The prickly pear in Italy is mostly used for human nutrition, although different cultivars of Cactaceae are intended for different uses around the world. Currently, there is a new bio‐economy for the prickly pear linked to the use of cladodes and fruit wastes for energy and numerous biotechnological derivatives. This paper focuses on the technical and economic validation of a bioenergy‐production installation, as the scientific literature has shown for years that it is possible to use the prickly pear in diets mixed with other materials. The varietal reconversion of part of the prickly pears produced domestically by traditional Italian farms geared exclusively to the production of fruit for human consumption is proposed. In this way, the introduction of biomass prickly pear varieties facilitates the construction of a shared biogas plant (organised as a district) and a network between the different actors in the area. The results show that, with the methanogenic potential of prickly pear, equal to 240 mc t⁻¹, it is possible to feed a 300 kW plant, particularly favoured by the current system of Italian public incentives for investments in agro‐energy. This result can be achieved in a short supply chain, through the organization of a district composed of 30–40 producers, with an average size of 5 ha of prickly pears, in an area on the slopes of the Etna volcano where there is other biomass such as citrus pulp residues and olive pomace to be used in mixtures with cladodes. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

中文翻译：

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刺梨用于沼气生产：在意大利仙人掌盛行的地区，沼气发电装置的技术经济验证

意大利的刺梨主要用于人类营养，尽管仙人掌科的不同品种在世界各地都有不同的用途。目前，关于刺梨的生物经济有了新的发展，它与使用枝叶类水果和水果废料来获取能源和许多生物技术衍生物有关。本文着重于生物能源生产装置的技术和经济验证，正如多年来的科学文献表明，在与其他材料混合的日粮中使用刺梨是可能的。提议对专门用于生产供人类消费的水果的传统意大利农场在国内生产的部分花椒进行品种转换。这样，生物刺梨品种的引进促进了共享沼气厂（作为一个地区组织）的建设以及该地区不同参与者之间的网络。结果表明，具有刺梨的产甲烷潜力，等于240 mc t^-1，有可能给300 kW的电厂供电，这尤其受到意大利现行的农业能源投资公共激励体系的青睐。通过在Etna火山山坡上还有其他生物质的地区组织一个由30至40个生产者组成的区域，平均面积为5公顷的花椒，可以在短供应链中实现。如柑桔果肉渣和橄榄果渣，应与枝条混合使用。©2021化学工业协会和John Wiley＆Sons，Ltd