Thermochemical characterisation of Parinari polyandra Benth fruit shell

The aim of this work is to investigate the thermochemical characteristics of Parinari polyandra Benth fruit shell. An agricultural waste residue is investigated using standard methods including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), proximate and ultimate analysis, structural composition and bomb calorimeter. The proximate and ultimate analyses were carried out to determine the ash and fixed carbon contents, volatile matter, and elemental compositions. The structural composition analysis determined the hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin content of the biomass. The measured calorific value obtained was 20.5. MJ/kg. The TGA and DTG profiles indicate the waste fruit shells are viable for pyrolysis reaction. The inorganic contents are relatively low with potassium found to be the most abundant element. The hemicelluloses and cellulose contents are indicative of relatively higher rate of pyrolysis and comparable with established biomass utilised for bio-oil production.

A non-parametric data envelopment analysis approach for improving energy efficiency of grape production

Grape is one of the world's largest fruit crops with approximately 67.5 million tonnes produced each year and energy is an important element in modern grape productions as it heavily depends on fossil and other energy resources. Efficient use of these energies is a necessary step toward reducing environmental hazards, preventing destruction of natural resources and ensuring agricultural sustainability. Hence, identifying excessive use of energy as well as reducing energy resources is the main focus of this paper to optimize energy consumption in grape production.In this study we use a two-stage methodology to find the association of energy efficiency and performance explained by farmers' specific characteristics. In the first stage a non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis is used to model efficiencies as an explicit function of human labor, machinery, chemicals, FYM (farmyard manure), diesel fuel, electricity and water for irrigation energies. In the second step, farm specific variables such as farmers' age, gender, level of education and agricultural experience are used in a Tobit regression framework to explain how these factors influence efficiency of grape farming.The result of the first stage shows substantial inefficiency between the grape producers in the studied area while the second stage shows that the main difference between efficient and inefficient farmers was in the use of chemicals, diesel fuel and water for irrigation. The use of chemicals such as insecticides, herbicides and fungicides were considerably less than inefficient ones. The results revealed that the more educated farmers are more energy efficient in comparison with their less educated counterparts. © 2013.