Working Digester

 Household batch unit for

the tropics
This is the simplest method,
comprising an upturned metal cylinder in
another larger tank, a 200-litre oil drum
with the top removed. The biogas is
trapped in the 386 Biomass and biofuels
top cylinder to be piped to the household
for cooking and lighting. The tank has to be
filled for each batch with fresh animal
manure, seeded if possible with anaerobic
bacteria from a previous batch.
 Indian gobar gas system
Gobar means cow dung, and is the
word used for the sun-dried cow pats
used in tropical countries and
previously in Europe for cooking fuel.
Material is placed in the inlet
settlement tank to separate out non-
digestible straw and inclusions. The
flow moves slowly through the buried
brick tank in about 14–30 days to the
outlet, from which nutrient-rich fertilizer
is obtained.
 Chinese digester
The main feature of the
design is the permanent concrete
top which enables pressurised gas
to be obtained The flow moves
slowly through the buried brick
tank in about 14–30 days to the
outlet, from which nutrient-rich
fertilizer is obtained. As the gas
evolves, its volume replaces
digester fluid and the pressure
increases.
 Industrial design
The diagram shows a
design for commercial
operation in mid-latitudes for
accelerated digestion under
fully controlled conditions. The
digester tank is usually heated
to at least 35C. A main purpose
of such a system is likely to be
the treatment of the otherwise
unacceptable waste material,
with biogas being an additional
benefit.
Case study
11.9 Wastes and residues
Wastes and residues from human activity and
economic production are a form of ‘indirect’ renewable
energy, since they are unstoppable flows of energy potential
in our environment. Wastes and residues arise from (a)
primary economic activity, e.g. forestry, timber mills,
harvested crops, abattoirs and food processing; and (b)
urban, municipal and domestic refuse, including sewage.
‘Landfill’ is waste, usually MSW, deposited in large pits. A large
proportion of MSW is biological material which, once enclosed in
landfill, decays anaerobically. The process is slower than in most
biogas digesters because of the reduced ground temperature, but
when stabilised after many months the gas composition is similar. If
not collected, the gas leaks slowly into the atmosphere, along with
various smellier gases such as H2S, so causing unpleasant
environmental pollution. Therefore, the landfill site should be
constructed and capped, e.g. with clay, so the gas can be collected
when the pit is full, e.g. by an array of perforated pipes laid
horizontally as the landfill is completed or drilled vertically into the
buried refuse of an existing site. Regulations in several countries
require capture of at least 40% of the methane from landfill, in order
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
11.10 Vegetable oils and biodiesel
Vegetable oils are extracted from biomass on a substantial scale for
use in soap-making, other chemical processes and, in more refined
form, for cooking.
Categories of suitable materials are:
1. Seeds: e.g. sunflower, rape, soya beans; ∼50% by dry mass of oil.
2. Nuts: e.g. oil palm, coconut copra; ∼50% by dry mass of oil, e.g. the Philippines
annual production of coconut oil is ∼106 t y−1.
3. Fruits: e.g. world olive production ∼2Mt y−1
4. Leaves: e.g. eucalyptus has ∼25% by wet mass of oil.
5. Tapped exudates: e.g. rubber latex; jojoba, Simmondsia chinensis tree oil.
6. By-products of harvested biomass, for example oils and solvents to 15% of the plant
dry mass, e.g. turpentine, rosin, oleoresins from pine trees, oil from Euphorbia.
 Concentrated vegetable oils may be used directly as
fuel in diesel engines, but difficulties arise from the high
viscosity and from the combustion deposits, as compared
with conventional (fossil) petroleum-based diesel oil,
especially at low ambient temperature (≤5 degrees Celcius).
Both difficulties are overcome by reacting the extracted
vegetable oil with ethanol or methanol to form the
equivalent ester.
Biodiesel can also be made from waste (used) cooking
oil and from animal fat (tallow).
11.11 Social and environmental aspects
11.11.1 Bioenergy in relation to agriculture and forestry
The use and production of biomass for energy are intimately
connected with wider policies and practices for agriculture and forestry.
An overriding consideration is that such use and production should be
ecologically sustainable, i.e. that the resource be used in a renewable
manner, with (re-)growth keeping pace with use. Moreover, for ethical
reasons, it is vital that biomass production for energy is not at the
expense of growing enough food to feed people.
11.11.2 Food versus fuel
Food versus fuel is the dilemma regarding the risk of
diverting farmland or crops for biofuels production to the
detriment of the food supply. The biofuel and food price
debate involves wide-ranging views, and is a long-standing,
controversial one in the literature.
11.11.3 Greenhouse gas impacts: bioenergy and carbon
sinks
When a plant grows, carbon is extracted from the air as
CO2 is absorbed in photosynthesis, so becoming ‘locked
into’ carbohydrate material both above and below ground.
Significant amounts of CO2 are released in
plantmetabolism, but the net carbon flow is into the plant.
Carbon concentrations in the soil may also increase
‘indirectly’ from organic matter formed from plant detritus in
fallen leaves and branches. Such removal of the
greenhouse gas CO2 from the atmosphere is called a
‘carbon sink’.
11.11.4 Internal and external costs of biofuels for
transport
Within most national economies, both bio-ethanol and
biodiesel can be expected to be more expensive to produce
commercially than refined fossil fuels. This is not surprising, since
no one has paid for the initial growth of the fossil deposits and given
the maturity of the petroleum industry and the political importance
placed on it.
Environmentally, substituting biofuel for fossil petroleum
reduces greenhouse gas emissions, provided the biofuel comes
from a suitable processMoreover, biofuel combustion under properly
controlled conditions is usually more complete than for fossil
petroleum, and unhealthy emissions of particulates and SO2 are
less
11.11.5 Other chemical impacts

The most vital aspect for the optimum combustion of any

fuel is to control temperature and input of oxygen, usually
as air. The aim with biomass and biofuel combustion, as
with all fuels, is to have emissions with minimum
particulates (unburnt and partially burnt material), with
fully oxidised carbon to CO2 and not CO or CH4, and with
minimum oxides of nitrogen which usually result from
excessive temperature of the air.
11.11.6 Bioenergy in relation to the energy system

Biomass is a major part of the world energy system now,

although mainly in the form of inefficiently used firewood in
rural areas, especially where cooking is over an open fire.
A more sustainable energy system for the world will
necessarily have to involve this widely distributed and
versatile resource, but used in more efficient and more
modern ways.
CHAPTER 12: WAVE POWER
12.1 Introduction
Very large energy fluxes can occur in deep water sea
waves. The power in the wave is proportional to the square
of the amplitude and to the period of the motion.
12.2 Wave motion

That is, deviations from a state of rest or equilibrium from

place to place in a regular and organized way.
12.3 Wave energy and power

Wave energy or wave power is essentially power

drawn from waves. When wind blows across the sea
surface, it transfers the energy to the waves. They are
powerful source of energy. The energy output is measured
by wave speed, wave height, wavelength and water density.
Let Ek be the kinetic energy of the total wave motion to the
sea bottom

In getting also the potential energy per unit width of wave

per unit length is