A Comparison of the Qualitative Characteristics of Pellets Made from Different Types of Raw Materials

Civitarese, Vincenzo; Acampora, Andrea; Sperandio, Giulio; Bassotti, Beatrice; Latterini, Francesco; Picchio, Rodolfo

doi:10.3390/f14102025

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 40 publications

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“…The main objective of the new European measure on renewable energy, which modifies the previous Red II Directive [6], is to achieve, by 2030, a percentage of energy coming from renewable sources equal to 42.5% (compared to the previous 32%) of the overall energy mix of the European Union. In the context of reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the use of woody biomass as a resource for energy production becomes a key option due to the neutrality of its CO 2 life cycle [2,[7][8][9]. Remembering also that the use of renewable energy leads to a reduction in energy costs determined by fossil fuels [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-Efficiency of Pellet Production from Dedicated Poplar Plantations

Sperandio,

Suardi,

Acampora

et al. 2024

Energies

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Biomass, due to its neutrality in terms of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere during its life cycle, is considered an interesting renewable source for energy production as an alternative to the use of more polluting fossil fuels. Among the different wood fuels, pellets are convenient for use in dedicated stoves, and pellet heating systems have a high energy efficiency. The aim of this work was to estimate the economic and global warming potential (GWP100a) generated along the thermal energy supply chain of wood pellets, starting from the production of raw biomass from dedicated poplar cultivations and ending with the use of pellets in stoves by the end-user to produce thermal energy and ash. The Eco-Efficiency Indicator (EEI) was used to link the economic and environmental performance for eight proposed scenarios, obtained by combining different levels of mechanisation for poplar harvesting and wood biomass management before arrival at the pellet plant. For the thermal energy produced by the poplar wood pellet, the GWP100a ranged from 1.5 × 10−2 to 2.1 × 10−2 kg CO2−eq MJ−1 for three-year-old plantations and from 1.9 × 10−2 to 2.4 × 10−2 kg CO2−eq MJ−1, for six-year-old plantations. In terms of eco-efficiency of the baseline scenario (EEIb), the most favourable scenarios remain those linked to the use of biomass from three-year-old poplar plantations, with EEIb values ranging from 0.31 to 0.60 € kgCO2−eq−1, compared to from 0.29 to 0.36 € kgCO2−eq−1 for pellets obtained from biomass produced from six-year-old poplar plantations. In terms of the Global Eco-Efficiency Indicator (EEIg), which also takes into account the positive effect on the reduction of greenhouse gases due to the storage of carbon in the soil by the plantations and the reduction of emissions from avoided fossil fuels, the most favourable scenarios remain those linked to the use of biomass from three-year-old poplar plantations, with EEIg values that vary in the range of 0.60 ÷ 1.04 € kgCO2−eq−1, compared to 0.55 ÷ 0.62 € kg CO2−eq−1 for thermal energy obtained using biomass from six-year-old poplar plantations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-Efficiency of Pellet Production from Dedicated Poplar Plantations

Sperandio,

Suardi,

Acampora

et al. 2024

Energies

Self Cite

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Energetic Features of Hardwood Pellet Evaluated by Effect Size Summarisation

Picchio,

Venanzi,

Civitarese

et al. 2024

Forests

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High-quality pellets are typically produced from coniferous sawdust. However, achieving comparable quality from alternative feedstocks, such as broadleaf wood, often necessitates pre-treatments or additives. Yet, within the framework of small-scale pellet production, local forest enterprises may lack the resources for such treatments and usually produce pellets from the whole trees, including branches, leaves and tops. This can have an impact on the quality of the pellets obtained in this manner. To be classified as high-quality pellets (A1 class), the specific features of the pellet must be higher or fall below the thresholds specified in the EN ISO 17225 standard. In this study, we developed an alternative statistical approach to evaluate pellet quality in comparison to the constant thresholds reported in the technical standard. We applied such an approach to evaluate the quality of pellets produced from the broadleaved species common in the Mediterranean forestry, including European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), Turkey oak (Quercus cerris L.), Eucalyptus (clone Eucalyptus camaldulensis x C. bicostata), and Poplar clone AF6. In particular, we focused on three variables that are generally the most troublesome for the production of high-quality pellets from the broadleaved species, namely bulk density, ash content, and lower heating value. We found that the beech pellets showed satisfactory bulk density (average effect size of −1.2, with no statistical difference in comparison to the standard’s threshold) and ash content (average effect size of about −5 and significantly lower than the standard’s threshold), but the heating value was significantly lower than the threshold required by the standard (average effect size of about −3). Conversely, other investigated species exhibited notable deficiencies, with turkey oak pellets displaying acceptable heating values. We found a significant improvement in ash content and heating value with increasing stem age within the same species thus suggesting that material derived from thinning interventions might be preferable over coppice-derived biomass for high-quality pellet production. We suggest that future research on the topic should focus on investigating pellets produced from blends of beech and turkey oak biomass. We further recommend a wider application of the proposed statistical approach, considering that it is clear and easy to interpret, and allows for a statistical comparison of the obtained values against the requirements of the technical standard.

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A Comparison of the Qualitative Characteristics of Pellets Made from Different Types of Raw Materials

Cited by 2 publications

References 40 publications

Eco-Efficiency of Pellet Production from Dedicated Poplar Plantations

Eco-Efficiency of Pellet Production from Dedicated Poplar Plantations

Energetic Features of Hardwood Pellet Evaluated by Effect Size Summarisation

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