Progress 08/01/08 to 07/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The findings from this research have been disseminated through journal articles and professional presentations at various academic, industry and policymaker conferences. Much of this research has also been used in class room teaching.The target audiences reached include 1. Students: Through class room teaching and course materials 2. Academic peers: Through journal publications, professional presentations and reports 3. Industry executives: Through professional presentations at Industry conferences (e.g. Biotechnology Industry Organization BIO conference) 4. Farmers and Farmer organizations: Through presentations at Farm Foundation meetings 5. Policy makers: Through presentations at conferences and articles. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? All these reserach projects have involved graduate students. Over these five years of the project, 3 PhD theses and one MS thesis have been successfully completedwith the PI serving as theprimary advisor.In addition, the PI hasserved as a committee member of 10 other graduate students working on related research. The research hasbeen incorporated in undergraduate classes for students majoring in Agri Business Management, Food Industry Management and Environmental economics and Policy. PI's two courses (a)Corporate Environmental Management, and (b) Business, Environmenta and Sustainabilitydrawheavily on this research and provide professional training for both undergraduate and MBA students. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results have been disseminated through the following mechanisms. - 18 Peer reviewed publications in journals and books. - 11 professional presentations at conferences and workshops - 5 poster presentations at professional conferences - Incorporation in course materials in 3 classes(one graduate and 2 undergraduate) that the PI teaches - Through individual meetings with industry professionals These research articles have received over 300 citations indicating high professional impact. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Under the Bioeconomy theme, the main research questions centered around the analysis of the emerging biofuels sector. - The potential feedstock availability for biofuel production to meet the biofuel mandates under the EISA 2007 was assessed. Our analysis indicated that sufficient biomass ( agricultural residues, forest residues, organic fractions of municipal solid waste, and dedicated energy crops) was available or can be produced at reasonable prices. These results were published in two peer reviewed articles in the journal Bioresources. - The impact of increased biofuel production on other agricultural commodity production and prices were analyzed by employing a multi-sector econometric model of US agriculture- AGMOD developed at Michigan State University. These results were published as two peer reviewed book chapters. One chapter was in a book published by the Farm Foundation, and another was in a Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy. - The feasibility of meeting California's Low Carbon Fuel Standards (LCFS) using ethanolfrom various feedstocks ranging from midwest corn, Brazillian sugarcane, cellulosic ethanol from corn stover, forest residues, MSW and dedicate energy crops was assessed. The costs and GHG emissions fromvarious pathways were assessed and various policy scenarios were analyzed. The results and policy implications were published in anpeer reviewed article in the journal Environmental Research Letters. - The potentialfor trading GHG emission reductionsfrom increased biofuel use, and designissues in developingsuch a trading scheme were analyzed and the results were published inan article inthe Journal Biomass and Bioenergy, and also as a book chapter. Under the Biobased Materials theme - Nanotechnology especially nonocomposite technology is improving the technical performance of polymer materials.A research project assessed the potential improvements in environmental performance of biobased polymer nanoclay composite materials using life cycle assessment techniques.The results showed that in most cases the environmental performance alsoimproved along with technical performance with incorporation of nanotechnology. The results have been published in a peer reviewed aticle in theJounal of Industrial Ecology. - Another research project assessed the properties of post consumer recycled biopolymer PLA and concluded that recycling is feasible as the properties of recycled materials were comparable to virgin materials. The results were publised as a journal article. -The effects of various recycling policies, e.g. curbside collection, variable pricing, drop off recycling, education, and consumer attitudeson actual recycling rates were analyzed using a county level panel data from Minnesota. The results have been published in two articles published in the journal Resouces, Conservation and Recycling. Under the Corporate Environmental Management theme -An artcle exploring the typical evolution process of sustainability accounting systems within firms was published in the journal Cost Management. The article alsoprovides guidance on how to refocus sustainability accounting from ad-hoc external reporting to systematic internal managerial decision support andreviewsrecent developments in sustainability accounting. - Voluntary environmental programs (VEP) are increasingly being employed as an alternative approach to regulations e.g. the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) is a voluntary environmental program for the agriculture sector initiated in 1999 in Michigan. Researchanalyzed farmer motivations in participating in such VEPs using data from two farmer surveysand the results have been disseminated through two articles published in Michigan Dairy Review. - A review of applications of life cycle assessment in the building constructionwas undertaken andfuture potential wasassessed. The results were published in a peer reviewed artcle in the Journal of Architectural Engineering.
Publications
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Progress has been made in economic and environmental evaluation of biofuels. Research evaluating alternative configuration of biomass supply chains for future biorefineries is continuing in collaboration with a graduate student (J. Carolan). This research evaluates the concept of distributed biomass processing using a network of regional biomass pretreatment centers (RBPC) that feed into a central biorefinery, as opposed to the conventional supply chain structure consisting of a single central integrated biorefinery (IBR). The RBPC structure has the potential to address many challenges faced by the conventional IBR structure, including issues relating to market power, transaction costs of contracting, hold up, and food v/s fuel issues. An earlier publication (Carolan, Joshi, Dale 2007) outlined the strengths of this approach and evaluated the technical and financial feasibility of stand-alone RBPCs. Research conducted during 2012, completed analyses that compares transport costs and total system costs of these two biomass supply chain configurations. Results suggest that based on system cost comparison, the IBR system emerges as lower cost option under base case scenarios. However, additional densification at the RBPC, increased ruralness of the biomass harvest-shed, availability of rail transport from RBPC to the biorefinery, and increased sales of higher valued ruminant feed, start making the RBPC structure relatively more economic. These analyses comprise the Ph.D. thesis of J. Carolan, which he successfully defended in November 2012. Journal articles summarizing this analysis are being prepared.A research grant proposal aimed at developing decision support systems for regional planning and impact assessment of a future generation of drop-in biobutanol biorefineries, was submitted to the USDA Bioenergy program and has been funded. The next phase of this research will aim at analyzing the economics of drop-in biofuels.Another research project is aimed at HACCP food safety regulations. Analyses of factors affecting both, initial adoption and subsequent continued certification /decertification decisions by seafood processing firms were completed. A research article with the analyses has been submitted to a journal. Another research project evaluating the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program was completed and the results have been published as an article in Michigan Dairy Review. The anlayses identifies motivational and design conflicts in voluntary environmental programs such as MAEAP and develops guidelines for future program design. A teaching case study based on this research is under preparation. PARTICIPANTS: Collaborators: Sandra Batie, Suzanne Thornsbury, Steven Miller, Abdul Abdulkadri, Bruce Dale, Susan Selke, Auras Rafael, and Graduate students Subbu Kumarappan, Joseph Carolan and Catherine Ragasa, All at MSU TARGET AUDIENCES: Academic researchers, policy makers, Industry PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The results of the analyses have been published as journal articles. These articles are being used by other researchers and policy makers. For example the article on regional bioprocessing facilities has been cited 39 times since its publication (as reported in Google Scholar), other biofuel related articles have been cited over 200 times. Similarly my earlier life cycle analysis related publications have been cited over 1000 times so far.
Publications
- Chariyachotilert, C., S. Joshi, S. Selke and R. Auras, Assessment of the properties of poly(L-lactic acid) sheets produced with differing amounts of postconsumer recycled poly(L-lactic acid, Journal of Plastic Film and Sheeting, Jan 2012:pp 1-22 DOI: 10.1177/8756087911434337
- Kumarappan, S. and S. Joshi Trading greenhouse gas emission benefits from biofuel use in US transportation: Challenges and opportunities, Biomass and Bioenergy 35, 2011. pp 4511-18.
- Abdulkadri, A., Miller, S., Batie, S. and S. Joshi. Dairy Producers' Perception of MAEAP Benefits by Stage of MAEAP Participation, Michigan Dairy Review, v17: n3, July 2012.
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Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Progress has been made in economic and environmental evaluation of biofuels. The first question being analyzed in collaboration with a graduate student is how competitive are dedicated energy crops compared to current conventional crops after taking into account uncertainties in costs and returns and farmer risk preferences, in different regions of the country Regional competitiveness of miscanthus and switchgrass under various scenarios of crude oil prices and farmer risk preferences are assessed using simulation techniques, and subsidies required to enable biomass producers to breakeven on their costs under these scenarios are estimated. The results suggest that perennial energy crops yielding at least 10 tons per acre annually will be competitive with a traditional corn-soybean rotation if crude oil prices are high(ranging from $88-$178 per barrel over 2010-2019). If crude oil prices are low, then energy crops will not be competitive with existing crops, and additional subsidy support would be required. Among the states in the eastern half of US, the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia are found to be economically more suitable to cultivate perennial energy crops. Second question being addressed is: what is the optimal mix of feedstocks for a given biorefinery, taking into account the differences between feedstocks in terms of material costs, temporal yield patterns, density of biomass availability, transport costs, lifecycle GHG emissions and contracting constraints A generic a mathematical programming model has been developed and an illustrative analysis has been carried out using a case study of a proposed biorefinery in Kansas. The results are included in the student's PhD thesis. Another project evaluating alternative configuration of biomass supply chains for future biorefineries is continuing in collaboration with another student. Another research project is aimed at HACCP food safety regulations. An article from this research that analyzes costs of HACCP regulations and evaluates if there has been significant misestimation in these costs, was published in 2011.Another article assessing the factors affecting both initial adoption and subsequent continued certification /decertification decisions by seafood processing firms is underway. Under corporate environmental management related research, an article reviewing the applications of life cycle assessment techniques in the building construction and suggesting future directions, has been published in the Journal of Architectural Engineering. Another research article evaluating the potential of product leasing as an environmental policy tool has been submitted to a journal. A research project evaluating the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program is also nearing completion. PARTICIPANTS: Collaborators: John Ferris, Sandra Batie, Suzanne Thornsbury and Graduate students Subbu Kumarappan, Joseph Carolan and Catherine Ragasa, All at MSU TARGET AUDIENCES: Academic researchers, policy makers, Industry PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The results of the analyses have been published as journal articles. These articles are being used by others and policy makers. For example the article on regional bioprocessing facilities has been cited 26 times since its publication, and other biofuel related articles have been cited over 150 times. Similarly my earlier life cycle analysis related publications have been cited over 500 times so far. A report on the MAEAP has been circulated to policy makers in Michigan and is influencing future redesign of the program.
Publications
- Ragasa, Catherine, Thornsbury, Suzanne D., Joshi, Satish V. (2011) Are Food Safety System Costs Misestimated Journal of Agricultural Economics, 62(3) pp 669-6891.
- Singh, A., G. Berghorn, S. Joshi, and M. Syal, (2011), Review of Life-Cycle Assessment Applications in Building Construction. Journal of Architectural Engineering, v17 pp15-23.
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Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Progress has been made in economic and environmental evaluation of biofuels. We have been analyzing the impacts of biofuel policies on key agricultural variables and consumer prices using the AGMOD modeling system. Analyses of the prospects for ethanol and biodiesel covering the period 2008 to 2017 based on the renewable fuel provisions of EISA 2007 was carried out and the results have been published as book chapter in the Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy, edited by Madhu Khanna et al. We have continued the analysis of alternative feedstock supply chain configurations for future biorefineries. One of my graduate students has developed spreadsheet model for analyzing system costs and minimum ethanol selling prices for various supply chain configurations for future biorefineries. These system costs for selected case study areas in Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania have been completed. These results will be included in his Ph.D. Thesis. Our earlier conference proceedings paper proposing a framework for trading GHG credits from biofuels in carbon markets has been republished as a book chapter. Our analysis of the feasibility of meeting California's Low Carbon Fuel Standards using ethanol alone, has been published in the journal, Environmental Research Letters. Related to the general topic of environmental management, two articles one examining recycling behavior of consumers and another examining the effectiveness of various solid waste management policies have been published in the journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling. Another article looking at the evolution of sustainability accounting systems has been published in the journal Cost Management. PARTICIPANTS: Collaborators: John Ferris, Bruce Dale, Sandra Batie, Frank Lupi and Graduate students Subbu Kumarappan, Joseph Carolan and Shaufique Sidique, All at MSU TARGET AUDIENCES: Academic researchers, policy makers, Industry PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The results of the analyses have been published as journal articles and book chapters. These articles are being used by others and policy makers. For example the article on regional bioprocessing facilities has been cited 19 times. I also orgnaized a session on biomass supply chain development issues at the BIO conference in Chicago.
Publications
- Joshi S. and R. Krishnan (2010), Sustainability accounting systems with a managerial decision focus, Cost Management, Nov-Dec 2010
- Joshi, S. R. Krishnan and H. Krishnan (2010), The influence of firm ownership form on post-merger customer-mix Strategies, Journal of Managerial Issues, v XXII, no 2, pp 239-261.
- Zhang Y., Joshi S. and H. MacLean (2010) Can Ethanol Alone Meet California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard An Evaluation of Feedstock and Conversion Alternatives, Environmental Research Letters, Vol 5,pp 014002.
- Sidique S., S. Joshi, and F. Lupi (2010) Factors influencing the rate of recycling: An analysis of Minnesota counties, Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Volume 54, Issue 4, February 2010, Pages 242-249
- Sidique S., F. Lupi and S. Joshi (2010) The effects of behaviors and attitudes on drop-off recycling activities, Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Volume 54, Issue 3, January 2010, Pages 163-170
- Ferris J. and S. Joshi (2010), Prospects for Ethanol and Biodiesel, 2008 to 2017 and Impacts on Agriculture and Food, in Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy (ISBN-978-1-4419-0368-6) (Ed) Madhu Khanna; Jurgen Scheffran; David Zilberman., Springer. pp91-112
- Kumarappan, S. and S. Joshi, (2010) GHG Trading Framework for the U.S. Biofuels Sector, in (Ed) L. Lakshmi, Biofuels: Emerging Legal Horizons, Amicus Books, ICFAI University Press, Hyderabad. ISBN 978-93-80120-32-4 pp139-162
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Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Progress has been made in economic and environmental evaluation of biofuels and biobased materials. In the area of biofuels, a comprehensive review of previous studies of supply potentials of various biofuel feedstocks, namely agricultural residues, ligno-cellulosic portions of municipal solid waste, forest and mill residues and dedicated energy crops such as switchgrass has been completed and the review article has been published in the journal "BioResources". Another article which estimates the potential supply of these feedstocks as a function of price has also been completed and published in the Journal "BioResources." We have continued the analysis of alternative feedstock supply chain configurations for future biorefineries. One of my graduate students has developed a plug and play spreadsheet model for analyzing system costs and minimum ethnaol selling prices for various supply chain configurations for future biorefineries. Currently we are analyzing these system costs for selected case study areas in Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. Increasing use of crops as energy feedstocks is changing the structure of US agriculture. We have been analyzing the impacts of these changes on key agricultural variables and consumer prices using the AGMOD modeling system. Latest updates on these analyses have been submitted as a chapter for a proposed Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy. We also analyzed the potential for carbon credit generation from biofuels and developed a framework for trading these credits in the carbon markets. These results have been presented at a Farm Foundation Conference and now been published as a conference proceedings paper. Another research project analyzing the feasibility of meeting California's LCFS using ethanol is underway. In related project on environmental management, we have been analyzing municipal solid waste management issues. Two articles analyzing recycling behavior and effectiveness of public policies in improving recycling have been prepared and submitted to journals. Another article analyzing the MAEAP program with Dairy Producers in Michigan has also been published. PARTICIPANTS: Collaborators: John Ferris, Bruce Dale, Sandra Batie, and Graduate students Subbu Kumarappan, Joseph Carolan and Shaufique Sidique, All at MSU. TARGET AUDIENCES: Academic researchers, policy makers, Industry, PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The findings of the research have been presented at several academic and industry conferences. For example, the research on biorefinery supply chain configuration was presented at the Sun Grant Initiative Energy Conference, Washington, DC, March 10-13, 2009, The Bioenergy National e-conference, in East Lansing, MI on Dec 1. 2009, and also at the "Re-imagining Sustainable Landscapes Conference" in Pennsylvania State University, Dec 3, 2009. Publications from this research are being cited by others.
Publications
- Kumarappan S., Joshi S and H. MacLean (2009) "Biomass supply for biofuel production: Estimates for the United States and Canada," BioResources 4(3), 1070-1087.
- Gronowska,M., Joshi, S. and MacLean H.(2009) "A review of U.S. and Canadian biomass supply studies," BioResources 4(1) 341-369.
- Abdulkadri A, Miller S., Batie S. and Joshi S.(2009) "Environmental Stewardship of Dairy Producers in MAEAP" Michigan Diary Review, Jan 2009.
- Kumarappan, S. and S. Joshi, (2009) "GHG Trading Framework for the U.S. Biofuels Sector," in M. Khanna (ed) Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts, Proceedings of Farm Foundation/USDA Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, October 15-16 2008.
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Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Progress has been made in economic and environmental evaluation of biofuels and biobased materials. In the area of biofuels, a comprehensive review of previous studies of supply potentials of various biofuel feedstocks, namely agricultural residues, ligno-cellulosic portions of municipal solid waste, forest and mill residues and dedicated energy crops such as switchgrass has been carried out and the summary article has been submitted to "BioResources" Journal. Another article aimed at estimating the potential supply of these feedstocks as a function of price is almost ready for submission to a journal. We have continued the analysis of alternative feedstock supply chain configurations for future biorefineries. The production of corn-ethanol and biodiesel have sharply increased over the last few years, and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 established a renewable fuel standard of 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2012, which has further been expanded to 36 billion gallons by 2022 by the Energy Policy Act of 2007. Increasing use of crops as energy feedstocks is changing the structure of US agriculture. We have been analyzing the impacts of these changes on key agricultural variables and consumer prices using the AGMOD modeling system. These results have been published as as a chapter in a book published by the Farm Foundation. We are also analyzing the potential for carbon credit generation from biofuels and developing a framework for trading these credits in the carbon markets. With respect to biobased materials, recent developments in nanotechnology, especially use of nanoclays as reinforcements in biobased plastics have improved the technical performance of bioplastics. We review these developments and analyze if these also improve the relative environmental performance of bioplastics. The findings have been published as an article in the Journal of Industrial Ecology. PARTICIPANTS: Collaborators: John Ferris, Bruce Dale TARGET AUDIENCES: Academic researchers, policy makers, Industry, and Policy makers PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The findings of the research have been presented at several academic and industry conferences. For example, the research on biorefinery supply chain configuration was presented at at the Northeast Reginal Bioenergy conference, Pennsylvania State University Aug 26-28, 2008. A presentation on "Industrial Ecosystems to Meet Large-Scale Demand for Food and Fuel," was made at the Gordon Research Conference on Industrial Ecology, New London, Aug17-22, 2008.
Publications
- Joshi S.(2008) "Can nanotechnology improve the sustainability of biobased products The case of layered silicate biopolymer nanocomposites," Journal of Industrial Ecology vol 12(3), 474-489.
- John (Jake) Ferris and Satish Joshi. (2008). "Agriculture as a Source of Fuel: Prospects and Impacts, 2007 to 2017." in Biofuels, Food and Feed Tradeoffs, (Editors) J.L. Outlaw, J.A. Duffield and D.E. Ernstes, Washington, DC,Farm Foundation, p 112-119.
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