Energy demands continue to increase despite depleting fossil fuels and growing awareness of global climate changes. Biomass energy will play a vital role as the demand increases for renewable energy. North Carolina State University, the U S Forest Service, FECON, and Craven Wood Energy have partnered to develop the âKrakenâ FECONâs Bio- Harvester; a mulcher which cuts, chips, and collects Small Diameter Woody Biomass. This machine removes hazardous biomass fuel loads from the forest and supplies a new source of material to produce carbon neutral wood energy. Unlike agricultural biomass harvesting, the Kraken must harvest natural vegetation diverse in size and composition. Available biomass at each site must be quantified as it varies greatly with species, densities, and age. As we work to develop this piece of equipment efficiently collecting and transporting biomass in the field is our greatest challenge. The testing of the machine did not yield an economically viable system, however it does not subtract from the potential for the equipment especially when fire reduction and habitat restoration are factored into the products. With research and development these machine systems will be improved enabling small diameter woody biomass to become a competitive energy resource.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NCSU/oai:NCSU:etd-07082009-101816 |
| Date | 07 August 2009 |
| Creators | Hannum, Lindsay Cloud |
| Contributors | Dr. Jeffrey Ray Thompson, Dr. Glenn P Catts, Dr. Joseph P Roise |
| Publisher | NCSU |
| Source Sets | North Carolina State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-07082009-101816/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dis sertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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