Exploitability of Woody Forest Residues for Energy Purposes through Small Scale Gasification

This work investigated the possibility to exploit woody forest residues and wood, obtained from forest maintenance activities and meteorological extraordinary events, as an additional material for clean energy production. These materials were collected from the Renon highland near the city of Bolzano (South Tyrol, Italy) and they were analyzed in terms of their main physical and chemical characteristics. Subsequently, these materials were tested in an open-top gasifier installed in the Bioenergy and Biofuels labs of the Free University of Bolzano. The tests have shown the potential to use these as feedstocks for clean energy production, although small differences in their respective performances have been observed. The differences mainly depend on the different characteristics of these materials. To evaluate the technical feasibility of using these materials, for additional energy production through an existing CHP plant, the possibilities investigated are twofold: the evaluation of a specific mixture of these residues, capable to guarantee a homogeneous feedstock to the gasifier, and the possibility to consider the wood from extraordinary events as a buffering material in periods of the year when the production of woody forest residues is reduced. The preliminary results obtained from the gasification experiments of these residues were encouraging; however, additional research is required to optimize the process for practical application.