TITLE:
Environmental and Economic Assessment of Wood Pellet Production from Trees in Greece
AUTHORS:
Chrysanthos Golonis, Rigou Aikaterini, Charaklias Konstantinos, Zeibekis Konstantinos, Georgantzeli Polixeni, Piteros Andreas
KEYWORDS:
Biomass, Wood Pellets, Energy, Emission, Life Cycle Assessment
JOURNAL NAME:
Smart Grid and Renewable Energy,
Vol.13 No.7,
July
21,
2022
ABSTRACT: Biomass is a renewable, economic and readily
available resource of energy that has potential to
substitute fossil fuels in many applications such as heat, electricity and
biofuels. The increased use of the agricultural biomass can help the agricultural based societies in achieving energy
security and creating employment without causing environmental
degradation. However, the viability and feasibility of electricity generation
from agricultural biomass depends upon the availability of biomass supply at a
competitive cost. The present study investigates the availability of agricultural
biomass for distributed power generation in Greece (Kozani). The study concludes with a discussion on
significance and challenges of decentralized
electricity generation for rural energy supply, including brief
description about economical, social, environmental and technical aspects of
bioelectricity. With the application of the life cycle analysis applied, the
environmental and economic impacts that will occur in the region of Kozani in
Greece, where a biomass wood pellets production workshop is operating, have
been assessed. The total annual emission of CO 657.9 gr, HC 22.36 gr, PM 67.94 and NOx 8.832,2 gr was calculated. The economic
evaluation estimated the payback period for the investment in this plant
to be approximately 3 years.