Eco-Efficiency of Pellet Production from Dedicated Poplar Plantations

Giulio Sperandio, Alessandro Suardi (), Andrea Acampora and Vincenzo Civitarese
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Giulio Sperandio: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Rome, Italy
Alessandro Suardi: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Rome, Italy
Andrea Acampora: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Rome, Italy
Vincenzo Civitarese: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, 00015 Rome, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-23

Abstract: Biomass, due to its neutrality in terms of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere during its life cycle, is considered an interesting renewable source for energy production as an alternative to the use of more polluting fossil fuels. Among the different wood fuels, pellets are convenient for use in dedicated stoves, and pellet heating systems have a high energy efficiency. The aim of this work was to estimate the economic and global warming potential (GWP100a) generated along the thermal energy supply chain of wood pellets, starting from the production of raw biomass from dedicated poplar cultivations and ending with the use of pellets in stoves by the end-user to produce thermal energy and ash. The Eco-Efficiency Indicator ( EEI ) was used to link the economic and environmental performance for eight proposed scenarios, obtained by combining different levels of mechanisation for poplar harvesting and wood biomass management before arrival at the pellet plant. For the thermal energy produced by the poplar wood pellet, the GWP100a ranged from 1.5 × 10 −2 to 2.1 × 10 −2 kg CO 2 −eq MJ −1 for three-year-old plantations and from 1.9 × 10 −2 to 2.4 × 10 −2 kg CO 2 −eq MJ −1 , for six-year-old plantations. In terms of eco-efficiency of the baseline scenario ( EEIb ), the most favourable scenarios remain those linked to the use of biomass from three-year-old poplar plantations, with EEIb values ranging from 0.31 to 0.60 € kgCO 2 −eq −1 , compared to from 0.29 to 0.36 € kgCO 2 −eq −1 for pellets obtained from biomass produced from six-year-old poplar plantations. In terms of the Global Eco-Efficiency Indicator ( EEIg ), which also takes into account the positive effect on the reduction of greenhouse gases due to the storage of carbon in the soil by the plantations and the reduction of emissions from avoided fossil fuels, the most favourable scenarios remain those linked to the use of biomass from three-year-old poplar plantations, with EEIg values that vary in the range of 0.60 ÷ 1.04 € kgCO 2 −eq −1 , compared to 0.55 ÷ 0.62 € kg CO 2 −eq −1 for thermal energy obtained using biomass from six-year-old poplar plantations.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; life cycle cost; carbon footprint; biomass; thermal energy; poplar (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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