WS 320 Bio from Nobili, mulchers for renewable energy crops
The new machines for the harvest of biomass built by the Bologna manufacturer in association with a European Union project aimed at optimizing bio-energy supply chains were recently unveiled at work
European Union policy on renewable energy sources is expected to boost biomass demand by close to 50% by 2020. All around the world agricultural lignocellulosic residues are the most widely available and most used materials for the production of bioenergy. Lignocellulosic biomass, however, must be managed in a way which is economically, socially and ecologically sustainable to avoid a short term shortage of this precious source and counter some social opposition.
Technical innovations for the management of these crops, harvesting the biomass, pre-treatment, storage and transport make up a suitable method for lowering costs and minimizing a possible negative impact on the environment.
The international project, LogistEC, financed by the 7th EU Framework Program for Research has just come to an end. The purpose of the project was to develop new and better technologies for the management of the biomass supply chain. During experimentation, partners in the project pointed out the progress made in the field in harvesting, processing and especially in thermal pre-treatment in relation to the densification of the crop. The manufacturer Nobili S,p.A. in Molinella, near Bologna, a partner in the project, designed and built the WS Bio range of mulchers for shredding and windrowing biomass. The WS 320 Bio is a tractor-mounted machine on the front of a tractor three-point linkage or to the rear linkage in reverse drive tractors ideal for shredding energy crops such as Arundo donax, Panicum virgatum, Miscanthus sinensis and fiber sorghum. The mulcher is supported by a roller adjusting the working height and equipped with a dividing frame and a front movable hood with an idle roller – both hydraulically adjustable – ensuring the arrival of standing reeds into the mulching chamber. With a single pass, the machine can create the windrow needed for collecting the biomass by bale wrappers thanks to a spiral fitted below the rotor, with hydraulically adjustable speed.
During the presentation in the field, Matteo Montanari from Nobili explained, “At present the conventional harvesting technique calls for mowing, mulching and loading whereas for cutting and baling, two passes are necessary to become three if windrowing is needed. The WS 320 Bio, on the other hand, with a working width of 3.2 meters, is equipped with an auger capable of windrowing the mulch with a single pass.”
In detail, the mulcher works off a front roller and flattening device regulated hydraulically which facilitate the introduction of the product to the shredding chamber. The rotor fitted with knives or hammers is capable of mulching the most fibrous materials which are then sent from the center to the sides of the machine to form windrows. For fiber sorghum, the mulcher has been designed to bypass the entrapment of sorghum, a crop which tends to dry slowly and shows excellent qualities for use in critical conditions to ensure time and consumption compared to its competitors in the final phase of mulching. The innovative technology built into the WS 320 Bio provides a totally new approach to biomass crops compared to other mulchers now on the market by opening the option to carry out two operations by a single operator for cutting and harvesting. Among the objectives of the LogistEC project was the creation of a virtual platform for the sides involved capable of informing them of the outcome of the project to facilitate their involvement in specific activities. All this information can be found on the project website, www.logistec.eu.
