Energy Gain and Carbon Footprint in the Production of Bioelectricity and Wood Pellets in Croatia

Zdravko Pandur, Marin Bačić, Marijan Šušnjar, Matija Landekić, Mario Šporčić and Iva Ištok ()
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Zdravko Pandur: Institute of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska cesta 23, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Marin Bačić: Institute of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska cesta 23, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Marijan Šušnjar: Institute of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska cesta 23, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Matija Landekić: Institute of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska cesta 23, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Mario Šporčić: Institute of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska cesta 23, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Iva Ištok: Institute of Wood Science, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska cesta 23, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: The paper presents the process of electricity and thermal energy production in a cogeneration plant and the process of wood pellet production. The aim of this study was to analyze the energy gain—EROI for energy products that are created as a product contained in electrical and thermal energy and the energy contained in wood pellets. According to the obtained results, the production of only electrical energy from wood biomass in a cogeneration plant was not sustainable from an energy point of view, since the obtained electrical energy was only 1.46 times greater than the input wood energy (EROI el = 1.46), while the obtained energy of the produced wood pellets was 4.82 (EROI pel = 4.82). According to the results of equivalent carbon emission, positive net value was achieved only with cogeneration plant and pellet plant working in synergy. Wood is a renewable source of energy, and its economic use can create a significant energy gain. However, due to the trend of using renewable energy sources and the increasing need for electricity, such a process of obtaining electricity is financially profitable, although it is not justified from the energy profitability and environmental sustainability point of view.

Keywords: EROI; CHP; cogeneration plant; pellet plant; CO 2 eq; GWP; thermal energy; electrical energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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