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In order to achieve the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutralization, we must vigorously develop renewable energy. As one of the important renewable energy sources, the development and utilization of biomass energy has a high cost, and it is difficult to compete with traditional fossil energy in the early stage of development. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to escort the development of the biomass energy industry through legal means. First of all, on the basis of fully analyzing the development prospects of China's biomass energy, the article sorts out the laws and regulations related to biomass energy in China, and finds the shortcomings. Secondly, this paper draws on the institutional experience of the United States, Brazil, Sweden and other countries with relatively developed biomass energy industry, and provides suggestions for improvement from three aspects: law, policy and administrative system, with a view to supporting China's development of biomass energy industry and realizing the "dual carbon target" theoretically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several countries have recently realized that the present development paradigm is not sustainable from an environmental and energy point of view. The growing awareness of the population regarding environmental issues is pushing governments worldwide more and more to promote policies aiming at limiting harmful effects of human development. In particular, the rapid increase of the global temperature, especially in the polar regions, and the management of human wastes, mainly plastic in seas, are some of the main points to be addressed by these novel policies. Several actions must be implemented in order to limit such issues. Unfortunately, the recent COP 24 Conference was not successful, but hopefully an agreement will be established in 2020 at the COP 26 Conference. The effort performed by policymakers must be mandatorily supported by the scientific community. In this framework, this paper aims at showing that countries worldwide are trying to negotiate an agreement to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition, in this paper all the researchers reported can provide quantitative measures of the actions to be implemented in order to address a sustainable and efficient use of energy. Here, innovations in terms of novel efficient and environmentally friendly technologies mainly based on renewable energy sources have been also investigated. The study also highlights different sectors that have been involved for this aim, such as energy conversion systems, urban areas, mobility, sustainability, water management, social aspects, etc. In this framework, specific conferences are periodically organized in order to provide a forum for discussion regarding these topics. In this area the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conference is the most ordinary conference. The 13th Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems Conference was held in Palermo, Italy in 2018. The current Special Issue of Energies, precisely dedicated to the 13th SDEWES Conference, is based on three main topics: energy policy and energy efficiency in urban areas, energy efficiency in industry and biomass and other miscellaneous energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the network data envelopment analysis (DEA) model accounting for negative externalities and applies it for decomposition of profit inefficiency in the biomass-agriculture circular system (Bio-AG system). A circular structure of the Bio-AG system which is different from the previously applied network structures is assumed. Since the negative externalities (i.e., pollutant emissions from the biomass industry) occur in the Bio-AG system, the property rights are taken into consideration to model the externalities-adjusted profits. Therefore, the changes in profits due to changes in the property rights (assuming no property rights, allocating property rights to agricultural sector, and allocating property rights to biomass power generation sector) are quantified. Further, the decomposition shows that the biomass power generation sector is less affected by technical inefficiency if contrasted to allocative inefficiency in terms of the profit loss. The findings suggest that the biomass power generation technology influences the profits of the biomass industry. What is more, the inefficient allocation of resources is now the key factor undermining performance of the biomass industry. Therefore, the government should adopt measures to improve the allocation of resources and prevent excessive investments or development of less efficient technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossil fuel depletion, along with its ever-increasing price and detrimental impact on the environment, has urged researchers to look for alternative renewable energy. Of all the options available, biomass presents a very reliable source due to its never-ending supply. As research on various biomasses has grown in recent years, waste from these biomasses has also increased, and it is now time to shift the focus to utilizing these wastes for energy. The current waste management system mainly focuses on open burning and soil incorporation as it is cost-effective; however, these affect the environment. There must be an alternative way, such as to use it for power generation. Rice straw and rice husk are examples of such potential biomass waste. Rice is the main food source for the world, mostly in Asian regions, as most people consume rice daily. This paper reviews factors that impact the implementation of rice-straw-based power plants. Ash content and moisture content are important properties that govern combustion, and these vary with location. Logistical improvements are required to reduce the transport cost of rice husk and rice straw, which is higher than the transportation cost of coal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the structures of external costs are built in line with coal-fired and biomass power plant life cycle activities in Northeast China. The external cost of coal-fired and biomass power plants was compared, using the lifecycle approach. In addition, the external costs of a biomass power plant are calculated for each stage for comparison with those of a coal-fired power plant. The results highlight that the external costs of a coal-fired plant are 0.072 US $/kWh, which are much higher than that of a biomass power plant, 0.00012 US$/kWh. The external cost of coal-fired power generation is as much as 90% of the current price of electricity generated by coal, while the external cost of a biomass power plant is 1/1000 of the current price of electricity generated by biomass. In addition, for a biomass power plant, the external cost associated with SO2, NOX, and PM2.5 are particularly lower than those of a coal-fired power plant. The prospect of establishing precise estimations for external cost mechanisms and sustainable energy policies is discussed to show a possible direction for future energy schemes in China. The paper has significant value for supporting the biomass power industry and taxing or regulating coal-fired power industry to optimize the energy structure in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microalgae have received much attention in the last few years. Their use is being extended to different fields of application and technologies, such as food, animal feed, and production of valuable polymers. Additionally, there is interest in using microalgae for removal of nutrients from wastewater. Wastewater treatment with microalgae allows for a reduction in the main chemicals responsible for eutrophication (nitrogen and phosphate), the reduction of organic substrates (by decreasing parameters such as BOD and COD) and the removal of other substances such as heavy metals and pharmaceuticals. By selecting and reviewing 202 articles published in Scopus between 1992 and 2020, some aspects such as the feasibility of microalgae cultivation on wastewater and potential bioremediation have been investigated and evaluated. In this review, particular emphasis was placed on the different types of wastewaters on which the growth of microalgae is possible, the achievable bioremediation and the factors that make large-scale microalgae treatment feasible. The results indicated that the microalgae are able to grow on wastewater and carry out effective bioremediation. Furthermore, single-step treatment with mixotrophic microalgae could represent a valid alternative to conventional processes. The main bottlenecks are the large-scale feasibility and costs associated with biomass harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofuel production in China suffers from many uncertainties due to concerns about the government's support policy and supply of biofuel raw material. Predicting biofuel production is critical to the development of this energy industry. Depending on the biofuel's characteristics, we improve the prediction precision of the conventional prediction method by creating a dynamic fuzzy grey-Markov prediction model. Our model divides random time series decomposition into a change trend sequence and a fluctuation sequence. It comprises two improvements. We overcome the problem of considering the status of future time from a static angle in the traditional grey model by using the grey equal dimension new information and equal dimension increasing models to create a dynamic grey prediction model. To resolve the influence of random fluctuation data and weak anti-interference ability in the Markov chain model, we improve the traditional grey-Markov model with classification of states using the fuzzy set theory. Finally, we use real data to test the dynamic fuzzy prediction model. The results prove that the model can effectively improve the accuracy of forecast data and can be applied to predict biofuel production. However, there are still some defects in our model. The modeling approach used here predicts biofuel production levels based upon past production levels dictated by economics, governmental policies, and technological developments but none of which can be forecast accurately based upon past events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization of renewable energy resources is imperative due to energy access, energy security, and energy sustainability coupled with the rising environmental concern. India is one of the largest land mass countries in the world and amply bestowed with biomass resources. Investigations on biomass supply potential, socio-economic challenges, local people attitudes, current bioenergy markets, and technologies are prerequisite while seeking to develop sustainable energy plants. The study aimed to assess expert attitudes on woodbased energy development in India. This assessment was based on the opinions of Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers who are involved in managing wood-based biomass resources in different parts of the country. The study gave emphasis to the advantages, problems, and directions of the biomass based energy development in the country. The results showed that the development of biomass-based energy plants involves a number of challenges both locally and nationally. In addition, the study also highlighted the possible benefits of developing biomass based energy plants at local and national levels. The outcomes of this study provide useful information to the policy decision makers, energy entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders in the development of biomass based energy in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine two biomass district heating plants operating in Tuscany, with a specific focus on the ex-post evaluation of their economic and financial feasibility and of their environmental benefits. The former biomass district heating plant supplies only public users (Comunità Montana della Lunigiana, CML: administrative body that coordinates the municipalities located in mountain areas), the latter supplies both public and private users (Municipality of San Romano in Garfagnana). Ex-post investment analysis was performed to check both the consistency of results with the forecasts made in the stage of the project design and on the factors, which may have reduced or jeopardized the estimated economic performance of the investment (ex-ante assessment). The results of the study point out appreciable results only in the case of biomass district heating plants involving private users and fuelled by biomasses sourced from third parties. In this case, the factors that most influence ex-post results include the conditions of the woody biomass local market (market prices), the policies of energy selling prices to private users and the temporal dynamics of private users' connection. To ensure the consistency of ex-post economic outcome with the expected results it is thus important to: (i) have good knowledge of the woody local market; (ii) define energy selling prices that should be cheap for private users but consistent with energy production costs and (iii) constrain private users beforehand to prevent errors in the plant design and in the preliminary estimate of return on investment. Moreover, the results obtained during the monitoring activities could help in providing information on the effectiveness of the supporting measures adopted and also to orient future choices of policy makers and particularly designers, to identify the most efficient configuration of district heating organization for improving energy and environmental performances of communities, and to develop a chain model for the optimization of energy use in the municipality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]