Production and usage of woody plant biomass as the environmentally-friendly biofuel

Abstract

The literature review and research results of woody energy plants growing, biofuel processing and usage as the environmentally-friendly local fuel are presented in this paper. The analysis of experimental research results of energy plants preparation for burning and burning is given, evaluated and compared with the emissions of harmful substances into the air while burning these plants. There were presented and compared the experimental research results of determination the low power boiler efficiency and harmful emissions while burning of the energy plants, such as willows, black poplar and aspen hybrid, and these plants burning was compared with ashen wood burning. For biofuel preparation these plants were chopped by the drum chopper of forage combine harvester. It was determined the chopping quality of investigated woody plant chaff, and for it was investigated the fractional composition of prepared chaff. The quality of stem chaff and chaff fineness was defined by the most widely used methodology approved by the European Union (EU) countries. Also there were determined the physical-mechanical properties of the chaff: moisture content, density and calculated woody plant chaff theoretical length. The test was carried out in the experimental basis of Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (Lithuania), in the laboratory of low power boiler, which is designed to burn wood and wood briquettes. After determination of harmful gases emissions into the environment it was concluded, that burning efficiency of energy plants was better and pollution concentration was lower when aspen hybrid and black poplar were used, slightly bigger amount of pollutants were recorded when willows was burned, and about 1.5 times higher amount of pollutants was determined when ashen wood was burned.