An Industrial Scale, Mechanical Process for Improving Pellet Quality and Biogas Production from Hazelnut and Olive Pruning

Leonardo Bianchini, Paolo Costa, Pier Paolo Dell’Omo, Andrea Colantoni, Massimo Cecchini and Danilo Monarca
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Leonardo Bianchini: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, Tuscia University (DAFNE), Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Paolo Costa: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, Tuscia University (DAFNE), Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Pier Paolo Dell’Omo: Department of Astronautical, Electrical and Energy Engineering (DIAEE), University La Sapienza, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
Andrea Colantoni: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, Tuscia University (DAFNE), Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Massimo Cecchini: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, Tuscia University (DAFNE), Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Danilo Monarca: Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, Tuscia University (DAFNE), Via S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: The effects of a mechanical process on the solid fuel quality and anaerobic biodegradability of hazelnut and olive pruning were determined. The feedstock was treated using a two-stage dry milling process, followed by fractionation into four different products. The coarser products from the processing of both the raw materials, named C and M, were notable for the high reduction in both the ash and nitrogen content. Therefore, for hazelnut, they met the requirement of the EN ISO 17225-2 standard for both the industrial and residential pellets, whereas C and M from olive processing met the requirements only for the industrial pellet. The raw materials and the finest products from processing, named F1 and F2, were anaerobically digested in batch reactors under mesophilic conditions. The F2 product from hazelnut processing reached a methane yield of 118.1 Nm 3 t VS −1 , corresponding to a +70.1% gain over the untreated substrate, whereas F2 from olive pruning processing reached 176.5 Nm 3 t VS −1 , corresponding to a methane yield gain of about +93.5% over the untreated raw material. These results suggest that the investigated process could be successfully used to improve the quality of pruning and establish new markets for them.

Keywords: pruning; anaerobic digestion; biogas; pellet; hazelnut; olive (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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