Wood energy industry

The project consists of creating a shared tool in the form of an online platform to facilitate the evaluation of supply plans and to limit conflicts of use from forest resources.
The tool integrates data related to the availability of the wood resource, taking into account harvests and past forest removals as well as the potential for additional wood energy and industrial wood harvesting. It thus provides an up-to-date view of the wood energy and wood industry resource at the departmental level.
In addition, the consumption of recent and planned biomass boiler is indicated in order to calculate the supply and demand balance for a territory.

Currently, the platform is tested and revised after feedback from users and experts associated with the project. It appears necessary to consolidate data on resource availability, biomass boiler consumption and other wood uses.

Data related to wood resources come from IGN inventories (National Institute for Geographic and Forestry Information), AGRESTE surveys (service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food) and ADEME studies (Environment and Energy Management Agency).
With a single tool, it is possible to :
- monitor harvests and wood consumption at the departmental level,
- estimate the additional resource,
- use indicators of the capacity to mobilize the resource.
The platform provides summary tables on resource availability and a boiler consumption database. It allows users to monitor the evolution over time of biomass boiler and wood resource consumption.  
It also provides related indicators to estimate the strain on the resource. Users can simulate the impact of a new boiler installation on their territory.
This type of tool appears necessary and useful both for public bodies for the implementation of their policy, and for industrialists who wish to develop their activities.

TEGA operates in urban public services area and initiated large campaign for wood residue collection in cities/villages in Covasna County. TEGA uses wood chips as fuel in its heating plant and provide heating for its workshops, offices. The capacity of the heat boiler is 200 kWt.
The idea was to collect wood residues from green areas. Collected wood residues are chopped and crushed and can be delivered for energy production. Types of collected waste wood: i.e. forest sanitation, gardening cuttings and cleaning operations. The types of biomass used are wood residues (barks, chips, branches).

Energy problems are so acute, that it is no longer possible to satisfy the local’s constantly growing needs. This growth of energy demand must be increasingly satisfied by diversified energy sources, including sustainable and renewable resources. Biomass is a renewable energy option that can be practical and safe, can strengthen the circular economy, and can help ease the urgent strain on our planet’s ecosystem.

TEGA company promotes and invests in acceleration of the entire biomass chain. The company members participate in collection, chipping activities and produce more than 500 m3 woodchips. They use this biomass material and valorize at the company. Moreover, training sessions on bioenergy issues, active involvement in local projects such as at waste collection actions TEGA company was actively involved.

Venturini was founded in 1985 as an agricultural company, to then devote itself to forestry work since 1997. With the entry of Michele, the owner's son, the forestry activity took over and traditional work systems led to employment of more modern machines, with large investments. The transformation from a traditional forest company to a modern enterprise has been realized thanks to the Region Tuscany Rural Development Plan 2007-13, which has allowed Venturini Biomasse to completely renovate the machinery and reorganize itself, becoming a reference in the territory for the supply of wood chips.

Venturini Biomasse is a beautiful example of a family-run company that, over the years, has been able to expand, renew and improve. Michele's entry into the family business also marked the change of pace at the business level. It is in fact thanks to his foresight that it has been possible to access public funding with the PRS 2007-2013, by exploiting them productively on the basis of clear, concrete objectives and above all calibrated to company dimensions.

Through the purchased equipment
the company has achieved important goals.
First, working conditions have improved. New technologies have also made it possible to optimize logistics. A strategy of diversification and, above all, of production qualification, has allowed the company to start operating outside the local market, obtaining a positioning capable of guaranteeing better sales conditions and therefore greater profitability. The company is healthy today, with good development prospects, and aims to grow further. There is no shortage of design ideas for the future, such as the expansion of a covered structure to optimize the storage and handling of the chips produced, or the construction of a forced drying plant to speed up production cycles.

The ashes can be used in a road building among gravel. The use of ash from neighboring heat plants reduces the use of natural aggregates. The use of ash in the construction of the road has been limited, as it is currently subject to environmental permits.
In the forest and energy industries, burning wood produces a lot of ash, which is placed in landfills. The forest industry alone generates more than 300 000 tonnes of exploeable ash every year. The increase in wood energy increases the amount of ash even further. Current measures to benefit from the use of ash do not correspond to the principles of sustainable consumption and production. It would be essential to influence the legislation in order to ease the utilization of ash. It is important to perform carrying capacity measurements and research and test different mixtures of gravel and ash. The environmental issues need to be surveyed.

In Finland there are 135 000 km of forest roads where maintenance is necessary for wood procurement. According to the National Forest Programme 2015, forest car roads should be upgraded to 4 000 km annually. In the construction of roads, cost-effectiveness is most essential. The biggest challenge in most cases is the availability of affordable gravel or crushing near the forest road project. Utilization of ash as material for road construction and maintenance has produced excellent results in terms of both the technical suitability and the environmental impact.

Search for pilot areas, biomass sampling and extraction preparation
Extraction of essential oils and hydrolysis of biomass
Characterization of compounds present in essential oils and residual hydrolyzed biomass

In progress

(Expected results)
Development of innovative biofuels and bioproducts from forest biomass with little or no use as bushes and forest treatment residues through state-of-the-art techniques applied throughout the value chain.
To define the best management, harvesting techniques and forestry treatments for rockrose, juniper, rosemary, pine and eucalyptus. Selection of pilot action areas.
To develop a prototype of continuous extraction of essential oils using microwave technology.
Production, analysis and testing of products in the laboratory and in the field: biocides, solid biofuels (pellets) and liquid biofuels (ethanol).