Thanks to a gasifier that will transform wood chips into energy, dry wood will be the raw material for the production of renewable energy.
The biomass of forest origin (wood, firewood, forest residues, remnants of the timber and furniture industries) is called dendroenergy. This is a new way to achieve the country’s objectives of reaching the carbon neutrality.
Researchers at the Technological Institute of Costa Rica (TEC) have worked for some years in a technological boost for the production, processing and use of dry biomass to produce energy and biomaterials using lignocellulosic crops.
Dagoberto Arias, researcher and project manager, explained that the biomass produced by photosynthesis is the most promising source to solve the current problems of energy and renewable carbon as raw material.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), biomass could represent 60% of total renewable energy use by 2030.
Specialists declared that this type of biomass is abundant in Costa Rica and it has not been used yet. They highlighted that in addition to the decrease in pollution issue, this is a new energy vector that can contribute to the diversification of the agricultural sector and it can generate employment.