Analysis of Potential Related to Grass-Derived Biomass for Energetic Purposes

According to the climate energy package of the EU, biomass is and will be the most important source of energy of all renewable resources of energy (RRE). Experts from the European Association of Biomass estimate that it will be caused by tree-fold increase in demand for this source of energy (Gradziuk in Gospodarcze znaczenie i możliwości wykorzystania słomy na cele energetyczne w Polsce. Wyd. Instytut Uprawy Nawożenia i Gleboznawstwa - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy w Puławach, 2015, [1]). In Poland, the wastelands cover 475,000 ha (Central Statistical Office of Poland. Statistical Yearbook of Agriculture, 2016, [2]), and could be used as a source of biomass, e.g. for biogas plants or for briquette production. Waste grass from green areas such as parks, gardens, garden plots, and biomass from roadsides (motorways and highways) should also be taken into account. The amount of waste changes annually as it depends on vegetation, weather, method of green areas and gardens nurturing. Green waste is mainly produced from spring till autumn, and the amount produced during these seasons is much higher than in winter (Jędrczak, Biologiczne przetwarzania odpadów. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa, 2007, [3]). Therefore, grass briquetting is desirable as briquetted grass may be used throughout the year. One of the most important stages of briquette production is drying raw material, i.e. grass.