Heating value of eucalypt wood grown on SRC for energy production

Abstract

The Authors determined the energy yield of a dedicated biomass plantation established with clonal Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla. The plantation was designed as high density short rotation stand, following the same philosophy of willow SRC. Different spacing modules were tested, with density ranging from 1400 to 7000 trees ha (1). Three different fertilization regimes were applied. After 2 years, sample trees were harvested to determine mass yield, heating value and energy yield. Density and fertilizer input had no effect on heating value, but they had a significant and direct relationship with mass and energy yield. The latter ranged from 300 to over 900 GJ ha (1) year (1). One of the conceptual merits of this paper is that of accounting for plantation yield in energy terms. That seems logical for dedicated energy plantations, but it is done very rarely, if at all. Hence, this paper may introduce a new and more rational way of dealing with energy biomass. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.