Currently, fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas represent the prime energy sources in the world. However, it is anticipated that these sources of energy will deplete within the next 40–50 years. Moreover, the expected environmental damages such as the global warming, acid rain and urban smog due to the production of emissions from these sources have tempted the world to try to reduce carbon emissions by 80% and shift towards utilizing a variety of renewable energy resources (RES) which are less environmentally harmful such as solar, wind, biomass etc. in a sustainable way. Biomass is one of the earliest sources of energy with very specific properties. In this review, several aspects which are associated with burning biomass in boilers have been investigated such as composition of biomass, estimating the higher heating value of biomass, comparison between biomass and other fuels, combustion of biomass, co-firing of biomass and coal, impacts of biomass, economic and social analysis of biomass, transportation of biomass, densification of biomass, problems of biomass and future of biomass. It has been found that utilizing biomass in boilers offers many economical, social and environmental benefits such as financial net saving, conservation of fossil fuel resources, job opportunities creation and CO 2 and NO x emissions reduction. However, care should be taken to other environmental impacts of biomass such as land and water resources, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and deforestation. Fouling, marketing, low heating value, storage and collections and handling are all associated problems when burning biomass in boilers. The future of biomass in boilers depends upon the development of the markets for fossil fuels and on policy decisions regarding the biomass market.

A review on biomass as a fuel for boilers

The replicability of some scientific findings has recently been called into question. To contribute data about replicability in economics, we replicated 18 studies published in the American Economic Review and the Quarterly Journal of Economics between 2011 and 2014. All of these replications followed predefined analysis plans that were made publicly available beforehand, and they all have a statistical power of at least 90% to detect the original effect size at the 5% significance level. We found a significant effect in the same direction as in the original study for 11 replications (61%); on average, the replicated effect size is 66% of the original. The replicability rate varies between 67% and 78% for four additional replicability indicators, including a prediction market measure of peer beliefs.

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Evaluating replicability of laboratory experiments in economics

Being able to replicate scientific findings is crucial for scientific progress. We replicate 21 systematically selected experimental studies in the social sciences published in Nature and Science between 2010 and 2015. The replications follow analysis plans reviewed by the original authors and pre-registered prior to the replications. The replications are high powered, with sample sizes on average about five times higher than in the original studies. We find a significant effect in the same direction as the original study for 13 (62%) studies, and the effect size of the replications is on average about 50% of the original effect size. Replicability varies between 12 (57%) and 14 (67%) studies for complementary replicability indicators. Consistent with these results, the estimated true-positive rate is 67% in a Bayesian analysis. The relative effect size of true positives is estimated to be 71%, suggesting that both false positives and inflated effect sizes of true positives contribute to imperfect reproducibility. Furthermore, we find that peer beliefs of replicability are strongly related to replicability, suggesting that the research community could predict which results would replicate and that failures to replicate were not the result of chance alone.

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Evaluating the replicability of social science experiments in Nature and Science between 2010 and 2015

This article addresses the optimal design and planning of cellulosic ethanol supply chains under economic, environmental, and social objectives. The economic objective is measured by the total annualized cost, the environmental objective is measured by the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, and the social objective is measured by the number of accrued local jobs. A multiobjective mixed-integer linear programming (mo-MILP) model is developed that accounts for major characteristics of cellulosic ethanol supply chains, including supply seasonality and geographical diversity, biomass degradation, feedstock density, diverse conversion pathways and byproducts, infrastructure compatibility, demand distribution, regional economy, and government incentives. Aspen Plus models for biorefineries with different feedstocks and conversion pathways are built to provide detailed techno-economic and emission analysis results for the mo-MILP model, which simultaneously predicts the optimal network design, facility location, technology selection, capital investment, production planning, inventory control, and logistics management decisions. The mo-MILP problem is solved with an e-constraint method; and the resulting Pareto-optimal curves reveal the tradeoff between the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of the sustainable biofuel supply chains. The proposed approach is illustrated through two case studies for the state of Illinois. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012

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Optimal design of sustainable cellulosic biofuel supply chains: Multiobjective optimization coupled with life cycle assessment and input–output analysis

Biomass-to-bioenergy and biofuel supply chain optimization: Overview, key issues and challenges

Biomass is a renewable energy source with increasing importance. The larger fraction of cost in biomass energy generation originates from the logistics operations. A major issue concerning biomass logistics is its storage, especially when it is characterized by seasonal availability. The biomass energy exploitation literature has rarely investigated the issue of biomass storage. Rather, researchers usually choose arbitrarily the lowest cost storage method available, ignoring the effects this choice may have on the total system efficiency. In this work, the three most frequently used biomass storage methods are analyzed and are applied to a case study to come up with tangible comparative results. Furthermore, the issue of combining multiple biomass supply chains, aiming at reducing the storage space requirements, is introduced. An application of this innovative concept is also performed for the case study examined. The most important results of the case study are that the lowest cost storage method indeed constitutes the system-wide most efficient solution, and that the multi-biomass approach is more advantageous when combined with relatively expensive storage methods. However, low cost biomass storage methods bear increased health, safety and technological risks that should always be taken into account.

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Logistics issues of biomass: The storage problem and the multi-biomass supply chain

An e-procurement system for governmental purchasing

This paper presents an attempt to study and monitor the evolution of research on prediction markets (PM). It provides an extended literature review and classification scheme. The former consists of 155 articles, published between 1990 and 2006. The results show that an increasing volume of PM research has been conducted in a very diverse range of areas. The articles are further classified and the results of this classification are presented, based on a scheme that consists of four main categories: description, theoretical work, applications, and law and politics. A comprehensive list of references concludes this literature review. It is the authors’ intention to provide an expedient source for anyone interested in PM research and motivate further interest.

http://ubplj.org/index.php/jpm/article/download/421/452

Prediction markets: an extended literature review

This paper describes a model, which simulates the cotton biomass supply chain. The research has been carried out within the frame of a project that examined the feasibility of producing energy from the chopped cotton-plant stalks after they are cut and after the seed cotton is collected. The heating value of the dry stalks is high and can be used for the production of combined heat and power (CHP co-generation). Thessally is the biggest cotton harvesting area of Greece and Europe. The study focuses on this area where the cotton-stalks are not used for energy production yet. There have not been any studies focusing on the specifications of this renewable source of energy and on the specifications of its harvesting area. This study examines the feasibility and the problems that arise while trying to organize an integrated logistics network and optimize its transportation economy. Also, economic aspects of other logistics procedures like collection and warehousing, are analysed.

Ilias P. Tatsiopoulos

Papers

Logistics issues of biomass: The storage problem and the multi-biomass supply chain

An e-procurement system for governmental purchasing

Prediction markets: an extended literature review

Economic aspects of the cotton-stalk biomass logistics and comparison of supply chain methods

Locating a bioenergy facility using a hybrid optimization method