Assorted scientific and laboratory facilities and research laboratories and a variety of natural resources

Bioenergy plants of the Central Botanical Garden National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

The problem of energy supply, with increasing energy consumption, is becoming the main task for the world community in the XXI century. The steady trend of consumption growth and the projected exhaustion of hydrocarbon raw materials, the growth of negative environmental problems caused by the increasing emissions of harmful substances from hydrocarbon raw materials into the atmosphere, formed the opinion of the international community about the need to transition from the use of fossil energy sources to alternative - renewable ones.

Among the many reasons that stimulated the interest of the world community in the use of renewable energy sources, it is worth noting the aggravation on a global scale of the situation surrounding the extraction of hydrocarbon raw materials and its delivery to consumers. In addition, among the most important reasons that had an impact on the development of bioenergy, the increase in prices for oil and gas resources and the desire of a number of states to move away from oil and gas dependence are included. The time of cheap oil is becoming a thing of the past, and under these conditions, the desire of states to increase the level of energy security, and thus state independence, is growing. This encouraged industrialized countries to develop and implement national programs (projects) for the development of bioenergy.

The development of bioenergy involves the use of plant biomass as a raw material, mainly as a biologically renewable resource. In recent years, work has been actively carried out to create new and improve previously developed industrial technologies for processing vegetable mass into solid, liquid and gaseous fuel, alternative fuel from coal, oil and gas. In the world, both on the American continent and in Europe, the demand for biofuels is significantly increasing, active work is being done to develop alternative energy based on renewable energy sources. By this time, significant positive experience of using plant biomass in the production of various types of biofuel has already been accumulated in countries such as Brazil, the USA, Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands. According to the predictions of a number of authors, the share of renewable energy sources will constantly increase in the next 20-30 years [1].

The Republic of Belarus, not having sufficient natural reserves of fossil sources of hydrocarbon raw materials, cannot remain aloof from the production of renewable energy sources. In the program documents and measures to ensure the energy security of our country, approved by the Head of State and the Government of the Republic of Belarus, specific indicators of inclusion in the energy balance of local and renewable energy resources are defined [2, 3]. Ensuring the appropriate level of energy security of the Republic of Belarus involves, along with the import of hydrocarbon raw materials, the creation of its own fuel and energy cycle based on renewable types of biofuel.

As shown by experts in the field of bioenergy, the Republic of Belarus, possessing large areas of land resources, favorable soil and climatic conditions, effectively developed agriculture and industry, high level of education and science, can successfully develop bioenergy based on plant biomass. At this stage, along with the improvement of the technology for obtaining different types of biofuel from plant biomass (solid, liquid, gaseous), the urgent task is to find promising energy-intensive crops that provide a high yield of biomass and its low cost.

In many countries, raw materials (harvests) of traditional food crops – sugar cane, corn, wheat, sugar beet, soybean, sorghum, etc. are used as renewable energy resources for biofuel production. However, in the context of the growing global food crisis, the use of food crops as energy resources for the production of biofuels is recognized by the world community as unjustified.

As evidenced by the assessments of a number of scientists, as well as analysts and experts of the National and International Bioenergy Unions and Agencies for Renewable Energy Sources [1, 4, 5, 6, 7], for the development of the production and market of fuel from renewable raw materials (plant biomass) , Production should rely more on energy-intensive, high biomass-yielding plants than on traditional food crops. Scientists of many countries are engaged in the search and attraction of the world's flora, as well as the breeding of new energy-intensive bioenergy plants. In the natural flora and culture, more than a hundred perennial and annual plants are known, which are used as energy sources. By us for the selection of herbaceous plants, with the aim of using them as sources of local renewable raw materials for the development of bioenergy, taking into account literature data and production experience. A list of indicators of economic and valuable properties and signs reflecting the productivity of these plants and the prospects of their use in the soil and climatic conditions of the republic for the specified purposes has been compiled.

In order to select bioenergy plants that are promising for the soil and climatic conditions of the republic, an analysis of scientific research on world flora, introduction and acclimatization of plants by botanical institutions of near and far foreign countries was carried out. The practical experience of a number of countries and the proposals of scientific institutions on the use of plant biomass for the production of biofuel have been studied from literary sources. In addition, a large number of plants used as local renewable resources in other countries and regions have been evaluated.

In the Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, in 2007, Mikhail Ivanovich Yarosevich began special research on the formation of a collection of bioenergy plants, which can serve as a renewable source of raw materials for the production of biofuel. These works marked the beginning of the development in the botanical garden of a new direction for the introduction and use of new bioenergy plants in the fuel and energy complex of the republic. The main task of these studies is to attract from the world flora promising bioenergy plants for the republic, which have high adaptive capabilities in the soil and climatic conditions of the republic, to justify the agrotechnics of their cultivation. These studies will make it possible to enrich the cultural flora of the republic with new bioenergy plants and create the scientific basis for the formation of a new direction in crop production - the production of renewable plant raw materials for the development of bioenergy. At this stage, such highly productive plants as Jerusalem artichoke, reed miscanthus, Weirich's mountain, and sylphia shrill are being studied.

On the mentioned species, systematic studies are conducted, which include the study of botanical and morphological characteristics, features of growth and development, productivity and yield, dry matter content, methods of processing, ecology, reproductive capacity, perennial use in culture, resistance to adverse weather conditions I, adaptation possibilities, technology of cultivation, requirements for soil fertility and other issues.

Literature:

1. The European Union chooses a new energy [Electronic resource] / J. Geiss. - Access mode: http://bioethanol.ru/bioethanol/news/intervyu. – Date of access: 21.04.2011.
2. The target program of providing at least 25 percent of the volume of electric and thermal energy production in the republic through the use of local fuels and alternative energy sources for the period until 2012: Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, December 30. 2004, No. 1680 // National legal internet portal of the Republic of Belarus [Electronic resource] / Nat. legal information center. Rep. Belarus. – Minsk, 2011.
3. Strategy for the development of the energy potential of the Republic of Belarus: Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, August 9. 2010, No. 1180 // National legal internet portal of the Republic of Belarus [Electronic resource] / Nat. legal information center. Rep. Belarus. – Minsk, 2011.
4. Choice of energetic crosses for cultivation in Subcarpathia / D. Bobretska-Yamra [etal] // Kshtaltavaniya zradovichy - agroecosystems and krajobrazy. - 2005. - Cz. 1. – P. 41-47.
5. Stasiak, M. The genus Miscanthus as a source of biomass and their selected usable fetures / M. Stasiak // Zasoby genowe roslin w ochronie roznorodnosci biologicznej. - 2007. - P. 893-897.
6. Biofuel from fields [Electronic resource] / A. Guaida. − Access mode: http://ikc-apk.kuban.ru/newapk/innova/innova090207.htm< /a>. – Date of access: 21.04.2011.
7. In Zhytomyr, giant reeds are growing and preparing for energy independence [Electronic resource]. / Zhytomyr.info. – Access mode: http://www.zhitomir.info/print.php?id=34819. - Date of access: 21.04.2011.

M.I. Yarashevich, D.A. Dubar, I.A. Ageychik

January 2012