Agricultural sector

Future Uses. The most recent uses for methanol can be found in the agricultural sector. Test studies are being carried out where methanol is sprayed directly onto crops to improve plant growth. Methanol can be used as a carbon source for the production of single-cell protein (SCP) for use as an animal feed supplement. The process has been commercially demonstrated by ICl at their BiUingham, U.K., faciUty. However, the production of SCP is not commercially practical at this time, in comparison to more conventional protein sources. 

In its development, it adapted two existing technologies, In the agricultural sector, the mechanics of grain elevators provided a model for how to move solids vertical distances and in closed-loop flow arrangements. Sacony engineers modified the elevator bucket systems traditionally used by the grain industry to carry hot catalyst from the bottom to top of vessels and between vessels. 

With a growing scarcity of freshwater available for irrigation, other sources of lower quality like brackish water, saline water, and treated wastewater become more important as additional or substituting inputs for the agricultural sector. At the same time, it is clear that a sophisticated treatment like desalination or nanofiltration under current conditions is still far too expensive to be a major solution to future irrigation water needs. Hence adaptation of farming and irrigation practices to the particular water qualities constitutes a more viable approach. 

Hydrogen cyanide is an important raw material used in the production of methyl methacrylate and is widely used for Lucite, Plexiglas molding, and extrusion powders as well as coating resins. It is used widely in the agricultural sector to fumigate orchards and tree crops. 

Fig. 4.2 Main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector in 2005 (Smith et al. 2007). Soil emission and enteric fermentation are the main sources and agriculture is assumed to be one of the major sources particularly of nitrous oxide (N20) and methane (CH4)...

Many benefits for EU industry, consumers and the environment derive from the use of renewable raw materials (a) increased competitiveness from products having tailor-made performance compared with, or in combination with, conventional materials (b) a more stable and secure source of supply (c) a reduction in environmental impact (d) new and growing markets, providing economic benefits to industry as well as and (e) employment opportunities in processing industries and the agricultural sector. 

To progress in the agricultural sector, plastics must improve their performance characteristics, ease of processing, productivity and recycling, for example ... 

There is a general agreement within the research community that the DSR-framework is the most perfeeted and therefore the highest internationally accepted framework. This enhanees the international standard of environmental indicators (Munchhausen and Nieberg 1997, Walz et al. 1995). Due to these reasons and due to the international approach of the projeet, this study relies on the set of environmental indieators for the agricultural sector developed within the DSR-framework by the OECD. 

The OECD set of environmental indicators for the agricultural sector contains several sub-categories assigned to each of the three DSR-elements (OECD 1997) ... 

For the purpose of this study, the OECD set of environmental indicators for the agricultural sector has been adapted, taking into consideration only those indicators that directly affect the system of organic farming. Following indicator categories will be evaluated Ecosystem, natural resources, farm input and output, and health and welfare. 

This application is very cost-sensitive because of the subsidy structure of the agricultural sector of the EU. The regulations for waste disposal of mulch film require either recycling or adequate treatment (e.g., incineration). If thin mulch films are concerned, the recovery of the film in the field is crop-dependent and difficult. Cleaning of the soil residues is cost-intensive. In this case, it can be more cost-effective to use biodegradable mulch film, which is adapted to the climate and the fruit application. 

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report Intolerable Risk Pesticides in Our Children s Food focused on the increased risk of the adverse effects of pesticides on children. This was in part because of the smaller size of the child relative to the adult and because of different food consumption practices. Relative to their size, children eat, drink, and breathe more than adults in part because they are growing. The use and regulation of pesticides illustrate the complexities of risk analysis and risk management and the difficulties in determining an acceptable level of exposure with acceptable risks. In the United States approximately 1 billion pounds of pesticides (with about 600 different active ingredients) are used annually in the agricultural sector, and worldwide approximately 4 billion pounds are used. There are a range of human health and environmental health effects associated with the use of pesticides. 

Farm-gate value of coca leaf production in percent of value of 2003 agricultural sector 12% 13%... 

Pesticides are vital agricultural tools that protect food and fiber plants from damage by insects, weeds, diseases, nematodes, and rodents. U.S. agriculture spends about 8 billion annually on pesticides, representing about 70% of domestic pesticide sales. The dependence of agriculture on chemical pesticides developed over the last 60 years as the agricultural sector shifted from labor-intensive production methods to more capital- and chemical-intensive methods. 

Carbon dioxide emissions from the agricultural sector in OECD countries are estimated at less than 1% of overall COj emissions (IPCC 2001). Net emissions of CO, from agriculture depend upon the direct and indirect use of fossil fuels, and on the amount of carbon sequestration in soil organic matter and crop growth (Shepherd et al. 2003). 

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