Possibility of using sour cherry pits as biofuel for obtaining thermal energy

In the Republic of Serbia, sour cherries are grown on approximately 14,000 hectares and represent the fourth fruit species in terms of area. The pits that remain after the processing of sour cherries are a by-product that burdens the business of the processors of this fruit. The quantities of pits that are produced annually are estimated at around 7,000 tons. This represents a good energy potential, bearing in mind that the calorific value of sour cherry pits is around 22 MJ / kg of dry matter. An additional convenience of sour cherry pits is in their dimensions that make them suitable for direct use in pellet boilers, without any pre-treatment. One of the boilers in which it is possible to burn dried sour cherry pits in order to obtain thermal energy, is Šukoplam VENT, a manufacturer of boilers Šukom from Knjaževac. This boiler has good characteristics such as: high efficiency (up to 94%), quality of materials and workmanship, the possibility of using several types of biofuels and their quality combustion, based on which it met the requirements for Class 5 (Ecodesing) related to pollutant emissions by the latest European standards.