Indonesia is the third-largest rice producer countries in the world with the total production capacity of around 70 million tons per year. Rice husk is the main residue from rice milling and is about 20% of the paddy grain weight. Typical utilization of rice husk includes fertilizer, animal feed and as cooking or heating fuel. Rice husk fuel has a lower heating value of about 14 MJ per kg that is about half of coal heating value. Therefore, there has been significant interest in recent years in generating power from the rice husk instead of heat using the gasification technology. The process of gasification converts the rice husk into a synthetic gas that can be used for electricity production. This paper aims to examine the potential of rice husk in electricity generation for on-grid applications using gasification technology.

The article is devoted to the study of state support in the field of bioenergy production in Ukraine. It is mentioned, that it is still not clear the legal nature of agricultural bioenergy relations. However, it is quite clear that relations on state support of bioenergy production (in terms of production of biofuels from agricultural raw materials) belong to the subject of agroprotective law and are regulated by it. This is due to the fact that: first, the objects of bioenergy relations are biomass and biofuels, which are agricultural products; secondly, the subjects of bioenergy relations are mainly agricultural producers or processors; thirdly, the content of bioenergy relations is in the production and processing of agricultural products. That is, bioenergy relations at the stages of production (formation) of biomass and its processing into biofuels constitute a type of agricultural activity, the state support of which is regulated by agroprotective law. It is revealed that in terms of state support should be taken such measures as: support of processing of actually produced agricultural products by its producer; support of creation of agricultural processing cooperatives; support of bioenergy production, which is based on the process of processing biomass into biofuels. Improvement of agroprotective legislation in this area should occur by: a) foreseeing universal legal mechanisms to support processing activities in the Law of Ukraine "On state support of agriculture of Ukraine"; b) addition to the Law of Ukraine "On agricultural cooperation" of agroprotective provisions on agricultural processing cooperatives; c) adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On production and sale of biofuels".

The biofuel industry is rapidly growing with a promising role in producing renewable energy and tackling climate change. Nanotechnology has tremendous potential to achieve cost-effective and process-efficient biofuel industry. Various nanomaterials have been developed with unique properties for enhanced biofuel production/utilization. The way forward is to develop nanotechnology-based biofuel systems at industrial scale.

District heating networks are commonly addressed in the literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasing the greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat sales. Due to the changed climate conditions and building renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease, prolonging the investment return period. The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665 buildings that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were compared with results from a dynamic heat demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors. The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications (the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered). The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations. Abstract This study aims to examine the nonsterilized fermentation conditions for coproduction of pectinases and lipase enzymes using several fruit wastes as an energy source. Thermophilic fungal strain, Penicillium expansum CMI 39671 was used as a fermenting strain. The effect of process conditions including; nitrogen sources, pH, temperature, time and moisture contents, on the production of both enzymes were studied. The highest activities of pectinase and lipase (2817, 1870 U/g dry substrate) enzymes were found with orange peel feedstock, whereas the lowest activities of 1662 U/g and 1266 U/g were found with banana peel and papaya peel feedstocks respectively. Overall, pectinase showed higher enzymatic activities than lipase enzymes, both having similar increasing and decreasing trends, at all studied conditions. The optimum process conditions of peptone as a nitrogen source, pH 7, 40°C, 5 days and 70% moisture contents, were found to show highest enzymatic activities for both enzymes. The orange peel feedstock showed no significant difference in both enzymes' activities at sterilized and nonnotarized process conditions. Pectinase and lipase enzymes showed (13791 U/g) and (8114 U/g) for sterilized and (14091 U/g) and (8324 U/g) for nonnotarized process conditions respectively. In addition, the fungal strains also produce bacteriocin-like compounds that could inhibit microbial growth. These findings will help to design and develop robust, cost-effective and less energy intensive enzyme production processes and consequently an efficient fruit waste to energy system through open fermentation. Abstract This study aims to examine the nonsterilized fermentation conditions for coproduction of pectinases and lipase enzymes using several fruit wastes as an energy source. Thermophilic fungal strain, Penicillium expansum CMI 39671 was used as a fermenting strain. The effect of process conditions including; nitrogen sources, pH, temperature, time and moisture contents, on the production of both enzymes were studied. The highest activities of pectinase and lipase (2817, 1870 U/g dry substrate) enzymes were found with orange peel feedstock, whereas the lowest activities of 1662 U/g and 1266 U/g were found with banana peel and papaya peel feedstocks respectively. Overall, pectinase showed higher enzymatic activities than lipase enzymes, both having similar increasing and decreasing trends, at all studied conditions. The optimum process conditions of peptone as a nitrogen source, pH 7, 40°C, 5 days and 70% moisture contents, were found to show highest enzymatic activities for both enzymes. The orange peel feedstock showed no significant difference in both enzymes' activities at sterilized and nonnotarized process conditions. Pectinase and lipase enzymes showed (13791 U/g) and (8114 U/g) for sterilized and (14091 U/g) and (8324 U/g) for nonnotarized process conditions respectively. In addition, the fungal strains also produce bacteriocin-like compounds that could inhibit microbial growth. These findings will help to design and develop robust, cost-effective and less energy intensive enzyme production processes and consequently an efficient fruit waste to energy system through open fermentation.

The study investigated biogas potentials of six different plants, Cow rumen liquor, Cowpea, and poultry waste. The Slurry used was prepared by mixing 60 g of plants sample with 20 g of chicken dropping in the ratio of 3:1 W/W (weight for weight). These were moistened with varying volumes of pre – warmed water at 37 oC. The results show nonlinear production of gas during the retention period of 16 days, with corresponding increase in cumulative volume of biogas. Digesters containing Steculia Setigera and Grewia mollis produced cumulative volumes of 267 cm3 and 245 cm3 respectively; while Lannea sp, Ficus Capensis, Ficus Trichopoda and Piliostigma Thonnigii produced cumulative volumes of 241, 185, 181 and 95cm3 respectively. The entire samples produced biogas at early retention time not later than 10 days. The results are such that the higher the lignin contents in the plants, the lower its biogas yield. Low moisture contents (9.1 – 4.6 %) of was observed for all the samples. The pH range of 7.53 – 6.80 was found for the samples’ slurry. The pH of 7.53 was associated with the sample with highest cumulative volume of biogas. The range 49.02 – 41.18 % was observed as the ash contents for the materials used. These plants have good potentials as biogas producers. Therefore details studies of biogas production should be done on them and subsequent commercialization.

The feasibility of bioethanol production from rice husk as an important sustainable alternative source of biofuel with a and management of agricultural wastes was undertaken. The content of cellulose and hemicelluloses from the rice husk collected from rice processing site was evaluated followed by ethanol production. The process for bioethanol production involves three basic steps: pretreatment with an alkali, enzymatic hydrolysis using Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma harzianum and sugar fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and all carried out in accordance to standard procedures. Results collected revealed that the rice husk contain 38% cellulose and 35% hemicelluloses. difference (p<0.05) in the yields of the reducing sugar obtained from the substrate (5g) usi Aspergillus niger (2.81g\L) and Trichoderma h After fermentation of the substrates at 30 there was significance difference (niger (6.99%) and Trichoderma harzianum choice in bioethanol production using rice husk substrate when compared to Trichoderma harzianum.

Biomass pyrolysis is a promising renewable sustainable source of fuels and petrochemical substitutes. It may help in compensating the progressive consumption of fossil-fuel reserves. The present article outlines biomass pyrolysis. Various types of biomass used for pyrolysis are encompassed, e.g., wood, agricultural residues, sewage. Categories of pyrolysis are outlined, e.g., flash, fast, and slow. Emphasis is laid on current and future trends in biomass pyrolysis, e.g., microwave pyrolysis, solar pyrolysis, plasma pyrolysis, hydrogen production via biomass pyrolysis, co-pyrolysis of biomass with synthetic polymers and sewage, selective preparation of high-valued chemicals, pyrolysis of exotic biomass (coffee grounds and cotton shells), comparison between algal and terrestrial biomass pyrolysis. Specific future prospects are investigated, e.g., preparation of supercapacitor biochar materials by one-pot one-step pyrolysis of biomass with other ingredients, and fabricating metallic catalysts embedded on biochar for removal of environmental contaminants. The authors predict that combining solar pyrolysis with hydrogen production would be the eco-friendliest and most energetically feasible process in the future. Since hydrogen is an ideal clean fuel, this process may share in limiting climate changes due to CO 2 emissions.
Keywords Sustainable and renewable energy source; Fossil-fuel alternatives; Biomass pyrolysis; Biofuel (bio-oil, biogas, biochar); Charcoal (activated carbon); Hydrogen fuel

Se analiza la normatividad que rige a nivel internacional y su interrelación con la normatividad existente en México. La Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-086-SEMARNAT-SENER-SCFI-2005, Especificaciones de los combustibles fósiles para la protección ambiental, (SEMARNAT SENER SCFI , 2006) estable los lineamientos para el uso de combustibles fósiles, sin incluir a los combustibles que llamamos orgánicos, por lo que es necesario construir un marco normativo para el uso de los combustibles de origen vegetal o animal.
El presente trabajo propone la infraestructura y normatividad necesarias para producción de combustibles generados a partir de la biomasa a nivel académico, buscando con éste la formación integral de los estudiantes del Programa de Energía de la UACM.
Debido a que el marco normativo en el sector energético en México hace referencia a la normatividad ASTM, se decidió utilizar ésta última como base para el desarrollo del presente trabajo para tener los mismos patrones de referencia técnica.
El presente trabajo, se desprende de la falta de laboratorios, talleres e instalaciones especiales para la Maestría en Fuentes Renovables de Energía y Eficiencia Energética,

Studies have shown that cooking fuels currently in use in the majority of Equatorial East African communities (specifically Mozambique) have a lot of adverse effects on the livelihood and health of the citizens and the environment. Kerosene and firewood cause of lot of respiratory problems in the users and also their prices are completely unstable. Project CASSAVA proposes cassava-sourced, ethanol-based cooking fuel as an alternative for these communities. Inspired by the existing models of operation in Nigeria and Zambia we plan to have a holistic and sustainable business model which is extremely favorable to both the investors and the users. Project CASSAVA plans to provide an end-to-end solution to the issue at hand by setting up versatile systems that will handle specific tasks including the processing of cassava and the cooking stove itself. The technical maintenance for this endeavor will be done in partnership with Universidade Lúrio, mainly to save on the costs of transportation and solving the problem of the language barrier. Project CASSAVA will be beneficial in terms of boosting rural agriculture, creating jobs, alleviating poverty, conserving forest from fuel wood exploitation, and preventing indoor pollution. The proposed technical and business design is available in detail, in the paper, with the aim of highlighting the benefits of this project for the development of the “other 90%” of the global population.

The book aims to offer a comprehensive review of liquid biofuel issues, highlighting ethanol production and use. BNDES and CGEE coordinated the preparation of the book with the support of ECLAC and FAO. The preparation of chapters 1 to 7 and chapter 9 was coordinated by BNDES and CGEE; ECLAC and FAO coordinated the production of chapter 8 and provided insight and valuable assistance for developing the other chapters.

Chapter 1 discusses bioenergy-related concepts and describes the development of bioenergy sources, stressing their importance in today’s energy context. Chapter 2 deals with ethanol
as a motor-vehicle fuel, discussing its properties and performance as a fuel, as well as economic and logistical aspects of its use. Chapter 3 describes the processes used to produce bioethanol from different sugary and starchy crops, focusing on sugarcane and maize conversion routes and the energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) balances in each case. Chapters 4 and 5 look at technical aspects of the co-products and by-products obtained in sugarcane bioethanol production. Chapter 4 discusses sugar and bioelectricity, the two main co- products under current technologies, and chapter 5 analyses innovative conversion routes, such as hydrolysis and gasification, that could be used in the future to obtain biofuels from sugarcane by-products and residues. The first five chapters take a technical approach; despite occasional references to Brazil’s experience, the concepts discussed are applicable in other contexts. Chapter 6 then moves on to the Brazilian experience, presenting the country’s bioethanol programme — which was established in 1975 — and discussing its evolution, indicators and current perspectives. Chapter 7 addresses sustainability issues that represent major sources of concern regarding biofuels production in Brazil. Sustainability is discussed in environmental, economic and social terms, including some remarks on biofuel certification. Chapter 8 assesses the global potential for biofuel production, discusses policies adopted to foster it and evaluates the possibilities of setting up a global bioethanol market and how this would affect food security. Chapter 9 summarizes the main points made in the book and offers some recommendations.
The book aims to provide grounds for a meaningful and objective discussion on the potential and constraints of producing bioethanol from sugarcane, especially in those countries where sugarcane is already being cultivated. Policies and incentives to create a competitive market for sugarcane bioethanol are important, but the promotion of biofuels must not compromise food security, internationally agreed commitments on poverty and hunger reduction or the promotion of sustainable natural resources management.

Addressing the contemporary waste management is seeing a shift towards energy production while managing waste sustainably. Consequently, waste treatment through gasification is slowly taking over the waste incineration with multiple benefits, including simultaneous waste management and energy production while reducing landfill volumes and displacing conventional fossil fuels. Only in the UK, there are around 14 commercial plants built to operate on gasification technology. These include fixed bed and fluidized bed gasification reactors. Ultra-clean tar free gasification of waste is now the best available technique and has experienced a significant shift from two-stage gasification and combustion towards a one-stage system for gasification and syngas cleaning. Nowadays in gasification sector, more companies are developing commercial plants with tar cracking and syngas cleaning. Moreover, gasification can be a practical scheme when applying ultra-clean syngas for a gas turbine with heat recovery by steam cycle for district heating and cooling (DHC) systems. This chapter aims to examine the recent trends in gasification-based waste-to-energy technologies. Furthermore, types of gasification technologies, their challenges and future perspectives in various applications are highlighted in detail.

This study aims to (1) convert agricultural waste to biochar through pyrolysis, (2) examine its physiochemical characteristics, and (3) investigate its potential role as fuel and catalyst in energy recovery technologies. The produced biochars at 250, 350, and 450 °C showed a wide range of mineralogical composition, high porosity, and thermal stability, and alkaline pH that make biochar suitable for improving the processes of energy recovery technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD), transesterification and pyrolysis. The alkaline pH of biochars can neutralize the acidic condition and increase the digestibility of the feedstock in AD process for enhanced methane (CH4) production. Biochar favors the transesterification process for biodiesel production due to products separation and high stability under basic and acidic conditions. In pyrolysis process, biochar can act as a catalyst to increase the degradation rates of plastic or biomass wastes or can be used as an adsorbent material during the post-treatment to improve the quality of the liquid oil. The high heating values (HHV) of biochars produced at 250, 350 and 450 °C were 24, 23.64 and 23.08 MJ kg-1. This characteristic of biochar along with the high tendency of slagging indicate that biochar could be used itself as a source of energy. Biochar can also act as a promising low-cost adsorbent for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) due to its highly porous structure and sorptive capacity and subsequently the conversion of absorbed CO2 to fuel. Research is yet required on the application of biochar in pyrolysis and capturing and catalyzing the conversion reactions of CO2 to fuels.