BIOMASS ENERGY

INTRODUCTION

Biomass means all organic matter, existing on

the earth’s surface .

Biomass energy is a renewable and sustainable source of

energy derived from organic matter and can be used to

generate electricity and other forms of power.
 WORKING PROCESS OF BIOGAS PLANTS
• Biogas plants rely on anaerobic digestion,
a fermentation process in which waste is
digested by microbes to produce methane
gas (biogas). The waste can be converted
into biofertiliser and spread directly onto
fields, or the biogas itself can be used
interchangeably with natural gas as fuel
• Biogas is a gas mixture which is
generated when organic compounds are
fermented in the absence of air
(anaerobic fermentation)
DIAGRAM OF BIOMASS SOURCES
 EXTRACTION OF BIOMASS
Different Methods:-
 Direct Combustion
 Simplest method of extracting energy from
biomass.

 Biomass is burned to produce steam, the steam

turns a turbine and the turbine drives a
generator, producing electricity.

 It has a very low efficiency . With open fire

most of the heat is wasted and is not used to
cook or whatever.
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 EXTRACTION OF BIOMASS
 Gasification
 A process that exposes a solid fuel to high
temperatures and limited oxygen, to produce
a gaseous fuel.
 The gas produced by the process is a mix of
gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon
dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, and methane.
 The gas is then used to drive a high efficiency,
combined-cycle gas turbine.
 Advantages: one of the resultant gases,
methane, can be treated in a similar way as
natural gas, and used for the same purposes.
 It produces a fuel that has had many impurities
removed and could therefore cause fewer
pollution problems when burnt.
 It can also produce synthesis gas; used to make
hydrocarbon.

Source:- Text
boo k:- non-
conventional
renewable
resources by GD
 EXTRACTION OF BIOMASS
 Pyrolysis
 Heating the biomass to drive off the volatile matter
and leaving behind the charcoal
 This process has doubled the energy density of
the original material
 The charcoal also burns at a much higher
temperature than the original biomass, making it
more useful for manufacturing processes.
 Techniques are developed recently to collect volatiles
that are otherwise lost to the system.
 Flash pyrolysis is used to produce bio-crude,
a combustible fuel.
 Heat is used to chemically convert biomass into
pyrolysis oil, which becomes easier to transport.

Source:- Text boo k:- non-

conventional renewable
resources by GD rai
 EXTRACTION OF BIOMASS
 Digestion
 Works by utilizing anaerobic bacteria.

 These microorganisms usually live at the bottom of swamps or

in other places where there is no air; consuming dead organic
matter to produce methane and hydrogen.

 By feeding organic matter such as animal dung or human

sewage into tanks, called digesters, and adding bacteria, we
collect the emitted gas to use as an energy source
 A very efficient; up to two thirds of the fuel energy of the
animal dung could be recovered.

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 EXTRACTION OF BIOMASS

 Fermentation

 Also called as Aerobic Digestion; converts sugar to ethanol.

 people have used yeasts and other microorganisms to ferment

the sugar of various plants into ethanol.

 Producing fuel from biomass by fermentation is just an extension of

this process.
 Process involves addition of yeasts or other microorganisms for the
conversion of plant’s glucose into an alcohol.

Source:- Text boo k:- non-conventional renewable resources by GD rai

Advantages & Disadvantages of Biomass
Energy
 ADVANTAGES OF BIOMASS ENERGY
• Indigenous source
• Economic development opportunities in rural areas
• The pollutant emissions from combustion of biomass are usually lower than those from fossil fuels
• Commercial use of biomass
• Improve fertility of soil
• Biomass is easily available and can be grown with relative ease in all parts of the world.
Environmental Advantages
• Renewable resource
• Reduces landfills
• Protects clean water supplies
• Reduces acid rain and smog
• Reduces greenhouse gases
• Carbon dioxide and methane

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DISADVANTAGES OF BIOMASSENERGY
• Cost of construction of biogas plant is high.

• Due to improper construction many biogas plants are working inefficiently.

• It is difficult to store biogas in cylinders.

• Transportation of biogas through pipe over long distances isdifficult.

• Biogas plants need lots of care and maintenance for its successful operations.

• It is economical i f raw biomass such as cow dung is not freely available

• Biogas plants occupy larges land areas.

• If the biomass is required to be transported over long distances, the cost

transportati on is very high.
 PROSPECTS OF BIOMASS IN INDIA

• India produces about 450-500 million tonnes of

biomass per year
• India has a potential of about 18 GW of energy
from Biomass
• about 32% of total primary energy used in India is
derived from Biomass
• More than 70% of the country’s population depends
upon biomass for its energy needs
• Currently, biodiesel is not sold on the
Indian fuel market, but the government plans to
meet 20% of the country’s diesel requirements by
2020 using biodiesel. Source:- Google
PROSPECTS OF BIOMASS IN INDIA

Source:- Google
PROSPECTS OF BIOMASS IN INDIA

Total energy consumption in India 2012

Source:- Google
 APPLICATIONS OF BIOMASS ENERGY
• Biomass systems range from small stoves used in homes for heating or cooking to large power plants
used by centralized utilities to produce electricity.

• In residential applications, biomass can be used for space heating or for cooking.

• Industry and businesses use biomass for several purposes including space heating, hot water heating, and
electricity generation. Many industrial facilities, such as lumber mills, naturally produce organic waste. For
generating electricity, the producer gas from the biomass gasifier is first cleaned and cooled and then used
as a fuel in an IC engine. A generator coupled to the engine produces electricity.
• Anaerobic digestion is used for effluent and sewage treatment.

• Anaerobic digestion is a simple process that can greatly reduce the amount of organic matter which
might otherwise be destined to be landfilled or burnt in an incinerator.
 CURRENT COSTS OF BIOMASS POWER

• In the United States, direct combustion is the most common method of producing heat from biomass.
Small-scale biomass electric plants have installed costs of $3,000 to $4,000 per kW, and a levelized cost
of energy of $0.8 to $0.15 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
• In India, the price for bagasse is around USD 12 to USD 14/tonne, and the price of rice husks is around
USD 22/tonne (UNFCCC, 2011).
• In India, small-scale gasifier systems for off-grid, mini-grid and grid-connected applications are
relatively successful and as much as 28 MW were installed by mid-2008 in industry and up to 80 MW in
rural systems
• Anaerobic digestion biogas systems typically take advantage of existing waste streams, such as sewage
and animal effluent, but it is possible to supplement this with energy crops.
• The production of biomass plants is incredibly expensive and, in some cases, the costs are not worth
the benefits. Transport and resource gathering expenses are high and will be continually needed every
day.
Case Study:1
Biomass power Project in Andhra Pradesh

This case study is about a multi-biomass based on direct combustion grid-

connected power plant using steam turbine.
Different types of biomass was utilized and the procurement methods
are as follows:
• Rice husk from rice mills
• Bagasse from sugar plants
• Jute stick from farmers
• Casuarinas trees from Argo-Farming
• Cotton and red gram stalks from farmers
• Woody biomass from farmers
• Groundnut shell from oil mills
• Jute waste from jute mills
The plant was installed by Varun Power Projects (P) Ltd. The capacity of the
plant was 6 MW. The project is first of its kind without much industrial
experience. The plant is located at Chilakapalem, at Srikakulam District in
Andhra Pradesh.
Source:- www.irena.org
 Fuel processing/preparation
Only rice husk was fired as it is without processing. All
wood biomass was chipped in to smaller pieces using
chipping machine. Bushy wastes like stalks are cut into
small pieces using biomass shredder.

Investment

The project is set up at a total cost of Rs.2440 lakhs

including land, buildings, plant and machinery and fixed
deposit collected by IREDA.

1500kw Renewable Energy Gasification Biomass Power

Generation Equipment
Power generation

The unit operates at more than 80% of PLF. The

average power generation rate, over a period of
three years, is 438 lakhs of unit per annum. 1.1 kg of
biomass per kWh, . The details of power generation
are provided in the following table :

Table : Details of power generation

S. No. Year Units generated in Lakhs
.
1 2002-2003 428
2 2003-2004 471
3 2004-2005 415
4 Average 438*
5 *The average PLF (Plant Load Factor) is 83.3%
Case study: 2
Kasai Village electrification with 100% biomass
Location
Kasai is a remote tribal village in the Betul District of Madhya Pradesh in India. In Madhya Pradesh, eleven
such villages were selected to electrify using biomass gasifier system under the electrification programme of
the Ministry of Non- conventional Energy Sources (MNES).
Participation of the local community
• Participation of the local community was ensured after detailed group discussions at the initial stages of
the project.
• Active participation is essential for wood collection and day-to-day operation and maintenance of the
system.
• Community participation in overall system management.
Village Energy Committee
• A Committee comprising 11 members (of which five women) were constituted. o A village energy fund
was created by contribution from all the users.
• A sum of Rs.120/- per month per household was collected to meet the expenditure on operation and
maintenance of the system.
• A Village Energy Committee (VEC) was set up by the Gram Panchayat. The VEC was responsible for
operation and
maintenance of the system.
Project execution and capacity building
A 10 kWe 100% biomass based power generation project was executed in May
2005 and commissioned within two months by the local Forestry Department.

End-users and benefits of the project

• Lighting of households, school, and streets.
• Bring music systems and television into the village for entertainment.
• 10 ha of land around the village is planted with fast growth species
to ensure sustainable biomass supply.
• Oil expellers to produce bio-oil from Jatroppha seeds is under
planning stage.
• Flour mill, water pump, milk chilling units are also being planned.
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