Biomass Energy Resource

Dr. Akepati S. Reddy Thapar University Patiala (Punjab) 147 004 INDIA

Biomass Energy Resource

Biomass - solar energy with inbuilt storage option Plant derived organic matter available on a renewable basis Solar Radiation

Photosynthate for auto-oxidation

Plant Photosynthesis

Unutilized Solar radiation

Biomass accumulated Heterotrophic consumption Energy resource Food & fodder Input to industry for fiber and lumber Biomass lost as litter

Ultimate Sources for Biomass: Harvesting Removal and Sustainability

Ultimate sources for different forms of bio-energy sources Natural ecosystems (forests) Agricultural systems (including animal husbandry) Energy forestry/crops Biomass produced through photosynthesis has the following fates Heterotrophic consumption (feeding the grazing food chain) Addition to the detritus food chain Accumulation as standing biomass Harvesting removal of biomass Biomass is harvested for using as food and fodder; Timber, fiber and other industrial raw materials Energy resources Leaving enough biomass for heterotrophic consumption, for addition to detritus food chain and for accumulation are important for Soil texture and structure and soil fertility Biodiversity Life supporting ecological functions Systems sustainability and stability

Biomass Energy Resources

Wood fuels Fuel wood (and charcoal) Forest residues Wood residues from wood processing industry Recycled wood from society (construction and demolition waste) Agricultural residues Crop residues Animal dung and livestock residues Agricultural produce Cane juice, grains, potatoes, vegetable oils, etc. Industrial wastes Black liquor from pulp mills Bagasse, molasses and spent wash from sugar and distillery industry Byproducts and wastes from food industry Energy forestry/crops Aquatic and other weed biomass Municipal wastes Municipal solid wastes Municipal sewage and sewage sludge

Biomass as Energy Resource

Biomass is a versatile fuel Can be stored and transported and can be converted into quality gaseous, liquid & solid fuels & electricity If used sustainably, no net release of CO2 <1% of productivity is used - meets 15% of total energy demand Biomass has alternative non-energy uses - as food and fodder as industrial raw material as soil conditioner and nutrient enricher can deprive land from other competitive uses Residential use as firewood/ char coal Half of harvested wood (75% in sub-Saharan Africa) Scarcity for 100 million & no sustainable supply for 1.2 billion Key producers - India, Brazil, China, Indonesia, USA & Nigeria Biomass as energy in industry - Burning in boilers and cogeneration units - Gasification and gas turbines Biomass use in transportation activity Production & use of ethanol (10,500,000 Kl by Brazil in 1986) Food surpluses for ethanol (sugar and corn)

Use of Biomass Fuel Resources

Use of biomass fuels in industrial countries for electricity generation, in space-heating boilers, small industrial applications and decentralized applications Use of biomass In developing countries main source of energy for many artisan and cottage industries In brick kilns and lime kilns; for drying and smoking of agricultural produce and fish; for supply of charcoal for high grade smelters to produce charcoal for consumption in heavy industry (iron & steel, cement, etc.) Use is for providing heat and/or generating electricity Direct combustion of biomass or co-firing as supplementary fuel in coal fired boilers Converting into fuels and then combusting (use of combined cycles or fuel cells) Use involves harvesting, collection, transportation, storage, handling, conveyance, size reduction, cleaning, drying and feeding operations - all these require infrastructure and logistics

Biomass Energy Resources: Status

Biomass energy potential of the earth is the largest of sustainable energy sources Annual biomass production is 2x1011 tons (4x1021 J) and standing biomass of the earth is 36x1021 J (photosynthetic efficiency of solar radiation is 0.27%) Energy contribution by biomass today is 55 EJ (while total energy consumption is 400 EJ) it may raise to 59-145 EJ by 2025 and to 94-280EJ by 2050 The Role of Biomass in Future Global Energy Use (EJ) can be used both as a traditional fuel and as a modern fuel
Shell (1996) IPCC (1996) Green peace (1993) WEC (1993) Johansson et al. (1993) Dessus et al. (1992) Lashof and tirpak (1991) 2025 85 72 114 59 145 135 130 2050 200-220 280 181 94-157 206 ---215 2100 ---320 ---132-215 ----------

Non-availability of biomass energy resource is not a problem sustainable management and proper delivery of the energy resource are the problems

Biomass Energy Resources: Status (contd..)

Energy consumption
Rural biomass energy consumption one ton per capita year (15% moisture wood) equivalent to 15 GJ energy Urban and sub-urban energy consumption 0.5 ton/capita year Biomass energy consumption trends in India between 1978/79 and 1992/93 Number of households using biomass energy decreased from 97% to 94% Overall firewood consumption increased from 42 to 47% Households collecting firewood decreased (from 35 to 17% Collection biomass fuels from own farms however has increased significantly In European union biomass supplied 3% (45mtoe) of the primary energy demand, and by 2010 it may raise to 135 mtoe

Biomass Fuels: Environmental Issues

Traditional biomass energy is blamed for environmental degradation and health hazards
Large scale deforestation as a consequence of increased fuel wood and charcoal demands 90% of human exposure to SPM occurs in developing countries and 2/3rd of this occurs in the rural areas that too indoors

Most of the biomass energy problems are associated with

unsustainable production of biomass inefficient use of biomass

Sustainable production and efficient use of biomass energy can eliminate most of the problems and make biomass fuels environmentally beneficial
Depending on scattered trees of farms, agro-forestry and energy crops for meeting most of the fuel wood and charcoal needs Improving efficiency, safety and cleanliness gathering and carrying biomass fuels installation of biomass fuels Sustainable use of biomass fuels can result in neutral CO2 emissions

Biomass Fuels: Environmental Issues (contd..)

Use of ethanol, bio-diesel, etc., can reduce carbon emissions, and toxicity from lead additives and aromatic hydrocarbons Bioenergy technologies are more environmental friendly (reduce SO2 and NOx emissions)

Biomass production can influence the following:

Soil erosion and soil nutrient retention Carbon sequestration Stabilization of river banks Watershed stability Ground water quality Surface water runoff and quality Local water use for crop irrigation and/or conversion facility needs Bring about changes in habitat and in the levels of biodiversity

Biomass Fuels: Socio-economic Issues

Low prestige is attached with traditional biomass fuels Biomass energy is viewed as a non-commercial rural energy source and not as a modern clean competitive energy source with potential for commercial possibilities Biomass densification Charcoal making Improved cooking stoves Biomass and biomass based fuels may be considered as technically mature, environmentally sound, economically viable and culturally acceptable options for modern energy development around the world Land availability and possible competition with food production is a major concern Bioenergy production can be complimentory to food production Degraded and abandoned lands can be used to establish environmentally sustainable biomass plantations

Biomass Fuels: socio-economic Issues (contd..)

For meeting all the present energy consumption needs from biomass 950 million hectares of land may be required in industrial countries and 365 million hectares in developing countries 12 ton/hec.yr. is assumed as productivity and 25% of the productivity will be used as biomass energy Arable land should be used in a balanced way for supporting a) Agriclutural and forestry production; b) Environmental preservation; c) Human and wildlife habitats and d) Biomass production Bioenergy will reduce dependence on fossil fuels and ensures energy security (more evenly distributed) through reducing dependence on imported oils and ensuring energy self sufficiency Bioenergy can stimulate rural development Prime concern should be distribution of wood fuels to people

Reasons for Growing Interest in Biomass

Rapid changes in the energy market worldwide, driven by privatisation, deregulation and decentralisation Greater recognition of current role and future potential of biomass as a modern energy resource and general interest in other renewables Its availability, versatility and sustainability Better understanding of its global and local environmental benefits and perceived potential role in climate stabilisation Existing and potential development and entrepreneurial opportunities Technological advances and knowledge evolved on many aspects of biomass energy and other RE

Factors that are Favouring Development of Biomass Energy

Growing concern with global climate change and firmly established support for RE
Growing recognition of the importance of biomass energy - World Bank supports energy policies that are as concerned about supply and use of biofuels as about modern fuels supports use biofuels more efficiently and sustainably"

Expected increases in energy demand and current rapid growth of RE

Global Environmental Facility (GEF) predicts demand of 5 million MW new power generation capacity in next 40 years in developing countries and most of it could be from RE Two billion people who lack reliable energy and have little prospect of connecting to grid, RE is among the best options

More and more countries are introducing policies in support of RE, with biomass energy playing a central role Environmental pressures will increase price of fossil fuels with internalization of costs RE will become comparable to fossil fuels Technology is evolving rapidly (advances in gasification, co-firing, biogas production, etc.) and biomass is finding growing number of modern applications (electricity generation, ethanol fuels blended with gasoline, biodiesel, etc.)

Fuels from Biomass

Biofuels Bioconversion of biomass into ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, biogas, etc., fuels Ethanol production: conversion of carbohydrate portion of biomass first into sugar and then into ethanol through fermentation Anaerobic digestion of biomass to produce biogas (Biomass decay to produce landfill gas or biogas) Hydrogen: photosynthetic activity of bacteria and green algae can produce hydrogen from water and sunlight Pyrolytic fuels (exposure of biomass to high temperature in the absence of air to obtain mixture of solid, liquid & gases fuels) Fuels from thermo-chemical and catalytic conversion of biomass: charcoal, methanol, fischer-tropsch diesel, etc. Charcoal through carbonization of biomass - 12-25% efficient, but in Brazil it is 30-35% efficient Methanol production through gasification of biomass into synthetic gas (CH4, H2 and CO) and catalytic conversion of methane of this gas into methanol Conversion of biomass into Fischer Tropsch diesel through using Fischer-Tropsch catalyst Bio-refineries fractionation of biomass into an array of products like sugars, cellulose fibers and lignin through use of solvents, acids and bases

Bio-fuels
Ethanol As fuel in the transportation activity Brazil and USA are pioneers Sugar cane and corn are used as raw materials Brazils alcohol production program was started in 1975 and peaked in late 1980s and showed decline in 1990s - at peak replaced 250,000 barrels/day of imported oil - 5 million vehicles on pure bio-ethanol and 9 million on 20-22% gasohol USA produced 5.3 billion liters of ethanol in 1994 and additional 0.9 billion liters capacity was under construction - gasohol sale amounts to 10% of the total fuel - future plans are to produce 9 billion liters in 2005 and 85 billion liters in 2030 Bio-diesel Vegetable oils combined with alcohol (ethanol or methanol) in the presence of a catalyst to form ethyl or methyl ester (biodiesel) animal fats, algae or recycled cooking greases can also be used Vegetable oil mixed with diesel can be used in special diesel engines as fuel; and trans-esterified plant oil mixed with diesel for normal diesel engines Austria produces 30,000 tons (supplies 5% of the diesel market); France 20,000 tons and Italy 60,000 tons of transesterified plant oils USA has a bio-diesel board and it uses B20 fuel (20% biodiesel/conventional diesel blend)

Bio-fuels (contd..)
Biogas (generated from treatment of animal manure and other organic wastes (agricultural residues & municipal solid wastes) Denmark Stands at forefront has 18 centralized large commercial plants producing 40-45 million m3/yr of biogas and consuming 1.2 million tons of biomass Total current annual biogas energy production was 2 PJ in 1996 - may rise to 4 PJ by 2000 and to 6 PJ by 2005 China Biogas production was 33 PJ in 1995 has 5.25 million household biogas plants and 600 large & medium biogas plants has 24,000 biogas purification digesters and 190 biogas based power plants of 3 GWh generation capacity India India has National Program of Biogas Development for providing clean cooking energy, producing enriched manure, improving quality of life of rural women, and improving sanitation and hygiene In 1993 there were 1.85 million household biogas plants against the potential for 12 million plants - 1.2 million of these were operational (!)

Wood Fuels Production (in 1999)

Region Production in 99 (x106 ton) Africa 6,499 (21.3%) 384.1 428.3 North America 5,493 (25.7%) 123.5 116.8 South America 8,742 (49.9%) 124.2 114.4 Asia 5,369 (21.1%) 684.4 656.0 Europe 10,392 (46.0%) 95.6 105.9 Middle East 110 (2.05%) 2.6 0.7 Oceania 2,011 (23.7%) 11.6 11.6 Total world 38,616 (29.6%) 1426.0 1433.7 India 641 (21.6%) 202.5 203.5 * Additional 1.7 billion hectares has tree or woody vegetation cover Forest area* in 99 (x103 km2) Production in 96 (x106 ton)

Wood Energy
Sources include forests, trees outside forests, residues from wood processing industries and recycled wood from society Worldwide in 1999 was 470 mtoe (1.4 billion ton) was consumed as fuel (about 50% of the total wood harvested) it amounts to 5% of the worlds total energy demand In 1996 world production of wood for energy was 1.4 billion tons - 0.3 billion tons of it was recycled wood Forests contain 440 billion oven-dry tons of woody biomass annual use as energy is about 0.3% of this stock (within the renewable limits) but in India 2.5% of the stock is used Considerable fraction of wood comes from non-forest sources in countries like, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Thailand & India - >50% is from non-forest sources) Energy plantations on waste lands using new genetic material for high productivities Forests in industrial countries are either stable or are showing slight increase, but in developing countries they are lost at the rate of 12 million hec./yr.

Consumption of Wood Fuels

Wood contributes 6-7% of global primary energy supply 3% in europe and North America 1.5% in industrial countries 2-3% in former soviet union 10-15% in the developing countries of Asia & Latin America 33% in africa (if South Africa, Egypt and Algeria are excluded its contribution is 60%) Worlds average per capita annual wood consumption is 0.1ton North America 0.25 Africa and Latin America 0.15 Asia Pacific 0.07 Wood is inconvenient fuel if put to traditional uses (inefficient and highly polluting) Wood is laborious and bulky to harvest, transport and store Wood use has tripled over the last 50 years Low income, unequal distribution of income and relatively low urbanization are found increasing reliance on wood Wood is used both as a necessity or as a luxury (in charcoal barbecues and traditional open log fires)

Consumption of Wood Fuels

Wood fuels Varies from region to region (depends on developmental stage and high for rural areas of developing countries) World per capita consumption is 0.3 to 0.4 m3/yr. (0.77 for Africa and 0.5 for certain Asian countries (Nepal, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia) Contribute 5% of the worlds total primary energy demand (40% for Africa 60-80% for certain countries; 10% for Latin America; 7% for Asia; 41% of the total inland primary energy supply for India; 1.2 and 1,4% for Europe and North America respectively) Consumption in some areas exceeds sustainable production (only 8.3% of total wood fuel supply in India) Share of wood fuels in the national energy balance is progressively decreasing, but increasing in absolute terms Charcoal Burns efficiently and easy for storage and transportation but production consumes 6m3 of wood fuel per ton Large scale industries use wood fuels in the form of charcoal (steel & alloy production in Brazil uses 6 million ton/yr.) Charcoal is preferred over wood fuel in and around urban areas

Consumption of Wood Fuels (contd..)

Household consumption
58% and 82% of the total rural household energy consumed in Pakistan and Philippines is from wood fuel In European Union, household consumption is 60% of the total wood fuel consumed; for Africa it is 86% (in sub-sharan countries it is 90 to 98%) Major household use of wood fuel is for cooking and water heating (in Indian urban households 86% is consumed for cooking and the rest for water heating)

Traditional industrial consumption

Mostly by rural industry, specially rural agro-based industry (amounts to 10-20% of the total wood fuel consumed in certain Asian countries)

Other Biomass Energy Resources

Municipal solid waste
Has disposal problems and contains different organic and inorganic components MSW can be sorted into biodegradable waste, plastic waste and metallic waste, but sorting is costly and difficult Biodegradable waste can be treated for biogas recovery and then converted into peat mass

Bagasse from sugar industry

World wide 200 million tons of bagasse was produced in 1995 In brazil cogeneration using bagasse as fuel represents 9000 MW (year round) if ethanol distilleries are also considered, after excluding internal consumption, sugar industrys energy generation capacity is 6000 MW Year round generation of power requires storage of bagasse India has 2800 to 5100 MW cogeneration potential in 1994 only 3 mills were generating 5 MW power in 1997 there were 16 mills with capacity to 56MW.

Miscellaneous
Modern biomass energy sources fuel wood crops; agricultural residues and wastes may contribute 4-8 billions in the next century and raise the share of biomass to 20% in the primary energy supply Improving efficiency Using in an environmentally sound manner and sustainable manner By 2010 power generation from straw, saw dust and bagasse in china will reach 300 MW Biomass gasification technologies are evolving - In 1990s there were 8-15 MW capacity plants; by 2000 the capacity will be 2030MW and by 2005 the capacity will be 50-80 MW Forestry residues from pulp & paper and timber industry Straw from agricultural fields