Mineral composition and ash content in the biomass of new miscanthus hybrids in the second vegetation year

Abstract

Sa porastom broja stanovnika na Zemlji rastu i potrebe za energijom koja se najčešće crpi iz neobnovljivih izvora energije čije negativne poslijedice uključuju onečišćenje okoliša uz pojačane emisije stakleničkih plinova. Da bi se smanjili navedeni negativni utjecaji potrebno je pronaći alternativne izvore energije od kojih se najviše ističe biomasa sa svojim prednostima poput obnovljivosti i neznatnog utjecaja na okolinu. Korištenjem biomase u procesu neposrednog izgaranja zaostaje velika količina pepela koja mora biti zbrinuta stoga će se u ovom radu proučavati energetska kultura Miscanthus x giganteus i variranje sastava i sadrţaja pepela ovisno o genotipu i vegetacijskoj godini. Cilj ovoga rada je odrediti mineralni sastav i sadrţaj pepela u biomasi 6 hibrida energetske kulture M. saccahriflorus x M. sinensis (sac x sin), u zimskom roku ţetve druge vegetacijske godine. Biomasa je prikupljena na pokušalištu Šašinovečki lug. Analizom prikupljene biomase dobivene su sljedeće prosječne vrijednosti: pepeo 4,65 %, gornja ogrjevna vrijednost 18,34 MJ/kg, koks 14,54 %, sadrţaj vode 24,2 %, hlapljive tvari 78,71 % te fiksirani ugljik 9,9 %. Na temelju dobivenih rezultata moţe se zaključiti da navedeni hibridi miskantusa imaju dobar potencijal za proizvodnju energije.As the population of the Earth grows, so does the need for energy, which is most often extracted from non-renewable energy sources whose negative consequences include environmental pollution with increased greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reduce these negative impacts, it is necessary to find alternative energy sources and the most prominent of which is biomass with its advantages such as renewables and a slight impact on the environment. Using biomass in the process of direct combustion leaves a large amount of ash that must be disposed of, so in this paper we will study the energy culture of Miscanthus x giganteus and the variation of ash composition and content depending on genotype and vegetation year. The aim of this study is to determine the mineral composition and ash content in the biomass of hybrids of energy crop M. saccahriflorus x M. sinensis (sac x sin), in the winter harvest of the second growing year. Biomass was collected at the Šašinovečki lug experimental site. The analysis of the collected biomass gave the following average values: ash 4.65 %, higher heating value 18.34 MJ/kg, coke 14.54 %, water content 24.2 %, volatile matter 78.71 % and fixed carbon 9.9 % . Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that these miscanthus hybrids have good potential for energy production