Can dead or recycled leaves be used as a source of fuel for burning, and hence, create electricity?

How much energy can, for example, 1kg of leaves produce? anything which can be burned can release energy...so burning leaves can release energy to heat water up and cause hte steam to drive turbines which will transform kinetic energy into electrical energy. but one dried leaf cointains very little matter and therefore does not produce much heat energy when burned, so you'd need alot of leafs to burn...you will be burning so fast it wont even be a sustainable idea anymore. the idea of recycling is to be sustainable and ultimately to be clean and green. burning leaves will realease tons and tons of carbon dioxide into the air will will promote global warming. and have you though about the implications of the ash produced. people can get tuberculosis, asthma, and th elist goes on. How are you going to get rid of all that ash...use it as fertiliser like the cattle ranches...i dont think so.... its a good idea, but does more damage than it helps. 1 kg of leaves has 15,000 BTU's worth about $.10 of energy

Fossil fuels are commonly used to create electricity. In some cases, alternative biofuels are used to supplement fossil fuels. Municipal waste and mud coal are two of the more common alternative sources of heat used to produce electricity. With 30 million tons of dried leaves being disposed of in landfills every year, dried leaves could be a good secondary source of fuel for electrical plants. Home steam turbine set-ups can use dried leaves in place of fuel or wood. Dried leaves burn very quickly, requiring a large amount of dried leaves to create a small amount of electricity.

nstructions
1.

Creating Electricity from Dried Leaves in a Home Steam Turbine

1 Spread out leaves to ensure they are evenly dried.

Leaves must be completely dry before packing into the steam turbine furnace. Wet leaves produce more smoke and less heat.

2 Pack leaves into the fuel furnace. Home steam

turbines may be fueled by a burn barrel while commercial set-ups often use an enclosed furnace created to hold large amounts of biomass or fuel. Dried leaves burn very quickly so packing the leaves into the burn barrel will decrease burn time and increase heat.

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3 Fill boiler with water. The boiler is directly

attached to the steam turbine. Water levels need to be high enough to prevent quick evaporation, but low enough to prevent spilling into the steam turbine tubing when water comes to a boil.

4 Light the furnace packed with dried leaves. Heat

is produced when dried leaves are set on fire. This heat will heat the water in the boiler until steam is produced. Steam moves through tuber tubing and moves the steam turbine which produces electricity.

5 Replace water and dried leaves as needed. As

water levels diminish and dried leaves burn up, they will need to be replaced to continue producing electricity. The boiler is an enclosed system that works by building up steam and forcing that steam through a small tube. When water needs to be

added, be careful not to remove the boiler cover before water has cooled.

6 Extinguish the fire. When all dried leaves are burned, the
fire needs to be extinguished, even if it looks harmless. Small sparks can cause large fires if dried leaves are not put out properly. Water should be added to the burn furnace to completely cover ashes. Local government agencies may offer guidelines for disposing of ash.

Efficient utilization of resources

Forest Survey of India (FSI) assess forest cover of the country by interpretation of satellite data on a two-year cycle and presents the information in the form of India State of Forest Report(ISFR). With the release of the India State of Forest Report 2011 so far 12 cycles of forest cover assessment have been completed since 1987. Work for the 13th cycle is under progress. In addition to forest cover, assessment of tree cover of the country is also being carried out using the Trees Outside Forests (TOF) inventory data. (http://envfor.nic.in/sites/default/files/annual_report/ar-2012-13.pdf)

he author has no immediately accessible data regarding the precise combustive energy of a dried leaf. So, for the purpose of this thought paper, a rough baseline assumption will be made that can be verified and refined experimentally at a later date. The assumption for this simple analysis is that burning equivalent amounts of leaves and paper releases approximately the same energy. With the above assumption in mind, available data shows that, as a secondary fuel, the average calorific value of paper is 15 17 MJ (Megajoules) per kilogram (source: Seco Coal, Germany). For the sake of this thought paper, and for comparative purposes, we can use a midpoint of 16 MJ / kg as the calorific value for both paper and leaves. On average, coal provides 26 MJ / kg (source: Seco Coal, Germany). Thus, leaves have approximately 61.5% of the calorific energy value of coal. Thus, 30 million tons of leaves have the equivalent calorific energy value of 18.45 million tons of coal.

What is the economic fuel value of 30 million tons of leaves? As of November 2006, the average open-market price of coal was $34 per ton (source: U.S. Department of Energy). Considering that 30 million tons

of leaves has the equivalent energy value of 18.45 million tons of coal, the equation would be: 18.45 million tons of coal x $34 per on = 627.3 million dollars.

The article describes the results of combustion tests of tree leaves as one of the possible methods of their management after they have been collected from built-up areas. As a result of combustion it is possible to recycle/gain energy from the plant biomass. The clue of the method is based on the estimation of calorific value of material for leaves of chosen tree species from built-up areas according to the method regulated by the standard PN-EN ISO 1716. The method of measurement lies in complete combustion of a specified mass of material inside an atmosphere of oxygen under pressure in the Calorimeter Bomb in stirred water bath and measurement of water temperature increases. The analysis was performed on samples of shredded leaves or of leaves formed into briquettes. The tests proved that the heat of combustion was different for leaves of various tree types and that leaves in loose shredded form have a higher calorific value of material than those formed into briquettes. The average value of heat of combustion reached 14 kJ g-1 for leaves formed into briquettes and for 15,3 kJ g-1 for loose shredded leaves. The highest calorific value of material was recorded for leaves of white chestnut and those of red oak, and the lowest for leaves of lime-tree and maple.( http://www.old.actaagrophysica.org/en/semi_year_book.html?stan=detail&paper=770& i=1&vol=8&numer=3)

Different parts of twenty dominant plant species in five plantation communities on the subtropical hilly lands in Heshan of Gunagdong as well as the litters from three of the five plantation communities were sampled, and their gross caloric value (GCV) and ash content were measured by using a PARR-1281 oxygen bomb calorimeter and a muffle furnace. Based on the measurements, the ash-free caloric value (AFCV) of the samples was calculated, and the characteristics of caloric value and ash content of the samples, according to plant part, individual, and plant growth form, were analyzed. The results showed that the GCV and AFCV of leaf, branch, stem wood, stem bark, and root were in the range of 10.7-22.17 kJ x g(-1) and 13.89-23.04 kJ x g(-1), respectively. The GCV and AFCV of leaf were significantly higher than those of other parts (P < 0.05), and the individual plant' s weighted mean values of GCV and AFCV were in the range of 14.24-19.43 and 16.63-20.99 kJ x g(-1), respectively. The mean AFCV of plantation communities was in the order of tree layer (19.55 kJ x g(-1)) > shrub layer (19.46 kJ x g(-1) > herb layer (18.77 kJ x g(-1)), with indigenous coniferous tree (19.86 kJ x g(-1)) > indigenous broad-leaved tree (19.55

kJ x g(-1)) > exotic eucalyptus (19.18 kJ x g(-1)), while the mean ash content was just the opposite. In Acacia mangium, coniferous, and Schima plantation communities, the GCV and AFCV of litters were higher than those of various plant parts (P < 0.01). The litter-falls in A. mangium and coniferous plantations had higher mean GCV and AFCV than the litters and fresh leaves of tree layer, while the fresh leaves of tree layer in Schima plantation showed higher mean GCV and AFCV. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19637580)

Biomass briquettes are being developed in the developing world as an alternative to charcoal. The technique involves the conversion of almost any plant matter into compressed briquettes that typically have about 70% the calorific value of charcoal. There are relatively few examples of large scale briquette production. One exception is in North Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where forest clearance for charcoal production is considered to be the biggest threat to Mountain Gorilla habitat. The staff of Virunga National Park have successfully trained and equipped over 3500 people to produce biomass briquettes, thereby replacing charcoal produced illegally inside the national park, and creating significant employment for people living in extreme poverty in conflict affected areas.