Renewable energy and energy efficiency

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE

Jelgava, 2012 Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, 2012

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CONFERENCE ORGANISATIONAL COMMITTEE Pēteris Rivža, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Aleksandrs Adamovičs, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Vilis Dubrovskis, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Imants Ziemelis, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Ēriks Kronbergs, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Modrīte Pelše, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Sandija Rivža, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Agnese Oļševska, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Evija Plone, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ CONFERENCE SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE Aleksandrs Adamovičs, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Pēteris Rivža, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Ole Green, Aarhus University /Denmark/ Kestutis Navickas, Aleksandras Stulginskis University /Lithuania/ Svein Skoien, Bioforsk, Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research /Norway/ John Morken, Norwegian University of Life Sciences /Norway/ Gints Birzietis, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Jonas Šlepetys, Lithuanian Agricultural institute /Lithuania/ Zdzislaw Wyszynski, Warsaw University of Life Sciences /Poland/ Vilis Dubrovskis, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Imants Ziemelis, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Ēriks Kronbergs, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Modrīte Pelše, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Voldemārs Strīķis, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Arnis Kalniņš, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Zinta Gaile, Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Chief editor: Pēteris Rivža Responsible compiler of the proceedings: Sandija Rivža Language editors: Inga Skuja, Sandris Ancāns Layout design: Agnese Radžele-Šulce Cover design: Atis Luguzs

Acknowledgement These proceedings are prepared within the framework of the ESF Project „Attraction of human resources to the research of the renewable energy sources”, Contract No. 2009/0225/1DP/1.1.1.2.0/09/APIA/VIAA/ 129. When quoted, source reference to this issue is obligatory.

Latvia University of Agriculture, 2012

ISBN 978-9984-48-070-1 E-ISBN 978-9984-861-17-3 2

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, 2012

REVIEWERS All articles included into the Proceedings were subjected to a anonymous scientific review, done by the following 26 reviewers from five countries (Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Poland). Aigars Indriksons Ainārs Galiņš Aivars Āboltiņš Aivars Kaķītis Aldis Jansons Aleksandrs Adamovičs Arnis Kalniņš Biruta Jansone Egīls Dzelzītis Ēriks Kronbergs Gotfrīds Noviks Ilze Pelēce Imants Nulle Imants Ziemelis John Morken Jonas Slepetys Kestutis Navickas Michael Krug Modrīte Pelše Pēteris Rivža Raimunds Šeļegovskis Vilis Dubrovskis Voldemārs Strīķis Zdzislaw Wyszynski Zinta Gaile Zofija Jankauskienė

Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Riga Technical University /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Rezekne Higher Education Institution /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Norwegian University of Life Sciences /Norway/ Lithuanian Agricultural institute /Lithuania/ Aleksandras Stulginskis University /Lithuania/ Freie Universität Berlin /Germany/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Warsaw University of Life Sciences /Poland/ Latvia University of Agriculture /Latvia/ Upytė Research Station of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry /Lithuania/


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Table of contents Proceedings of the international scientific conference ``Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency`` Growing and processing technologies of energy crops Fibre crops for energy production and energy saving Winfried Schäfer Industrial hemp – a promising source for biomass production Zofija Jankauskienė, Elvyra Gruzdevienė Evaluation of reed resources in Kurzeme region in Latvia Edgars Čubars, Gotfrīds Noviks The evaluation of dry mass yield of new energy crops and their energetic parameters Gintaras Šiaudinis, Alvyra Šlepetienė , Danutė Karčauskienė Inoculation as an element of energy saving in the cultivation technology of grain legumes under conditions of the forest-steppe of Ukraine Serhiy Kolisnyk, Svitlana Kobak Cereal grain as alternative fuel in Latvia Inga Jansone, Zinta Gaile Oilseed rape (Brassica napus ssp. oleifera) seed yield depending on several agro-ecological factors Oskars Balodis, Zinta Gaile Comparison of different energy crops for solid fuel production in Latvia Ļubova Komlajeva, Aleksandrs Adamovičs, Liena Poiša Maize production for biogas in Latvia Janis Bartusevics, Zinta Gaile The estimation of energy efficiency of crop rotation in long –term trials Janis Vigovskis, Daina Sarkanbarde, Agrita Svarta, Aivars Jermuss, Ludmila Agafonova Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) in natural biocenosis of Latvia, research experiments and production fields Biruta Jansone, Sarmite Rancane, Peteris Berzins, Vija Stesele Biomass potential of plants grown for bioenergy production Jonas Slepetys, Zydre Kadziuliene, Lina Sarunaite, Vita Tilvikiene, Aldona Kryzeviciene Oil-flax variety ‘Scorpion’ suitability of assessment for biofuels production. Liena Poiša, Aleksandrs Adamovičs Energy-saving technology of maize grain conservation in big-bags Oleksandr Kurnaev Effect of soil tillage and herbicides on the grain maize yield under conditions of the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine Vasyl Petrichenko, Viktor Zadorozhnyi, Olexandr Kornyichuk, Volodymyr Borona Biogas and biofuel production technologies Policies and measures to promote sustainable bioenergy production and use in the Baltic Sea region Michael Krug Bio-fuel from anaerobic co-digestion of the macro-algae Ulva lactuca and Laminaria digitata Shiplu Sarker, Anette Bruhn, Alastair James Ward, Henrik Bjarne Møller Biomass as the main source of renewable energy in Poland Wyszyński Zdzisław, Michalska-Klimczak Beata, Pągowski Krzysztof, Kamińska Sonia Small CHP plants in Latvia: reality and possibilities Tatjana Odineca

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7 13 19 24 29

33 39 45 51 57 61

66 73 79 80

81 86 91 97


Specified evaluation of manure resources for production of biogas in planning region Latgale Imants Plūme, Vilis Dubrovskis, Benita Plūme Analytical model and simulation of oxygen solubility in wastewater Aigars Laizāns, Andris Šnīders Biogas production potential from agricultural biomass and organic residues in Latvia Vilis Dubrovskis, Vladimirs Kotelenecs, Eduards Zabarovskis , Arvids Celms, Imants Plume Co-fermentation of biomass with high content of lignocelluloses for biogas producing Vilis Dubrovskis, Vladimirs Kotelenecs, Arvīds Celms, Eduards Zabarovskis The Investigation of Biogas Potential in the Vidzeme Region Indulis Straume The Investigation of Biogas Potential in the Pieriga Region Indulis Straume GHG emissions from the usage of energy crops for biogas production. Imants Plūme, Vilis Dubrovskis, Benita Plūme Conditioning of the energy crop biomass compositions Cutting properties of arranged stalk biomass Andris Kronbergs, Eriks Kronbergs, Elgars Siraks, Janis Dalbins Preliminary data on the productivity of stump lifting head MCR-500 Andis Lazdiņš, Agris Zimelis, Igors Gusarevs Preliminary results of estimation of forest biomass for energy potentials in final felling using a system analysis model Andis Lazdiņš, Dagnija Lazdiņa, Gaidis Klāvs Heat of Combustion of Hemp and Briquettes Made of Hemp Shives Jacek Kolodziej, Maria Wladyka - Przybylak, Jerzy Mankowski, Lidia Grabowska Regionally Specific Harvesting Residue Yield and Recovery Rates Used for Energy Policy Development Arnis Jurevics, Dennis Hazel, Robert Abt, Mark Megalos, Ola Sallnas Influence of the particle parameters on the properties of biomass briquettes Dainis Ancāns, Aivars Kaķītis, Imants Nulle Evaluation of biomass compacting mechanisms Edgars Repsa, Eriks Kronbergs, Mareks Smits Solar energy applications and energy efficiency technologies in buildings Water heating effectiveness of semi-spherical solar collector Ilze Pelece, Imants Ziemelis The tracking system for solar collectors with reflectors Liene Kancevica, Henriks Putans, Imants Ziemelis Criteria of effectiveness evaluation of variable speed centrifugal pumps in heating and cooling systems Deniss Pilscikovs, Egils Dzelzitis Experimental investigation of heat carrier flow efficiency Viktorija Zagorska, Henriks Putans, Imants Ziemelis Impact of indoor temperature on energy efficiency in office buildings Galina Stankevica, Andris Kreslins Air heated solar collectors and their applicability Aivars Aboltins, Guntis Rušķis, Janis Palabinskis Heat transfer in external walls made from autoclaved aerated concrete Martins Vilnitis, Baiba Gaujena Evaluation of parameters of radiant heating systems Jelena Psenicnaja


103 109 115 121 127 133 139

145 150 156

163 167 173 179

185 189 196 201 207 212 218 224

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Economic and legislative aspects of the renewable energy production Policy of the European Union in the Field of Renewable Energy Resources in the Context of Common Power Industry Policy Artis Broņka, Andra Zvirbule-Bērziņa Possibilities for renewable energy production on farms Voldemārs Strīķis, Arnis Kalniņš, Arnis Lēnerts Development of institutional environment to promote the usage of renewable energy resources in Latvia. Jānis Leikučs Global and local challenges in the cultivation of food and energy crops Modrīte Pelše, Kaspars Naglis-Liepa Risk management in renewable energy production Sandija Rivža, Pēteris Rivža Learning and innovation in networks: the case of biogas production in Latvia Talis Tisenkopfs, Sandra Šūmane, Ilona Kunda Possibilities for biogas production development on the LLU Training and Research farm ,,Vecauce’’ Jolanta Klāviņa, Voldemārs Strīķis

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231 235 242 249 255 256


W. Schäfer

Fibre Crops for Energy Production and Energy Saving

FIBRE CROPS FOR ENERGY PRODUCTION AND ENERGY SAVING Winfried Schäfer MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Animal Production Research Vakolantie 55, FI03400 Vihti, Finland; e-mail: [email protected] Abstract The photosynthesis process generates beside carbon hydrates also complex chemical compounds. The artificial synthesis of such compounds is often impossible or may require high energy input compared with their heating value. In other words, the entropy of energy crops is low compared with that of fossil fuels. This fact is usually neglected in energy analysis of bio fuels resulting in questionable political decisions concerning renewable energy. This paper demonstrates that the energy saving and the GHG mitigation potential of fibre crops may be enhanced using them first used as raw material for commercial products before processing to fuel at the end of their lifetime. For example, reed canary grass may be used for paper production and after recycling the used paper can be processed to insulation material in buildings before thermal use. Such a chain of usage trades off both, the low entropy as raw material for pulp and the heat value of the carbon hydrates. A calculation model is presented to estimate the reduction of CO2 equivalents of the following two options: Alternative A: Production of reed canary grass + processing to fuel for heating. Alternative B: Production of reed canary grass + processing to paper + recycling of paper + processing to insulation material + installation of insulation material in buildings + recycling of insulation material + processing for heating. The results show that alternative B is outclassing alternative A. Pulp made of reed canary grass for paper and insulation material saves between ten and hundred times or more energy compared with the energy yield of burning. However, fossil fuels render a higher energy return on investment and are for the time being more competitive than both options. Key words: Fibre crops, energy crops, GHG mitigation, reed canary grass.

Introduction Energy crops are still considered as an important renewable energy source even though there are many doubts whether they may replace fossil fuels sustainably. The question whether the ‘cure is worse than the disease’ (Doornbosch and Steenblik, 2007) emerged, when the awareness about environmental impacts of energy crop production especially in the tropics reached public awareness (Fritsche et al., 2006; Mathews, 2007; European Environment Agency, 2007; Fargione, 2008; Searchinger et al. 2009, Young, 2009). A living crop decreases the entropy of matter by the photosynthesis process generating beside carbon hydrates also more complex chemical compounds. Therefore, many crops are used not only for food production but also as raw material for production of commodities (Smeder and Liljedahl, 1996). Energy crops do not only compete with food crops and feed crops, but also with fibre crops for industrial products. This fact is often neglected in energy analysis of energy crops. The GHG mitigation potential of fibre crops may be enhanced using them first as raw material for commodities before processing to fuel at the end of their lifetime. Such a chain of usage trades off both, the low entropy of the fibre and the heating value of the fibre. Materials and methods The calculation model to estimate the reduction of CO2 equivalents of fibre crops uses reed canary grass (RCG) (phalaris arundinacea) as an example. Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, 2012 Growing and processing technologies of energy crops

Alternative A includes the production and the processing of RCG to fuel for heating. Hadders and Olsson (1997), Mäkinen et al. (2006), and Lötjönen et al. (2009) describe the process of cultivating and processing and the assumptions made. The heating value h of RCG is about 17 MJ kg-1 and the energy gain Eh burning RCG is calculated using equation (1) where Y is the dry matter yield of RCG: (1) Alternative B includes the production of RCG, the processing of RCG to paper, recycling of used paper, processing of recycled paper to pulp as insulation material, installation of pulp in buildings, recycling of pulp, and processing the residues to fuel for heating as in alternative A. The fibre yield is processed to paper with a mean mass efficiency ηy of 65% (Finell, 2003). The process energy of paper production from birch is 38 MJ kg-1 and the CO2 eq. 1.1 kg kg-1 (Gromke and Detzel, 2006). The credit of lower process energy of paper production from RCG compared with pulp from wood is neglected. The recycling efficiency ηp of used paper is about 70% (Finnish Forest Industries Yearbook, 2007) and the mass efficiency ηpr of processing used paper to pulp is estimated to 90%. The process energy of pulp production is 3.25 MJ kg-1 and the CO2 emissions about 0.2 kg kg-1 (Rakennustieto, 2000). The heating value of the mass losses for processing may compensate the energy demand for installation of the pulp as insulation 7

W. Schäfer


Source: yield 6000 kg ha-1: estimated, 35% losses paper processing: Finell (2003), 30% losses paper recycling: Finnish Forest Industries Yearbook (2007), 10% losses pulp processing: estimated, 10% losses pulp recycling: estimated. Figure 1. Mass flow of alternative B. All mass figures in kg ha-1

material in buildings, recycling, and transport. Figure 1 shows the mass flow of alternative B. To calculate the saved energy using the pulp in buildings for improvement of heat insulation, the model wall or ceiling construction described in Figure 2 is used. Figure 2a shows a simple wall element made of two d = 0.022 m thick wood walls filled with pulp insulation. The U-value of the wall insulation declines widening the insulation thickness increment Δd = d1 - d0 in fig 2b. Therefore, the saved energy depends on two variables, the original insulation, and the improved insulation. The installation density ρ of the pulp is 30 kg m-3 and determines together with the thickness

of insulation the amount of square meters of the model wall or ceiling to be insulated with the fibre yield of one hectare. The thermal conductivity of wood λw is 0.14 and of pulp λp 0.041 W K-1 m-1. The external surface resistance Re = 0.13 m2 K W-1 and the internal surface resistance Ri = 0.04 m2 K W-1 for the horizontal heat flow through walls (EN ISO 6946, 1997). The mean temperature in middle Finland (Jyväskylä) Tm is 0.87°C during the heating period of 273 days from September to May (Finnish Meteorological Institute, 2011). The room temperature Tr is +20°C. The lifetime of the insulation v is estimated to 50 years. The saved energy ES during the lifetime of the wall is then calculated with following equations:

Source: made by the author Figure 2. Model wall construction, a) original insulation, b) improved insulation. d0 = original insulation thickness, d1 = thickness of wider insulation, d = thickness of the inner and outer wood wall 8

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, 2012 Growing and processing technologies of energy crops

W. Schäfer

Fibre Crops for Energy Production and Energy Saving (2) (3) (4)

At the end of the lifetime, the pulp can be used as fuel for burning assuming a recycling efficiency of 90%. The ratio of Es/Eh shows, how much more energy can be saved using the pulp for insulation compared with burning RCG. The heating value of pulp may be similar to that of RCG and burning this waste may additionally improve the energy balance. However, usually boron is added to the pulp as flame retardant compound, which decreases the lower heating value. The energy return on investment (EROI) is calculated from the energy input Ein and output Eout using the following equation: (5) The CO2 equivalent emission mitigation from the saved energy depends mainly on the substituted fuel mix. Any conversion factor for energy conversion into CO2 equivalents may be used. It will not change the quality of the results. Results and discussion The energy input for RCG production is 0.078 GJ GJ-1 and the CO2 eq. balance is 0.015 kg CO2 MJ1 (Lötjönen et al. 2009 after Mäkinen et al. 2006). Thus the EROI for heat production from RCG is 11.8 MJ MJ-1 assuming a dry matter yield of 6 Mg ha1 corresponding to a gross energy yield of 102 GJ ha1. However, this calculation takes into consideration only 8 GJ ha1 for fuels and fertilisers as energy input of RCG production. (6) The proportion of indirect energy input reached in 1999 in Danish agriculture more than 70% (Rydberg and Haden, 2006) of the total energy input. Given ⅓ of the total indirect energy input into agricultural production is used up by crop production, indirect energy input for RCG may reach 6.2 GJ/ha. Thus, a realistic value of the EROI is about 6.2 MJ MJ-1. The realistic net energy gain is than about 88 GJ ha1. (7) If RCG would be used for biogas production, the energy gain may reach the half compared with burning. Although biogas may replace fossil fuels for combustion engines, the EROI would be too low to become a competitive alternative to fossil fuels. The EROI of fossil fuels ranges after Pimentel (2008) between 10 and 20. The saved energy of alternative B is in equation (2) expressed as a function of the original insulation thickness and the insulation thickness increment Δd as parameter. The original insulation thickness d0 may e.g. range between 0.1 and 0.15 m. Then the area enclosed by the points ABCD in Figure 3 embraces the energy saving potential widening the insulation thickness by 0.01 (dotted line) to 0.15 m (solid line) resulting in a final insulation thickness between 0.11 and 0.3 m. It is evident, that the energy saving efficiency of widening insulation thickness is lower when the original insulation d0 is wider and vice versa. Table 1 shows the result of the energy saving calculations at point D. The calculation of CO2 equivalents savings at point D is given in Table 2. Widening the pulp insulation thickness d0 of a well-insulated wall or ceiling from 0.15 m to 0.3 m saves 1,521 GJ ha1. This is about sixteen times more energy than the energy gain of alternative A. Widening the pulp insulation thickness d0 of a fair-insulated wall or ceiling from 0.1 m to 0.11 m saves even 5,310 GJ ha1. This is about fifty six times more energy than the energy gain of alternative A. In other words, the net energy gain of burning the yield of 1 ha RCG pays back within three years at point D and within one year only at point A. One may object that these considerable amounts of saved energy are accumulated over a period of 50 years. Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, 2012 Growing and processing technologies of energy crops

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W. Schäfer


Source: made by the author using equations (1) to (4) Figure 3. Ratio between saved energy Es by insulation improvement and heat gain Eh of burning RCG as a function of the original insulation thickness d0 and the insulation thickness increment Δd.

Calculation of the energy saving potential at point D of Figure 3 Process Alternative A

Table 1 Energy Unit

Gross energy yield of heat production from RCG: 102,000 MJ ha-1

-7,956 MJ ha-1

Energy input of RCG production: Net energy gain burning RCG Alternative B

94,044 MJ ha-1

Energy input of RCG production

-7,956 MJ ha-1 -148,200 MJ ha-1

Energy input of paper production: Energy gain from paper production waste:

35,700 MJ ha-1

Energy input of pulp production from recycled paper:

-8,873 MJ ha-1

Energy gain from pulp production waste: Total energy input insulation production Net energy gain by saving energy from additional insulation at point D of Figure 3 EROI using RCG as insulation material at point D of Figure 3

19,890 MJ ha-1 -109,439 MJ ha-1 1,521,256 MJ ha-1 14 MJ MJ-1

Source: figures presented in chapter materials and methods

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W. Schäfer


Calculation of GHG mitigation potential at point D of Figure 3 Process and substitution alternatives Emissions from RCG production: Emissions from paper production: Emissions from pulp production of recycled paper: Total emissions Mitigation from saved light fuel oil: Mitigation from saved natural gas: Mitigation from saved district heating: Mitigation from saved electric power:

Table 2 kg CO2eq. ha-1 1,530 4,290 491 6,311 125,108 98, 064 86,654 282,305

Source: CO2eq of RCG: Lötjönen et al. (2009), CO2eq of paper: Gromke and Detzel (2006), CO2eq of pulp: Rakennustieto (2000), CO2eq of fuels: Bremer Energie-Konsens GmbH (2006) However, during the lifetime of 50 years, every year the harvest of RCG can be processed to paper and pulp. If the process of paper production is excluded and the yield of RCG is immediately processed to pulp for insulation purposes, the energy saving increases even more. It is evident that this energy saving figures are realistic in new construction buildings or under circumstances where the insulation improvement of existing buildings does not require additional demolition and construction work, e.g. improving the insulation thickness of a ceiling by blowing the pulp under the roof. The EROI of alternative B reaches the magnitude of fossil fuels. However, if the indirect energy demand for RCG production, paper, and pulp production is taken into consideration, the EROI will drop below 10. Another aspect of energy saving and GHG mitigation is the replacement of mineral insulation material by pulp. The energy demand of rock wool production is about five times higher compared with pulp production from recycled paper (Rockwool International A/S, 2009). Thus, the 2,730 kg pulp ha-1 from recycled newspaper may save about 46 GJ needed to produce an equivalent quantity of rock wool resulting in a net energy gain of 37 GJ/ha. Conclusions The calculation example shows clearly that fibre crops should first be used as feedstock for industrial commodities before the residues are converted to energy at the end of the lifetime. Producing a table from a tree and burning the residues and the table at the end of its lifetime renders the same energy gain as using the tree for firewood only. Because of the second law of thermodynamics, decrease of entropy without energy input is impossible. Only the photosynthesis process, powered by sun energy, guaranties low entropy products for humans and animals. Thus, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, 2012 Growing and processing technologies of energy crops

fibre crops processed and used as insulation material render an excellent example of high energy efficiency. The reason, why energy crops are recently used for fuels only, may be explained by agricultural subsidy policies, violation of basic thermodynamic laws, and neglecting both indirect energy input and external cost of energy crop production. Anyway, the energy return on investment of fossil fuels is still higher and therefore CO2 mitigation using renewable energy sources is more expensive for the time being. References 1. Bremer Energie-Konsens GmbH (2006) Checkliste-Einführung/Energieverbrauch, 2p. Available at: http://www.internet-energiecheck.de/download/themenchecklisten/bek/ Checkliste_allgemeiner_Energieverbrauch.pdf, 2nd January 2012 2. Doornbosch, R. and Steenblik, R. (2007) Biofuels: is the cure worse than the disease? Ed. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. SG/SD/RT(2007)3REV1, 57 p. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/15/46/39348696. pdf, 2nd January 2012 3. European Environment Agency (2007). Estimating the environmentally compatible bioenergy potential from agriculture. EEA Technical report No 12/2007, Copenhagen, 136 p. 4. Fargione, J., Hill, J., Tilman, D., Polasky, S. and Hawthorne, P. (2008) Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt. Science, 319, pp. 1235-1237. 5. Finell, M. (2003) The use of reed canary-grass (phalaris arundinacea) as a short fibre raw material for the pulp and paper industry. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae Agraria 424,Umeå, 53 p. Available at: http://pub.epsilon. slu.se/378/1/Agraria_424_MF.pdf, 2nd January 2012, 2nd January 2012. 11

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6. Finnish Forest Industries Yearbook, (2007) Finnish Forest Industries Federation, Helsinki 5/2007. Available at: http://www.metsateollisuus. fi/Infokortit/vuosikirja2007/Documents/ Yearbook%202007.pdf 7. Finnish Meteorological Institute (2011) Climatological statistics for the normal period 1971-2000. Jyväskylä (62° 24`N 25° 40`E), Monthly statistics 1971-2000. Available at: http:// en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/normal-period-1971-2000, 2nd January 2012. 8. Fritsche, U.R., Hünecke, K., Hermann, A., Schulze, F., Wiegmann, K. and Adolphe, M. (2006) Sustainability Standards for Bioenergy. WWF Germany, Frankfurt am Main, 80 p. 9. Gromke, U. and Detzel, A. (2006) Ecological comparison of office papers in view of the fibrous raw material. Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg GmbH, Heidelberg, 40 p. Available at: http://www. papiernetz.de/docs/IFEU-Study_english.pdf, 2nd January 2012. 10. Hadders, G. and Olsson, R. (1997) Harvest of grass for combustion in late summer and in spring. Biomass and Bioenergy, 12, pp. 171-175. 11. ISO 6946 (1997) Building components and building elements -- Thermal resistance and thermal transmittance -- Calculation method. International Organization for Standardization, ISO Central Secretariat, 1, ch. de la Voie-Creuse CP 56, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland 12. Lötjönen, T., Pahkala, K., Vesanto, P. and Hiltunen, M. (2009) Reed canary grass in Finland. In: Energy from field energy crops – a handbook for energy producers. Jyväskylä Innovation Oy, Jyväskylä, pp. 14-22. 13. Mathews, J. (2007) Biofuels: what a biopact between north and south could achieve. Energy Policy, 35, pp. 3550–3570. 14. Mäkinen, T., Soimakallio, S., Paappanen, T., Pahkala, K. and Mikkola, H.J. (2006) Greenhouse

gas balances and new business opportunities for biomass-based transportation fuels and agrobiomass in Finland. VTT Tiedotteita - Research Notes 2357, 134 p + app. 19 p. (in Finnish). Available at: www.vtt.fi/inf/pdf/tiedotteet/2006/ T2357.pdf, 2nd January 2012. 15. Pimentel, D. (2008) Renewable and solar energy technologies. In: Pimentel D. (ed): Biofuels, Solar and Wind as Renewable Energy Systems: Benefits and Risks, Springer, Science+Business Media B.V., pp. 1-17. 16. Rakennustieto (2000) RT Environmental Declaration Ekovilla Oy, Ekovilla insulation material. Helsinki, 2p. Available at: http://www. ekovilla.es/gfx/pdf/ekovilla_environmental_ declaration_24_es.pdf, 2nd January 2012. 17. Rockwool International A/S (2009) Environmental Declaration ISO 14025. Available at: http://www.epd-norge.no/getfile.php/PDF/ EPD/Byggevarer/NEPD131ERockwool.pdf, 2nd January 2012. 18. Rydberg, T. and Haden, A. (2006) Emergy evaluations of Denmark and Danish agriculture: Assessing the influence of changing resource availability on the organization of agriculture and society. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 117, pp. 145-158. 19. Searchinger, T.D., Hamburg, S.P., Melillo, J., Chameides, W., Havlik, P., Kammen, D.M., Likens, G.E., Lubowski, R.N., Obersteiner, M., Oppenheimer, M., Robertson, G.P., Schlesinger, W.H. and Tilman, G.D. (2009) Fixing a critical climate accounting error. Science, 326, pp. 527-528. 20. Smeder, B. and Liljedahl, S. (1996) Market oriented identification of important properties in developing flax fibres for technical uses. Industrial Crops and Products, 5, pp. 149-162. 21. Young, A.L. (2009) Finding the balance between food and biofuels. Environmental Science & Pollution Research, 16, pp. 117–119.

Acknowledgements

This paper was produced as a result of the ENPOS – Energy positive farm project within The Central Baltic INTERREG IV A Programme 2007-2013 that funds cross-border cooperation projects with a focus on environment, economic growth, as well as attractive and dynamic societies. The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the author. It does not represent the opinion of the European Communities. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

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Z. Jankauskienė, E. Gruzdevienė

Industrial hemp – a promising source for biomass production

INDUSTRIAL HEMP – A PROMISING SOURCE FOR BIOMASS PRODUCTION Zofija Jankauskienė, Elvyra Gruzdevienė Upytė Research Station of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract The biometrical indices of eight hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivars (‘Beniko’, ‘Bialobrezskie’, ‘Epsilon 68’, ‘Fedora 17’, ‘Felina 32’, ‘Futura 75’, ‘Santhica 27’ and ‘USO 31’) have been investigated at the Upytė Research Station of LRCAF in 2010-2011. The results of investigation show that this plant is a promising source of biomass, accounting for 38.7 t ha-1 of green biomass, and 13.1 t ha-1 of absolutely dry biomass. Results of investigation of biomass potential of 8 industrial hemp varieties are presented. Key words: hemp, biomass production, biomass yield.

Introduction Hemp has been cultivated over a period of many centuries in almost every European country. Many kinds of products could be produced from this useful plant: textiles for apparel and cottonized hemp, mats for thermal insulation in the construction industry, specialty pulp and paper for technical applications, press-moulded interior panels for the automotive industry, geotextiles for erosion control, needle-punched carpeting, hurds used as animal bedding, seed and oil for food sector, natural bodycare products, gamma linolenic acid in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, natural THCbased therapeutic drugs, etc. (Bocsa et al., 1998). Nowadays hemp has become very important as a crop for biomass production. Energy production in the form of solid fuel from the whole hemp stem is a relatively new use for the crop (Energy ..., 2009). Hemp biomass could be used for energy purposes in different ways: by burning (co-fired with coal to reduce emissions and offset a fraction of coal use; burned to produce electricity; pelletized to heat structures; made or cut into logs for heating; gasification), as oils (vegetable, seed and plant oil used “as-is” in diesel engines; biodiesel – vegetable oil converted by chemical reaction; converted into high-quality nontoxic lubricants), by conversion of cellulose to alcohol (Castleman, 2006; Prade, 2011). The aim of our research was the evaluation of the biomass potential of some industrial hemp varieties to be late on suggested to grow in Lithuania. Materials and Methods Research was carried out at the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Upytė Experimental Station on a Eutri-Endohypogleyic Cambisol, CMg-n-w-eu (Buivydaitė et al., 2001) in 2010–2011. The content of available phosphorus in the soil plough layer was 137–245 mg kg-1, content of available potassium – 129–152 mg kg-1 (determined in A-L extraction), pHKCl level – 6.7-7.7 (potentiometrically), humus content – 1.89–2.33 % (by Hereus apparatus). In 2011 soil properties showed rather lower values. Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, 2012 Growing and processing technologies of energy crops

In the field rotation, hemp followed winter wheat. Before sowing, 200 kg of complex fertilizers N7P19K29S3 and 200 kg of complex fertilizers N16P16K16 were applied in 2010 and 300 kg+300 kg of the same fertilisers in 2011. Hemp was sown (seed rate 40-50 kg ha-1) by sowing-machine SLN-1.6 at the beginning of May in the plots of 10 m2, triplicate. Randomised plot design was used. Protective plots of the same size were sown on both sides of the trial. All tested cultivars are monoecious (male and female flowers are present on the same plant). The cultivars ‘Beniko’ and ‘Bialobrzeskie’ are considered semi-early in Poland, the country of their origin. The cultivar ‘Epsilon 68’ is late-ripening in France, the cultivar ‘Felina 32’ (both are of French origin) – semilate in France, the cultivar ‘Futura 75’ – late-maturing in France, and the cultivar USO 31 (of Ukrainian origin) is known as very early in France. Hemp crop density was assessed after full crop emergence and at harvesting. No pesticides (insecticides, herbicides, desiccants) were used. Hemp was harvested by a trimmer (leaving the stubble of 5-8 cm) when the first matured seed appeared (it was on September 9th (for the cultivar USO 31) and 4th of October (for the rest part of cultivars) in 2010 and on the 13th of September (for the cultivar USO 31) and the 22-23rd of September (for the other cultivars tested) in 2011. The yield of green and dry biomass (over-ground mass) was evaluated at hemp harvesting time. The main task of the research presented here was to evaluate biomass potential of different varieties, to discus some parameters influencing on biomass production. For calculations and statistical evaluation, we used the statistical software developed at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry (Tarakanovas et al., 2003). Meteorological conditions (Table 1) during the experimental years were diverse, but both growing 13

Z. Jankauskienė, E. Gruzdevienė

Industrial hemp – a promising source for biomass production Table 1

Meteorological conditions during hemp growing season Month

May

June

July

August

September

Ten-day period I II III Average I II III Average I II III Average I II III Average I II III Average

Mean air temperature ºC 2010 2011 Long-term average 12.6 11.2 11.0 15.6 12.6 12.6 15.1 14.9 13.5 14.4 12.9 12.4 18.4 15.9 17.8

16.5 18.7 19.6

17.4 21.3 24.5 23.9

18.3 22.6 22.6 21.4

23.2 23.9 23.3 15.4 20.9 12.5 11.3 14.7 12.8

2010 25.0 18.0 20.5 63.5

Rainfall mm 2011 Long-term average 1.0 16.0 18.7 16.0 7.0 18.0 26.7 50.0

14.4 15.3 16.2 15.3

11.0 49.5 21.0 81.5

11.0 15.0 13.5 39.5

22.0 23.0 24.0 69.0

22.2 16.7 18.2 17.0 17.3

17.2 18.0 18.0 17.7

28.0 17.0 72.0 117.0

37.0 28.0 69.5 134.5

25.0 25.0 26.0 76.0

17.2 16.1 15.0 16.1

11.0 30.5 34.5 76.0

29.5 36.5 29.0 95.0

28.0 29.0 28.0 85.0

14.1 12.6 13.6 13.4

– – – –

8.0 20.0 27.0 55.0

21.0 28.0 1.0 50.0

– – – –

Source: Upytė Experimental Station, 2010, 2011. seasons were abundant in rainfall which differed only at hemp growing stages. In 2010, the period for hemp seed emergence was favourable, but later on a lack of precipitation occurred (1st ten-day period of June). Then conditions for hemp growing and developing were favourable (2nd and 3rd ten-day periods of June). The weather in July was warm, and the rainfall was sufficient for hemp growing. The weather in August was warm and rainy (except the 1st ten-day period), September was cooler and dryer. In 2011, the period for hemp seed emergence was again favourable. Later on the weather was warm, but the lack of precipitation appeared in June. Warm weather and especially abundant precipitation in July and August delayed and prolonged the hemp flowering period, delayed the seed ripening period. In September, it was still warm and rainy. Thermal and irrigation conditions during the growing season could be described by one of the most informative agrometeorological indicators – G. Selianinov’s hydrothermal coefficient (1) (Bukantis, 1998):

HTK = 14

Σp 0.1Σt

(1)

where: Σp – total precipitation (mm) sum during the given period, the temperature of which is above 10 ºC; Σt – total sum of active temperatures (ºC) of the same period. If HTK>1.6 – the irrigation is excessive, HTK=1...1.5 – optimal irrigation, HTK=0.9...0.8 – weak drought, HTK=07...0.6 – moderate drought, HTK=05...0.4 – strong drought, HTK