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Extending the Use of Hothouses through Heating with Residual Agricultural Biomass



Author(s)

Erol Murad¹, Edmond Maican¹, Cătălin Dumitrescu² and Sorin-Ştefan Biriş¹

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DOI:10.17265/1934-8975/2015.09.002

1. Department of Biotechnical Systems, Politehnica University of Bucharest, Bucharest 060042, Romania
2. Hydraulics and Pneumatics Research Institute (INOE-2000 IHP), Bucharest 040558, Romania

The paper presents a study on increasing energy independence of a 200 m² horticultural hothouse, by means of heating it with thermal energy from a TLUD (top-lit-up-draft) gasification procedure of local residual agricultural biomass, chopped at 10-50 mm and dried at 10%-15% RH (relative humidity). It produces an average of 14% higt quality biochar. Hot-air heating system and forced circulation are equipped with two GAZMER 40/150G energetic modules, which are rechargeable, simple, safe, efficient and environmentally friendly. They can gasify chopped or pelletised biomass. To study the microclimate evolution, it was used a complex numerical model for a 200 m² hothouse for growing vegetables. Simulated experiments were carried out for frosty days and, estimated, for the whole warming period. Each year 13.44 t of biomass are consumed, resulting 1.78 t of biochar which, when introduced in soil, produces a -6.2 t/year negative balance of CO₂.

Hothouse, energy independence, TLUD, biochar, automat control, simulation.