Life-Cycle Assessment of the Use of Peach Pruning Residues for Electricity Generation

Jan Den Boer, Arkadiusz Dyjakon, Emilia Den Boer, Daniel García-Galindo, Techane Bosona and Girma Gebresenbet
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Jan Den Boer: Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland
Arkadiusz Dyjakon: Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland
Emilia Den Boer: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
Daniel García-Galindo: Avebiom–Spanish Biomass Association, 47004 Valladolid, Spain
Techane Bosona: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75232 Uppsala, Sweden
Girma Gebresenbet: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75232 Uppsala, Sweden

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Biomass residues from permanent crops might be an alternative fuel for energy generation in a local market with limited transport distances. Moreover, as activities related to CO 2 reduction are of special attention in the European Union (EU), sustainable use of resources plays an important role in climate change mitigation. In this paper, a life-cycle assessment (LCA) of the integrated value chain from peach pruning residues for electricity generation is presented and compared with the common practice including the mulching process of the pruned biomass in an orchard. It was shown that biomass harvesting, chipping and its delivery to a power plant—the Pruning-to-Energy (PtE) scenario—is feasible from an environmental point of view. The total global warming potential (GWP) of this value chain was 200 kg CO 2 eq.·ha −1 (or 27 kg CO 2 eq.·GJ −1 ). In turn, the mulching and leaving of the pruned biomass in an orchard—the pruning-to-soil (PtS) scenario—is characterized by a CO 2 equivalent of 2360 kg·ha −1 . Other impact categories showed a lower environmental impact for the PtE scenario as well. When considering the Spanish electricity-mix instead of coal-based electricity, the PtS scenario score better in most impact categories, but the GWP for the PtE scenario remains lower.

Keywords: peach pruning residues; electricity production; life cycle assessment; LCA; biomass-to-energy (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: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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