Eucalyptus spp. has received attention from the research and industrial field as a biomass crop because of its fast growth and high productivity. The features of this species match with the increasing demand for wood for energy production. Commonly, the wood used for energy production is converted in chips, a material susceptible to microbial degradation and energy losses if not properly stored before conversion. This study aims at investigating two outdoor storage systems of Eucalyptus wood chips (covered vs. uncovered), assessing the variation in moisture content, dry matter losses and fuel characteristics. The class size of the material was P16, which was obtained using a commercial chipper appositely searched to conduct the study. The results highlighted how the different storage methods were influenced by the climatic condition: the woody biomass covered showed the best performances in terms of dry matter losses achieving 2.7% losses vs. The 8.5% of the uncovered systems. However, fuel characteristics displayed minor changes that affected the final energy balance (∆En = −0.2% in covered; ∆En = −6.17% in uncovered). Particle size varied in both methods with respect to the start conditions, but the variation was not enough to determine a class change, which remained P16 even after storage.

Storage of fine woodchips from a medium rotation coppice Eucalyptus Plantation in Central Italy / Pari, Luigi; Bergonzoli, Simone; Cetera, Paola; Mattei, Paolo; Alfano, Vincenzo; Razaei, Negar; Suardi, Alessandro; Toscano, Giuseppe; Scarfone, Antonio. - In: ENERGIES. - ISSN 1996-1073. - ELETTRONICO. - 13:9(2020). [10.3390/en13092355]

Storage of fine woodchips from a medium rotation coppice Eucalyptus Plantation in Central Italy

Giuseppe Toscano
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2020-01-01

Abstract

Eucalyptus spp. has received attention from the research and industrial field as a biomass crop because of its fast growth and high productivity. The features of this species match with the increasing demand for wood for energy production. Commonly, the wood used for energy production is converted in chips, a material susceptible to microbial degradation and energy losses if not properly stored before conversion. This study aims at investigating two outdoor storage systems of Eucalyptus wood chips (covered vs. uncovered), assessing the variation in moisture content, dry matter losses and fuel characteristics. The class size of the material was P16, which was obtained using a commercial chipper appositely searched to conduct the study. The results highlighted how the different storage methods were influenced by the climatic condition: the woody biomass covered showed the best performances in terms of dry matter losses achieving 2.7% losses vs. The 8.5% of the uncovered systems. However, fuel characteristics displayed minor changes that affected the final energy balance (∆En = −0.2% in covered; ∆En = −6.17% in uncovered). Particle size varied in both methods with respect to the start conditions, but the variation was not enough to determine a class change, which remained P16 even after storage.
2020
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
energies-13-02355-v2.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza d'uso: Creative commons
Dimensione 2.43 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
2.43 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11566/283238
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 11
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 10
social impact