested that nonlinear regression (NLR) is a preferable fitting method for scaling relationships. But while this claim has been contested on both theoretical and empirical grounds, and statistical methods have been developed to aid in choosing between the two methods in particular cases, few studies have examined the ramifications of erroneously applying NLR. Here, we use direct measurements of 159 trees belonging to three locally dominant species in east China to compare the LR and NLR models of diameter-root biomass allometry. We then contrast model predictions by estimating stand coarse root biomass based on census data from the nearby 24-ha Gutianshan forest plot and by testing the ability of the models to predict known root biomass values measured on multiple tropical species at the Pasoh Forest Reserve in Malaysia. Based on likelihood estimates for model error distributions, as well as the accuracy of extrapolative predictions, we find that LR on log-transformed data is superior to NLR for fitting diameter-root biomass scaling models. More importantly, inappropriately using NLR leads to grossly inaccurate stand biomass estimates, especially for stands dominated by smaller trees.     

Quantification of Biomass and Cell Motion in Human Pluripotent Stem?Cell?Colonies

Somatic cell reprogramming to pluripotency requires an immediate increase in cell proliferation and reduction in cell size. It is unknown whether proliferation and biomass controls are similarly coordinated with early events during the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). This impasse exists because PSCs grow in tight clusters or colonies, precluding most quantifying approaches. Here, we investigate live cell interferometry as an approach to quantify the biomass and growth of HSF1 human PSC colonies before and during retinoic acid-induced differentiation. We also provide an approach for measuring the rate and coordination of intracolony mass redistribution in HSF1 clusters using live cell interferometry images. We show that HSF1 cells grow at a consistent, exponential rate regardless of colony size and display coordinated intracolony movement that ceases with the onset of differentiation. By contrast, growth and proliferation rates show a decrease of only ∼15% decrease during early differentiation despite global changes in gene expression and previously reported changes in energy metabolism. Overall, these results suggest that cell biomass and proliferation are regulated independent of pluripotency during early differentiation, which is distinct from what occurs with successful reprogramming.     

Mesophilic Fermentation of Renewable Biomass: Does Hydraulic Retention Time Regulate Methanogen Diversity?

The present long-term study (about 1,100 days) monitored the diversity of methanogens during the mesophilic, anaerobic digestion of beet silage. Six fermentor samples were analyzed by ribosomal RNA gene restriction analysis, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and fluorescence microscopy. Hydrogenotrophic methanogens dominated within the population in all samples analyzed. Multidimensional scaling revealed that a rapid decrease in hydraulic retention time resulted in increased species richness, which in turn led to slightly higher CH₄ yields.The anaerobic digestion of renewable biomass is a microbial process wherein a community of fermentative and acetogenic bacteria together with acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogens convert organic matter into CO₂ and CH₄ (26, 36). Wavering microbial populations at one trophic level might cause a metabolic imbalance, leading to an accumulation of intermediates, pH changes, or reduced methane production efficiency (37), which in turn might even cause a process failure. As information on the influence of process parameters upon population dynamics is scarce (21), this study aimed to verify whether either a substrate change or a change in hydraulic retention time (HRT) could impact the diversity of methanogenic Euryarchaeota generating CH₄. Beets were chosen among other potential crops as a model energy crop because they almost completely lack nondigestible lignin and have the highest energy output (45).     

Children’s Respiratory Health After an Efficient Biomass Stove (Patsari) Intervention

EcoHealth - Household use of fuelwood represents a socio-ecological condition with important health effects mainly in rural areas from developing countries. One approach to tackle this problem has...     

Biomass and Genotype × Environment Interactions of Populus Energy Crops in the Midwestern United States

Using Populus feedstocks for biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts is becoming economically feasible as global fossil fuel prices increase. Maximizing Populus biomass production across regional landscapes largely depends on understanding genotype × environment interactions, given broad genetic variation at strategic (genomic group) and operational (clone) levels. A regional network of Populus field tests was established in the Midwest USA in 1995, 1997, and 2000 to assess relative productivity of 187 clones grown at Westport, Minnesota (45.7° N, 95.2° W); Waseca, Minnesota (only 2000; 44.1° N, 93.5° W); Arlington, Wisconsin (43.3° N, 89.4° W); and Ames, Iowa (42.0° N, 93.6° W). We evaluated biomass potential throughout plantation development and identified clones with yield substantially greater than commercial controls (Eugenei, NM6). For each site, biomass ranges (Mg ha^?1 year^?1) of the best six clones were: Westport: 2.3 to 3.9 (5 years), 8.0 to 10.1 (8 years), and 8.9 to 11.3 (10 years); Waseca: 10.4 to 13.4 (7 years); Arlington: 5.1 to 7.1 (3 years), 14.8 to 20.9 (6 years), and 16.1 to 21.1 (8 years); and Ames: 4.3 to 5.3 (4 years), 11.1 to 20.9 (7 years), and 14.3 to 24.5 (9 years). Mean biomass of the best three clones was 1.4 to 2.7 times greater than controls as trees developed at Westport (1995, 1997) and Waseca 2000. Genotype × environment interactions governed biomass production, with clone–mean rank correlations across sites ranging from 0.29 to 0.81. We identified generalist genotypes (e.g. Crandon, NC14105, NM2) with elevated biomass across the region and specialists (e.g. 7300501, 80X01015, and NC14103) with exceptional biomass at specific locations.     

Salecan Enhances the Activities of β-1,3-Glucanase and Decreases the Biomass of Soil-Borne Fungi

Salecan, a linear extracellular polysaccharide consisting of β-1,3-D-glucan, has potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of salecan on soil microbial communities in a vegetable patch. Compositional shifts in the genetic structure of indigenous soil bacterial and fungal communities were monitored using culture-dependent dilution plating, culture-independent PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and quantitative PCR. After 60 days, soil microorganism counts showed no significant variation in bacterial density and a marked decrease in the numbers of fungi. The DGGE profiles revealed that salecan changed the composition of the microbial community in soil by increasing the amount of Bacillus strains and decreasing the amount of Fusarium strains. Quantitative PCR confirmed that the populations of the soil-borne fungi Fusarium oxysporum and Trichoderma spp. were decreased approximately 6- and 2-fold, respectively, in soil containing salecan. This decrease in the amount of fungi can be explained by salecan inducing an increase in the activities of β-1,3-glucanase in the soil. These results suggest the promising application of salecan for biological control of pathogens of soil-borne fungi.     

Biomass carbon stocks and their changes in northern China’s grasslands during 1982–2006

Grassland covers approximately one-third of the area of China and plays an important role in the global terrestrial carbon (C) cycle. However, little is known about biomass C stocks and dynamics in these grasslands. During 2001–2005, we conducted five consecutive field sampling campaigns to investigate above-and below-ground biomass for northern China’s grasslands. Using measurements obtained from 341 sampling sites, together with a NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) time series dataset over 1982–2006, we examined changes in biomass C stock during the past 25 years. Our results showed that biomass C stock in northern China’s grasslands was estimated at 557.5 Tg C (1 Tg=10¹² g), with a mean density of 39.5 g C m⁻² for above-ground biomass and 244.6 g C m⁻² for below-ground biomass. An increasing rate of 0.2 Tg C yr⁻¹ has been observed over the past 25 years, but grassland biomass has not experienced a significant change since the late 1980s. Seasonal rainfall (January–July) was the dominant factor driving temporal dynamics in biomass C stock; however, the responses of grassland biomass to climate variables differed among various grassland types. Biomass in arid grasslands (i.e., desert steppe and typical steppe) was significantly associated with precipitation, while biomass in humid grasslands (i.e., alpine meadow) was positively correlated with mean January-July temperatures. These results suggest that different grassland ecosystems in China may show diverse responses to future climate changes.     

Regional Contingencies in the Relationship between Aboveground Biomass and Litter in the World’s Grasslands

Based on regional-scale studies, aboveground production and litter decomposition are thought to positively covary, because they are driven by shared biotic and climatic factors. Until now we have been unable to test whether production and decomposition are generally coupled across climatically dissimilar regions, because we lacked replicated data collected within a single vegetation type across multiple regions, obfuscating the drivers and generality of the association between production and decomposition. Furthermore, our understanding of the relationships between production and decomposition rests heavily on separate meta-analyses of each response, because no studies have simultaneously measured production and the accumulation or decomposition of litter using consistent methods at globally relevant scales. Here, we use a multi-country grassland dataset collected using a standardized protocol to show that live plant biomass (an estimate of aboveground net primary production) and litter disappearance (represented by mass loss of aboveground litter) do not strongly covary. Live biomass and litter disappearance varied at different spatial scales. There was substantial variation in live biomass among continents, sites and plots whereas among continent differences accounted for most of the variation in litter disappearance rates. Although there were strong associations among aboveground biomass, litter disappearance and climatic factors in some regions (e.g. U.S. Great Plains), these relationships were inconsistent within and among the regions represented by this study. These results highlight the importance of replication among regions and continents when characterizing the correlations between ecosystem processes and interpreting their global-scale implications for carbon flux. We must exercise caution in parameterizing litter decomposition and aboveground production in future regional and global carbon models as their relationship is complex.     

Biomass partitioning pattern of Rheum tanguticum on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau was affected by water-related factors

To identify the patterns of aboveground biomass (M_A) and belowground biomass (M_B) partitioning of a tall perennial herbal plant, Rheum tanguticum Maxim. ex Balf. (R. tanguticum), we determined M_A, M_B, total biomass (M_T), and below- to aboveground biomass ratio (M_B/M_A) through three consecutive sampling campaigns during 2016–2018 on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. We then documented M_A, M_B, M_T, and M_B/M_A, and their log–log relationship with environmental factors using data from 47 sites. M_B/M_A showed a significant negative relationship with mean annual precipitation (MAP) and altitude but a positive relationship with mean annual temperature (MAT), soil total nitrogen content (TN), and soil humidity (SH). While M_T increased with altitude and decreased with MAT, TN, and SH, but the relationship between MAP and M_T was not significant. Reduced major axis analysis revealed a slope of the log–log relationship between M_A and M_B to be 1.16, supporting an allometric partitioning pattern of R. tanguticum. Furthermore, the scaling exponent revealed different changes to different environmental factors. Specifically, scaling exponent was sensitive to the gradient of MAP and SH, but not to the gradient of altitude, MAT, or TN. This indicated that the scaling exponent was affected by water availability.

     

Sorption of Acid Blue 9 Using Hydrilla verticillata Biomass—Optimization,Equilibrium, and Kinetics Studies

In the present study, the parameters, temperature, adsorbent dose, contact time, adsorbent size, and agitation speed were optimized for Acid Blue 9 removal from aqueous medium by Hydrilla verticillata biomass using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum conditions for maximum removal of Acid Blue 9 from an aqueous solution of 100 mg/L were as follows: temperature 30.63°C, adsorbent dose 2.88 g/L, contact time 180 min, adsorbent size 120 mesh (0.124 mm), and agitation speed 237.39 rpm. At these optimized conditions, batch adsorption experiments were conducted to study the effect of pH and initial dye concentration for the removal of Acid Blue 9 dye. The optimum initial pH and initial dye concentration values for Acid Blue 9 removal were found to be 3.0 and 100 mg/L, respectively. Kinetic and equilibrium studies were carried out for the experimental results. From the kinetic studies it was found that pseudo-second-order kinetics suits the system well. From the equilibrium studies, the Freundlich isotherm fits the data well.     

Biomass and abundance of macrofauna in intertidal sediments of Königshafen in the northern Wadden Sea

Intertidal sediments of Königshafen (Island of Sylt, North Sea) were sieved for mesofauna (>0.25 mm) and macrofauna (>1 mm) in spring and autumn 1990. Although sediments are coarser than in other parts of the Wadden Sea, the macrobenthic fauna was very similar but with a tendency towards higher species density, abundance and biomass. Taking into account the areal size of sandy flats, seagrass beds, mud flats and mussel beds, the average biomass is calculated to be 65 g ash-free dry weight m^?2 The lugwormArenicola marina dominates the biomass (28%), followed by the bivalvesMytilus edulis (21%),Mya areanaria (16%),Cerastoderma edule (10%) and the mudsnailHydrobia ulvae (9%). While spring and autumn biomass are almost alike, abundance is highly variable and entirely dominated byH. ulvae. Mesofauna is mainly composed of oligochaetes, small and juvenile polychaetes. Abundance is similar to that of macrofauna, while biomass is only about 1 g m^?2. Macrophyte biomass amounted to 9% of that macrofauna. In the course of the centurym mussel beds expanded while muddy areas declined. The concomitant effects on biomass presumably compensated each other.