Determination of biogas production potential from hazelnut residues by geographical information systems (GIS) in case of Ordu

Production potentials must have been investigated to increase the share of the renewable energy sources in energy production. In this study, determination of usage possibilities of hazelnut residues as a biomass source has been investigated for Ordu which has the highest amount of hazelnut production in Turkey. Biomass amount per tree after pruning and hazelnut shell amounts have been determined by under the guidance of existing studies. Biomass values and other attributes like soil texture have been introduced to the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software and a database which can be queried and updated is created. Ordu has potentials as 370 650 tons per year by hazelnut pruning and 103 867 tons per year by hazelnut shells. Central town, Ünye and Fatsa have the highest production potential. Total amount of energy potential is 8.289.370.760 MJ (2.321.023.813 kWh). Ordu has good economic opportunities for energy production from biomass.