Possibilities of application of waste wood biomass as an energy source in Vojvodina

Abstract

The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province in Serbia, containing about 27% of its total population according to the 2002 Census. It is located in the northern part of the country, in the Pannonian plain. Fruska Gora is a lonely island mountain in the Pannonian plain. The research presented in this paper highlights the potential of significant contributing to waste wood biomass in the Park "Fruska Gora (Vojvodina, Serbia) and points to the possibility of using biomass for briquettes production - the final product that can be used for energy purposes. The amount of woody biomass per hectare can be calculated if the data about the average number of trees per hectare are known. For the analyzed case, the value found in 1 ha was 383.1 m 3/ha or 272 ± 14 tons, and practically measured value was 402 m 3/ha, or 289 tons. The relative deviation of calculated and obtained values of Canadian poplar wood biomass per hectare was 5.88%. Quantities of planned wood waste biomass can be used to produce high-quality briquettes for thermal energy generation purposes in the equivalent of 4.8 million kWh. The large energy potentials, in Vojvodina are still substantially unused, and besides of using waste wood from forestry, it is necessary to consider the sustainable use of available waste biomass from the timber industry. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.