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Theoretical and Applicability Problems of Agricultural Engineering and Associated Research Areas—Sustainable Agricultural Engineering—Sustainable Biomass to Energy Conversion

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2017) | Viewed by 25098

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Józef Szlachta

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Guest Editor
Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Life Sciences and Technology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Cełmońskiego 37a, 51-144 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: sustainable agricultural engineering, development; energy; efficiency; environmental impact; economics; ecology; sustainable engineering and design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue comprises selected papers from the XIV Conference, “Theoretical and Applicability Problems of Agricultural Engineering and Associated Research Areas (June 2017)”. Sustainability and sustainable development cover environmental, social, and economic dimensions, and require a multi-disciplinary approach in order to examine, explore, and critically engage with issues and advances in these and related areas. The XIV conference facilitated debates on theoretical and practical investigations, and allowed participants to “make a difference” through on-line discussions regarding the role of agricultural engineering for sustainable agriculture. In addition to covering the three pillars of sustainable development, other areas were covered, including renewable energy self-sufficiency, energy return-on-investment, governance and sustainability, sustainability assessment and policies, and remote sensing for sustainable management of land and biodiversity.

Sustainable agricultural engineering depends on a number of social, economic, technical and environmental, such as energy prices, fuel, labor, cultural change, air and water pollution and the costs of agricultural technology. Processing waste and agricultural residues into bioenergy is an important part of agricultural engineering. Conversion of biomass to energy is still the basis of renewable energy systems. Efforts are being made to search for new biomass resources and to improve processes in order to increase the efficiency of conversion techniques. At the same time, there are conflicting conclusions regarding the sustainability and environmental performance of existing strategies and techniques of bio-energy.

This Special Issue invites papers dealing with the various aspects of sustainability in agricultural engineering and bioenergy production, covering all integral technical chains from biomass production to residue management. Papers are preferably sought that critically examine the advantages and disadvantages of bioenergy concepts and techniques, by presenting pilot applications, desk-top reviews of case studies, proposal of analytical methods, and tools.

Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments and applications.

Topics of interests include, but are not restricted to:

  • sustainable problems of agricultural engineering in plant and animal production,
  • sustainable biomass resources,
  • sustainable technical processes for energetic conversion of biomass,
  • residue management after energetic conversion,
  • assessment of efficiency of energetic conversion,
  • socio-economic evaluation of bioenergy value chains,
  • life-cycle assessment of concepts,
  • analysis of trade-offs in bioenergy production.

Prof. Józef Szlachta
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • agricultural engineering
  • agricultural residues
  • biomass
  • energy crops
  • green waste
  • bioeconomy
  • ecosystem services
  • conversion efficiency

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 496 KiB  
Article
Influence of Steel Plate Roughness on the Frictional Properties of Cereal Kernels
by Zdzisław Kaliniewicz, Zbigniew Żuk and Zbigniew Krzysiak
Sustainability 2018, 10(4), 1003; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041003 - 28 Mar 2018
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3212
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between the external friction angle of cereal kernels and the roughness of a steel friction plate. The experiment was performed on the kernels of five principal cereals: wheat, rye, barley, oats, and triticale. [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between the external friction angle of cereal kernels and the roughness of a steel friction plate. The experiment was performed on the kernels of five principal cereals: wheat, rye, barley, oats, and triticale. Flat seed units composed of three spaced kernels joined by adhesive tape were analyzed in each experimental variant. The external friction angle of flat seed units was determined on nine steel friction plates with different roughness. Measurements were performed in three replications with a photosensor device which registered the external friction angle of cereal kernels. On friction plates with surface roughness Ra = 0.36 to Ra = 6.72, the average values of the angle of external friction ranged from 17.56° in rye kernels to 34.01° in oat kernels. The greatest similarities in the angle of external friction were observed between wheat and triticale kernels, whereas the greatest differences were noted between barley and oat kernels and between barley and triticale kernels. Friction plates made of ST3S steel should be characterized by the lowest surface roughness to minimize energy consumption during grain processing. The optimal surface roughness of steel friction plates was determined at Ra = 0.9. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theoretical and Applicability Problems of Agricultural Engineering and Associated Research Areas—Sustainable Agricultural Engineering—Sustainable Biomass to Energy Conversion)
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13 pages, 3970 KiB  
Article
Sustainability Biogas Production from Ensiled Plants Consisting of the Transformation of the Digestate into a Valuable Organic-Mineral Granular Fertilizer
by Hubert Prask, Józef Szlachta, Małgorzata Fugol, Leszek Kordas, Agnieszka Lejman, Franciszek Tużnik and Filip Tużnik
Sustainability 2018, 10(3), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030585 - 26 Feb 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4670
Abstract
The research concerned the elaborate of non-waste biogas production technology based on the development of digestate from anaerobic digestion. In the anaerobic digestion process, the substrates of plant origin in the form of silage were used. The digestate obtained after biogas production was [...] Read more.
The research concerned the elaborate of non-waste biogas production technology based on the development of digestate from anaerobic digestion. In the anaerobic digestion process, the substrates of plant origin in the form of silage were used. The digestate obtained after biogas production was processed using the ORTWED method into a valuable granulated organic-mineral fertilizer, which contains a solid fraction of digestate, calcium and biogenic elements. This method can be successfully applied in agriculture in the context of its sustainable development due to the growing problem of utilization of digestate forming in agricultural biogas plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theoretical and Applicability Problems of Agricultural Engineering and Associated Research Areas—Sustainable Agricultural Engineering—Sustainable Biomass to Energy Conversion)
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15 pages, 2640 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Gliricidia-Derived Biochar on Sequential Maize and Bean Farming
by Ana Castro, Nilcileny Da Silva Batista, Agnieszka E. Latawiec, Aline Rodrigues, Bernardo Strassburg, Daniel Silva, Ednaldo Araujo, Luiz Fernando D. De Moraes, Jose Guilherme Guerra, Gabriel Galvão, Helena Alves-Pinto, Maiara Mendes, Juliana Silveira Dos Santos, Marcio C. Rangel, Mariela Figueredo, Gerard Cornelissen and Sarah Hale
Sustainability 2018, 10(3), 578; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030578 - 26 Feb 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5089
Abstract
The addition of biochar to soils can improve soil fertility and increase agricultural productivity. We carried out a field experiment in which biochar produced from Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Kunth ex Walp. was added to low-fertility Brazilian planosol and tested to increase the yield [...] Read more.
The addition of biochar to soils can improve soil fertility and increase agricultural productivity. We carried out a field experiment in which biochar produced from Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Kunth ex Walp. was added to low-fertility Brazilian planosol and tested to increase the yield of maize (Zea mays) and snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in sequential, organic cultivation. Biochar was applied at a 15 t/ha rate, combined or not with Azospirillum Brasiliense inoculation and organic fertilizer (Bokashi). The application of biochar resulted in an increase in soil pH and of the content of macronutrients such as phosphorus and potassium. Contrary to evidence from elsewhere, biochar had a limited effect on increasing maize yield. In the case of beans, when combined with fertilizer, biochar increased the production of beans pods and biomass, but the significant increase was observed only for inoculation. Beans are the principal component of Brazilian diet and increasing productivity of beans is of upmost importance for the poorest in Brazil, and in other tropical countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theoretical and Applicability Problems of Agricultural Engineering and Associated Research Areas—Sustainable Agricultural Engineering—Sustainable Biomass to Energy Conversion)
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5449 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Selected Parameters of the Automatic Scarification Device as an Example of a Device for Sustainable Forest Management
by Ryszard Tadeusiewicz, Paweł Tylek, Florian Adamczyk, Paweł Kiełbasa, Mirosław Jabłoński, Zbigniew Bubliński, Joanna Grabska-Chrząstowska, Zdzisław Kaliniewicz, Józef Walczyk, Jan Szczepaniak, Tadeusz Juliszewski and Michał Szaroleta
Sustainability 2017, 9(12), 2370; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122370 - 19 Dec 2017
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4267
Abstract
Due to technological progress in forestry, seedlings with covered root systems—especially those grown in container nurseries—have become increasingly important in forest nursery production. One the trees that is most commonly grown this way is the common oak (Quercus robur L.). For an [...] Read more.
Due to technological progress in forestry, seedlings with covered root systems—especially those grown in container nurseries—have become increasingly important in forest nursery production. One the trees that is most commonly grown this way is the common oak (Quercus robur L.). For an acorn to be sown in a container, it is necessary to remove its upper part during mechanical scarification, and evaluate its sowing suitability. At present, this is mainly done manually and by visual assessment. The low effectiveness of this method of acorn preparation has encouraged a search for unconventional solutions. One of them is the use of an automated device that consists of a computer vision-based module. For economic reasons related to the cost of growing seedlings in container nurseries, it is beneficial to minimize the contribution of unhealthy seeds. The maximum accuracy, which is understood as the number of correct seed diagnoses relative to the total number of seeds being assessed, was adopted as a criterion for choosing a separation threshold. According to the method proposed, the intensity and red components of the images of scarified acorns facilitated the best results in terms of the materials examined during the experiment. On average, a 10% inaccuracy of separation was observed. A secondary outcome of the presented research is an evaluation of the ergonomic parameters of the user interface that is attached to the unit controlling the device when it is running in its autonomous operation mode. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theoretical and Applicability Problems of Agricultural Engineering and Associated Research Areas—Sustainable Agricultural Engineering—Sustainable Biomass to Energy Conversion)
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5931 KiB  
Article
Automation of the Acorn Scarification Process as a Contribution to Sustainable Forest Management. Case Study: Common Oak
by Ryszard Tadeusiewicz, Paweł Tylek, Florian Adamczyk, Paweł Kiełbasa, Mirosław Jabłoński, Piotr Pawlik, Adam Piłat, Józef Walczyk, Jan Szczepaniak, Tadeusz Juliszewski and Michał Szaroleta
Sustainability 2017, 9(12), 2276; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122276 - 08 Dec 2017
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4236
Abstract
The basic principle of silviculture is the rational use of natural regeneration. The acceleration and equalisation of seed germination and an increase of the field seed germination ability are affected by seed scarification, which results in the destruction or weakening of the seed [...] Read more.
The basic principle of silviculture is the rational use of natural regeneration. The acceleration and equalisation of seed germination and an increase of the field seed germination ability are affected by seed scarification, which results in the destruction or weakening of the seed cover. Acorn scarification is performed manually, in the standing position, most often in adapted work stations, whose geometry is adjusted by the staff to their own anthropometric dimensions. An added value of acorn scarification consists in the ability to visually assess the health status of the cotyledons visible on the cross-section, making it possible to infer the potential use of a seed for sowing. However, due to the scope and duration of the activities involved, manual scarification is a process that is monotonous and physically as well as psychologically tiring for its performer. Automating of this process allows for effective replacement of human labour. The results obtained from the use of the vision system designed to determine the length and orientation of acorns may be considered satisfactory. The implementation of the seed orientation detection algorithm using the Harris detector was 90% accurate. Studies and analyses have shown that the process of acorn scarification has a positive effect on the later improvement of uniformity and acceleration of seedling emergence. In the case of seeds subjected to scarification, 83% of the acorns germinated within 4 to 6 weeks after sowing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theoretical and Applicability Problems of Agricultural Engineering and Associated Research Areas—Sustainable Agricultural Engineering—Sustainable Biomass to Energy Conversion)
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1301 KiB  
Article
An Analysis of Selected Physical Properties of Ancient Wheat Species
by Ewelina Kolankowska, Dariusz Jan Choszcz and Piotr Markowski
Sustainability 2017, 9(11), 1970; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9111970 - 28 Oct 2017
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2898
Abstract
Recent years have witnessed a revived interest in ancient wheats on account of their health-promoting properties. The aim of this study was to determine selected physical properties of hulled and hulless kernels of ancient wheats for optimizing the parameters of seed processing operations [...] Read more.
Recent years have witnessed a revived interest in ancient wheats on account of their health-promoting properties. The aim of this study was to determine selected physical properties of hulled and hulless kernels of ancient wheats for optimizing the parameters of seed processing operations such as husking, cleaning, and sorting. The geometric parameters (length, width and thickness), mass, and angle of external friction (on steel and PVC) of hulled and hulless spelt, emmer, and einkorn kernels were determined. The spikelets and kernels of ancient wheats are characterized by similar physical properties and differ most considerably in mass. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theoretical and Applicability Problems of Agricultural Engineering and Associated Research Areas—Sustainable Agricultural Engineering—Sustainable Biomass to Energy Conversion)
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