Technical-economic feasibility of a small scale plant for olive by-products direct combustion

All agricultural activity and related land use lead directly to other non-agricultural functions ranging over social, environmental, economic and cultural goods and services. Following a positive approach to the "multifunctional character" of agriculture one of the emerging and central elements is the production of energy. In the last decade there has been a renewed interest toward the use of biomass for energy production, both at the political and user level, in developed as well as in developing and transition countries. The present work investigates the potential economic and technical impact of a biomass supply chain in Albania, a country that in the past decade suffered of energy shocks that have negatively affected production activities and increased the dependency on foreign energy sources. In this framework Albanian energy production is not diversified and it is guaranteed for the most by oil, hydroelectric energy and natural gas. Despite the fact that in the country just a few experiences exist related to renewable energies, they represent a strategic sector. More in particular this paper represents the first phase of a work aimed to analyse the economic and technical feasibility of the realization of a small scale pilot plant for the direct combustion of biomass made up by agricultural by-products such as olive marc (olives and olive oil are traditional Albanian productions). Besides this approach also intends to offer a contribution in developing a sustainable, adaptable (referring to the regional peculiarities) and hence, replicable model. The expected final results of this work include the analysis and characterization of olive by-products; the estimation of the quantity and the potential of biomass as an energy resource, both in their economic and energetic aspects; and the evaluation of the socio-economic impact of the creation of a biomass supply chain on local communities. The present paper aims to illustrate the preliminary results of the research.