Short Rotation Wood Crops in Latin American: A Review on Status and Potential Uses as Biofuel
Studies related to biomass production, with a focus on energy uses for short-rotation woody crops (SRWCs), are limited in Latin America. The research that is available relates to a variety of tested SRWC species (50 species), however, the most important species are <i>Populus</i>, <i&...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-02-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/4/705 |
| _version_ | 1828112571281965056 |
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| author | Róger Moya Carolina Tenorio Gloria Oporto |
| author_facet | Róger Moya Carolina Tenorio Gloria Oporto |
| author_sort | Róger Moya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Studies related to biomass production, with a focus on energy uses for short-rotation woody crops (SRWCs), are limited in Latin America. The research that is available relates to a variety of tested SRWC species (50 species), however, the most important species are <i>Populus</i>, <i>Salix</i>, <i>Eucalyptus</i>, <i>Acacia</i>, and <i>Gmelina arborea</i>. In the existing studies, stocking densities varied from 1111 to 20,000 trees per hectare, with square or rectangular spacing. One important advantage of SRWC systems in this region, compared to most regions worldwide, is the predictability of biomass yields due to the tropical climate conditions of the majority of the Latin American countries. Rotations of three and four years can be projected to produce total biomass yields of 30⁻50 tons/ha, with increments of 10⁻20 tons/ha/yr. Fertilization is performed in SRWC with the aim of preventing soil degradation and maintaining further production. In regards to possible uses of biofuel generated from SRWC in Latin America, an inconvenience is that there are neither well-established harvesting systems nor conventional pre-treatments to process the biomass. Processes that are available in the region that use biomass from SRWC for energy production are gasification and pellet production. Other potential biofuel processes, such as torrefaction and biochemical conversion, are limited in this area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:52:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e798f80a8ab64cbaae3e76a2a35ad27c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:52:33Z |
| publishDate | 2019-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-e798f80a8ab64cbaae3e76a2a35ad27c2022-12-22T04:25:17ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732019-02-0112470510.3390/en12040705en12040705Short Rotation Wood Crops in Latin American: A Review on Status and Potential Uses as BiofuelRóger Moya0Carolina Tenorio1Gloria Oporto2Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Ingeniería Forestal, Cartago 159-7050, Costa RicaInstituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Ingeniería Forestal, Cartago 159-7050, Costa RicaWood Science and Technology, Division of forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgatown, WV 26506-6125, USAStudies related to biomass production, with a focus on energy uses for short-rotation woody crops (SRWCs), are limited in Latin America. The research that is available relates to a variety of tested SRWC species (50 species), however, the most important species are <i>Populus</i>, <i>Salix</i>, <i>Eucalyptus</i>, <i>Acacia</i>, and <i>Gmelina arborea</i>. In the existing studies, stocking densities varied from 1111 to 20,000 trees per hectare, with square or rectangular spacing. One important advantage of SRWC systems in this region, compared to most regions worldwide, is the predictability of biomass yields due to the tropical climate conditions of the majority of the Latin American countries. Rotations of three and four years can be projected to produce total biomass yields of 30⁻50 tons/ha, with increments of 10⁻20 tons/ha/yr. Fertilization is performed in SRWC with the aim of preventing soil degradation and maintaining further production. In regards to possible uses of biofuel generated from SRWC in Latin America, an inconvenience is that there are neither well-established harvesting systems nor conventional pre-treatments to process the biomass. Processes that are available in the region that use biomass from SRWC for energy production are gasification and pellet production. Other potential biofuel processes, such as torrefaction and biochemical conversion, are limited in this area.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/4/705biomass feedstockSouth AmericaCentral Americashort rotation cropssustainabilityplantationbiomass |
| spellingShingle | Róger Moya Carolina Tenorio Gloria Oporto Short Rotation Wood Crops in Latin American: A Review on Status and Potential Uses as Biofuel Energies biomass feedstock South America Central America short rotation crops sustainability plantation biomass |
| title | Short Rotation Wood Crops in Latin American: A Review on Status and Potential Uses as Biofuel |
| title_full | Short Rotation Wood Crops in Latin American: A Review on Status and Potential Uses as Biofuel |
| title_fullStr | Short Rotation Wood Crops in Latin American: A Review on Status and Potential Uses as Biofuel |
| title_full_unstemmed | Short Rotation Wood Crops in Latin American: A Review on Status and Potential Uses as Biofuel |
| title_short | Short Rotation Wood Crops in Latin American: A Review on Status and Potential Uses as Biofuel |
| title_sort | short rotation wood crops in latin american a review on status and potential uses as biofuel |
| topic | biomass feedstock South America Central America short rotation crops sustainability plantation biomass |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/4/705 |
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