Energy cane as a source of vegetable fiber and the generation of renewable energy for biomass boilers.

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.5584302415107

• Palavras-chave: Biocombustibles, biomasa vegetal, bosques energéticos, calderas de biomasa, , caña de azúcar.

• Keywords: Biofuels, plant biomass, energy forests, biomass boilers, sugar cane.

• Abstract:

  Energy cane varieties are obtained by hybridization of commercial sugarcane varieties with wild species of the Saccharum genus, whose fiber content is equal to or greater than 19%. In the present work, the results of the sowing and characterization of four varieties of energy cane, two from the University of Florida/Canal Point and two from INICA of Cuba, are shown. The chemical and morphological characterization of the varieties and determination of yield per hectare were carried out. They were also converted to pellets and their chemical and mechanical characterization and caloric power were also carried out. The varieties, under rainfed conditions, have shown dry biomass yields in the order of 80-100 t/ha/year after 12 months, more than 2 times those of the best sugarcane varieties and four to five times those reported for forest species. The production cost of energy cane is lower than forestry species, transportation is simpler and it uses the same technology as the sugar industry. Another advantage of energy cane is its ability to grow on land that is not suitable for agriculture, so it does not compete with food production.