Production of Biochar from Vine Pruning: Waste Recovery in the Wine Industry
Leonel J. R. Nunes,
Abel M. Rodrigues,
João C. O. Matias,
Ana I. Ferraz,
Ana C. Rodrigues
Affiliations
Leonel J. R. Nunes
PROMETHEUS, Unidade de Investigação em Materiais, Energia e Ambiente para a Sustentabilidade, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua da Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Alvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Abel M. Rodrigues
INIAV—Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrícola e Veterinária, Av. da República, Quinta do Marquês (Edifício Sede), 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
João C. O. Matias
GOVCOPP, Unidade de Investigação em Governança, Competitividade e Políticas Públicas, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Ana I. Ferraz
PROMETHEUS, Unidade de Investigação em Materiais, Energia e Ambiente para a Sustentabilidade, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua da Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Alvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Ana C. Rodrigues
PROMETHEUS, Unidade de Investigação em Materiais, Energia e Ambiente para a Sustentabilidade, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua da Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Alvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
The production of residual biomass, such as vine pruning, presents environmental problems since its elimination is usually carried out through the uncontrolled burning of the remaining materials and with the emission of greenhouse gases without any counterpart. The use of these residues to produce biochar presents several advantages. In addition to the more common energy recovery, other conversion ways allowing new uses, such as soil amendment and carbon sequestration, can be analyzed as options as well. In the present study, vine pruning biomasses are characterized to evaluate the behavior of the different constituents. Then, the different possible applications are discussed. It is concluded that materials resulting from the pruning of vineyards have excellent characteristics for energy recovery, with an increment of more than 50% in the heating value and almost 60% in the carbon content when carbonized. This recovery procedure contributes to creating new value chains for residual materials to promote sustainable practices in the wine sector.
