A bundler prototype for forestry and agricultural residue management for energy production

ABSTRACT

In recent years, a large amount of wood biomass has been produced for energy use by the agricultural and forestry sectors. The goal of this study was to set up a chip bundler prototype which can work with different feedstocks (agricultural and forestry residues). During tests, the prototype was able to produce bundles with a weight between 18 and 20 kg requiring an energy input of between 0.54 and 0.58 MJ kg⁻¹, respectively. The production cost of a single bundle was €2.43, independent of the loading type (mechanical or manual) adopted. The bundler tested seems ideal for the agro-forestry sector because it shows a high versatility: the form and size of the biomass processed does not interfere with productivity or cost. In addition, the prototype requires a small amount of power and a small investment. Because of these reasons, the bundler can be used by individual farmers and small businesses.

KEYWORDS:

• Biomass
• prototype
• bundling
• productivity
• hourly costs

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Mr Alessio Bonechi who designed and manufactured the bundler prototype tested.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.