Sustainability 2012, 4(3), 278-293; doi:10.3390/su4030278
Article

Linking Energy- and Land-Use Systems: Energy Potentials and Environmental Risks of Using Agricultural Residues in Tanzania

Julia C. Terrapon-Pfaff 1,2 email
1 Department of Geography and Geosciences, University Trier, Trier 54296, Germany 2 Research Group Future Energy and Mobility Structures, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy GmbH, Döppersberg 19, Wuppertal 42103, Germany
Received: 16 January 2012; in revised form: 30 January 2012 / Accepted: 16 February 2012 / Published: 27 February 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changing the Energy System to Renewable Energy Self-Sufficiency (RESS) - Selected Papers from the RESS Conference, 15-16 September 2011, Freiburg, Germany)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [358 KB, uploaded 27 February 2012 16:32 CET]
Abstract: This paper attempts to assess whether renewable energy self-sufficiency can be achieved in the crop production and processing sector in Tanzania and if this could be accomplished in an environmentally sustainable manner. In order to answer these questions the theoretical energy potential of process residues from commercially produced agricultural crops in Tanzania is evaluated. Furthermore, a set of sustainability indicators with focus on environmental criteria is applied to identify risks and opportunities of using these residues for energy generation. In particular, the positive and negative effects on the land-use-system (soil fertility, water use and quality, biodiversity, etc.) are evaluated. The results show that energy generation with certain agricultural process residues could not only improve and secure the energy supply but could also improve the sustainability of current land-use practices.
Keywords: agricultural residues; process residues; energy potentials; environmental sustainability; Tanzania

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Terrapon-Pfaff, J.C. Linking Energy- and Land-Use Systems: Energy Potentials and Environmental Risks of Using Agricultural Residues in Tanzania. Sustainability 2012, 4, 278-293.

AMA Style

Terrapon-Pfaff JC. Linking Energy- and Land-Use Systems: Energy Potentials and Environmental Risks of Using Agricultural Residues in Tanzania. Sustainability. 2012; 4(3):278-293.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Terrapon-Pfaff, Julia C. 2012. "Linking Energy- and Land-Use Systems: Energy Potentials and Environmental Risks of Using Agricultural Residues in Tanzania." Sustainability 4, no. 3: 278-293.

Sustainability EISSN 2071-1050 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert