BIOMASS FOR FARMING USE FROM ORCHARD PRUNING AND SRC IN SICILY

In Italy the consumption of woody biomass for energy has reached very high levels and far exceeds the domestic production of both forests and dedicated tree crops. Fuelwood imports exceed 25% of total consumption. A large domestic resource, not yet exploited, is represented by the residues and waste of agricultural productions and forestry utilizations. The energy policies encourage especially the production of energy from waste and residues of agricultural crops and forestry utilisations. In this case study will show the results of the use of biomass from the harvesting of the pruning of the orchards, vineyards and olive groves particularly abundant in the southern areas. It is also of great interest the production of woody biomass from crops of short rotation coppice of Acacia saligna L. and Eucalyptus spp. who fmd favourable conditions to their development in the arid climates of Sicily. A Sicilian horticultural and nursery farm produces vegetables in greenhouses by self-production of energy using wood chip boiler. Winter heating of greenhouses requires biomass from pruning and the biomass from SRC grown on the farm. The study assesses the economic and environmental sustainability in the cultivation, management and supply of these biomasses.