• Česky
  • Contacts
  • Faculties and other parts
    Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
    Faculties and institute
    • Faculty of Economics and Management
    • Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources
    • Faculty of Engineering
    • Faculty of Environmental Sciences
    • Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences
    • Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences
    • Institute of Education and Counselling
    Other parts & departments
    • Library
    • Department of Physical Education (KTV)
    • Division of information and communication technologies
    • Accommodation & Meals
    • CZU Farm Estates
    • CZU Forests
    • CZU Winery
Facebook Youtube Instagram
Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences
  • About Faculty
  • Departments
  • Study
  • Science & Research
    • Research profile
    • Staff outputs
    • Conferences
    • Doctoral Study
    • Documents
    • Internal grants
    • Academic Qualifications
  • International Relations
  • Projects and partnerships
  • About Faculty  
    • Faculty Management
    • Faculty Authorities
    • Academic Senate
    • Official documents
    • Faculty activities
  • Departments  
    • Departments and excellent teams
    • Faculty units
  • Study  
    • Study at FLD
    • Study Now
    • Information for Students
    • Study Documents
    • Admission Procedures
    • Study Administration Office
  • Science & Research  
    • Research profile
    • Staff outputs
    • Conferences
    • Doctoral Study
    • Documents
    • Internal grants
    • Academic Qualifications
  • International Relations  
    • General information
    • International cooperation
    • International mobility – Erasmus+
    • Study Programmes in English
    • Documents & forms
  • Projects and partnerships  
    • Department for Development
    • Projects
    • Cooperation with schools
    • Applied outputs
    • Partnership
  1. FLD
  2. Science & Research
  3. Staff outputs
  4. Popularization of Science
  5. Make things hot with black locust

Make things hot with black locust

It is the end of January and the media are still talking about severe frosts plaguing the Czech Republic. In the interest of their comfort, households must turn the cap on the radiators and thus increase the consumption of thermal energy. This energy comes from several sources, including a group of renewable sources, which also includes dendromas. Under this term, we can imagine all the wood and woody parts of plants used for energy production, i.e. the logs that we put into the fireplace, as well as the logging residues processed into wood chips.

The study of a team of scientists from the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences at the CULS deals with wood chips as a renewable energy source. In their work, they focus on the properties and potential use of wood chips made from black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) wood originating from the reclaimed area around Varvažov.

Surface mining began in this area at the end of the 19th century and the landscape was restored in 1930. Reclaimed landfills are important mainly in landscape, ecological, hygienic, soil protection, water management and aesthetic function. Considerable attention is paid to biological significance by professional circles. However, we must not forget the production function, as one of the most suitable methods of reclamation is afforestation. The result is then a forest stand, which has the potential to be used as a renewable energy source.

Places such as dumps after the former mining of minerals are characterized by poor soils with a lack of water, and because locust is undemanding, it is one of the most sought-after trees for reclamation. In addition, its wood is characterized by a higher density, thanks to which it has a good calorific value. The study examined the specific properties of Robinia wood from the middle former lignite mining in order to determine whether the biomass from this tree is suitable for energy purposes. The following characteristics were determined: chip dimensions (parameters determine the combustion technology), ash content, bulk density, bark content and content of organic and inorganic elements. The basic elements determining the quality of dendromas include carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen, which together with the moisture of the chips affect the calorific value. The determined values ??of these properties were compared mainly with the standard ČSN EN 14961-1-2010, which defines and determines the quality of solid biofuels.

The results of the particle size analysis of locust chips originating from recultivated dumps show that this wood mass can be included in the category of coarse-grained energy wood chips according to the said standard. Humidity parameters (up to 50%), ash content (up to 3%) and a minimum calorific value of 8-10 MJ / kg are also in accordance with the standard. The values ??of the content of organic elements were in all cases close to the standard values; on the other hand, inorganic elements were found to a greater extent. According to the authors, the differences resulting from the comparison of the results with the data of other studies depend on specific forest stands and their soil conditions. The determined ash content in wood samples and bark content is very favourable in terms of biomass quality. In addition, the resulting ash has a positive value due to the fact that it can be used as a fertilizer in reclaimed areas and thus close the cycle of substances in nature.

Thanks to these properties, which are in accordance with the standard, black locust wood chips can be included among the biomass suitable for energy purposes.

Cafourek, J., Gaff, M., Gasparik, M., Slavik, M., Macku, J. (2016). Properties and use of biomass from reclaimed land in the North Bohemian basin. Wood Research. 61, 777–790.

Josef Cafourek

Ing. Josef Cafourek is a doctoral student at the Department of Basic Wood Processing, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, CULS, Prague. The elaborated study comes from the field of research dealing with the determination of physical-mechanical properties of wood from atypical habitats and at the same time wood of introduced tree species.

Prepared by: Lucie Hambálková

Faculties and Other Parts

  • Faculty of Economics and Management
  • Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources
  • Faculty of Engineering
  • Faculty of Environmental Sciences
  • Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences
  • Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences
  • Institute of Education and Counselling
  • Department of Physical Education
  • Library
  • Halls of Residence & Refectory
  • Department of Information and Communication Technologies

Links

  • Study Applicants
  • Students
  • Alumni
  • Partners
  • Public

Contact Information

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU)
Kamýcká 129
165 00 Praha - Suchdol
Czech Republic
VAT number: CZ60460709
Tel.: +420 224 381 111
GPS coordinates: 50,129976, 14,373707
 

PIC: 999912570
OID: E10209207
DUNS: 360576495


Information presented on this server may only be published upon explicit agreement from CZU Prague.
Information on CZU Processing and Protection of Personal Data.
© 2024 Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
All rights reserved

English ☰ Menu

We use cookies on the web presentations of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (under the czu.cz domain). These files give us ways to serve our services better and help us analyze site performance. We can share information about how you use our sites with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. In the settings, you can choose which cookies we can use. You can change or revoke your consent at any time.

Cookie settings customization
We use cookies on the web presentations of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (under the czu.cz domain). These files give us ways to serve our services better and help us analyze site performance. We can share information about how you use our sites with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. In the settings, you can choose which cookies we can use. You can change or revoke your consent at any time.
Essential cookies
These cookies are essential for the proper functioning of the website. They ensure the correct display, submission of forms, and without these cookies, we cannot provide you with services on our website.
Analytical and statistical cookies
We use this type of cookies to evaluate the traffic and performance of web presentations, e.g., how many people visit the presentation, in what frequency, what information you are looking for, which you do not find and which information is most important. Based on this data, we can improve the content and thus improve the services and information we offer.
Advertising cookies
Our partners use advertising cookies to display relevant advertising based on your preferences.