Title: Biomass utilisation for energy infrastructure and applications

Authors: Grigorios Kyriakopoulos

Addresses: Electric Power Division, Photometry Laboratory, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Heroon Polytechniou Street, Athens, GR 15780, Greece

Abstract: The recent European legislation, relative to the introduction of biofuels at local and national levels, is mainly implemented by the introduction of new environmental, friendly and economical fuels in every urban anthropogenic activity. The present study aims at a wider implementation of biofuels by studying three typical abundant biomass sources in the Greek context: straw, switchgrass and peat. The above study is supported through the application of the RETScreen International software, developed by the Organisation of Natural Resources of Canada. The software methodology is oriented to simulate space heating of houses and domestic water heating by providing a rough and effective initial estimation of the proposed energy projects, relevant to its financial feasibility and environmental sustainability.

Keywords: biofuels; environmental sustainability; financial feasibility; humanistic computing; renewable energy sources; sustainable development; biomass utilisation; energy infrastructure; Greece; straw; switchgrass; peat; simulation; space heating; domestic water heating.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSHC.2009.031005

International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing, 2009 Vol.1 No.2, pp.163 - 174

Published online: 17 Jan 2010 *

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