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Crown Jakarta Management Utilities are looking for the holy grail: reliable baseload electricity derived from a sustainable, low carbon source and available around the clock, whatever the weather. Biomass, despite the rapid growth in its use, is still not ticking all of these boxes. It has also recently received bad press from environmental and scientific agencies as they question whether it reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil fuels. In November 2012, the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace called on the UK government to cancel plans to subsidise the burning of trees in coal power stations. The RSPB report 'Dirtier Than Coal?' says that generating power from typical conifer trees results in 49 per cent more emissions than burning coal, and calls on the government to withdraw public subsidy for generating from feedstock derived from tree trunks. Binding climate change targets and government support for low-carbon energy are bringing about widespread use of biomass in electricity. Coal power stations are co-firing biomass, and dedicated biomass facilities are springing up. As the sector develops, so does understanding of the impact of the large-scale use of fuel made from recently living plant material. It is increasingly clear that the diverse forms of biomass come with different life-cycle carbon emissions and varying green credentials.Initial national policies were based on the assumption that biomass energy is carbon neutral. Biomass has been included in energy portfolios as an infinitely renewable energy source like wind and solar, so it has been eligible for the same support. But closer study of the net greenhouse gas benefits of burning biomass shows that a more complex model of carbon accounting is required. This sho

Crown Jakarta Management Utilities are looking for the holy grail: reliable baseload electricity derived from a sustainable, low carbon source and available around the clock, whatever the weather. Biomass, despite the rapid growth in its use, is still not ticking all of these boxes. It has also recently received bad press from environmental and scientific agencies as they question whether it reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil fuels. In November 2012, the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace called on the UK government to cancel plans to subsidise the burning of trees in coal power stations. The RSPB report 'Dirtier Than Coal?' says that generating power from typical conifer trees results in 49 per cent more emissions than burning coal, and calls on the government to withdraw public subsidy for generating from feedstock derived from tree trunks. Binding climate change targets and government support for low-carbon energy are bringing about widespread use of biomass in electricity. Coal power stations are co-firing biomass, and dedicated biomass facilities are springing up. As the sector develops, so does understanding of the impact of the large-scale use of fuel made from recently living plant material. It is increasingly clear that the diverse forms of biomass come with different life-cycle carbon emissions and varying green credentials.Initial national policies were based on the assumption that biomass energy is carbon neutral. Biomass has been included in energy portfolios as an infinitely renewable energy source like wind and solar, so it has been eligible for the same support. But closer study of the net greenhouse gas benefits of burning biomass shows that a more complex model of carbon accounting is required. This should include factors relating to the type, source and treatment of the biomass, modelling of forest growth, transp

The study found that while the environmental impact of making electric vehicles is greater than for making gas and diesel vehicles, this is more than made up for by the greater impact of gas and diesel vehicles while they're being used. This is true in terms of total energy consumption, use of resources, greenhouse gases, and ozone pollution. The electric vehicles were assumed to be charged from a grid that includes significant amounts of fossil fuels. (Other studies show that electric vehicles beat gas-powered ones in terms of greenhouse gas emissions even if they're charged in regions that depend heavily on coal. Here's one such study. In some areas, hybrids are a better choice than electric cars.) Electric vehicles come out behind in two areas. They contribute slightly more to acid rain. And they're slightly worse in terms of causing algae blooms than gasoline cars (but better than diesel). Related Article: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Blog-Crown-Capital-Management-Jakarta-4663261

Coronal holes are areas where the Sun's corona is darker, and colder, and has lower-density plasma than average. In this case it looks like a giant hole in the middle of the sun. These were first found when X-ray telescopes in the Skylab mission were flown above the Earth's atmosphere to reveal the structure of the corona. An extensive coronal hole rotated towards Earth recently (May 28-31, 2013). The massive coronal area is one of the largest seen in a year or more. Coronal holes are the source of strong solar wind gusts that carry solar particles out to our magnetosphere and beyond. Solar wind streams take 2-3 days to travel from the Sun to Earth, and the coronal holes in which they originate are more likely to affect Earth after they have rotated more than halfway around the visible hemisphere of the Sun, which is the case here. Watching the solar corona is like observing the patterns of clouds in the sky. They can form all sorts of shapes. In June 2012, for example, there was a big bird image. Snapped through three of NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory extreme ultraviolet filters, this current coronal hole is caused by a low density region of hot plasma. The Sun's corona, or extended outer layer, is a region of plasma that is heated to over a million degrees Celsius. As a result of thermal collisions, the particles within the inner corona have a range and distribution of speeds described by a Maxwellian distribution. The mean velocity of these particles is about 145 km/s, which is well below the solar escape velocity of 618 km/s. However, a few of the particles achieve energies sufficient to reach the terminal velocity of 400 km/s, which allows them to feed the solar wind. At the same temperature, electrons, due to their much smaller mass, reach escape velocity and build up an electric field that further accelerates ions - charged atoms - away from the Sun. The corona is one of the sources of the solar wind. Solar maximum or solar max is a normal period of

Coronal holes are areas where the Sun's corona is darker, and colder, and has lower-density plasma than average. In this case it looks like a giant hole in the middle of the sun. These were first found when X-ray telescopes in the Skylab mission were flown above the Earth's atmosphere to reveal the structure of the corona. An extensive coronal hole rotated towards Earth recently (May 28-31, 2013). The massive coronal area is one of the largest seen in a year or more. Coronal holes are the source of strong solar wind gusts that carry solar particles out to our magnetosphere and beyond. Solar wind streams take 2-3 days to travel from the Sun to Earth, and the coronal holes in which they originate are more likely to affect Earth after they have rotated more than halfway around the visible hemisphere of the Sun, which is the case here. Watching the solar corona is like observing the patterns of clouds in the sky. They can form all sorts of shapes. In June 2012, for example, there was a big bird image. Snapped through three of NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory extreme ultraviolet filters, this current coronal hole is caused by a low density region of hot plasma. The Sun's corona, or extended outer layer, is a region of plasma that is heated to over a million degrees Celsius. As a result of thermal collisions, the particles within the inner corona have a range and distribution of speeds described by a Maxwellian distribution. The mean velocity of these particles is about 145 km/s, which is well below the solar escape velocity of 618 km/s. However, a few of the particles achieve energies sufficient to reach the terminal velocity of 400 km/s, which allows them to feed the solar wind. At the same temperature, electrons, due to their much smaller mass, reach escape velocity and build up an electric field that further accelerates ions - charged atoms - away from the Sun. The corona is one of the sources of the solar wind. Solar maximum or solar max is a normal period

Phytase can be relatively cheaply and easily produced and added to poultry feed, but that solves only one aspect of the problem. "Another anti-nutritive factor found in cereal grains used in broiler diets include the presence of non-starch polysaccharides - NSP, which are fibrous material found in plant cell walls," Lee said. "Chickens lack the digestive capacity of ruminant animals and the presence of NSP in the diet increases intestinal viscosity resulting in decreased digestibility of the diet." Fortunately, according to Lee, another enzyme, carbohydrase, can help increase Digestibility of high fiber broiler diets. Both enzymes need be added at low rates, typically from 0.25 to 1 pound per ton of feed. But a question remained: Which strains of the two enzymes were best combinations for chicken health and feed conversion efficiency? To determine this, Lee has been conducting studies comparing how multiple levels of phytase affects the bio-availability of phytate with and without non-starch polysaccharides. The feed tested was a combination of corn and soybean meal with added vitamins and micronutrients - a standard poultry ration. The relationship between the effects of the two enzymes turned out to be more complicated than expected. Non-starch polysaccharides increased the bioavailability of phosphorus but at only one of the three levels of phytase concentrations tested. The results of his study will give commercial poultry producer's information they need to fine-tune feed mixture to reduce phosphorus runoff from chicken litter without endangering flock health, Lee said. Related Article: http://www.quora.com/Kazmier-Lokkines/crown-eco/Crown-capital-eco-management-environment-blog-Biomass-Boiler-Addresses-Alaskans-Environmental-Economic-Concerns-1