生物質(zhì)如何幫助農(nóng)民充分利用“廢木材”

生物質(zhì)如何幫助農(nóng)民充分利用“廢木材”

Trees are an important part of any farm. They reduce erosion and flooding, absorb air pollutants, provide habitat for insect-eating birds, and cast shade to help livestock stay cool. They produce crops, too, whether it's fruit and nuts at an orchard or wood at a tree farm.

樹木是任何農(nóng)場的重要組成部分。它們減少水土流失和洪水，吸收空氣污染物，為食蟲鳥類提供棲息地，并為牲畜遮陰以保持涼爽。他們也生產(chǎn)農(nóng)作物，無論是果園里的水果和堅果，還是林場里的木材。

In some cases, however, this kind of "waste wood" can hold hidden value as a source of biomass energy. It may only be a small splinter of the overall biomass market, and it won't save the world from climate change, but it's still a potentially useful resource for farmers, rural economies and the ecosystems that support all of us.

然而，在某些情況下，這種“廢木材”作為一種生物質(zhì)能源具有潛在的價值。它可能只是整個生物質(zhì)能市場的一小部分，它不會拯救世界免受氣候變化的影響，但對農(nóng)民、農(nóng)村經(jīng)濟和支持我們所有人的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)來說，它仍然是一種潛在的有用資源。

Properly managed biomass energy could be a boon for farmers and the climate. (Photo: SvedOliver/Shutterstock)

What is biomass?

生物質(zhì)是什么?

Biomass is a hodgepodge category of fuels, all produced by renewable sources that are alive or were alive recently (at least compared with fossil fuels). It consists mainly of plant matter, and along with other renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, certain kinds of biomass are seen as a more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels like coal. According to The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), burning biomass to make electricity instead of using fossil fuels is one possible way to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere.

生物質(zhì)是一種大雜燴類型的燃料，所有這些燃料都是由活的或最近才活的可再生能源生產(chǎn)的(至少與化石燃料相比)。它主要由植物物質(zhì)組成，與風(fēng)能和太陽能等其他可再生能源一起，某些種類的生物質(zhì)被視為比煤炭等化石燃料更可持續(xù)的替代品。根據(jù)聯(lián)合國政府間氣候變化專門委員會(IPCC)的說法，燃燒生物質(zhì)發(fā)電而不是使用化石燃料是減少大氣中二氧化碳的一種可能方式。

What is waste wood?

什么是廢木料?

Like biomass in general, "waste wood" is a broad term that can mean a variety of things. A vegetable farmer might have a small surplus of woody debris after clearing a patch of land for crops, for example, or after a storm damages a forest buffer at the edge of a field. An orchard owner might have a little more lying around on a regular basis, while tree farmers often end up with larger amounts due to low-value timber and wood waste that's collected along with more valuable logs to be sold for lumber.

與一般的生物質(zhì)一樣，“廢木材”是一個寬泛的術(shù)語，可以指各種各樣的東西。例如，一個菜農(nóng)可能在清理一小塊土地用于種植作物后，或者在暴風(fēng)雨破壞了農(nóng)田邊緣的森林緩沖區(qū)后，會有少量剩余的木屑。果園的主人可能經(jīng)常會有更多的樹躺在地上，而種樹的人往往會因為低價值的木材和木材廢料而得到更多的錢，而這些木材和廢料被收集起來作為木材出售。

Uses for waste wood

廢木料的用途

Not everyone agrees about the role forest debris should play in energy production. (Photo: Janfe/Shutterstock)

Much like trees grown on energy plantations, higher-quality waste wood is used for energy in a few ways. It can serve as a feedstock for advanced biofuels, for example, or it can be processed into wood pellets that are burned for energy, either in small boilers and furnaces or at large-scale industrial facilities.

就像生長在能源種植園里的樹木一樣，高質(zhì)量的廢木材在幾個方面被用作能源。例如，它可以作為先進生物燃料的原料，也可以加工成木球，用于小型鍋爐和熔爐或大型工業(yè)設(shè)施的能源燃燒。

Because biomass is locally produced, harvested and processed, it often provides an economic boost in rural areas, according to the nonprofit Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC). Biomass energy tends to keep money spent on fuel within the local economy, the group adds, unlike fossil-fuel systems that generally export fuel dollars.

根據(jù)非營利組織生物質(zhì)能源中心(BERC)的說法，由于生物質(zhì)是在當(dāng)?shù)厣a(chǎn)、收獲和加工的，它通常會給農(nóng)村地區(qū)帶來經(jīng)濟上的提振。該組織補充稱，與通常出口燃料美元的化石燃料系統(tǒng)不同，生物質(zhì)能源往往將用于燃料的資金留在當(dāng)?shù)亟?jīng)濟中。

Wood pellets can help farmers heat their greenhouses, among other uses. (Photo: gyn9037/Shutterstock)

Aside from selling it, landowners might also be able to capitalize on waste wood as an energy source for their own purposes. Some farmers keep at least some of their biomass to burn in furnaces or boilers for on-farm heating, which can offer higher efficiency, lower energy bills and fewer carbon emissions. In a University of Vermont study that ran from 2008 to 2015, growers who installed biomass greenhouse-heating systems saved an average of nearly $2,700 on net fuel costs per year, with the systems paying for themselves at full cost within 4.8 years.

除了出售木材，土地所有者還可以利用廢棄木材作為自己的能源。一些農(nóng)民將至少一部分生物質(zhì)儲存在熔爐或鍋爐中用于農(nóng)場供暖，這樣可以提供更高的效率、更低的能源賬單和更少的碳排放。在佛蒙特大學(xué)2008年至2015年進行的一項研究中，安裝了生物質(zhì)溫室供暖系統(tǒng)的種植者平均每年節(jié)省了近2700美元的凈燃料成本，這些系統(tǒng)在4.8年內(nèi)就全額收回了成本。

In many cases, waste wood that is collected is burned in the open to dispose of it. Using it as part of a responsible biomass plan can play a useful role in helping us phase out fossil fuels. In the meantime, it could also provide valuable benefits for farmers. And while waste wood may only be a small part of that, at a time when climates and economies are undergoing dramatic change around the world, many farmers need all the help they can get.

在許多情況下，收集到的廢木料會被露天焚燒處理。將其作為負(fù)責(zé)任的生物質(zhì)計劃的一部分，可以在幫助我們逐步淘汰化石燃料方面發(fā)揮有益的作用。同時，它也可以為農(nóng)民提供寶貴的利益。盡管廢棄木材可能只是其中的一小部分，但在全球氣候和經(jīng)濟都在經(jīng)歷巨大變化之際，許多農(nóng)民需要他們能得到的所有幫助。