Biomass-Renewable Energy Resource

Biomass Fuels
• Biomass is biological material derived
from living or recently living
organisms.

• In the context of biomass for energy

this is often used to mean plant
based material, but biomass can
equally apply to both animal and
vegetable derived materials.
Biomass definition by UNFCCC (united Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change)

Biomass is a non-fossilized and biodegradable organic material

originating from plants, animals and microorganisms. This
shall also include products, by-products, residues and waste
from agriculture, forestry and related industries as well as the
non-fossilized and biodegradable organic fractions of
industrial and municipal wastes

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 Chemical composition
• Biomass is carbon based and is composed of a mixture of organic molecules containing hydrogen,
usually including atoms of oxygen, often nitrogen and also small quantities of other atoms,
including alkali, alkaline earth and heavy metals. 
• These metals are often found in functional molecules such as the porphyrins which include
chlorophyll which contains magnesium.
Carbon Cycle
• The carbon used to construct biomass is absorbed from the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO 2)
by plant life, using energy from the sun.
• Plants may subsequently be eaten by animals and thus converted into animal biomass. However
the primary absorption is performed by plants.
• If plant material is not eaten it is generally either broken down by micro-organisms or burned:
• If broken down it releases the carbon back to the atmosphere, mainly as
either carbon dioxide (CO2) or methane (CH4), depending upon the conditions
and processes involved.
• If burned the carbon is returned to the atmosphere as CO2.
• These processes have happened for as long as there have been plants on Earth and is part of 4

what is known as the carbon cycle.

Biomass typically leads to more than 80% CO2
emission reductions

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Categories of biomass materials
There are five basic categories of material:

1) Virgin wood, from forestry, arboricultural activities or from wood processing

2) Energy crops: high yield crops grown specifically for energy applications
3) Agricultural residues: residues from agriculture harvesting or processing
4) Food waste, from food and drink manufacture, preparation and processing, and post-
consumer waste
5) Industrial waste and co-products from manufacturing and industrial processes.

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Biomass Conversion Technologies

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Thermochemical Conversion
• There are three major options under thermochemical conversion,
namely;

1) Combustion
2) Gasification
3) Pyrolysis

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Combustion
• An oxidation process, in which the flammable materials burn in the presence of air or oxygen, and
as a result heat is produced.
• Reaction producing heat are termed as exothermic.
• In the process of combustion, two ingredients (biomass and oxygen) are combined in a high
temperature environment to form carbon dioxide, water vapor, and heat.
• Biomass also contains traces of elements other than carbon and hydrogen.
• Some of the elements also get oxidized, and released as gas in the flue gases, or as solid as ash or
slag.
• The biomass is burnt in stoves, furnaces, and boilers. The temperature of hot gases produced is
around 800-1000 ◦C.
• The heat generated can be utilized for wide range of applications, such as cooking, heating of
materials, and producing steam.
Steam produced is then utilized for heating purposes in industrial and commercial facilities, for producing
mechanical or electrical power by operating steam turbines and turbo-generators.
It is possible to burn any type of biomass but in practice combustion is feasible only for biomass with moisture
content < 50%. 9
Therefore, in case of very high moisture content, the biomass is pre-dried.
Gasification
• Gasification is a partial oxidation process whereby a carbon source such as coal, natural gas or
biomass, is broken down into carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2), plus carbon dioxide (CO2)
and possibly hydrocarbon molecules such as methane (CH4).

• This mix of gases is known as 'producer gas' or product gas (or wood gas or coal gas, depending
on the feedstock), and the precise characteristics of the gas will depend on the gasification
parameters, such as temperature, and also the oxidizer used. 

• The oxidizer may be air (in which case the producer gas will also contain nitrogen (N 2)) or steam
or oxygen or a mixture of these.

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 Low temperature gasification
• If the gasification takes place at a relatively low temperature, such as 700ºC to 1000ºC, the
product gas will have a relatively high level of hydrocarbons compared to high temperature
gasification.
• As a result it  may be used directly, to be burned for heat or electricity generation via a steam
turbine or, with suitable gas clean up, to run an internal combustion engine for electricity
generation.

High temperature gasification

• Higher temperature gasification (1200ºC to 1600ºC) leads to few hydrocarbons in the
product gas, and a higher proportion of CO and H2.
• This is known as synthesis gas (syngas or biosyngas) as it can be used to synthesize longer
chain hydrocarbons using techniques such as Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis.
• If the ratio of H2 to CO is correct (2:1) FT synthesis can be used to convert syngas into
high quality synthetic diesel biofuel which is completely compatible with conventional
fossil diesel and diesel engines.
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Pyrolysis
• Pyrolysis is the precursor to gasification, and takes place as part of both gasification and
combustion. 
• It consists of thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen. It is essentially based on a long
established process, being the basis of charcoal burning
• Products of pyrolysis: The products of pyrolysis include gas, liquid and a sold char, with the
proportions of each depending upon the parameters of the process.
Pyrolysis at lower temperature (around 400 ºC) tend to produced more solid char,
whereas somewhat higher temperature (around 500ºC) produce a much higher
proportion of liquid.
Biochemical conversion
• As biomass is a natural material, many highly efficient biochemical processes have developed in
nature to break down the molecules of which biomass is composed, and many of these
biochemical conversion processes can be harnessed.
• Biochemical conversion makes use of the enzymes of bacteria and other micro-organisms to
break down biomass. In most cases micro-organisms are used to perform the conversion process:
1) Anaerobic digestion 12
2) Fermentation
 Anaerobic digestion
• The anaerobic digestion or anaerobic fermentation process involves
the conversion of decaying wet biomass and animal waste into
biogas through decomposition process by the action of anaerobic
bacteria.
• The most useful biomass for production of biogas are animal and
human waste, plant residue and other organic waste material with
high moisture
• There content.
are three basic anaerobic digestuiion processes, which take
place over different temperature ranges.
1) Psychrophilic digestion : Below 25 ºC, slower rate, takes 70-80
days
2) Mesophilic digestion: Between 20-40 ºC, takes 30-40 days
3) Thermophilic digestion: 50-65 ºC

Fermentation
• In this process, biomass is converted into sugar using acid or enzyme.
• Sugar is then converted into ethanol or other chemicals with the help of yeast.
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 BioGas
• Biogas a mixture of gas produced by the microorganisms during the
anaerobic fermentation of biodegradable materials.
• Anaerobic fermentation is a biochemical process in which particular
kinds of bacteria digest biomass in an oxygen-free environment
resulting in production of CH4, CO2, H2 and traces of other gases
along with decomposed mass.
• Interest in biogas technology is increasing around the world due to
the requirements for renewable energy production, reuse of materials
and reduction of harmful emissions.
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• Biogas technology offers versatile and case-specific options for tackling all of the 14
above mentioned targets with simultaneous controlled treatment of various organic
materials
• You can use many household organic “waste” materials to produce your own
natural gas for cooking, lighting, and space and water heating.
• Biogas can also replace fossil-based natural gas to fuel an engine or an absorption
cooling system, such as a gas refrigerator or chiller
Properties of Biogas
• Biogas is a mixture of different components and the composition
varies depending upon the characteristics of feed materials, amount
of degradation, etc.
• Biogas predominantly consists of 50 to 70 per cent methane, 30 to 40
per cent carbon dioxide and low amount of other gases.
• Methane is a combustible gas.
• The energy content of biogas depends on the amount of methane it
contains.
• Methane content varies from about 50 percent to 70 percent.

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Composition of biogas

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Principles of biogas technology
• Biogas technology, i.e. anaerobic digestion is biological method for degrading
and stabilizing organic, biodegradable raw materials in special plants in a
controlled manner.
• It is based on microbial activity in oxygen-free (anaerobic) conditions and
results in two end-products: energy rich biogas and nutrient-rich digestion
residue, i.e. digestate.
• Anaerobic degradation of biodegradable materials also happens in nature, e.g.
in swamps, soils, sediments and in ruminant metabolism

Biogas Production
• The biogas production process involves three stages namely:
Hydrolysis
Acid formation and
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Methane formation
Hydrolysis
• The complex organic molecules like fats, starches and proteins which are water
insoluble contained in cellulosic biomass are broken down into simple compounds
with the help of enzymes secreted by bacteria.
• This stage is also known as polymer breakdown stage (polymer to monomer).
• The major end product is glucose which is a simple product.

Acid formation
• The resultant product (monomers) obtained in hydrolysis stage serve as input for
acid formation stage bacteria.
• Products produced in previous stage are fermented under anaerobic conditions
to form different acids.
• The major products produced at the end of this stage are acetic acid, propionic
acid, butyric acid and ethanol.
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 Methane formation
• The acetic acid produced in the previous stages is converted into methane
and carbon dioxide by a group of microorganism called “Methanogens”.
• Methanogens are obligatory anaerobic and very sensitive to
environmental changes.
• They utilize the intermediate products of the preceding stages and
convert them into methane, carbon dioxide, and water.
• It is these components that make up the majority of the biogas emitted
from the system.
• Methanogenesis is sensitive to both high and low pH’s and occurs
between pH 6.5 and pH 8

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Major reactions:

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Stages of biogas formation

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Cont..

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Factors affecting anaerobic degradation
• There are several factors which may affect the anaerobic degradation of
biodegradable materials. Most important ones are:
Temperature and pH
Inhibition and hydrogen partial pressure
Technical and operational factors e.g. mixing

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 Cont..
• Different raw materials will produce different amounts of biogas
and methane depending on their content of carbohydrates, fats
and proteins

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