Forest Bioenergy From Wood Production to Energy Use

This book is a comprehensive overview of the forest bioenergy, from feedstock production to end products. The book presents the state of the art of forest biomass production, assessment, characterization, and conversion into heat and power.

It starts with forest sources of biomass and potential availability. Continues with the characterization of the forest stands and the availability of biomass for energy per stand structure, including stands managed for timber, non-wood products, and energy plantations. It follows with biomass evaluation and monitoring considering data sources, modeling methods, and existing models. are also addressed. After the initial focus on forest biomass production and estimation, this resource is assessed as a feedstock for energy conversion. Not only current, but also emerging biofuels obtained from forest biomass are considered. Established and emerging conversion technologies for the production of bio-heat and bio-power are examined and the impacts of the conversion systems presented.

Introduction.- Forest biomass and its uses.- Energy plantations.- Importance of remote sensing to evaluate and monitoring biomass.- Modelling forest biomass.- Overview of the forest biomass models.- Other sources of forest biomass for energy.- Forest biomass as an energy resource.- Biomass for domestic heat.- Biomass for industrial and district heating.- Biomass for power production and cogeneration.- Environmental impacts of biomass energy conversion systems.- Integrating forest biomass availability and bioenergy demand.- Final considerations.

Ana Cristina Gonçalves is Assistant Professor with Habilitation at the University of Évora, in Department of Rural Engineering, Portugal, and Researcher at the Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED). Ana Cristina Gonçalves holds a Ph.D. in Forestry. Ana Cristina Gonçalves has authored more than 100 publications and participated in 20 research projects. Ana Cristina Gonçalves’s research is focused on silviculture and modeling in pure, mixed, even aged and uneven aged stands, forest management and planning integrated in a GIS environment.

Isabel Malico is Associate Professor at the University of Évora, in the Mechatronics Engineering Department, Portugal, and Researcher at the Associated Laboratory for Energy, Transport, and Aeronautics (LAETA). She holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lisbon and has authored more than 100 publications and edited a book. She has worked in around 20 research projects, whichinvolved both the academia and the private sector. Her research is focused on computational fluid mechanics, energy systems, and bioenergy.