Recent Contributions of Some Fields of the Electronics in Development of Forest Operations Technologies

Picchio, Rodolfo; Proto, Andrea Rosario; Civitarese, V.; Marzio, Nicolò Di; Latterini, Francesco

doi:10.3390/electronics8121465

Cited by 45 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…This bibliographical search was developed using Boolean operators and implementing a symbolic logic system that creates relationships between concepts and words. The use of Boolean searching to carry out a systematic review allows one to analyze all studies in a specific research field [37]. Research was performed using the databases Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pellet Production from Woody and Non-Woody Feedstocks: A Review on Biomass Quality Evaluation

Picchio

Latterini²,

Venanzi

et al. 2020

Energies

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Forest and agricultural biomass are important sources of renewable and sustainable fuel for energy production. Their increasing consumption is mainly related to the increase in global energy demand and fossil fuel prices but also to the limited availability of petroleum and the lower environmental impact of these biomass compared with other non-renewable fuels. In particular, the pellet sector has seen important developments in terms of both production and the number of installed transformation plants. In addition, pellet production from non-woody biomass is increasing in importance. One of the fundamental aspects for the correct and sustainable use of a biofuel is evaluation of its quality. This is even more important when dealing with pellet production, considering the broad spectrum of possible raw materials for pelletizing. Considering the significant number of papers dealing with pellet quality evaluation and improvement in the last decade, this review aims to give the reader an overall view of the most current knowledge about this large and interesting topic. We focused on pellets of agricultural and forestry origin and analyzed papers regarding the specific topic of pellet quality evaluation and improvement from the last five years (2016–2020). In particular, the review findings are presented in the following order: the influence of different agro-forest management systems on pellet quality; analysis of pellets from pure feedstocks (no blending or binders); the influence of blending and binders on pellet quality; and the influence of pre and post treatments. Finally, a brief discussion about actual research lacks in this topic and the possibilities for future research are presented. It is important to underline that the present review is focused on the influence of the biomass characteristics on pellet quality. The effects of the process parameters (die temperature, applied pressure, holding time) on pellet features are not considered in this review, because that is another very large topic deserving a dedicated paper.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pellet Production from Woody and Non-Woody Feedstocks: A Review on Biomass Quality Evaluation

Picchio

Latterini²,

Venanzi

et al. 2020

Energies

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“…The bibliographical search was performed through Boolean operators. The use of Boolean searching to carry out a systematic review allows to analyze all studies in a given research topic through the use of specific database [33], in particular Scopus repository, was used for the present work. A papers search within Scopus database was done looking for both the common name and binomial one for each crop along with the word "harvest *".…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbaceous Oil Crops, a Review on Mechanical Harvesting State of the Art

2020

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The sustainable production of renewable energy is a key topic on the European community’s agenda in the next decades. The use of residuals from agriculture could not be enough to meet the growing demand for energy, and the contribution of vegetable oil to biodiesel production may be important. Moreover, vegetable oil can surrogate petroleum products in many cases, as in cosmetics, biopolymers, or lubricants production. However, the cultivation of oil crops for the mere production of industrial oil would arise concerns on competition for land use between food and non-food crops. Additionally, the economic sustainability is not always guaranteed, since the mechanical harvesting, in some cases, is still far from acceptable. Therefore, it is difficult to plan the future strategy on bioproducts production from oil crops if the actual feasibility to harvest the seeds is still almost unknown. With the present review, the authors aim to provide a comprehensive overview on the state of the art of mechanical harvesting in seven herbaceous oil crops, namely: sunflower (Heliantus annuus L.), canola (Brassica napus L.), cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.), camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz), safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), crambe (Crambe abyssinica R. E. Fr.), and castor bean (Ricinus communis L.). The review underlines that the mechanical harvesting of sunflower, canola and cardoon seeds is performed relying on specific devices that perform effectively with a minimum seed loss. Crambe and safflower seeds can be harvested through a combine harvester equipped with a header for cereals. On the other hand, camelina and castor crops still lack the reliable implementation on combine harvesters. Some attempts have been performed to harvest camelina and castor while using a cereal header and a maize header, respectively, but the actual effectiveness of both strategies is still unknown.

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“…Certainly, the degree of the sustainability of a given biomass plant depends on several factors, such as: a regular and consistent biomass availability, well-designed logistics of feedstock supply, and optimal use of the resources [18][19][20][21]. Particularly, the location of the power plant is critical [22] and the Geographic Information System (GIS) is one of the most powerful and widely accepted tools for planning in agriculture and forestry sectors [23][24][25][26]. In fact, GIS permits us to combine both spatial and non-spatial factors such as the extractable biomass from forests and orchards, cost indicators and particular restrictions applied on a given area [27][28][29] to assess land suitability for the location of the biomass plant [30][31][32] and support the decision-making phase of the whole supply chains [19,33,34].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A GIS Approach to Locate a Small Size Biomass Plant Powered by Olive Pruning and to Estimate Supply Chain Costs

et al. 2020

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The valorization of agricultural residues plays a fundamental role in renewable energy production. Particularly, the management of olive orchards in Lazio region generates a considerable amount of biomass that is currently unexploited, but it could represent a valid source of solid biofuel for energy production in the Lazio region (Italy). Using a Geographic Information System (GIS) approach entirely based on open source software, five suitable areas (A, B, C, D and E) have been selected as eligible for hosting and feeding a 1 MWe power plant. Harvesting and transportation costs were also calculated. The harvesting operation costs were EUR 96.79 Mgfm−1 in A, while they ranged from EUR 49.83 Mgfm−1 (E) up to EUR 56.51 Mgfm−1 (D) for the other sub-areas. Sub-area A showed also higher transport costs, EUR 21.55 Mgfm−1 while the same value ranged from EUR 14.75 Mgfm−1 (E) to EUR 16.59 Mgfm−1 (B) in the other sub-areas. However harvesting costs resulted higher than those reported in the literature, mainly due to the low pruning yield per surface unit, an aspect which is directly related to the olive grove’s management in the region where annual pruning is the usual practice. Future developments of the present study should encompass the social and environmental aspects of residual biomass supply chains herein proposed.

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Recent Contributions of Some Fields of the Electronics in Development of Forest Operations Technologies

Cited by 45 publications

References 66 publications

Pellet Production from Woody and Non-Woody Feedstocks: A Review on Biomass Quality Evaluation

Pellet Production from Woody and Non-Woody Feedstocks: A Review on Biomass Quality Evaluation

Herbaceous Oil Crops, a Review on Mechanical Harvesting State of the Art

A GIS Approach to Locate a Small Size Biomass Plant Powered by Olive Pruning and to Estimate Supply Chain Costs

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