Fast growing trees planted as Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) are an important source of lignocellulosic biomass, due to their high yields, good combustion quality, ecological and social benefits and relatively low production costs. The quality and the price of the biomass are determined by its particle size distribution, heating value, moisture and ash content. These parameters can vary significantly as a function of the wood species and the time between the cutting phase and the chipping phase.In 2015, the Department of Agriculture of the University of Naples Federico II and the Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria (Crea), carried out some tests to identify the characteristics of the chips in eight different species grown as SRC, chipped after two months of storage: Fraxinus angustifolia, Robinia pseudoacacia, Salix alba, Populus nigra (Limatola) and four genotypes of Populus x euroamericana (Grimminge, Vesten, Hoogvorst, Muur). The average moisture content of the species was 29.30%, with an average heating value and ash content of 21.77 MJ kg-1 and 2.02%, respectively. These values differ among the various species and genotypes considered. The particle size distribution analysis revealed, instead, that independently from the species, the most represented class size was 45 to 3 mm. The variability observed in terms of dried biomass quality suggest the possibility to identify the species more suitable for the biomass combustion analyzing the mainly quality parameters, choosing the best species or different species mix wood chips to offer a better product in the commercial biomass marketing.

Proceedings of the 26th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 14-17 May 2018, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 342-345