ANALYSIS OF THE POTENTIAL OF PLANT RESIDUES AS A SOURCE OF HEAT IN HOTBEDS ON A FARM

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of the possibility of using "green" plant residues generated on a farm as a source of heat for "hotbeds". Hotbeds - a technology of low-temperature substrate heating in beds or greenhouses. It consists in carrying out plant production on specially prepared beds, under which heaps of composted residues or manure are arranged.

The resulting heat heats the ground and the air in the plant germination zone. It is most often used in spring to speed up the yielding of spring vegetables. The paper analyses green residues that can be used in the hotbeds, arising in a typical farm with a horticultural production profile. The theoretical amount of heat in cultivating early vegetables was calculated on the amount of green mass residue. The investment cost of the proposed solution is PLN 250. Savings are PLN 300. The proposed device can be used for several years (in various configurations of green waste, e.g. in spring) - then the actual rate of return on investment will be much shorter and the profits higher. The energy analysis shows that the use of the proposed solution as a source of heat in agricultural production, for the management of the above-mentioned post-production residues, translates into savings of 2000 MJ of heat. If we produced this amount of heat in a coal-fired boiler, the CO₂ emission for primary energy would be 640 kg CO₂