Assessment of biomass potential as bio-energy source from fruit trees and grapes in Albania

Ferdi Brahushi¹, Marsela Alikaj², Pellumb Abeshi³, Mark Draeck⁴, Onay Geylan⁴ and Henri Hyso^5
1 Agricultural University of Tirana, Department of Agro-environment and Ecology, 1029 Tirana, Albania
² Agricultural University of Tirana, Department of Plant Science and Technology, 1029 Tirana, Albania
³ Ministry of Tourism and Environment, 1001 Tirana, Albania
⁴ UNIDO, Vienna International Centre, Wagramerstrase 5, 1400 Vienna, Austria
⁵ UNIDO PMU, 1001 Tirana, Albania

Abstract

Brahushi, F., Alikaj, M., Abeshi, P., Draeck, M., Geylan, O. & Hyso, H. (2020). Assessment of biomass potential as bio-energy source from fruit trees and grapes in Albania. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 26 (6), 1143–1150

Biomass is a natural renewable material originated from agricultural, forestry and household residues, which can generate a low or no cost renewable energy and it has various advantages in terms of sustainable development and environmental protection. Nowadays, agriculture is one of the most important sectors in Albania generating high amount of residues which can be used for energy production. This study aims to assess the potential of biomass generated from fruit trees and grapes for bio-energy production in Albania. Agricultural data on fruit trees, vine and citrus production in Albania were collected. The data shows a considerable increase of fruit trees, vine and citrus production from year 2000 to 2010 and after 2010 it was observed a slight increase of production for all kind of trees. The production in Albania is increasing from year to year with an approximate amount of 15 000 tonnes (t)/year for fruit trees, 4000 t/year for vine and 3000 t/year for citrus. Furthermore, by using a polynomial model is calculated a predictive agricultural biomass production in short and long term in Albania up to 2025. From the estimations the results for biomass production are satisfactory. The increase of agricultural production in Albania lead to the formation of large residues which can be used for energy production with an actual potential of about 637.2 Gigawatt hours (GWh) by using processed and pruned biomass of fruit trees, citrus trees and grapes in Albania.

Keywords: Renewable energy; biomass; bio-energy; fruit trees; pomace
Abbreviations: DM (Dry matter); EC (European Commission); EU (European Union); GEF-UNIDO (Global Environmental Fund – United Nations Industrial Development Organization); GJ (Gigajoule); GWh (Gigawatt hours); INSTAT (National Institute of Statistics of Albania); MJ (Megajoule); Small and Medium Enterprises (SME); t (tonne/s)

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