Enteric fermentation is a digestive process by which carbohydrates are broken down by microorganisms into simple molecules for absorption into the bloodstream of an animal.
Stanford researchers have developed a method for converting ammonia in wastewater into nitrogen gas while simultaneously generating power in a bioreactor system. This method produces energy from carbon and nitrogen waste and provides significant cost and energy savings over current options.
Fertiliser and manure management in rice fields are important methane mitigation technologies. The fertiliser management mitigation option includes changes in: fertiliser types; fertiliser nutrient ratios; the rates and timing of applications; and use of nitrification inhibitors to reduce methane emissions by affecting methanogenesis in rice fields. Rice cultivation is responsible for 10% of GHG emissions from agriculture. In developing countries, the share of rice in GHG emissions from agriculture is even higher, e.g., it was 16% in 1994.
Livestock are important sources of methane. The United States Environmental Protection Agency calculated that livestock, especially ruminants such as cattle and sheep, account for approximately one-third of global anthropogenic emissions of methane (US-EPA, 2006). The methane is produced primarily through the process of enteric fermentation and released through the process of eructation (Crutzen, 1995). In addition, N2O emissions are generated by livestock through secretion of nitrogen through the urine and faeces.
Under the anaerobic (oxygen free) conditions of landfill sites, organic waste is broken down by micro-organisms, leading to the formation of landfill gas (LFG). LFG is a gaseous mixture which consists mostly of methane and carbon dioxide, but also of a small amount of hydrogen and occasionally trace levels of hydrogen sulphide.
The Working Group I contribution to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report describes progress in understanding of the human and natural drivers of climate change, observed climate change, climate processes and attribution, and estimates of projected future climate change. It builds upon past IPCC assessments and incorporates new findings from the past six years of research.Key findings include:
There is growing evidence that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity contribute to climate change. Many people blame modern farming practices for accelerating this - agriculture produces between 16.8 and 32.2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But could agriculture also hold some solutions to climate change?Research for Geenpeace
International by the University of Aberdeen, in the UK, analyses the
contribution of modern farming to human-induced climate change. The main
Since the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, several ‘carbon markets’ have emerged. These enable governments to trade carbon credits and meet Kyoto targets. A voluntary market has also appeared, in which organisations and individuals can offset their greenhouse gas emissions by preventing a similar amount of gases being released elsewhere.Research from the
International Institute for Environment and Development, UK, examines whether
voluntary carbon markets can provide a new source of funding for sustainable
development.
Through the Kyoto Protocol’s
Transport sector is one of the major oil consuming sectors; it consumes 51% of the final oil consumption (International Energy Agency, 2010). There is a huge need of a sustainable fuel for the transport sector. Current trend of fossil fuel based transport sector only adds to the greenhouse gas crisis more and more. Lots of studies are going on and a lot of emphasis is given to other alternative fuel for transport sector which can provide fuel for a long term option and large scale as well. Biomethane Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) hybrid can be one of the options for transport sector.
Biogas as a source of renewable energy can be produced from variety of organic materials such as agricultural residue, animal manure, municipal wastewater, etc. Anaerobic digestion of organic material is decomposing of organic content in the absence of oxygen. In this procedure organic material is decomposed by bacteria to variety of end product in which the main gasses are Methane and Carbon dioxide.
