Handbook for Energy for World Agriculture

509 Pages·1990·35.17 MB·English

by  B.A. Stout

in collaboration with
L. W. Faidley
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di
Caracalla, Rome, Italy
C. A. Myers
University of California Cooperative Extension Service, Small Farms Center,
Davis, California, USA
W. T. Rose
Hueber Hares Glavin, 726 West Onondaga Street, Syracuse, New York, USA
HANDBOOK OF ENERGY FOR
WORLD AGRICULTURE
B. A. STOUT
Agricultural Engineering Department,
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
ELSEVIER APPLIED SCIENCE
LONDON and NEW YORK
ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD
Crown House, Linton Road, Barking, Essex IG 11 8JU, England
Sole Distributor in the USA and Canada
ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHING CO., INC.
655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010, USA
WITH 171 TABLES AND 263 ILLUSTRATIONS
© 1990 ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Stout, B. A.
Handbook of energy for world agriculture.
1. Energy. Consumption by agricultural industries
I. Title
338.1'6
ISBN 1-85166-349-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stout, B. A.
Handbook of energy for world agriculture / B. A. Stout
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-85166-349-5 (U.S.)
1. Agriculture and energy—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.
S494.5.E5S77 1989 89-7775
338.1 4—dc60 CIP
No responsibility is assumed by the Publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a
matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods,
products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein.
Special regulations for readers in the USA
This publication has been registered with the Copyright Clearance Center Inc. (CCC), Salem,
Massachusetts. Information can be obtained from the CCC about conditions under which photocopies
of parts of this publication may be made in the USA. All other copyright questions, including
photocopying outside the USA, should be referred to the publisher.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Printed in Great Britain by Galliard (Printers) Ltd, Great Yarmouth
Foreword
Adequate food supplies and a reasonable quality of life require energy—both
noncommercial and commercial forms. This book is intended to be a reference for
individuals who want a comprehensive overview of energy for agriculture, many of
whom are located in remote areas with limited library resources. The purpose is to
put energy for agriculture in perspective by presenting numerous national and
regional examples of energy usage.
Since the early 1970s, world petroleum prices have fluctuated from $3/barrel to
more than $40/barrel in 1981 and then back to less than a half of the peak price
today. Commercial energy is expensive at any price for rural villagers in developing
countries, and energy prices in these countries do not necessarily correspond with
world prices. For example, diesel fuel prices in some developing countries have
increased, while world oil prices have decreased.
The rural sector of developing countries depends heavily on noncommercial
energy sources. Availability of noncommercial energy is highly site-specific. This
book deals extensively with noncommercial energy—its sources, the technologies
for converting energy to more useful gaseous and liquid forms, and its ultimate end
uses.
Chapter I is an introduction and overview. It emphasizes the essential nature of
energy to supplement the limited work output of human beings.
Chapter II describes energy use in world agriculture with particular emphasis on
fertilizer, machinery, and irrigation. It tabulates cereal grain yields as related to
commercial energy input for various regions.
Chapter III presents numerous national and regional illustrations of energy use.
Chapter IV addresses energy management in agriculture and is organized by crop
production operation. It focuses on efficient use of energy, that is, deriving the
maximum benefit from each unit of energy invested in agriculture and the food
system.
Renewable energy alternatives include all forms of solar energy. Chapters V, VI,
VII and VIII address some of the major alternative energy forms: biomass for fuel,
solar heating and other solar applications, small-scale windpower, and hydropower.
Chapter IX concludes with a discussion of various strategies to meet agricultural
energy needs in developing countries.
An extensive reference list is included for readers who want more detailed
information. Complete agency names and addresses for further information are
provided in the Appendix, along with conversion units.
Acknowledgments
Many individuals and agencies have contributed to this handbook. It is not possible
to acknowledge individually the hundreds of authors of references cited, although
their work, collectively, made this book possible. The sources of tables and figures
and text citations are indicated throughout the book.
The first draft of the manuscript was prepared with the support of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAO also provided many excellent
photographs and references. Dr LeVern W. Faidley, Senior Officer, Research and
Technology Department Division, FAO, prepared the first draft of Chapter II.
Claudia Myers, Associate Director, Small Farm Center, University of California
Cooperative Extension Service, wrote the first draft of Chapter VI and William T.
Rose, PE, Rose Engineering, authored the first draft of Chapter VII.
The entire manuscript was smoothed and polished by Ms Terri Huff, a very
capable editor at Texas A&M University who helped weed out many errors and
made the text much more readable.
A project of this type would have been impossible without many dedicated and
competent research assistants, typists, reviewers and other helpers. The authors
extend a sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to this book.
B. A. Stout, PE
Texas A&M University
vi
CHAPTER I
Overview
Introduction 1
Commercial and Noncommercial Energy 9
Energy for Subsistence and Development 12
Human Energy Capacity 16
Supplemental Energy Needs 17
Energy for Rural Development 17
Energy for Improved Quality of Life 19
Energy for Agriculture 21
Energy—A Vital Resource for Food Systems 23
Conservation and More Efficient Energy Use 25
Alternative Energy Forms 26
Priority Allocation 26
Energy and Labor Intensity 27
Energy Balance 31
Laws of Thermodynamics 31
Agriculture—An Energy Conversion Process 31
Boundaries of Agricultural Energy Analysis 31
Purpose of Agricultural Energy Analysis 31
World Energy Outlook 33
Energy Density 34
Nonrenewable Energy Production and Consumption 34
Petroleum 36
Coal 36
Natural Gas 38
Electricity Production 38
Nuclear Energy 41
Renewable or Inexhaustible Energy 42
Economic Considerations 42
Environmental Considerations 46
Solutions to Difficult Problems 49
INTRODUCTION
Life could not exist without energy, most of which comes directly or indirectly from
the sun. Solar radiation warms the earth and maintains a temperature range that
living plants and animals (including humans) can endure. Plants convert solar
energy to stored carbohydrates through photosynthesis and, in the process, release
oxygen, an essential ingredient for the existence of human and animal life.
Plants and animals are also the basis for fossil fuels which supplement direct solar
radiation and provide an energy subsidy to increase yields and thereby provide food
l
2 Handbook of energy for world agriculture
for all people. Figure 1.1 illustrates the various energy sources that have fueled
human development throughout the centuries.
Energy is defined as the capacity to perform work, and work is the result of a force
moving a body some distance. Energy is available in many forms; however, some are
more useful than others. The total amount of energy in the universe is constant, but
energy is frequently converted from one form to another through natural and man-
made processes.
Although numerous energy studies have been conducted in recent times, the
amount of energy that is actually consumed in developing countries is difficult to
determine. What is this energy used for? In what form? At what time of year? How
much is renewable? Nonrenewable? Commercial/noncommercial? And most
importantly, what is the potential for substituting one form for another, and what
are the consequences of energy shortfalls?
Dozens of authors have tried to answer these questions. Only a few are mentioned
here. Makhijani & Poole (1975) described life in energy-poor developing countries
and provided a variety of examples to illustrate that people in developing countries
were not receiving their share of energy. The Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO) devoted a major section of one of its annual reports
(1976) to an analysis of energy and agriculture.
Stout et al. (1979) wrote Energy for World Agriculture, a predecessor to this book.
The purpose was to put energy and the food system in perspective, and to provide a
manual for individuals interested in maintaining or increasing world food supplies.
Numerous studies, conferences, papers, and books followed, each contributing
additional information and understanding about the energy problem.
For example, Energy and the Developing Countries (Auer, 1981), a book based on a
conference at Stanford University in 1980, contains 31 chapters on various
development issues related to energy. Another publication, also released in 1980, is
56
Food
0
10 000 1 000 100 10
Years ago
Fig. 1.1. Consumption of the world's energy resources through the ages. Humankind has
already experienced several energy epochs; and the transitions altered our lifestyles
immeasurably (source: Loftness, 1984).
Overview 3
2000
Fig. 1.2. Energy shares for developing and industrialized countries (source: Smil &
Knowland, 1980).
Parikh's Energy Systems and Development. This book presents current energy
consumption statistics, projects energy requirements until the year 2000, and
examines various supply options. Still another book published in 1980, Energy in the
Developing World (Smil & Knowland, 1980), focuses on the largest and most
populous developing countries where populations total more than 2-2 billion,! or
nearly 75% of the Third World. The book includes an analysis of current energy use
and a discussion of alternative strategies. More recently, Goswami (1986) edited a
series of two volumes on alternative energy in agriculture which dealt primarily with
the situation in the United States.
Readers who want to collect information directly from the source will find
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)/Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) directory of information
sources and research centers useful (UNESCO, 1986). It lists hundreds of
information sources from around the world.
These books and references serve as examples of the large collection of literature
that has emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, but they only scratch the surface. More
than 600 references are cited in this publication in an attempt to grasp the essence of
energy problems facing rural areas in developing countries. Studies are often
difficult to compare because of variations in data quality and quantity, time periods,
and analysis techniques; nevertheless, they combine to improve our level of
understanding.
The developing countries where most of the world's population lives—Asia,
Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and elsewhere—consume only about 15%
of the world's energy (Fig. 1.2 and Tables 1.1-1.4). As these countries develop, they
will require more energy. One scenario portrays the energy share of the developing
countries growing to 25% of the world's total by the year 2000. This increased
energy demand is necessary for development, but is certain to further deplete the
poorer countries' monetary resources.
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) report, Energy
in a Finite World (IIASA, 1981), states, 'During this period (the next 50 years) the
t See Appendix.
4 Handbook of energy for world agriculture
TABLE LI
World commercial primary energy consumption, 1970-95 (source: World Bank,
1983)
Million toea Growth rate
(percentage per year)
1970 1980 1995 1970-80 1980-95
Oil 2311 3067 3 355 2-9 0-6
Coal 1475 1825 2821 2-2 2-9
Natural gas 889 1241 1930 3-4 30
Primary electricity* 328 611 1423 6-4 5-8
Total 5003 6 744 9 529 30 2-3
Percentage of total Percentage of increase
1970 1980 1995 1970-80 1980-95
Oil 46-2 45-5 35-2 43-4 10-3
Coal 29-5 27-1 29-6 201 35-8
Natural gas 17-8 18-4 20-3 20-2 24-7
Primary electricity* 6-5 90 14-9 16-3 29-2
Total 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
Note: Energy consumption includes bunkers.
a Toe, Tons of oil equivalent.
b Primary electricity comprises electricity generated from hydropower, nuclear
energy, or geothermal resources. Primary electricity is converted into tons of oil
equivalent (toe) at thermal replacement value, assuming an average conversion
efficiency of about 34%.
worldwide population will reach 8 billion, and even with only modest economic
growth and extensive conservation, global energy demand is likely to expand to
three to four times today's level' (Fig. 1.3).
Will the technology and resources be available to satisfy this dramatically
increased demand? While expert opinions vary, IIASA says yes, but it emphasizes
that to meet the growing worldwide demand, unlimited use of all available
resources—oil and gas, solar energy, renewables, and nuclear energy—will be
required. Later chapters in this book discuss the technical aspects of increasing the
renewable energy supply.
The developing countries face an energy crisis of staggering proportions. In most
developing countries, annual commercial energy consumption is barely a quarter of
a tonne of coal equivalent per capita. In the industrialized countries of Europe, as
well as in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, the annual energy consumption
exceeds 5 tonnes (t) of coal equivalent; in North America, it is more than 101 per
capita.
Energy is a prime mover of economic growth and development. Although the
linkages between energy and development are complex and still imperfectly
Overview 5
TABLE 1.2
Commercial primary energy production in developing countries, 1970-95 (source:
World Bank, 1983)
Million toe Growth rates
(percen tage I year)
1970 1980 1995 1970-80 1980-95
Oil0 774 919 1375 1-7 2-7
Coal 294 502 886 5-5 3-9
Natural gas 52 116 424 8-4 90
Primary electricity0 56 130 396 8-8 7-7
Totalc 1 176 1667 3081 3-6 4-2
a Includes natural gas liquids and oil production from secondary recovery
techniques.
b Includes hydropower, nuclear, and geothermal electricity.
c Excludes alcohol, oil shale, tar sands, and other nonconventional primary
energy sources which may add a small amount (up to 10 million toe, or less than
0-5%) to developing country energy production by 1995, but of which the
prospects are too uncertain to quantify.
TABLE 1.3
Commercial primary energy production and consumption in oil-importing
developing countries, 1970-95 (source: World Bank, 1983)
Million toe Growth rates
(percen tage/year)
1970 1980 1995 1970-80 1980-95
Production
Oil 63 65 145 0-3 5-5
Coal 118 192 384 50 4-7
Natural gas 14 27 115 6-8 101
Primary electricity 41 98 306 91 7-9
Total 236 382 950 4-9 6-3
Consumption
Oil 223 360 531 4-9 2-6
Coal 121 186 442 4-4 5-9
Natural gas 12 26 120 8-0 10-7
Primary electricity 41 98 306 91 7-9
Total 397 670 1399 5-4 50
Oil Imports 160 295 386 6-3 1-8