A Technical Experiment on Biogas Production from Small-Scale Dairy Farm

The key objective of this study was to evaluate the economic feasibility of producing biogas from privately-owned dairy farm in the North of Jordan. This experiment did not adopt Best-Available-Technology (BAT) but rather traditional unit manufactured with minimized costs through installing locally produced materials to avoid economic burden on the farmers’ production costs. A thermophilic biodigester unit was built sub-surface with 22 m3 capacity (15 m3 manure tank plus 7 m3 biogas holder) in a relatively small scale dairy farm. The daily feed was about 500 liter of cow slurry (150 - 200 liter cow manure) and the remaining were production liquids. The retention time was approximately 25 - 30 days and the seasonal temperature measured was about 18°C - 20°C. The unit was thermally insulated;therefore, the temperature fluctuation was slightly around +/-3°C. The daily biogas production was estimated at 7 m3 equivalent to 4 kg of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or 11 (12.5 kg) LPG cylinders per month worth US$140. The methane percentage was 60% in relatively warm temperature (18°C - 20°C) and approximately 56% in colder

Water Shortage in MENA Region: An Interdisciplinary Overview and a Suite of Practical Solutions

The chronic water shortage in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region is a perplexing issue, undoubtedly because various operational sectors, multi-institutions and stakeholders are inextricably interconnected. In the light of climate variability and the unprecedented population growth rate, the per capita water resources and biocapacity will continue plummeting, and the demand-gap will seriously expand. Existing water quantification agreements have been deemed inefficient to solve the problem of naturally diminishing water resources and thus require immediate re-assembling. Most scholarly endeavors, including key international organizations, NGOs, and “Think Tank” policy briefs have limitedly addressed water shortage in contexts of regional politics, mass media, and, importantly, from social psychology perspectives. Therefore, a thorough analysis and interdisciplinary approach is required to find a feasible and suitable framework of solutions and from a multi-perspective podium. A synthesis of cross-sectorial bottlenecks that are crucial to water management is presented, and a suite of practical recommendations are introduced to water authorities and governments. This study argues that in the shadow of the region’s political instability, the clash of ideologies and its repercussions, and issues of national security and sovereignty, regional cooperation on water issues remain prognostications. In this essence, governments of MENA countries are urged to develop measures to substantially increase the water supply through innovative approaches. Such measures include enhancing the capacities of water harvesting, maximizing the storage capacities of the built dams, and deploying groundwater recharge techniques. Furthermore, seawater and brackish water desalination through clean energy technologies is a contemporary solution with socio-economic and multiple benefits. Multi-billion water projects might not be suitable approach in the absence of external funding and the aforementioned hurdles. Further research is required to address the social economics, and environmental aspects of desalination and the socio-economic feasibility of privatizing drinking water utilities and price polarization.

Prospects of Synthetic Biodiesel Production from Various Bio-Wastes in Jordan

The main objectives of this technical experiment are to quantify the amount of various bio-wastes available for the bioenergy development in Jordan and investigate the prospects of biodiesel potentials from such bio-wastes using catalytic depolymerization technology developed in the German company ALPHAKAT. The quantification process revealed substantial quantities of bio-wastes originated from various sectors such as dairy and poultry farms, by-products of wastewater treatment plants, and agriculture by-products. The results show that olive cake provides the highest potential for biodiesel production with a ratio of 39%. Chemical analysis showed varying levels of sulfur contents, which required desulfurization unit to produce standard quality biodiesel. Chemical analysis also showed high phosphorus content, which provided another economic opportunity to use the biodiesel by-products as a fertilizer. The statistical correlation test showed a strong linear correlation between the percentage of organic content and caloric value and biodiesel output. The study also unveiled that the C:H ratio is strongly correlated with the biodiesel production model. The regression analysis generated a model for biodiesel production, which can be used to evaluate the biodiesel production based on the net dry biomass and C:H ratio in the substrate. Based on the model, the study estimated the potential of biodiesel from olive cake to reach up to 4 million liters annually. Policymakers and involved governmental institutes are advised to develop new regulations and laws to increase the share of bioenergy in the primary energy mix through attracting co-public investments accompanied by supportive economic tools such as starter loans, tax exemptions, and feedin-tariffs. Further research is needed to quantify other sources of bio-wastes such as cooking-oil wastes.

Public Perceptions of MSW Management in Wroclaw City,Poland

Elevating public awareness of waste management at the household level is a cost effective and a win-win social, economic and environmental approach on the table of policymaking. Modern and effective waste management bring about broader economic efficiency and social equity, mitigate consumerism, thus, promoting the conservation of natural resources. In this article, a survey study was conducted among the citizens of Wrocław city, Poland. The city is dynamic, touristic, and industrial. Through random sampling, 160 respondents filled in the questionnaire. The results revealed that the participants appeared aware of the benefits of waste management (WM);however the current WM systems and infrastructures are not very satisfying. The participants identified several shortcomings in the current WM systems such as the lack of sufficient colored bins for glass recycling, overfilled bins and heavy lids, and irregular waste collection system. The study proposes a public-oriented outreach campaign targeting waste separation and less-waste behaviors as economically and environmentally beneficial, accompanied by continuous development of WM regulations and infrastructures and linked it to waste-to-energy systems and technologies to assist in achieving the long-term energy and emissions-reduction targets.