Potential for renewable use of biomass from reedbeds on the lower Prut, Danube and Dniester floodplains of Ukraine and Moldova

Abstract

The first phase of the ReedBASE project commenced in September 2016 and ended in March 2018. It assessed the use of reed biomass as a source of sustainable energy and raw material for other products in parts of the floodplains of the Prut, Danube and Dniester Rivers in Ukraine and Moldova. It was estimated that the project study areas alone could sustainably generate some 100,000 tons of reed biomass per year. In energy terms, this is equivalent to almost 50,000 tons of coal or 39.5 million cubic metres of gas. Using reed biomass would not only provide a substantial amount of energy, but also avoid emitting some 79,000 tons of CO2 from burning fossil fuels. Moreover, conservative estimates indicate that the organic soils in the project area contain around 850,000 tons of carbon, and this amount will increase as the organic matter accumulates over time. ReedBASE also established a cluster of interested organisations in order to enhance their collaboration.

Keywords

• ecosystem services
• greenhouse gas
• innovation cluster
• reedbase
• sustainable energy