THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURAL BIOMASS IN THE PRODUCTION OF ECOLOGICAL ENERGY IN ROMANIA

ABSTRACT

The first part of the paper analyses the role of renewable resources in the production of electric and thermal energy in Romania. It was taken in consideration also the wood mass destined to heating the population, as a large number of households still use this fuel exclusively. Starting from the plough land and its associated production, there is the availability of agricultural biomass possible to use for energy production.
The paper is concluded with the final considerations on the benefits of using biomass for energy production. As far as straw is concerned, a feasible long-distance transport option has not yet been found, so their use is limited to the range in which the trucks can be economically conveyed. The same is true for the case of energy willow or sorghum crops. For sorghum its fermentation is advantageous.
For the biomass cultivator the following opportunities can be identified: Reduced storage costs; Reducing the environmental pollution and, implicitly, avoiding the sanitation costs of the adjacent area; Income generation through sales; Development of deprived areas and rational employment of the workforce.
For the biomass consumer the following advantages can be mentioned: Reducing Renewable Fuel Costs vs. Conventional Fuels (Fuel, Natural Gas, Coal); as a rule, in Romania, agricultural biomass was imposed for the production of thermal energy; Reducing environmental costs. This is possible if it is considered that by using biomass as a fuel, CO2 emissions are considered to be zero compared to the use of conventional fuels under the Kyoto Convention.

Keywords: agriculture, biomass, energy, ecology