In this paper a practical test of an innovative on-line tar measuring system has been carried out using the reference standard for tar sampling (UNI CEN/TS 15439) and off-line analysis approach. Samples of common reed -collected in Inner Mongolia (China) -have been characterized by means of physical-chemical and thermal analysis. Several experimental tests have been performed in a bench scale pyrolysis apparatus (Free University of Bolzano, Italy) setting different process temperature (300-700°C) and a heating...

The present paper illustrates the outputs of the expert elicitation survey on biofuel 2nd and 3rd generation technologies. The survey focuses on eliciting probabilistic information on the future costs of biomass for use as transport fuel and on the potential role of RD&D in reducing these costs. To this end, we collected information from fifteen leading experts coming from different EU Member States and belonging to the academia, the private sector and to international institutions....

The European Union created the 2003/30/EC and further the 2009/28/EC Directives to encourage the bio components blending in the motor fuels. All of these above mentioned reasons explain the investigation of unconventional feedstocks. For example these feedstocks can be rapeseed oils with high euric acid content obtained from special hybrids of rape (e.g. Brassica Napus) or high oleic acid containing oil of rapeseeds (Pioneer Hi-Bred 45A37). These vegetable oils have lower olefinic double bond content,...

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench var. saccharatum) is arousing interest as bioenergy crop because of its versatility, relative drought tolerance, and ability to grow in environmental conditions not suitable for many other crops. The aim of this study was to evaluate sweet sorghum genotypes potential as biofuel feedstock. The experiment was conducted in two growing areas in Europe also to determine the possibility of using the sweet sorghum in cropping systems at high northern...

The presented paper focuses on undertaken experimental aspects focused on determining the main parameters of cereal degraded biomass, namely a mixture composed (in mass percent units) by 40 % degraded corn, 40 % degraded wheat and 20 % sunflower husks, which was subjected to anaerobic fermentation inside a patent pilot installation for studying the available potential of input materials in order to produce biogas. Also, in order to determine the possibilities offered by agricultural biomass,...

Risorse Nuove srl and Green adVentures srl have been constituted in the recent years to disseminate and continuously implement innovative technologies based on slow pyrolysis process. It is possible to overcome the virgin and residual biomass criticalities for the use as "energy renewable source" through the transformation of biomass into valuable by-products: gaseous, liquid and solid. To this aim : the gas must possibly be composed only by H2 and CO, without impurities and tars;...

Due to the rising energy demand and related energy costs as well as environmental aspects thermal utilization of biomass, particularly of wood, becomes more relevant. Especially for the energy consumption in households, biomass burning is an established alternative to fossil fuel based technologies. In the course of growing environmental awareness, debates have been initiated about the particulate matter emission (PME) from small biomass combustion and their contribution to the ambient air quality. In spite of...

A biorefinery concept based on alder tree plantations on degenerated or marginalized soils is developed to illustrate how it is possible to comply with indicators of economic feasibility, fossil fuel depletion concerns and long term sustainability issues. The biorefinery is based on grey alder (Alnus incana), and provide the following end products: Heat and power, bio¬pharmaceuticals (diaryl heptanoids), Bio-SNG, ethyl acetate, replenished soils and a carbon sink. Several system setups were examined and compared. The...

As a non-conventional biodiesel feedstock, false linseed [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] was investigated in a three-year field experiment testing the effects of two sowing times [winter (W) and spring (S)] and two plant densities [250,000 (D1) and 500,000 plants ha-1 (D2)] in the rainfed conditions of Southern Europe (Central Italy) aiming to find the oil optimal production conditions. The W sown crops showed a weak cold tolerance with a plant mortality of about 70% and...

The main goal of the Latvian energy policy is to reduce dependence of energy sector on imported primary energy markets. Latvia's medium ¬term energy policy planning documents and legislation consolidate the objective of increasing the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in the consumption of heat supply, electricity and transport fuel, however, Latvia needs to establish unified strategy so that it is possible to fulfill the requirements provided by corresponding Directives of the European Parliament....

In cooperation with Aarhus University, Risø DTU National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy and DONG Energy, Danish Technological Institute has been manager of the project "Energy Production from Marine Biomass (Ulva lactuca)" from 2008 to 2011. The project aims at clarifying the production potential as well as the energy production of sea lettuce (U. lactuca). Moreover the project will give recommendations for use of macro algae in power plants and finally give a financial evaluation of...

We analyzed herbaceous biomasses that have high contents of structural polysaccharides, reserve polyfructans and soluble sugars that can be converted by micro-organisms to ethanol. The present study examined the composition of Perennial ryegrass (Lollium perenne), Hybrid ryegrass (L .hybridum) and Italian ryegrass (L. multiforum), investigated the influence of cultivar, development stage, harvest time in the day, and tedding on carbohydrate availability in the harvested biomass. This study also checked the suitability for a direct conversion...

the experimental work was carried out according to a test protocol, applying conventional procedures for sampling and analysis of regulated and unregulated polluting species. Two Euro 4 passenger cars were fuelled with a reference gasoline and with two blends containing 5% (E5) and 10% (E10) by volume of bioethanol, prepared in laboratory starting from the same base stock. No statistically significant emission variation of the regulated species and of the main aldehydes was observed in...

Prickly-pear features morphological and physiological adaptations to hot arid conditions which make this plant species an ideal crop for arid and semi-arid regions. In the literature, prickly pear biomass has been considered as a promising feedstock for bioethanol production. Thus, a better understanding of the variability of the cladodes content in carbohydrates regarding factors like harvest date, presence or absence of fruits, or cladode size and age could be useful to optimize the harvest date...

The GHG sink and energy saving in land use change from food-feed crops to poplar Short Rotation Forestry (SRF) must be carefully evaluated and can change, based on environmental factors and cultivation practice. A trial, in the experimental farm of CRA-PLF at Casale Monferrato, Italy, was created to study energetic, economic and environmental impact of land use change. The trial contain 4 crops: a) corn (Zea mais L.), b) alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.); c) poplar...

The R+D+i Programme ‘Energy Conversion of Cynara Biomass and Valorization of By¬Products' (acronym: CARDENER¬CM) has been conducted since January 2010 in the frame of the call for project proposals launched by the Autonomous Community of Madrid (Spain) for research groups with the support of the European Social Fund. The ultimate objective of the Programme is to assess the energy conversion potential of Cynara cardunculus L. for cultivation in the Region of Madrid, Spain. CARDENER¬CM covers...

In this work the effect of land slope on the biomass production of Cynara cardunculus L. is assessed in an eight¬hectare rainfed crop located in the North East of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (Spain). Soil properties and biomass productions are studied across the field and results processed using GIS and statistical tools. Three slope classes were identified and associated with statistically significant differences in biomass productions. A negative relationship was found between slope and...

The present work aims to utilize experimental indices (EIs) to define ceilings for co¬firing. The novel methodology pursues finding a correlation between co¬firing effects described in full¬scale experiences and EIs. Technical reports, R&D papers have been reviewed and interpreted in order to quantify the impacts of co¬firing. Consulting with several companies and R&D centres has also been carried out for that purpose. Co¬firing effects have been classified into five impact categories (IC), from IC=1 when...

For different woody and non-woody biomass types as well as various mixtures with and without additives thermal degradation behavior and ignition temperatures were determined. The experiments were carried out using simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) in oxidizing and inert atmosphere. Based on its fuel composition, every fuel has its own combustion and pyrolysis characteristics. There is evidence that mixtures show the cumulative behavior of the single fuels. Additionally, the effect of an additive used to improve...

Dearth of good quality of wood fibers in most of the Asian countries including India has compelled the paper technocrats to search for new alternative and hitherto unexploited sources of cellulosic fibers. Essential oil is extracted from sofia grass by steam distillation method. Steam distillation not only removes essential oil but removes hot water solubles also. It results an increase in porosity of solid waste of sofia grass. Therefore, loose anatomy of solid waste sofia...

The objective of this work is to 1) review the environmental and energetic performance history for wood stoves, with special focus on the last 15 years, and 2) evaluate the further improvement potential for wood stoves. The introduction of the Norwegian wood stove testing standard, NS 3058/3059, in 1998 introduced an emission limit for particles of 10 g/kg dry wood for new wood stoves. From this moment in time the staged combustion air units, with...

Increased wood fuel demand for households and new European biomass fuel standards have stimulated a growing use of wood briquettes in Europe. But concerning their pollutant emissions when applied in residential stoves there is contradictory information about possible improvements compared to regular wood logs. Influencing factors are given by the raw material used, briquette shape and fuel composition. For combustion trials several such fuels were selected: four wood briquettes of different shapes (cylindrical, cylindrical with...

In Italy, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) have been inserted in cultural plans of several farms in the last years. More than 7000 hectares of Short Rotation Forestry (SRF)/(SRC) have been planted, mainly in Northern Italy where biomass thermoelectric power plants have been installed. Mainly, the species cultivated in experimental trials and commercial stand are: poplar, willow, black locust and eucalyptus. In order to extend SRC species in Southern Italy and to verify the production of...

Several measuring campaigns with focus on deposition behavior have been conducted at full¬scale power plants firing biomass in Denmark. These campaigns have been reviewed in this work. The focus is the obtained experiences on deposit formation, shedding and chemistry. When comparing results from grate¬and suspension¬firing, it is found that the rates of deposit formation are comparable, while the chemical composition of the fly ashes are quite different, even for the same type of fuel. The...

In many European countries the production and use of biogas is increasingly recognized as a suitable and sustainable energy option in a renewable energy mix. Most biogas plants produce electricity in CHP plants due to technical availability of CHP systems and according support measures (electricity feed¬in tariffs). However, in many cases these plants or not, or only partially, operated in CHP mode. The problem of how to efficiently use heat from biogas plants at the...