The document summarizes the BIQUEEN project, which aims to efficiently produce energy from biomass in an innovative and optimized way. The project involves verifying biomass origins, monitoring solid and volatile pollutants in biomasses, and transforming biomass into energy via an experimental optimized combustion boiler. The goals are to improve combustion efficiency and reduce volatile emissions while generating innovations available to the local social-economic context.

1. BIQUEEN – Biomasses Quality for Efficient Energy production:
wooden biomasses origin, solid and volatile pollutants, efficient
combustion for energy production
Martino Negri a, Paolo Baggio b, Andrea Boschetti c, Mario Scotoni d, Bartosz Palubicki e,
Gianni Lazzari f, Jakub Sandak a, Anna Sandak a, Marco Fellin a, Elisa Pieratti b, Daniele
Antolini b, Jari Ognibeni f
a
) IVALSA/CNR, Trees and Timber Institute, S.Michele all’Adige (TN) Italy
b
) Dipartimento Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale, Facoltà di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Trento, Trento
(TN) Italy
c
) Laboratorio “Metodi Spettroscopici e Spettrometrici per l’Agroindustria, l’Ambiente e le Scienze della Vita”,
Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento (TN) Italy
d
) Dipartimento Fisica, Facoltà di Scienze, Università degli Studi di Trento, Trento (TN) Italy
e
) Department of Woodworking machinery, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poznan Poland
f
) Distretto Tecnologico Trentino, Rovereto (TN) Italy
The main goal of the project BIQUEEN, a two years long project supported by
Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Trento e Rovereto, is the efficient exploitation of energy
from clean renewable spontaneous biomasses in an innovative and optimized way, either
exploiting high quality biomass from silviculture of forests either from re-utilization of safe
resources from wood enterprises; local biomasses linked to the territory will be enhanced
producing energy with known quality characteristics.
The main technology involved in production of energy from biomass is combustion,
a mature and widely available technology already on the market, which needs to be
improved in efficiency and reduction of volatile emissions. Another goal is to generate real
innovations that will be available for local social-economic context. For this purpose the
consortium "Distretto Tecnologico Trentino" is involved, in such a way to promote
technology and knowledge transfer between the RTD players involved in the research and
the enterprises operating in forest-wood and energy-environment chains.
In order to achieve these general objectives and to share not only equipment, but in
particular experience and knowledge, the project is based on synergies and collaborations
between Institutes and Research Centers located in Trentino, like IVALSA / CNR,
University of Trento and Kessler Foundation, together with an high qualified Eastern
European university. Another tool for sharing and diffusing knowledge and technology
transfer has been identified in training of young researchers, which represents a primary
element in project economy, both in terms of time resources and in terms of financial
investment.
The project is divided into four parts: 1) verification of the origin of biomass, to avoid
transfer phenomena of polluted, illegal logged or non-local stocks; 2) control of solid
pollutants in biomass came from forest, wood residuals processing and wood industry; 3)
monitor of volatile emissions (including greenhouse and toxic gases etc..) resulting from
fermentation of wet biomass storage; 4) transformation of biomass in energy, setting up an
experimental boiler optimized for optimal combustion for power generation and emissions
control.
Measurement methods under testing are fast and reliable, in such a way to be
easily and effectively carried out. The technologies of biomass energy exploitation meet
requirements of process optimization in energetic efficiency and volatile emissions. The
chosen technologies are the following: 1) near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) to check the
origin of the biomass; 2) mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR-ATR) for the control of solid
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2. pollutants; 3) the PA laser spectroscopy and PTR-MS spectrometry to monitor volatile
compounds; 4) optimization of combustion process.
The BIQUEEN project is revisiting in a modern and efficient way an ancient
technology - the use of fire, in order to provide a source of renewable, efficient and clean
energy.
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