IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v16y2012i6p3948-3959.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability and future alternatives of biogas-linked agrosystem (BLAS) in China: An emergy synthesis

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Shaoqing
  • Chen, Bin

Abstract

The biogas-linked agriculture has experienced a rapid development in recent years in rural China, which serves both as part of the country's developmental strategies of cleaner energy and an important reaction to sustainable agriculture call. This paper provides an overview of the economic and environmental performance of biogas-linked agrosystem (BLAS) in China by focusing on efficiency, emission mitigation effect and sustainability. An emergy synthesis combing emergy accounting and emergetic ternary diagram are utilized to evaluate the overall BLAS and its four subsystems (i.e., planting subsystem, breeding subsystem, aquaculture subsystem and biogas subsystem) in terms of current status and future development. Our findings indicate that despite a high energy transformity at system scale and a great dependence on economic input, BLAS advantages itself with high biogas production efficiency and significant emission mitigation effect. Furthermore, the sustainability zone analysis shows that the overall BLAS, planting and aquaculture subsystems maintain medium-term sustainability under all policy scenarios, despite the fact that breeding and biogas subsystems stay in an unsustainable situation due to their relatively severe environmental load. Among all the studied future options, continual biogas construction and effective technological revolution instead of expanding investment in traditional agriculture are preferable routes to further improve the system performance. Last but not least, emissions mitigation, energy efficiency and system sustainability are unveiled to be positively correlated within BLAS, which entitles it a promising energy alternative to enhance biogas energy utilization in the local agriculture in face of today's energy crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Shaoqing & Chen, Bin, 2012. "Sustainability and future alternatives of biogas-linked agrosystem (BLAS) in China: An emergy synthesis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3948-3959.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:16:y:2012:i:6:p:3948-3959
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2012.03.040
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032112002237
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2012.03.040?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Goh, Chun Sheng & Lee, Keat Teong, 2010. "Palm-based biofuel refinery (PBR) to substitute petroleum refinery: An energy and emergy assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 2986-2995, December.
    2. Jiang, M.M. & Chen, B. & Zhou, J.B. & Tao, F.R. & Li, Z. & Yang, Z.F. & Chen, G.Q., 2007. "Emergy account for biomass resource exploitation by agriculture in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 4704-4719, September.
    3. Gasparatos, Alexandros & El-Haram, Mohamed & Horner, Malcolm, 2009. "Assessing the sustainability of the UK society using thermodynamic concepts: Part 1," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 1074-1081, June.
    4. Gasparatos, Alexandros & El-Haram, Mohamed & Horner, Malcolm, 2009. "Assessing the sustainability of the UK society using thermodynamic concepts: Part 2," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 956-970, June.
    5. Sorda, Giovanni & Banse, Martin & Kemfert, Claudia, 2010. "An overview of biofuel policies across the world," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6977-6988, November.
    6. Chen, Yu & Yang, Gaihe & Sweeney, Sandra & Feng, Yongzhong, 2010. "Household biogas use in rural China: A study of opportunities and constraints," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 545-549, January.
    7. Giannetti, B.F. & Ogura, Y. & Bonilla, S.H. & Almeida, C.M.V.B., 2011. "Accounting emergy flows to determine the best production model of a coffee plantation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 7399-7407.
    8. Fan, Jie & Liang, Yu-tian & Tao, An-jun & Sheng, Ke-rong & Ma, Hai-Long & Xu, Yong & Wang, Chuan-Sheng & Sun, Wei, 2011. "Energy policies for sustainable livelihoods and sustainable development of poor areas in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1200-1212, March.
    9. Menegaki, Angeliki, 2008. "Valuation for renewable energy: A comparative review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(9), pages 2422-2437, December.
    10. Dong, Xiaobin & Ulgiati, Sergio & Yan, Maochao & Zhang, Xinshi & Gao, Wangsheng, 2008. "Energy and eMergy evaluation of bioethanol production from wheat in Henan Province, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 3882-3892, October.
    11. Katuwal, Hari & Bohara, Alok K., 2009. "Biogas: A promising renewable technology and its impact on rural households in Nepal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2668-2674, December.
    12. Yang, Z.F. & Jiang, M.M. & Chen, B. & Zhou, J.B. & Chen, G.Q. & Li, S.C., 2010. "Solar emergy evaluation for Chinese economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 875-886, February.
    13. Felix, Erika & Tilley, David R., 2009. "Integrated energy, environmental and financial analysis of ethanol production from cellulosic switchgrass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 410-436.
    14. Zeng, Xianyang & Ma, Yitai & Ma, Lirong, 2007. "Utilization of straw in biomass energy in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 976-987, June.
    15. Zhang, L.X. & Yang, Z.F. & Chen, G.Q., 2007. "Emergy analysis of cropping-grazing system in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 3843-3855, July.
    16. Feng, Tingting & Cheng, Shengkui & Min, Qingwen & Li, Wei, 2009. "Productive use of bioenergy for rural household in ecological fragile area, Panam County, Tibet in China: The case of the residential biogas model," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(8), pages 2070-2078, October.
    17. Ju, L.P. & Chen, B., 2011. "Embodied energy and emergy evaluation of a typical biodiesel production chain in China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(14), pages 2385-2392.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wei Liu & Jinyan Zhan & Zhihui Li & Siqi Jia & Fan Zhang & Yifan Li, 2018. "Eco-Efficiency Evaluation of Regional Circular Economy: A Case Study in Zengcheng, Guangzhou," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16, February.
    2. Wu, X.F. & Chen, G.Q. & Wu, X.D. & Yang, Q. & Alsaedi, A. & Hayat, T. & Ahmad, B., 2015. "Renewability and sustainability of biogas system: Cosmic exergy based assessment for a case in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1509-1524.
    3. Deymi-Dashtebayaz, Mahdi & Norani, Marziye, 2021. "Sustainability assessment and emergy analysis of employing the CCHP system under two different scenarios in a data center," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    4. Pang, Mingyue & Zhang, Lixiao & Ulgiati, Sergio & Wang, Changbo, 2015. "Ecological impacts of small hydropower in China: Insights from an emergy analysis of a case plant," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 112-122.
    5. Amiri, Zahra & Asgharipour, Mohammad Reza & Moghadam, Esfandiar Hassani & Kakolvand, Ebrahim & Campbell, Daniel E., 2022. "Investigating the need to replace the conventional method of sugar beet production in lorestan province, iran based on the arguments obtained from emergy calculations," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 472(C).
    6. Zhang, XiaoHong & Hu, He & Zhang, Rong & Deng, ShiHuai, 2014. "Interactions between China׳s economy, energy and the air emissions and their policy implications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 624-638.
    7. Qiang Wang & Thomas Dogot & Xianlei Huang & Linna Fang & Changbin Yin, 2020. "Coupling of Rural Energy Structure and Straw Utilization: Based on Cases in Hebei, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-21, January.
    8. Yang, Jin & Chen, Bin, 2016. "Emergy-based sustainability evaluation of wind power generation systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 239-246.
    9. Shao, Ling & Chen, G.Q., 2016. "Renewability assessment of a production system: Based on embodied energy as emergy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 380-392.
    10. Wu, Xihui & Wu, Faqi & Tong, Xiaogang & Wu, Jia & Sun, Lu & Peng, Xiaoyu, 2015. "Emergy and greenhouse gas assessment of a sustainable, integrated agricultural model (SIAM) for plant, animal and biogas production: Analysis of the ecological recycle of wastes," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 40-50.
    11. Edrisi, Sheikh Adil & Abhilash, P.C., 2016. "Exploring marginal and degraded lands for biomass and bioenergy production: An Indian scenario," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1537-1551.
    12. Wang, Xiaolong & Li, Zhejin & Long, Pan & Yan, Lingling & Gao, Wangsheng & Chen, Yuanquan & Sui, Peng, 2017. "Sustainability evaluation of recycling in agricultural systems by emergy accounting," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 117(PB), pages 114-124.
    13. Jianying Feng & Jing Wang & Xiaoshuan Zhang & Fengtao Zhao & Radoslava Kanianska & Dong Tian, 2015. "Design and Implementation of Emergy-Based Sustainability Decision Assessment System for Protected Grape Cultivation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(10), pages 1-24, October.
    14. Zhang, Can & Su, Bo & Beckmann, Michael & Volk, Martin, 2024. "Emergy-based evaluation of ecosystem services: Progress and perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    15. Lu, Hongfang & Xu, FengYing & Liu, Hongxiao & Wang, Jun & Campbell, Daniel E. & Ren, Hai, 2019. "Emergy-based analysis of the energy security of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 123-135.
    16. Zhang, Xiaohong & Wu, Liqian & Zhang, Rong & Deng, Shihuai & Zhang, Yanzong & Wu, Jun & Li, Yuanwei & Lin, Lili & Li, Li & Wang, Yinjun & Wang, Lilin, 2013. "Evaluating the relationships among economic growth, energy consumption, air emissions and air environmental protection investment in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 259-270.
    17. Chen, Shaoqing & Chen, Bin & Fath, Brian D., 2015. "Assessing the cumulative environmental impact of hydropower construction on river systems based on energy network model," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 78-92.
    18. Chen, Bin & Chen, Shaoqing, 2013. "Life cycle assessment of coupling household biogas production to agricultural industry: A case study of biogas-linked persimmon cultivation and processing system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 707-716.
    19. Pan, Hengyu & Geng, Yong & Jiang, Ping & Dong, Huijuan & Sun, Lu & Wu, Rui, 2018. "An emergy based sustainability evaluation on a combined landfill and LFG power generation system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 310-322.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Shaoqing & Chen, Bin, 2014. "Energy efficiency and sustainability of complex biogas systems: A 3-level emergetic evaluation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 151-163.
    2. Yang, Q. & Chen, G.Q. & Liao, S. & Zhao, Y.H. & Peng, H.W. & Chen, H.P., 2013. "Environmental sustainability of wind power: An emergy analysis of a Chinese wind farm," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 229-239.
    3. Giannetti, B.F. & Almeida, C.M.V.B. & Bonilla, S.H., 2010. "Comparing emergy accounting with well-known sustainability metrics: The case of Southern Cone Common Market, Mercosur," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3518-3526, July.
    4. Wang, Xiuhong & Shen, Jianxiu & Zhang, Wei, 2014. "Emergy evaluation of agricultural sustainability of Northwest China before and after the grain-for-green policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 508-516.
    5. Yang, Jin & Chen, Bin, 2014. "Emergy analysis of a biogas-linked agricultural system in rural China – A case study in Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 173-182.
    6. Yang, Jin & Chen, Bin, 2016. "Emergy-based sustainability evaluation of wind power generation systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 239-246.
    7. Wu, X.F. & Chen, G.Q. & Wu, X.D. & Yang, Q. & Alsaedi, A. & Hayat, T. & Ahmad, B., 2015. "Renewability and sustainability of biogas system: Cosmic exergy based assessment for a case in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1509-1524.
    8. Saladini, Fabrizio & Patrizi, Nicoletta & Pulselli, Federico M. & Marchettini, Nadia & Bastianoni, Simone, 2016. "Guidelines for emergy evaluation of first, second and third generation biofuels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 221-227.
    9. Dai, Jing & Chen, Bin & Hayat, Tasawar & Alsaedi, Ahmed & Ahmad, Bashir, 2015. "Sustainability-based economic and ecological evaluation of a rural biogas-linked agro-ecosystem," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 347-355.
    10. Wakeel, Muhammad & Hayat, Tasawer & Shah, Noor Samad & Iqbal, Jibran & Haq Khan, Zia Ul & Shah, Ghulam Mustafa & Rasool, Atta, 2023. "Biogas Energy Resources in Pakistan Status, Potential, and Barriers," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    11. Ma, Hengyun & Oxley, Les & Gibson, John & Li, Wen, 2010. "A survey of China's renewable energy economy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 438-445, January.
    12. Zeng, Yangmei & Zhang, Junbiao & He, Ke, 2019. "Effects of conformity tendencies on households’ willingness to adopt energy utilization of crop straw: Evidence from biogas in rural China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 573-584.
    13. Zhang, Lixiao & Yang, Zhifeng & Chen, Bin & Chen, Guoqian, 2009. "Rural energy in China: Pattern and policy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2813-2823.
    14. Pang, Mingyue & Zhang, Lixiao & Ulgiati, Sergio & Wang, Changbo, 2015. "Ecological impacts of small hydropower in China: Insights from an emergy analysis of a case plant," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 112-122.
    15. Lu, Hongfang & Lin, Bin-Le & Campbell, Daniel E. & Sagisaka, Masayuki & Ren, Hai, 2012. "Biofuel vs. biodiversity? Integrated emergy and economic cost-benefit evaluation of rice-ethanol production in Japan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 442-450.
    16. Baral, Nawa Raj & Wituszynski, David M. & Martin, Jay F. & Shah, Ajay, 2016. "Sustainability assessment of cellulosic biorefinery stillage utilization methods using emergy analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 13-28.
    17. Li, Changjiang & Liao, Yuncheng & Wen, Xiaoxia & Wang, Yangfeng & Yang, Fei, 2015. "The development and countermeasures of household biogas in northwest grain for green project areas of China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 835-846.
    18. Gosens, Jorrit & Lu, Yonglong & He, Guizhen & Bluemling, Bettina & Beckers, Theo A.M., 2013. "Sustainability effects of household-scale biogas in rural China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 273-287.
    19. Qu, Wei & Tu, Qin & Bluemling, Bettina, 2013. "Which factors are effective for farmers’ biogas use?–Evidence from a large-scale survey in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 26-33.
    20. Chen, Qiu & Liu, Tianbiao, 2017. "Biogas system in rural China: Upgrading from decentralized to centralized?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 933-944.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:16:y:2012:i:6:p:3948-3959. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.