Qualification of biomass in forest stands of Pinus taeda

Abstract

The multiple use of planted forests can increase the availability of forest biomass for energy generation systems. To increase its potential energy is necessary to control properties such as moisture content and calorific value, which directly influence the energy capacity of fuel. In this context, this paper attempts to evaluate the variation of moisture content and calorific value of needles, branches, canopies and barks of Pinus taeda in different ages; to investigate the relationship between the moisture content and the net calorific value; and to define a regression model that best explains the behavior of the net calorific value. For the analysis was applied a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement with four components of trees in four ages of Pinus taeda. In the results, the model selected had only moisture content as independent variable; there was a high negative correlation between moisture content and net calorific value, and significant difference of these variables for all components and ages. Barks at different ages and branches from 14 years of age are the most suitable components for power generation.