A Mathematical model for calculating the energy potential from trunks of the Pinus Elliottii and Pinus Taeda trees

Abstract

In this work, experimental data of pine species (\textit{Pinus elliottii} and \textit{Pinus taeda}) are obtained and analyzed in order to propose a mathematical model for estimating the density, the mass of dry wood and the energy potential from wood trunks in function of the mean diameter at breast height (DBH). The distribution probability of diameter classes of the pines is also presented. A mathematical expression with linear correlation coefficient of 0.92 was obtained for estimating the tree height for pine species in function of DBH data. Results suggest that the potential for generation of energy is in the range of 850 to 1200 GJ/ha for both \textit{P. elliottii} and \textit{P. taeda} species when planted with density of 1089 trees per hectare. The DBH values and the energetic potential range determined in this study were in agreement with those obtained from previous works. Additionally, the variance analysis of results showed that there are no significant differences in the energetic potential offered by the biomass of 9 and 10 years old.