Abstract
Small-scale-woody-biomass gasification plants installation have seen a rapid growth in the last years in South Tyrol. More than 40 plants have been installed, producing about 42 GWhel and 84 GWhth, most of them exploited in local district heating grids. Among the energy production, char is produced to an extent of up to 2000 ton per year. At present this material is managed as waste, with an average cost of more than 300 k€ every year. Within this context and under the perspective of poly-generation (i.e., the generation of at least three valuable products), the Free University of Bolzano developed the Novel EXTension of biomass poly-GENERATION to small scale gasification systems in South-Tyrol (or NEXT Generation project), aiming to investigate the quantity, quality and environmental impact of the by-products of small-scale biomass-gasification-based CHP plant in South-Tyrol, and to assess possible route for their valorization. Thus, in this paper the NEXT project is described and the preliminary results are presented. Moreover, some important remarks on possible valorization pathways for char exploitation are provided.