Utilization of biomass fro energy production by direct burning in Cyprus
2006
Polycarpou, P.
The primary energy resources of the earth are currently estimated to last for the next 100 to 150 years. The increasing population and the rising standard of living globally, has lead to higher energy demands resulting in continuous oil price increase that affects negatively the world's economy. Cyprus is dangerously affected since its whole econo¬my relies on imported oil and its byproducts. The local greenhouse horticulture and flori¬culture is endangered since heating during winter is absolutely necessary to maintain production, but this contributes to an unaffordable increase in the production costs. Therefore, alternative energy sources, like solar, wind, shallow geothermal, biomass, etc should be considered. This paper deals with the possibility of using biomass from agri¬culture and forestry as a renewable energy source. The energy content of different trees, weeds, and vegetables has been estimated so as to select plants that could be used as potential energy sources. A readily available energy source seems to be the straw from cereals (wheat and barley) since their cultivation is already known. It should be taken though into account that straw is at the time largely needed as animal feed (roughage). Some economical considerations are also presented to provide some useful information to the performers of techno-economic studies in this area.
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