UNIT-8

ENERGY FROM BIOMASS

Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms. It most often refers
to plants or plant-derived materials which are specifically called lignocellulosic biomass. As a
renewable energy source, biomass can either be used directly via combustion to produce heat, or
indirectly after converting it to various forms of biofuel. Conversion of biomass to biofuel can be
achieved by different methods which are broadly classified into: thermal, chemical, and
biochemical methods.
Benefits of Using Biomass
1) Biomass used as a fuel reduces need for fossil fuels for the production of heat, steam, and
electricity for residential, industrial and agricultural use.

2) Biomass is always available and can be produced as a renewable resource.

3) Biomass fuel from agriculture wastes maybe a secondary product that adds value to agricultural
crop.

4) Growing Biomass crops produce oxygen and use up carbon dioxide.

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5) The use of waste materials reduce landfill disposal and makes more space for everything else.
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6) Carbon Dioxide which is released when Biomass fuel is burned, is taken in by plants.
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7) Less money spent on foreign oil.

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Biofuels

A biofuel is a fuel that uses energy from a carbon fixation. These fuels are producedfrom living
organisms. Examples of this carbonfixation are plants and microalgae. These fuels are made from a
biomass conversion.
This biomass conversion‘s can being solid, liquid, or gas form. This new biomass can be used for
bio fuels. Bio fuels have increased in popularity because of the raising oil prices and need for
energy security.
Bio ethanol is an alcohol made by fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in sugar or
starch crops such as corn or sugarcane. Cellulosic, derived from non-food sources, such as trees and
grasses, is also being developed as a feedstock for ethanol production. Ethanol can be used as a fuel
for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane and
improve vehicle emissions.
Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils and animal fats. Biodiesel can be used as a fuel for vehicles in
its pure form, but it is usually used as adiesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon
monoxide, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats
using transesterification

Biopower m
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Biopower, or biomass power, is the use of biomass to generate electricity. Biopower system
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technologies include direct-firing, cofiring, gasification, pyrolysis, and anaerobic digestion.

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Most biopower plants use direct-fired systems. They burn bioenergy feedstocks directly to produce
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steam. This steam drives a turbine, which turns a generator that converts the power into electricity.
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In some biomass industries, the spent steam from the power plant is also used for manufacturing
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processes or to heat buildings. Such combined heat and power systems greatly increase overall
energy efficiency. Paper mills, the largest current producers of biomass power, generate electricity
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or process heat as part of the process for recovering pulping chemicals.

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Co-firing refers to mixing biomass with fossil fuels in conventional power plants. Coal-fired power
plants can use co-firing systems to significantly reduce emissions, especially sulfur dioxide
emissions. Gasification systems use high temperatures and an oxygen-starved environment to
convert biomass into synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The synthesis gas,
or "syngas," can then be chemically converted into other fuels or products, burned in a conventional
boiler, or used instead of natural gas in a gas turbine. Gas turbines are very much like jet engines,

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only they turn electric generators instead of propelling a jet. High-efficiency to begin with, they can
be made to operate in a "combined cycle," in which their exhaust gases are used to boil water for
steam, a second round of power generation, and even higher efficiency.

Using a similar thermochemical process but different conditions (totally excluding rather than
limiting oxygen, in a simplified sense) will pyrolyze biomass to a liquid rather than gasify it. As
with syngas, pyrolysis oil can be burned to generate electricity or used as a chemical source for
making fuels, plastics, adhesives, or other bioproducts.

Bio products
The processes are similar. The petrochemical industry breaks oil and natural gas down to base
chemicals and then builds desired products from them. Biochemical conversion technology breaks
biomass down to component sugars, and thermochemical conversion technology breaks biomass
down to carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Fermentation, chemical catalysis, and other processes can
then be used to create new products.
Bioproducts that can be made from sugars include antifreeze, plastics, glues, artificial sweeteners,
and gel for toothpaste. Bioproducts that can be made from carbon monoxide and hydrogen of
syngas include plastics and acids, which can be used to make photographic films, textiles, and
synthetic fabrics. Bioproducts that can be made from phenol, one possible extraction from pyrolysis
oil, include wood adhesives, molded plastic, and foam insulation.

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Photosynthesis
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Photosynthesis is the process by which plants, some bacteria, and some protistans use the energy
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from sunlight to produce sugar, which cellular respiration converts into ATP, the "fuel" used by all
living things. The conversion of unusable sunlight energy into usable chemical energy, is associated
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with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll. Most of the time, the photosynthetic process uses
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water and releases the oxygen that we absolutely must have to stay alive. Oh yes, we need the food
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as well!
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We can write the overall reaction of this process as:

6H2O + 6CO2 ----------> C6H12O6+ 6O2

six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six
molecules of oxygen

Photosynthetic Oxygen production

Photosynthesis is a two stage process. The first process is the Light Dependent Process (Light
Reactions), requires the direct energy of light to make energy carrier molecules that are used in the
second process. The Light Independent Process (or Dark Reactions) occurs when the products of the
Light Reaction are used to form C-C covalent bonds of carbohydrates. The Dark Reactions can
usually occur in the dark, if the energy carriers from the light process are present. Recent evidence
suggests that a major enzyme of the Dark Reaction is indirectly stimulated by light, thus the term
Dark Reaction is somewhat of a misnomer. The Light Reactions occur in the grana and the Dark
Reactions take place in the stroma of the chloroplasts.

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Light Reactions
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In the Light Dependent Processes (Light Reactions) light strikes chlorophyll a in such a way as to
excite electrons to a higher energy state. In a series of reactions the energy is converted (along an
electron transport process) into ATP and NADPH. Water is split in the process, releasing oxygen as
a by-product of the reaction. The ATP and NADPH are used to make C-C bonds in the Light
Independent Process (Dark Reactions).

Energy Plantation:

The need to grow Energy Plantations to meet fuel wood needs without affecting agricultural lands is
a pressing priority. Energy plantations on waste lands is one of the most economic and versatile
ways of harnessing solar energy through the photosynthetic process. In addition to making fuel
wood availability, it can also improve the fertility of degraded lands. Gujarat has over 67 lakh
hectares of wastelands (almost 10% of the 63 million hectares of waste land in the country) which

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could be productively used to grow energy plantations.GEDA had taken up energy plantation
programme in 1985-86 and continued till 1998-99 linking to energy supply, food & fodder, soil
regeneration, ecological development, and employment generation through efficient utilisation of
wasted, unproductive and neglected lands in Abdasa Taluka of Kutch District.

Decomposition process

The process of decomposition — the breakdown of raw organic materials to a finished compost —
is a gradual complex process, one in which both chemical and biological processes must occur in
order for organic matter to change into compost.

there are two processes that yield compost:

ANAEROBIC (without oxygen) decomposition.

AEROBIC (with oxygen) decomposition and stabilization.

In these processes, bacteria, fungi, molds, protozoa, actinomycetes, and other saprophytic organisms
feed upon decaying organic materials initially, while in the later stages of decomposition mites,
millipedes, centipedes, springtails, beetles and earthworms further breakdown and enrich the
composting materials. The organisms will vary in the pile due to temperature conditions, but the
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goal in composting is to create the most favorable environment possible for the desired organisms.
Differences between aerobic and anaerobic composting are discussed below.
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CLASSIFICATION OF BIO GAS PLANTS

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Fixed dome type of biogas plant

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Raw materials required

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Forms of biomass listed below may be used along with water.

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• Animal dung
•
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Poultry wastes
• Plant wastes ( Husk, grass, weeds etc.)
• Human excreta
• Industrial wastes(Saw dust, wastes from food processing industries)
• Domestic wastes (Vegetable peels, waste food materials)

Principle

Biogas is produced as a result of anaerobic decomposition of biomass in the presence of water.

Construction

The biogas plant is a brick and cement structure having the following five sections:
  Mixing tank present above the ground level.

 Inlet chamber: The mixing tank opens underground into a sloping inlet chamber.

Digester: The inlet chamber opens from below into the digester which is a huge tank with a dome like
ceiling. The ceiling of the digester has an outlet with a valve for the supply of biogas.
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  Outlet chamber: The digester opens from below into an outlet chamber.

Overflow tank: The outlet chamber opens from the top into a small over flow tank


Working


 The various forms of biomass are mixed with an equal quantity of water in the mixing tank. This
forms the slurry.
  The slurry is fed into the digester through the inlet chamber.

When the digester is partially filled 
with the slurry, the introduction of slurry is stopped and the plant
 is left unused for about two months.

 During these two months, anaerobic bacteria present in the slurry decomposes or ferments the
biomass in the presence of water.

 As a result ofanaerobic decomposition, biogas is formed, which starts collecting in the dome of
the digester.

 As more and more biogas starts  collecting, the pressure exerted by the biogas forces the spent
slurry into the outlet chamber.
  From the outlet chamber, the spent slurry overflows into the overflow tank.

 The spent slurry is manually removed from the overflow tank and used as manure for plants.

The gas valve connected to a system of pipelines is opened when a supply of biogas is required.

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Floating gas holder type of biogas plant
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The raw materials used and the principle involved are common to both the types of biogas plants.

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Construction
 
 The floating gas holder type of biogas plant has the following chambers/ sections:

 Mixing Tank - present above the ground level.

  underground well-like structure. It is divided into two chambers by a partition
Digester tank - Deep
wall in between.
  It has two long cement pipes:
i) Inlet pipe opening into the inlet chamber for introduction of slurry.
ii) Outlet pipe opening into the overflow tank for removal of spent slurry.


Gas holder - an inverted steel drum resting above the digester. The drum can move up and down
over the digester. The gas holder has an outlet at the top which could be connected to gas
i.e., float
stoves.
 
Over flow tank - Present above the ground level.

 Working
  Slurry (mixture of equal quantities of biomass and water) is prepared in the mixing tank.

 The prepared slurry is fed into the inlet chamber of the digester through the inlet pipe.

 The plant is left unused for about two months and introduction of more slurry is stopped.

During this period, anaerobic  fermentation of biomass takes place in the presence of water and


produces biogas in the digester. m
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 lighter rises up and starts collecting in the gas holder. The gas holder now starts
Biogas being
moving up.
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
 level. As more and more gas starts collecting, more
The gas holder cannot rise up beyond a certain
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pressure begins to be exerted on the slurry.

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
The spent slurry is now forced into the outlet chamber from the top of the inlet chamber.
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
When the outlet chamber gets filled with the spent slurry, the excess is forced out through the outlet
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 pipe into the overflow tank. This is later used as manure for plants.
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  The gas valve of the gas outlet is opened to get a supply of biogas.
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
 supply of gas can be ensured by regular removal
Once the production of biogas begins, a continuous
of spent slurry and introduction of fresh slurry.

Thermochemical conversion on biomass

There is increasing recognition that low-cost, high capacity processes for the conversion of biomass
into fuels and chemicals are essential for expanding the utilization of carbon neutral processes,
reducing dependency on fossil fuel resources, and increasing rural income. While much attention
has focused on the use of biomass to produce ethanol via fermentation, high capacity processes are
also required for the production of hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass.

Types of Gasifiers
Up draught or counter current gasifier

The oldest and simplest type of gasifier is the counter current or updraught gasifier shown
schematically in Fig

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Fig:Updraught or counter current gasifier

The air intake is at the bottom and the gas leaves at the top. Near the grate at the bottom
the combustion reactions occur, which are followed by reduction reactions somewhat higher up in
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the gasifier. In the upper part of the gasifier, heating and pyrolysis of the feedstock occur as a
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result of heat transfer by forced convection and radiation from the lower zones. The tars and
volatiles produced during this process will be carried in the gas stream. Ashes are removed from
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the bottom of the gasifier.

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The major advantages of this type of gasifier are its simplicity, high charcoal burn-out and
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internal heat exchange leading to low gas exit temperatures and high equipment efficiency, as well
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as the possibility of operation with many types of feedstock (sawdust, cereal hulls, etc.) .
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Major drawbacks result from the possibility of "channelling" in the equipment, which can
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lead to oxygen break-through and dangerous, explosive situations and the necessity to install
automatic moving grates, as well as from the problems associated with disposal of the tar-
containing condensates that result from the gas cleaning operations. The latter is of minor
importance if the gas is used for direct heat applications, in which case the tars are simply burnt.

Downdraught or co-current gasifiers

A solution to the problem of tar entrainment in the gas stream has been found by designing
co-current or downdraught gasifiers, in which primary gasification air is introduced at or above
the oxidation zone in the gasifier. The producer gas is removed at the bottom of the apparatus, so
that fuel and gas move in the same direction, as schematically shown in Fig.

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Fig: Downdraught or co-current gasifier

On their way down the acid and tarry distillation products from the fuel must pass through
a glowing bed of charcoal and therefore are converted into permanent gases hydrogen, carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane.
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Depending on the temperature of the hot zone and the residence time of the tarry vapours,
a more or less complete breakdown of the tars is achieved.
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The main advantage of downdraught gasifiers lies in the possibility of producing a tar-free
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gas suitable for engine applications.

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In practice, however, a tar-free gas is seldom if ever achieved over the whole operating
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range of the equipment: tar-free operating turn-down ratios of a factor 3 are considered standard; a
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factor 5-6 is considered excellent.

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Because of the lower level of organic components in the condensate, downdraught

gasifiers suffer less from environmental objections than updraught gasifiers.

A major drawback of downdraught equipment lies in its inability to operate on a number

of unprocessed fuels. In particular, fluffy, low density materials give rise to flow problems and
excessive pressure drop, and the solid fuel must be pelletized or briquetted before use.
Downdraught gasifiers also suffer from the problems associated with high ash content fuels
(slagging) to a larger extent than updraught gasifiers.

Minor drawbacks of the downdraught system, as compared to updraught, are somewhat

lower efficiency resulting from the lack of internal heat exchange as well as the lower heating
value of the gas. Besides this, the necessity to maintain uniform high temperatures over a given
cross-sectional area makes impractical the use of downdraught gasifiers in a power range above
about 350 kW (shaft power).

Cross-draught gasifier

Cross-draught gasifiers, schematically illustrated in Figure 2.9 are an adaptation for the use of
charcoal. Charcoal gasification results in very high temperatures (1500 °C and higher) in the

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oxidation zone which can lead to material problems. In cross draught gasifiers insulation against
these high temperatures is provided by the fuel (charcoal) itself.

Advantages of the system lie in the very small scale at which it can be operated.
Installations below 10 kW (shaft power) can under certain conditions be economically feasible.
The reason is the very simple gas-cleaning train (only a cyclone and a hot filter) which can be
employed when using this type of gasifier in conjunction with small engines.

A disadvantage of cross-draught gasifiers is their minimal tar-converting capabilities and

the consequent need for high quality (low volatile content) charcoal.

It is because of the uncertainty of charcoal quality that a number of charcoal gasifiers

employ the downdraught principle, in order to maintain at least a minimal tar-cracking capability.

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Fig:Cross draught gasifier

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Fluidized bed gasifier

The operation of both up and downdraught gasifiers is influenced by the morphological,

physical and chemical properties of the fuel. Problems commonly encountered are: lack of
bunkerflow, slagging and extreme pressure drop over the gasifier

A design approach aiming at the removal of the above difficulties is the fluidized bed
gasifier illustrated schematically in Fig

Air is blown through a bed of solid particles at a sufficient velocity to keep these in a state
of suspension. The bed is originally externally heated and the feedstock is introduced as soon as a
sufficiently high temperature is reached. The fuel particles are introduced at the bottom of the
reactor, very quickly mixed with the bed material and almost instantaneously heated up to the bed
temperature. As a result of this treatment the fuel is pyrolysed very fast, resulting in a component
mix with a relatively large amount of gaseous materials. Further gasification and tar-conversion
reactions occur in the gas phase. Most systems are equipped with an internal cyclone in order to
minimize char blow-out as much as possible. Ash particles are also carried over the top of the
reactor and have to be removed from the gas stream if the gas is used in engine applications.

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Fig ;Fluidized bed gasifier

The major advantages of fluidized bed gasifiers, as reported by Van der Aarsen (44) and
others, stem from their feedstock flexibility resulting from easy control of temperature, which can
be kept below the melting or fusion point of the ash (rice husks), and their ability to deal with
fluffy and fine grained materials (sawdust etc.) without the need of pre-processing. Problems with
feeding, instability of the bed and fly-ash sintering in the gas channels can occur with some
biomass fuels.

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Other drawbacks of the fluidized bed gasifier lie in the rather high tar content of the
product gas (up to 500 mg/m³ gas), the incomplete carbon burn-out, and poor response to load
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changes.
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Particularly because of the control equipment needed to cater for the latter difficulty, very
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small fluidized bed gasifiers are not foreseen and the application range must be tentatively set at
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above 500 kW (shaft power).

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