Energetic Aspects of Oak and Larch Pellets Obtained from Sawdust Biomass

This paper aims to present the energetic problems of lignocellulosic biomass in the form of pellets. The main energetic characteristics of lignocellulosic biomass, such as calorific value, ash content, and calorific density are presented as a comparison between oak and larch biomass. From an experimental point of view it was shown that the oak and larch pellets obtained within the work had small differences in density, but after the torrefaction treatment they considerably increased their calorific value. There have been observed increases of up to 30% of the calorific value, both for oak and larch sawdust. The final conclusion of the paper is that although the role of vegetal biomass has diminished significantly in the last few years, it has not yet said its last word. The role of lignocellulosic biomass, as a sustainable fuel, will increase as fossil fuels will be diminish, and when the world's population will realize that fossil fuels are exhaustible and that others type of fuels have to be replaced instead.