Research on the use of cylindrical cutting drums with blades in cascade for Miscanthus harvesting

National Institute for Research Development of Machines and Installations designed for Agriculture and Food Industry INMA, Bucharest 013813, Romania

^* Corresponding author: ani_paun@yahoo.com

Abstract

In the current context of climate change, a special place is occupied by the field of energy plants. One of the renewable sources providing the biomass necessary for the generation of bioenergy, widely used in the last decades in the EU countries is the Miscanthus culture, which by capitalisation provides a series of economic benefits, but especially in terms of environment. This can be used for the production of electricity and/or thermal energy both in large power plants (30 MW +), which use thousands of tons of biomass annually, and in small domestic systems that use several tons, during the winter months. By using the Miscanthus in the combustion process, the carbon dioxide emissions are reduced and the methane emissions from the deposits are eliminated. In the case of applying the technology for Miscanthus culture direct harvesting (culture of perennial plants, over 2 m high, and high density), the technological process consists of cutting, chopping and loading in the means of transport of the harvested material. The paper presents the technological process of direct harvesting and analysis of the results obtained, achieved with the help of the trailed forage harvester CTF.