Abstract

Biomass production and supply for renewable energy generation should be managed well and carried out in a sustainable manner. An effective traceability system (TS) is required to provide sufficient information and assure the quality of the biomass. The objective of this study is to define and develop a TS to assure the pruning biomass quality for the production of solid biofuels and to provide guarantee to the final user that the biomass is in good condition according to recommended quality criteria. It is designed for an agricultural pruning supply chain in which farmers, biomass traders, transporters, and end users are major actors. It is based on the biofuel quality requirements required by final users and other standards such as the new European standards EN 14961-1, EN15234:1-2011, and EN14961-1:2010, which describe solid fuel quality parameters. Traceable quality parameters include origin and source of product, traded form, bale dimension, chips size distribution, moisture content, ash content, and density of biomass. In this TS, a unique product label is introduced and integrated into a smart logistics system (SLS). The TS uses information captured at different stages of the product supply chain. It enables the management of the whole pruning biomass supply chain with the support of a centralized web-based information platform, an integral part of the SLS.

Keywords

pruning biomass; solid biofuel; traceability system; smart logistics system; information flow

Published in

Sustainability
2018, Volume: 10, number: 2, article number: 258
Publisher: MDPI AG

SLU Authors

• Bosona, Techane

  • Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Gebresenbet, Girma

  • Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture


UKÄ Subject classification

Bioenergy


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020258

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/94287