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Assessment of Biomass for Bioenergy
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Assessment of Biomass for Bioenergy

A special issue of Resources (ISSN 2079-9276).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 September 2021) | Viewed by 23455

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Abel Rodrigues

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Guest Editor
1. INIAV-Instituto de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Avenida da República, Quinta do Marquês, Oeiras, Portugal
2. IDMEC, Mechanical Engineering Department, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: forest management; energy cultivations; thermochemical conrsion od biomass; carbon sequestration; biomass economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Leonel Nunes

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Guest Editor
1. PROMETHEUS - Unidade de Investigação em Materiais, Energia e Ambiente para a Sustentabilidade, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua da Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Alvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
2. GOVCOPP - Unidade de Investigação em Governança, Competitividade e Políticas Públicas, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
3. DEGEIT - Departamento de Economia, Gestão, Engenharia Industrial e Turismo, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: biomass; biomass energy; biomass supply chains; biomass conversion technologies; sustainability and circular economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paulo Brito

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Guest Editor
VALORIZA—Researche Center for Endogenous Resources Valorization, Polytecnic Institute of Portalegre Campus Politécnico, 10, 7300-555 Portalegre, Portugal
Interests: bioenergy; thermal gasification; waste valorization; electrolysis; corrosion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transition to a world-renewable paradigm, under a context of mitigation of climate change and reducing carbon emissions is now at the top of public agenda, and its relevance in this century will surely grow. In particular, biomass is a major source of renewable decentralized energy and chemicals with a potential fundamental role as a complement for other sustainable energy providers.

In this context, this Special Issue of Resources wants to deliver a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to the use of agro-forestry biomass involving topics such as:

  1. The impact of agro-forestry management in the quantity and quality of biomass production;
  2. Thermochemical conversion of biomass from energy cultivations;
  3. Thermochemical conversion of biomass from agro-forestry residues;
  4. Biomass in a context of renewable transition.

Dr. Abel Rodrigues
Prof. Leonel Nunes
Prof. Dr. Paulo Brito
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Resources is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • renewable energy
  • agro-forestry management
  • biomass residues
  • torrefaction
  • gasification
  • pyrolysis
  • thermochemical conversion
  • economic and environmental global transition

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4863 KiB  
Article
Coal to Biomass Conversion as a Path to Sustainability: A Hypothetical Scenario at Pego Power Plant (Abrantes, Portugal)
by Margarida Casau, Diana C. M. Cancela, João C. O. Matias, Marta Ferreira Dias and Leonel J. R. Nunes
Resources 2021, 10(8), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources10080084 - 16 Aug 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5253
Abstract
Energy consumption is associated with economic growth, but it comes with a toll regarding the environment. Renewable energies can be considered substitutes for fossil fuels and may contribute to reducing the environmental degradation that the world is presently facing. With this research, we [...] Read more.
Energy consumption is associated with economic growth, but it comes with a toll regarding the environment. Renewable energies can be considered substitutes for fossil fuels and may contribute to reducing the environmental degradation that the world is presently facing. With this research, we aimed to offer a broader view of the state-of-the-art in this field, particularly regarding coal and biomass. The main objective is to present a viable and sustainable solution for the coal power plants still in operation, using as a hypothetical example the Pego Power Plant, the last operating coal fueled power plant in Portugal. After the characterization of land use and energy production in Portugal, and more particularly in the Médio Tejo region, where the power plant is located, the availability of biomass was assessed and it was concluded that the volume of biomass needed to keep the Pego power plant working exclusively with biomass is much lower than the yearly growth volume of biomass in the region, which means that this transition would be viable in a sustainable way. This path is aligned with policies to fight climate change, since the use of biomass for energy is characterized by low levels of GHGs emissions when compared to coal. The risk of rural fires would be reduced, and the economic and social impact for this region would be positive. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Biomass for Bioenergy)
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16 pages, 3202 KiB  
Article
Carbon Sequestration Potential of Forest Invasive Species: A Case Study with Acacia dealbata Link
by Leonel J. R. Nunes, Mauro A. M. Raposo, Catarina I. R. Meireles, Carlos J. Pinto Gomes and Nuno M. C. Almeida Ribeiro
Resources 2021, 10(5), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources10050051 - 17 May 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4262
Abstract
Biological invasions are of complex solution, consuming resources for their control and eradication. However, in many of the documented processes that are available, this is an attempt with no solution in sight. The possibility of increasing the pressure over these species while creating [...] Read more.
Biological invasions are of complex solution, consuming resources for their control and eradication. However, in many of the documented processes that are available, this is an attempt with no solution in sight. The possibility of increasing the pressure over these species while creating value chains has been presented as a method for ensuring the sustainability of their control and eradication processes. In the case of invasive forest species in Portugal, such as Acacia dealbata Link, this control is becoming increasingly important. In addition to the negative impacts on biodiversity, the proliferation of this species has economic implications due to its competition with forest production species such as Pinus pinaster Aiton and Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Another critical aspect to be considered is the increase of the risk of rural fires, which is enhanced by the accumulation of low-value biomass around production forests. In this work, the possibility of using this species as a vehicle for the capture and sequestration of carbon in the medium and long-term was evaluated from a perspective of providing ecosystem services as a measure to mitigate climate change. However, due to its highly heliophilous character, it was found that the growth capacity of this species is rapidly conditioned by the position of each tree within a stand, not being able to maintain that capacity in the medium and long term. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Biomass for Bioenergy)
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27 pages, 6693 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Impact of Water Salinization Stress on Biomass Yield of Cardoon Bio-Energetic Crops through Remote Sensing Techniques
by Flavio Borfecchia, Paola Crinò, Angelo Correnti, Anna Farneti, Luigi De Cecco, Domenica Masci, Luciano Blasi, Domenico Iantosca, Vito Pignatelli and Carla Micheli
Resources 2020, 9(10), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9100124 - 20 Oct 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2926
Abstract
Various species of cultivated thistle, such as Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon), exhibit interesting features for industrial biomass production as bioenergy crops, given also their advantageous adaptation capacities to typical Mediterranean climate trends, with noticeable resilience to drought and salinization stresses. The in situ [...] Read more.
Various species of cultivated thistle, such as Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon), exhibit interesting features for industrial biomass production as bioenergy crops, given also their advantageous adaptation capacities to typical Mediterranean climate trends, with noticeable resilience to drought and salinization stresses. The in situ hyperspectral reflectance responses of three genotypes of cardoon plants, irrigated with water at different salinity levels, have been tested for assessing the effects on their biophysical parameters, aiming at improving the biomass yield for bioenergy production, minimizing at same time the environmental impacts and the exploitation of soils and waters resources. The leaf and canopy reflectance hyperspectral signatures, acquired at three different growth stages with biometric measurements, were statistically analyzed (ANOVA, Tukey’s test, graphs), as noise-resilient spectral indices, sensible to different plant features of interest. Their broadband versions, based on the Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 2 MSI satellite sensors, were also evaluated in perspective of operative and extensive remote crop monitoring from space. The results highlighted significant differences in some spectral index responses, related to different cardoon genotypes and water salt concentration. The biometric data supported by red-edge indices modelling evidenced the impact of the highest salt water concentration (200 mM/L) on the plant growth and yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Biomass for Bioenergy)
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15 pages, 1609 KiB  
Article
Nitrogen Fertilization and Harvest Timing Affect Switchgrass Quality
by Joshua Massey, João Antonangelo and Hailin Zhang
Resources 2020, 9(6), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9060061 - 28 May 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3236
Abstract
Early season switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) can be used as animal feed and mature late-season biomass as a biofuel feedstock. However, nitrogen (N) application and harvest timing effects on the quality of both end-use need further evaluation. This study evaluated the changes [...] Read more.
Early season switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) can be used as animal feed and mature late-season biomass as a biofuel feedstock. However, nitrogen (N) application and harvest timing effects on the quality of both end-use need further evaluation. This study evaluated the changes in nutritive quality for animal feed and biofuel feedstock, under different N application rates (0 to 235 kg N ha−1 yr−1) and different harvest times at a fixed N rate. Plant N removal increased with increasing N application rate (P < 0.05). The largest single difference (27%) was found between 0 and 33.6 kg N ha−1 application rates. Nitrogen removal decreased during subsequent harvests at a fixed N rate (P ≤ 0.0001). Forage quality was affected by N rates, although it was especially impacted by harvesting time. Fibers and most minerals in the biomass increased as accumulated growing degree days (AGDD) increased (P ≤ 0.0001), but N and total digestible nutrients (TDN) decreased as AGDD increased (P ≤ 0.0001). High crude protein and minerals with low fiber are desired forage qualities and the opposite is true for biofuel feedstock. Earlier harvests are beneficial for hay production or livestock grazing, and late-season harvests are better for biofuel production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Biomass for Bioenergy)
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25 pages, 4152 KiB  
Article
Torrefaction as a Pretreatment Technology for Chlorine Elimination from Biomass: A Case Study Using Eucalyptus globulus Labill
by Letícia C. R. Sá, Liliana M. E. F. Loureiro, Leonel J. R. Nunes and Adélio M. M. Mendes
Resources 2020, 9(5), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9050054 - 1 May 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 6604
Abstract
The recognition of the effects of fossil fuel consumption resulted in several agreements, legislation, and projects focusing on the minimization of impacts caused. Biomass is a versatile energy source. Eucalyptus is a fast-growing crop, mainly used by the pulp and paper industry. Torrefaction [...] Read more.
The recognition of the effects of fossil fuel consumption resulted in several agreements, legislation, and projects focusing on the minimization of impacts caused. Biomass is a versatile energy source. Eucalyptus is a fast-growing crop, mainly used by the pulp and paper industry. Torrefaction is a thermochemical conversion process that can improve biomass fuel properties, enabling its use in the energy sector. However, correct management of biomass is crucial for the sustainability of this process. Torrefaction can also be used to eliminate some elements that can hinder subsequent conversion processes. One example is chlorine, which, during combustion or gasification processes, can form hydrochloric acid that leads to corrosion of metal surfaces. In this context, this research aimed to determine the temperature at which chlorine is eliminated during torrefaction process. For this purpose, several tests were performed at different temperatures and residence times. All samples were analyzed before and after the process, and were characterized by proximate and elemental analysis, calorimetry, and chlorine titration. The analysis showed that, even for the lowest torrefaction temperature used, chlorine content was already below the detection value, showing that, even at lower temperatures, thermal treatment is an efficient technique for the elimination of chlorine from biomass. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Biomass for Bioenergy)
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