engleski

Spelt (Triticum Spelta L.) biomass as a potential renewable energy source

Spelt (Triticum spelta L.) is an ancient cereal that has been cultivated for hundreds of years. Spelt wheat is one of the husked hexaploid wheats which possess the same genomes as bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). It has been very important cereal during the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages in Europe. Spelt is also known as dinkel wheat or hulled wheat. In the past decade spelt has been rediscovered in Europe and North America. Spelt is generating increasing interest due to its agronomic and nutritional characteristics. It is adapted to lower fertility soils than wheat giving greater suitability for organic farming. The demand for spelt has increased substantially in the food market and the recent interest in use of spelt for ecologically grown foods has led to revival in its cultivation. Spelt grain is used for a wide variety of products from pasta to alternative baking flour. But after the processing grains for food, the chaff, glumes and stems remain as a by-product or waste. The need for energy is constantly growing and requires the use of all available technologies, because almost all human activity on Earth is based on the use of some of the available forms of energy. Rising fossil fuel prices and increasing concerns about climate change are creating a growing demand for new sources of raw material from biomass for sustainable energy production. In recent years studies have shown the positive effects of the use of agricultural residues for energy production and indicated that the agricultural residue resources can provide the economical and sustainable raw material for energy. Therefore, it is important to carry out research in order to determine energy characteristics of spelt biomass. This paper examined the two Spelt cultivars: Bc Vigor and Ostro. Energy characteristics were determined by standard methods: content of water, ash, coke, fixed carbon, the upper and lower heating value and the content of: Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Nitrogen (N), Sulphur, and Oxygen (O). The results obtained in this research showed that, after the use of spelt grain for food, chaff, glumes and stems are representing by-product but also it is a high-quality raw material for energy production, mainly because of the high content of coke and its high calorific values. The highest value of the upper heating value in this research was 17, 367 MJ / kg in the sample of Bc Vigor stem. The detailed description of the research and the results will be given in the paper.

Biomass ; energy ; fuel ; environmental protection ; Spelt

nije evidentirano