Researches regarding the use as a biomass of the branches resulting from orchard pruning of different species of trees

Abstract

Biomass is the most abundant renewable resource on the planet. This includes absolutely all the organic material produced by the metabolic processes of living organisms. Biomass can be used in the form of solid or liquid fuels, being used both for direct combustion, for space heating, and for liquid biofuel (bioethanol) for supply the thermal engines. The research carried out had as an objective the collection of the branches resulting from the fruiting cuts from the varieties of apple, hair, cherry and plum, located in the plantations of the Experimental resortfrom the USAMV Iași, Farm “V. Adamachi”, and the determination of the calorific power for each category of fruit trees. From the analysis of the results it appears that the calorific power is different from one species to another, as well as depending on the variety of the respective species. Also, the energy value of the harvested branches is high, being close to that of firewood, which allows us to specify that they can be valued as biomass, constituting an important renewable source of solid biofuel, which can be used in the form of pellets and lighters