A Qualitative Assessment of the Specific Woody Biomass of Fruit Trees

Abstract

In the current context of environmental requirements, solid renewable biomass is becoming one of the main viable energy sources that can replace fossil fuels. This paper focuses on evaluating the morphological structure and properties of three fruit trees that are widely grown on the territory of Moldova, both on the left and the right banks of the Prut River: the apricot, the peach, and the plum. The wood biomass was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM Quanta 200 3D), X-ray analysis (Xpert PRO MPD), and FT-IR analysis. A chemical analysis including the determination of extractive substances, lignin content, and the detection of hemicelluloses content was carried out for all wood samples. In addition, the net calorific value was determined by measuring the calorific value at constant volume, in compliance with the requirements of the EN ISO 18125:2017 standard. According to the obtained results, in terms of maximum calorific output and lignin and minimum ash content, plum appeared to be the best solid biomass resource. However, the other two trees also showed promising results for becoming important sources of wood biomass for pellet production.