Biomass Potential from Agricultural Waste for Energetic Utilization in Greece

Spyridon Alatzas,Konstantinos Moustakas,Stergios Vakalis,Dimitrios Malamis

doi:10.3390/en12061095

Spyridon Alatzas, Konstantinos Moustakas + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en12061095

Copy DOI

Abstract

The alignment of the Greek national legislation with the corresponding EU legislation has enhanced the national efforts to pursue renewable Combined Heat and Power (CHP) projects. The scope of the present study has been the identification of the available biomass resources and the assessment of their potential. In this paper, we present the results from the administrative regions of Crete, Thessaly, and Peloponnese. The levels of lignocellulosic biomass in Greece are estimated to be 2,132,286 tonnes on an annual basis, values that are very close to the cases of other Mediterranean countries like Italy and Portugal. In respect to the total agricultural residues, Crete produces 1,959,124 tonnes/year and Thessaly produces 1,759,457 tonnes/year. The most significant streams are identified to be olive pits, olive pruning, and cotton ginning remnants, with more than 100,000 tonnes/year each. In the latter part of this manuscript, a case study is presented for the development of a CHP gasification facility in Messenia. The biomass energy potential of the area is very promising, with about 3,800,000 GJ/year. The proposed small-scale gasification technology is expected to utilize 7956 tonnes of biomass per year and to produce 6630 MWh of electricity and 8580 MWh of thermal energy.

Highlights

IntroductionRES (renewable energy sources), or new sources of energy, or green energy are forms of exploitable energy derived from various physical processes
RES, or new sources of energy, or green energy are forms of exploitable energy derived from various physical processes
According to the National Waste Management Plan, each administrative region compiles and makes public an integrated waste management plan (PECA), which defines the general guidelines for its management and indicates the appropriate measures to promote hierarchical and combined (a) prevention, (b) reuse, (c) recycling, (d) other recovery, such as energy recovery, and (e) safe final disposal at the regional level [37]

Summary

Introduction

RES (renewable energy sources), or new sources of energy, or green energy are forms of exploitable energy derived from various physical processes. Utilization of biomass (thermal or biological processes) is a RES, which contributes to the success of EU environmental and energy goals. Biomass is the biodegradable fraction of products, wastes, and residues of biological origin from agriculture (including plant and livestock), forestry, and related industries, including fisheries and aqua culture, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial waste and household waste. When biomass is burned to produce energy, it does not burden the atmosphere with CO2 because it has already absorbed about the same or more of its CO2 during its lifecycle [2]. In 2012, almost half (44%) of the global renewable electricity potential (excluding hydropower) corresponded to the EU. The fact that the EU produces three times more electricity from

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion