Currently, caring for the environment is a fundamental activity of any type of company, much more so when there are regulations that require compliance with environmental requirements in order to market what is produced.
The “Victoria de Girón” Citrus Company located in the municipality of Jagüey Grande, Matanzas province, Cuba, carries out work related to this. The authors refer in this article as the company each year replaces new plantations that due to their age or due to the effects of the climate and diseases lose their production potential, thus generating a huge volume of solid matter that, if not used properly, could become an obstacle in and around the plantations for the best application of cultivation techniques, in addition to wasting a large accumulation of wood that can be recycled and maintain the cleanliness of the citrus fields and generate new profits.
Introduction
Economic and social progress has meant great advances in humanity, but it has also brought with it important problems: environmental impacts, depletion of resources, cultural unification, etc. Man has been forced to apply measures that lead to the use of renewable energy to preserve natural resources and the human species.
In international trade, the demand for ecological products and the use of energies that do not affect the environment tend to prevail more and more. International trade obeys two fundamental causes: the irregular distribution of economic resources and the difference in prices, which in turn is due to the possibility of producing goods according to the needs and tastes of the consumer.
Increasingly, the number of consumers who demand ecological products and services is greater. This segment demands products and services that are respectful with the environment, for this reason the ecological component will be fundamental in its purchase decision criteria. In some cases, you may even be willing to pay a slightly higher price than a "non-organic" product. Companies are aware of this, and in addition to strategic reasons, they begin to include the "green" component in their marketing plans.
Development
The “Victoria de Girón” Citrus Company located in the municipality of Jagüey Grande, Matanzas province, Cuba, each year replaces new plantations that due to their age or the effects of the climate and diseases lose their production potential, thus generating a huge volume of solid matter that if not put to proper use could become an obstacle in and around the plantations for the best application of cultivation techniques, in addition to wasting a large accumulation of wood that can be recycled and thus maintain cleanliness and beauty of citrus fields and generate new profits for the company.
All this resulted in the need to introduce a new product to the market: charcoal. Given the volume of dry matter available, (around 15,000 TN per year of firewood), the company currently produces more than 1,200 TN of Charcoal from an 8.3% convertibility index, of which 68% reaches requirements for export. The European Union is the main international market for coal for domestic use. The main importers are: Germany, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy, the latter two acting as introduction countries for later distribution to the rest of the European Union. For some years the company has been exporting charcoal to the European Union.
Charcoal is a porous, brittle, solid fuel material with a high carbon content (on the order of 80%). It is made by charring wood and other plant residues in an oven at temperatures above 500ºC and in the absence of air. With this, most of the water is eliminated and the calorific value of the wood is increased (from 15,000 to 20,000 kJ / kg) to approximately 30,000 kJ / kg (coal).
It is mainly used as fuel, not only for domestic use but also for industrial use, especially in developing countries, being in turn a renewable energy source, which increases its interest as a fuel. The raw material for this production is obtained from the citrus-planted areas of the company itself which, having lost their production potential, is demolished. The cutting of firewood and its transportation to the UEB "La Ceiba" is the responsibility of another UEB of the company (UEB Technical Services) which is also in charge of having the necessary human and material resources to carry out these activities.
Annually, the demolition of areas is planned taking into account their age, health and real productivity, in addition to the availability of positions for replacing the plantations. The Production and Development Directors intervene in this decision taking into account the production levels reported by the Directors of the respective Units.
From 12-13 grapefruit plants 1 ton of firewood is obtained while in the case of the orange it is necessary to cut approximately 15-20 plants. This varies depending on the robustness of the plant, since when cutting only the main trunk and the secondary branches are used, discarding the dry and finer branches. This firewood is chopped into smaller pieces taking into account that the pieces are as straight as possible.
Upon arrival at the Production Center, the firewood is received and unloaded directly manually in the burning area by the dock workers if it is ready, otherwise it is temporarily stored in an area within the center itself. To the extent that each burning area is suitable for the construction of a new oven, the firewood is transported to it using a cart with oxen.
During the construction of the furnaces, the charcoal burners use chainsaws to back up and improve the firewood in order to achieve the best possible compaction, which will guarantee uniform burning and higher performance. The Production Center has nine burning areas, which are prepared by the charcoal burners themselves for the construction of the furnace, using a tractor with appropriate attachments, which in turn gathers the necessary soil for the final covering of the furnace. Each furnace generates a production of approximately 200 bags of coal. As a by-product of coal production, charcoal is obtained which in previous months was discarded and now constitutes a new product for the European market.
The company has generated, since the introduction of this product in the market, profits that have allowed it to improve and expand its production and to increase its contribution of foreign exchange to the economy of our country, helping to protect the environment.
Conclusions
Companies can introduce new products in the international market and create new sources of profits, contributing in some way to the conservation and protection of the environment. Charcoal is a product that meets these requirements.
