Characterization of Woodchips for Energy from Forestry and Agroforestry Production

Energies

Rodolfo Picchio²  Raffaello Spina²  Alessandro Sirna²  Angela Lo Monaco²  Vincenzo Civitarese¹  Angelo Del Giudice¹  Alessandro Suardi¹ 

[1] Agricultural Engineering Research Unit of the Agriculture Research Council (CRA-ING), Via della Pascolare, 16, 00016 Monterotondo, Italy; E-Mails:;Department of Science and Technology for Agriculture, Forest, Nature and Energy (DAFNE), Tuscia University, Via S. Camillo De Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; E-Mails:

关键词: woody biomass;    high heating value;    ash content;    fiber;    bark;   

DOI  :  10.3390/en5103803

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

We set out to determine the particle-size distribution, the fiber, the bark and the leaves content, the heating value, the CNH and the ash content of a wide sample of wood chips, collected from 10 forestry and 10 agroforestry production sources. This sampling focused on two main production types: forestry (Full Tree System—FTS—and logging residues—LR) and agroforestry (Short Rotation Coppice—SRC). For the forestry production wood chips from coniferous and broadleaf species were considered. For the agroforestry production wood chips from poplar plantations were examined (different clones with two different harvesting intervals). Overall, we collected 400 samples. Particle size distribution was determined with an automatic screening device on 200 samples. The higher heating value was determined on 200 subsamples using an adiabatic bomb calorimeter. The CNH and the ash content was ascertained on another 200 subsamples. FTS and SRC (with three year old sprouts) offered the best quality, with high fiber content (71%–80%), favorable particle-size distribution and good energetic parameters. On the contrary, both logging residues and SRC (with two year old sprouts) presented a high bark content (18%–27%) and occasionally a mediocre particle-size distribution, being often too rich in fines (6%–12%), but the energetic parameters are in the normal range.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.