Proximate, Ultimate, and Energy Values Analysis of Plum Biomass By-products Case Study: Croatia's Potential

Abstract

In many European countries, residues from agricultu ral products represent a considerable potential for development of bio-energ y industry. A significant part of these biomass materials come from the fruit-growing busin ess, i.e., primary fruit production and fruit processing plants. The EU directives requ ire that the disposal of such residues should be environmentally sustainable. The objectiv e of this study was to determine proximate (moisture content, ash, fixed carbon, vol atile matter), ultimate (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur) and energy values ( higher, lower) of biomass, as well as the Croatian total energy potential generated after the pruning (pruned residues) and processing of plum fruit (stone). Five different pl um varieties (Bistrica, Cacanska ljepotica, Cacanska rodna, President, and Stanley), most commonly grown in the territory of Croatia, were analyzed and compared. The analyze d data were compared with the norm CEN/TS 14961 (2005) for solid biofuels and the data from the relevant literature. Both types of investigated biomass proved to be hig hly valuable sources of energy; and no significant difference between investigated plum va rieties were found. Lower heating value, as one of the fundamental parameters of the biomass energy efficiency, averaged in the studied samples: 15.2 MJ kg -1 for plum pits and 17.12 MJ kg -1 for pruned biomass, which classifies plum biomass as a valuable energy raw material. Also, the calculations show that the potential production of the biomass a vailable in Croatia could reach up to 292.13 MJ of renewable "green" energy annually. Keywords : Agricultural residues, Biofuels, Pruned residues, Renewable green energy.