Methanol from Biomass — An Option for Switzerland?
The Paul Scherrer Institute has started a project with the goal to demonstrate the production of methanol from a variety of biomass feedstocks such as wood, scrap wood and waste paper. The objective of the project is the full scale demonstration of all aspects of the process - i.e. from the feedstock availability and pretreatment to the utilization of the product methanol in transportation, within this decade. The combination of biomass gasification with water electrolysis using off-peak power will also be studied.
Die Herstellung von Kraftstoffen für mobile Anwendungen
Kraftstoffe werden heute fast ausschlieslich im Raffinerieprozes aus Rohol1 hergestellt. Ausnahmen bilden nur die Ethanolmengen, die in einigen Landern dem Benzin beigemischt bzw. vor allem in Brasilien als Alkoholkraftstoffe genutzt werden, geringe Mengen an Pflanzenolen und ihren Estern, geringe Mengen des Oktanzahlverbesse-rers MTBE und von Mitteldestillaten, die aus Erdgas synthetisiert werden, und die Produkte aus der Kohleverflussigung in Sudafrika.
Spatial distribution of root lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) in a long-term no-till cropping system and their relationship with soil and landscape properties
The Cook Agronomy Farm of Washington State University is a long-term precision agriculture study site. Since 2000, the farm has been in various three-year no-till rotations with winter wheat, spring wheat, and various rotation crops such as barley, canola, peas, lentils, and chickpea. The spatial distribution of root lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) and their relationships with soil and terrain variables were studied by collecting soil samples at 127 and 124 geo-referenced points in two 12-ha fields during the spring of 2010 and 2011, respectively. Pratylenchus spp. were detected in more than 85% of the sampled locations in both fields. Nematode densities spatially mapped using ArcGIS software occurred in an aggregated pattern. Previous rotation crops had no effect on the spatial distribution. Classification and regression tree analysis (CART) using soil and terrain variables, and nematode density, explained 61 and 34% of the variability associated with nematode density in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Soil edaphic factors, such as organic matter, were stronger predictors of nematode populations than rotation effects.