THE USE OF FOREST RESIDUES IN THE PRODUCTION OF THERMAL ENERGY: AN ALTERNATIVE TO FOSSIL FUELS FROM A CIRCULAR ECONOMY PERSPECTIVE

Nowadays, everywhere, there is an almost unbridled demand for alternatives to fossil fuels which, in addition to their real capacity to be a financially viable alternative, must also be able to contribute significantly to the mitigation of emissions of greenhouse gases. Portugal, as a country with a huge forest predominance and with a large capacity to produce biomass, can internally have a viable alternative to traditional fossil fuels, so that, from now on, it can begin to decarbonize its economy, using its endogenous resources. The present work intends to demonstrate the viability of the use of forest residues as fuel for the production of thermal energy, namely for the production of steam in industrial units. In addition to contributing to the use of a very significant quantity of materials which are normally not used, this prospect of waste disposal can contribute to reducing the costs associated with the energy needs of industrial plants. In addition, the use of these forest residues are normally burned in the open air near the places where they are produced, mainly during the autumn and winter, contributing very significantly to the decrease of air quality, due to the quantities of carbon dioxide which are released into the atmosphere, without, however, being any kind of advantage or use of that energy. This study intends to be the beginning of a broader investigation, where different forms of residual biomass from forest cleaning operations, but from several industrial sectors and agricultural production, will be tested for potential alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. In this concrete situation, the case analyzed was the textile dyeing industry, which is an energy-intensive consumer industry, where it has been shown that residual biomass can be an alternative to natural gas.