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Worldwide, different strategies are being developed in order to ensure optimum conditions for the development and growth of economic competitiveness, as well as for increasing the quality of life and environmental protection. All these strategies are closely linked to the development and modernization of systems for producing energy from clean and renewable sources. In this context, the present paper presents the results of research regarding the evaluation of the sustainability of briquette production using biomass resulting from vine winter pruning as the raw material. An analysis of the scientific literature indicates that nearly 8 Mt of biomass would result from the over 7.4 million hectares of vine plantations in the world, biomass that could be valorized through densification in order to produce solid biofuels with a lower calorific value of more than 17 MJ/kg. This study examines the production of briquettes from vineyard winter pruning with consideration of two types of densification technologies: baling and natural drying of the tendrils, and collection, shredding, and artificial drying of the lignocellulose debris. The quality indices and energy consumption and energy efficiency of the briquettes were evaluated to determine their feasibility as an alternative fuel source. When designing the scientific endeavor, the following aspects were considered: defining the aim and objectives of the research; designing the research algorithm; collecting, preparing, and conditioning the biomass; conducting a chemical analysis of the briquettes; and evaluating the energy consumption and energy efficiency for producing the briquettes, taking into account two drying methods (natural and artificial drying). In the meantime, some specific laboratory equipment was designed and built for the artificial drying of biomass, evaluation of mechanical durability, measurement of energy consumption, etc. Analysis of the experimental data has led to the conclusion that the agricultural waste from vine pruning can constitute an important and sustainable source of energy in the form of briquettes that fulfill most of the requirements imposed by international standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass is a primary carbon resource, together with other sources of renewable energy. Biomass may be used as raw material in order to produce energy, solid bio-fuels with high energetic value or biochemical fuels, all of them used for sustaining the economic activities. Nowadays, biomass is accounted for 12% of the primary energy production and in the developing countries this share may rise to 40-50% from the overall energy needs. The debris resulted from the dormant pruning of vine may be also included among these types of raw materials. In this paper we present the results of the researches aiming to evaluate the biomass potential of the vine tendrils, resulted from the dormant pruning of vine in a plantation which is in its 5th year of production. The research was performed at the "Vasile Adamache" farm station of the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Iaşi; the following parameters were evaluated: average quantity of tendrils (for each vine plant and for one surface unit); humidity of tendrils immediately after pruning; calorific value of the tendrils for each vine variety taken into account. The experimental results show that pruning produces large amounts of biomass, which may be turned into pellets. The energetic potential of the tendrils depends on the variety of vine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some special harvesting conditions of corn grains, the seeds have humidities between 25% ... 30%, and they are subjected to the drying operation in order to be safetly stored. Corn seeds subjected to drying, behave differently according to their condition and the operation parameters of the drying technology. Corn seeds do not support aggressive drying conditions characterized by non-uniform temperatures and rates of the drying agent, when passing through the product layer. The purpose of the paper is to establish the optimal operating parameters for the drying process to maximize the technological effect and to conserve the quality of the corn seeds. In the investigations, corn seeds with four initial humidities were dryed in a layer thickness of 150 mm. During the investigations, was studied the influence of the drying agent's velocity and temperature on the protein content and germination of the seeds. The drying process for corn seeds was carried out using four velocities and five temperatures of the drying agent. To achieve the goal, a laboratory dryer for agricultural products was designed and built. Experimental research results show that both the protein content as well as the germination capacity of corn seeds were affected by temperatures of the drying agent higher than 50°C. The optimal drying variant of corn seeds, regardless the initial moisture content, was obtained for the drying agent's velocity of 2.5 m/s and the temperature of 50°C. For temperatures of the drying agent higher than 50°C, the protein content and seed germination capacity decreased up to 5.46% and 88%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]