Opening Session.- Welcome address.- Opening address.- The community energy demonstration programme: the context for biomass.- Role and strategies of the ENEA in the biomass energy sector.- European R&D programme of wood as renewable raw material.- Session I — Forestry.- Forest biomass for energy in EEC countries from harvesting to storage.- Biomass production from coppice forest harvesting and first thinning of fast-growing plantations.- Mechanised forestry chains in France.- Evaluation of the work and objectives to be followed in France for the harvesting, storage and processing of forest biomass.- Harvesting and storage of chipped wood for energy production in hill areas.- Assessment of the energy balances for beech coppices in the Northern Appennines.- Cooperative R & D in harvesting forest biomass in the IEA bioenergy agreement.- Wood harvesting systems for energy purposes in developing countries.- Session report.- Session II — Energy Crops.- Harvesting, drying and storage of short-rotation forestry energy crops.- Innovation in the mechanization of biomass harvesting.- The Scorpion: a forestry tractor for harvesting biomass.- Biomass harvesting technology and energy balance.- Sweet sorghum: from harvesting to storage.- Aquatic crops: problems and perspectives concerning harvesting technologies.- FAO/CNRE research cooperation on biomass production and use for energy.- Harvesting problems in Spain.- Leben project, the contribution of the Leben project to work on the production and harvesting of plant biomass.- Session report.- Session III — Crop by-Products, Straw.- Straw for energy purpose.- Rice straw harvesting mechanisation chains.- Handling and storage of straw and woodchips.- Availability of by-products: feasibility study on producing alcohol from biomass.- Technical and economic comparison of different methods of harvesting maize, recovering the cobs for use in grain drying.- MSW and vegetable by-products, guidelines for research: from the harvesting procedure to the anaerobic process.- Session IV — Crop by-Products, Pruning.- Biomass energy in Europe. General report on by-products of pruning.- Development of harvesting and handling mechanization of pruning residues in Greece.- Vine, olive and orange trees residues. Mechanization chains in Spain.- Plan for obtaining energy from waste (PAER).- Experimental tests on a prototype machine for harvesting forestry trimming wastes.- Tree crops pruning — Mechanized chains in Puglia region.- Baler for the harvesting without shredding of pruning-wood from vineyards and fruit trees in general.- Session report.- Session V — Economic Evaluations, Public Incentives.- The economic analysis of different mechanisation steps from harvesting to storage of crops and crop by-products.- The use of wood chips from forest harvest residue for energy production — Potential yield, quality, harvesting techniques and profitability.- An approach to the economic evaluation of biomass energy-production projects.- Conclusions and Recommendations.- List of Participants.- Index of Authors.
