Title:
Pineapple Residues from End-Productive Plantations: Harvest Perspectives and Bioenergy Potential in Costa Rica
Author(s):
Pari, L., Scarfone, A., Bergonzoli, S., Alfano, V., Suardi, A., Tonolo, A., Hernández Chanto, C., Meneses Contreras, D., Solórzano, J.A.
Document(s):
Paper
Poster
Abstract:
Within the agreement named “Partenariato industriale in Costa Rica”, founded by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (plan for the extraordinary promotion of the Made in Italy), a cooperation program between the Italian Trade & Investment Agency (ITA) and the Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria (CREA) was established in 2017 to realize an intervention of agricultural mechanization in Costa Rica. The ongoing intervention is finalized to support the Costa Rican Government in solving the problem of the Stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans L.) through an appropriate management of the pineapple field residues using Italian technologies. Within this framework, the present work aimed at understanding the characteristics of the pineapple plantation and those of field residues across the country, testing two machineries for residue removal and collection. The pineapple field residues were also investigated by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) to evaluate their potential for energetic valorization, with respect to biogas production. Results show that pineapple cultivation schemes in Costa Rica are similar, but agronomic practices are not standardized, complicating the mechanization process. The machinery tested showed interesting mechanical features for biomass management, but they also displayed weaknesses to be addressed for an efficient operability. Biogas potential production resulted 16 m3 per cubic meter of the liquid part of the residue, which has 644,2 L/Kg SV. The methane concentration of the biogas reached 50%. The results collected in this work represent an important contribution to address the problem of the stable fly in Costa Rica and provides evidence that the residual biomass may become a resource rather than being a problem.
Keywords:
agricultural residues, biogas, mechanization
Topic:
Biomass Resources
Subtopic:
Biomass feedstock, residues and by-products
Event:
26th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
1DV.1.9
Pages:
294 - 298
ISBN:
978-88-89407-18-9
Paper DOI:
10.5071/26thEUBCE2018-1DV.1.9
Price:
FREE
