In the last few decades, industrialized nations have become aware of the extent of how unsustainable some of the production models used are and have therefore adopted policies that aim both to save energy and to safeguard the environment through the use of alternative energy sources and, among these, biomass. The use of these alternative energy sources is very important: for example, this allows the saving of 200 g of CO2 per product, in addition to avoiding the emission of sulfur and other pollutants. The energy produced from biomass can be recovered by burning the material directly for heat, and turning it into fuel, to make it more convenient to use. The choice of destination of biomass depends on the characteristics of the biomass available, because the content of carbon and nitrogen, moisture and volatile substances influence the choice of energy conversion. The aim of this work is to briefly outline an analysis on the importance that biomass can have especially ‘pastazzo’, which is the squeezed pulp (of the processed citrus fruits), for the enhancement of a sustainable economy, sought after in recent years not only by the EU but in an entire international context. The study is conducted by a research group as part of the Department Sefisast, Section of Agricultural Economics and Policy, specifically directed by Prof. M. Lanfranchi. The research is based on the assumption that one can obtain both energy and bio-ethanol, not only from agricultural waste but also from the waste products of the citrus industry arising from the processes of extracting juice and oil from skins. The use of the ‘squeezed pulp’ could possibly help solve some of the serious environmental problems especially in the Mediterranean basin, particularly in Sicily, which is a major citrus producing region. This particular study aims to assess the cost of producing ethanol from squeezed pulp, with particular attention to the processing of lemons, a product in which the province of Messina has a leading role in terms of utilized agricultural area. The first part of this work presents a discussion on the evolutionary aspects of EU energy policy; in the second part, it explains the importance of biomass and its potential uses, and the last part contains data on the potential calories that can be obtained from the processing of squeezed pulp.

Economic analysis on the enhancement of citrus waste for energy production

LANFRANCHI, Maurizio
2012-01-01

Abstract

In the last few decades, industrialized nations have become aware of the extent of how unsustainable some of the production models used are and have therefore adopted policies that aim both to save energy and to safeguard the environment through the use of alternative energy sources and, among these, biomass. The use of these alternative energy sources is very important: for example, this allows the saving of 200 g of CO2 per product, in addition to avoiding the emission of sulfur and other pollutants. The energy produced from biomass can be recovered by burning the material directly for heat, and turning it into fuel, to make it more convenient to use. The choice of destination of biomass depends on the characteristics of the biomass available, because the content of carbon and nitrogen, moisture and volatile substances influence the choice of energy conversion. The aim of this work is to briefly outline an analysis on the importance that biomass can have especially ‘pastazzo’, which is the squeezed pulp (of the processed citrus fruits), for the enhancement of a sustainable economy, sought after in recent years not only by the EU but in an entire international context. The study is conducted by a research group as part of the Department Sefisast, Section of Agricultural Economics and Policy, specifically directed by Prof. M. Lanfranchi. The research is based on the assumption that one can obtain both energy and bio-ethanol, not only from agricultural waste but also from the waste products of the citrus industry arising from the processes of extracting juice and oil from skins. The use of the ‘squeezed pulp’ could possibly help solve some of the serious environmental problems especially in the Mediterranean basin, particularly in Sicily, which is a major citrus producing region. This particular study aims to assess the cost of producing ethanol from squeezed pulp, with particular attention to the processing of lemons, a product in which the province of Messina has a leading role in terms of utilized agricultural area. The first part of this work presents a discussion on the evolutionary aspects of EU energy policy; in the second part, it explains the importance of biomass and its potential uses, and the last part contains data on the potential calories that can be obtained from the processing of squeezed pulp.
2012
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11570/2368822
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