Management and classification of waste from the primary processing of Brazilian Amazon tropical wood for energy-generation purposes

The research on Amazon wood waste focuses on the species’ individual characteristics, not considering the conditions usually found in the industries, such as variations in the storage method and the waste’s condition after exposure to the environment. Accordingly, the objective of this paper was to analyze the management of waste generated by wood industries located in Mato Grosso, Brazil, and to determine the physical and chemical properties of the stocked particulate waste for energy-generation purposes. Twenty-four industries located in eight cities were investigated regarding the generation, management, and trade of wood waste, and samples of the particulate waste were collected for characterization. Each of the evaluated industries processed an average of 857.92 m2 of wood logs per month, and 51.13% of this volume was waste. The species Erisma uncinatum and Qualea spp. stood out due to their greater processing volumes. The types of waste found were of firewood (in 100% of the industries), sawdust (87.5%), wood shavings (16.5%), and wood chips (12.5%). The main destinations of the traded waste were: intermediate buyers (30%), bioenergy plants (22%), cold rooms (18%), and grain dryers (16%). The humidity and bulk density of sawdust and wood chips were, respectively, over 41% and 236 kg m−3. The ash content of 76.7% of the waste was under 2.0%. If the 24 evaluated industries performed the thermochemical conversion of their wood waste, it would be possible to supply electricity to approximately 63 houses with average consumption of 162 kWh/month. The effective management of the waste will result in its commercial appreciation and increase its energy potential.