Biomass Quality and Energy Potential of South East Queensland Softwood Residues

Mohammad Reza Ghaffariyan

doi:10.3897/silvabalcanica.27.e198715

Back

Biomass Quality and Energy Potential of South East Queensland Softwood Residues

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Biomass Quality and Energy Potential of South East Queensland Softwood Residues

Mohammad Reza Ghaffariyan

Silva Balcanica, Vol.27(1), pp.71-79

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.27.e198715

Files and links (1)

pdf

2026-Biomass Quality and Energy Potential of South East Queensland Softwood Residues331.08 kBDownload View

Published Version Open Access CC BY V4.0

Abstract

Softwood Plantation

Harvesting Residues

Biomass Quality

Energy Potential

Screening

This study investigates the quality and energy potential of softwood plantation harvest residues in southeast Queensland. We examined the effects of different processing methods—chipping and grinding— and, for chips, the effect of screening. Samples included clearfall tops and other offcuts from whole-tree roadside processing and cut-to-length harvesting. Moisture content, ash content, and net energy values were measured from 26 samples collected at 16 harvesting sites, mainly from Southern Pine plantations. Unscreened chips from roadside processing had higher moisture (38%) and lower ash (0.74%) compared to unscreened grindings from cut-to-length operations (30% moisture, 4.36% ash). Net energy values were similar (~20.33 MJ/kg). Screening the chips reduced moisture content from 38% to 26.5%, while ash content remained similar (0.63–0.64%) and net energy values were largely unchanged. Screened fines showed higher ash content (6.74%) than screened chips, but moisture and net energy values were comparable. These results suggest that screening can improve biomass quality and reduce transportation costs, providing useful insights for bioenergy and other emerging biomass markets.

Details

Title: Biomass Quality and Energy Potential of South East Queensland Softwood Residues
Authors: Mohammad Reza Ghaffariyan (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: Silva Balcanica, Vol.27(1), pp.71-79
Publisher: Bulgarska Akademiya na Naukite, Forest Research Institute
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.3897/silvabalcanica.27.e198715
Copyright note: © Mohammad Reza Ghaffariyan. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Grant note: This study was funded by the South and Central Queensland Regional Forestry Hub, with support from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the IEA Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme.
Organisation Unit: Forest Industries Research Centre; Forest Research Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991251397802621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

1 Record Views