Turning pine needles from fire risk to renewable fuel

Fallen pine needles need to be removed from forest floors because they can ignite during dry spells and set off devastating forest fires, say the researchers from India’s state-run Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (CIAE).

Turning pine needles from fire risk to renewable fuel. Photo: Joshua Woroniecki/Unsplash

Their study looked at how the charring and briquetting of pine needles could potentially help reduce greenhouse gas generation.

Lead researcher Sandip Mandal, senior scientist at the agricultural energy and power division of the CIAE in Bhopal, India, tells: “Pine needles can be easily compacted into high calorific value briquettes that can be used for any thermal application or processed to yield high-quality biofuel through chemical processes.”

Through pyrolysis — a process that involves heating organic matter in the absence of oxygen — pine needles can be converted into bio-oil at a calorific value of 28.52 megajoules per kilogramme and used in blended fuels for internal combustion engines or as furnace oil, the study found.

In comparison, the calorific value of diesel is roughly 45.5 megajoules per kilogramme.

“The flash point, fire point and pour point values of bio-oil were higher than those of high-speed diesel,” the study said, adding that the oil was also suitable for widely used compression injection engines.

Alternatively, briquettes made from the needles can be used in brick kilns or to fire boilers that generate electricity as well as provide a clean, affordable fuel for domestic cooking.

Briquetting involves the densification of so-called “lignocellulosic” biomass, derived from dry plant matter, into blocks that have high calorific value and can be stored and transported.

Biomass tops other sources of renewable energy such as solar, wind and hydro because of its sheer abundance, the study says.

Pyrolysis of pine needles also produces biochar which is an ideal material for soil carbon sequestration and can contribute to mitigating climate change, according to the researchers.

The analysis showed that energy efficiency of 87 per cent can be achieved by combining the three conversion technologies considered — briquetting, charring and pyrolysis.

Pine needles differ from other types of plant biomass in that they are not easily decomposed by microbes and accumulate on the forest floor.

The study estimates that about 6.3 tonnes of pine needles fall on each hectare of pine forests during the Indian summer season. (SciDev.Net)

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