BIOMASS AND ENERGY PRODUCTION AT SHORT ROTATION Eucalyptus CLONAL PLANTATIONS DEPLOYED IN RIO GRANDE DO NORTE1

ABSTRACT This study aimed to estimate the biomass and energy of a clonal planting short rotation experiment with hybrids of Eucalyptus urophylla ST Blake x Eucalyptus grandis (Hill) Maiden, deployed in 3 m x 3 m spacing, at the Academic Unit Specialized in Agricultural Sciences, Macaíba/RN. The analysis were performed at the Laboratory Panels and Wood Energy, Federal University of Viçosa, in which the following ratings on wood three cultivars (GG100 ; AEC0144 and AEC0224) were performed: determination of basic density, high calorific power, chemical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and subsequent calculations for estimating the mass production and energy were performed. The base (10 cm from the ground), the third and two thirds of commercial tree height: composed for analysis, taken from three points along the stem samples were used. The design of the experiment was a completely randomized. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and the means were compared by Tukey test (a= 0.05). The clone who excelled in the first year of planting was the GG100 with 11,805 kW.h.ha-1 of energy productivity, followed by clone AEC0224 (6,755 kW.h.ha-1) and AEC0144 (4,405 kW.h.ha-1). The performance of this clone was due to mainly the higher volumetric growth. The wood quality among clones showed little difference. It should stimulate the deployments of species of short rotation in the state of RN to supply the elevated energy demand of forest biomass in the region. RESUMO O presente estudo objetivou estimar a produção de biomassa e energia de um plantio clonal experimental de curta rotação, com híbridos de Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake x Eucalyptus grandis (Hill) Maiden, implantados em espaçamento 3 x 3 m, na Unidade Acadêmica Especializada em Ciências Agrárias, Macaíba/RN. As análises foram realizadas no Laboratório de Painéis e Energia da Madeira da Universidade Federal de Viçosa, no qual foram realizadas as seguintes avaliações na madeira de três materiais genéticos (GG100; AEC0144 e AEC0224): determinação da densidade básica, poder calorífico superior, análise química, análise termogravimétrica e posteriormente foram realizados cálculos para a estimativa da produção de massa e energia. Foram utilizadas amostras compostas para as análises, retiradas de três pontos ao longo do fuste: da base (10 cm do solo), a 1/3 e a 2/3 da altura comercial da árvore. O experimento foi instalado segundo delineamento inteiramente casualizado. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à