Briquette: The “Green Charcoal”

The “green charcoal” is one innovation from the existing materials that we have, now converted to produced energy essential for human’s everyday living. Charcoal doesn’t have to be black, it is also “green”, thus it is sustainable.

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For sustainable development, we can make charcoal “green”!

The General Systems Theory influences us that elements on earth from the simplest to the most complex one are interconnected. We are all part of a system-the environment. Barry Commoner, a scientist, politician and a publisher introduced the four laws of ecology; these say that everything is connected with everything else, everything must go somewhere, nature knows best there no such thing as a free lunch. These would only mean that our waste either biodegradable, non-biodegradable and or recyclable must go somewhere, sadly most of the time it goes back to our own backyards as we neglect the aspect of waste management and environmental protection.

Embracing these ideas we became aware of the emerging societal problems such as the improper waste management and sound recycling practices.

Moreover, environmental demise, poor waste management and lack of livelihood are, for years, been tormenting the…

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Industrial Biomass and the Full Life Cycle of Carbon Emissions

The scramble to meet that 2020 target is creating a new sort of energy business. In the past, electricity from wood was a small-scale waste-recycling operation: Scandinavian pulp and paper mills would have a power station nearby which burned branches and sawdust. Later came co-firing, a marginal change.

The Carbon Times Blog

Which source of renewable energy is most important to the European Union? Solar power, perhaps? (Europe has three-quarters of the world’s total installed capacity of solar photovoltaic energy.) Or wind? (Germany trebled its wind-power capacity in the past decade.) The answer is neither. By far the largest so-called renewable fuel used in Europe is wood.

In its various forms, from sticks to pellets to sawdust, wood (or to use its fashionable name, biomass) accounts for about half of Europe’s renewable-energy consumption. In some countries, such as Poland and Finland, wood meets more than 80% of renewable-energy demand. Even in Germany, home of the Energiewende (energy transformation) which has poured huge subsidies into wind and solar power, 38% of non-fossil fuel consumption comes from the stuff. After years in which European governments have boasted about their high-tech, low-carbon energy revolution, the main beneficiary seems to be the favoured fuel of pre-industrial…

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How is Biomass Fuel Used to Generate Heat and Power?

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Furthermore, the water productive strategy that Bamboo makes use of to develop and its ability to regenerate for biomass fuel an average of 25 several years ensures that management expenses are drastically lower producing a better opportunity for return.

Bamboo not only produces a very clear investment decision chance for people that are searching for high yielding environmentally helpful potential customers but also produces a cleaner area to dwell and a much better top quality of daily life for the earth as complete.

“Biomass” has turn out to be something of a buzzword in latest years but what precisely does it suggest? It means woody components or agricultural waste, (this kind of as rice hulls, sugar cane, or corn stalks), as properly as animal squander. These can be employed as fuels to create bioenergy. Biomass fuels are at the moment next only to water as a supply of renewable power…

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Biomass Cogeneration

Biomass conversion technologies transform a variety of wastes into heat, electricity and biofuels by employing a host of strategies. Conversion routes are generally thermochemical or biochemical, but may also include chemical and physical. Physical methods are frequently employed for size reduction of biomass wastes but may also be used to aggregate and densify small particles into pellets or briquettes.

A wide range of conversion technologies are under continuous development to produce biomass energy carriers for both small and large scale energy applications. Combustion is the most widely used technology that releases heat and can also generate power by using boilers and steam turbines. The simplest way is to burn the biomass in a furnace, exploiting the heat generated to produce steam in a boiler, which is then used to drive a steam turbine. At the smaller scale, biomass pellet and briquette combustion systems mainly used for domestic and industrial heat supply are experiencing growing demand in some countries due to their convenience.

Advanced technologies include biomass integrated gasification combined cycle (BIGCC) systems, co- firing (with coal or gas), pyrolysis and second generation Biofuels. Second generation Biofuels can make use of biochemical technologies to convert the cellulose to sugars which can be converted to bioethanol, biodiesel, dimethyl ester, hydrogen and chemical intermediates in large scale bio-refineries.

Biomass fuels are typically used most efficiently and beneficially when generating both power and heat through a Combined Heat and Power (or Cogeneration) system. A typical CHP system provides:

• Distributed generation of electrical and/or mechanical power.
• Waste-heat recovery for heating, cooling, or process applications.
• Seamless system integration for a variety of technologies, thermal applications, and fuel types into existing building infrastructure.

CHP systems consist of a number of individual components—prime mover (heat engine), generator, heat recovery, and electrical interconnection—configured into an integrated whole. The type of equipment that drives the overall system (i.e., the prime mover) typically identifies the CHP unit.

Prime movers for CHP units include reciprocating engines, combustion or gas turbines, steam turbines, microturbines, and fuel cells. These prime movers are capable of burning a variety of fuels, including natural gas, coal, oil, and alternative fuels to produce shaft power or mechanical energy.

A biomass-fueled Combined Heat and Power installation is an integrated power system comprised of three major components:

1. Biomass receiving and feedstock preparation.
2. Energy conversion – Conversion of the biomass into steam for direct combustion systems or into biogas for the gasification systems.
3. Power and heat production – Conversion of the steam or syngas or biogas into electric power and process steam or hot water

The lowest cost forms of biomass for generating electricity are residues. Residues are the organic byproducts of food, fiber, and forest production, such as sawdust, rice husks, wheat straw, corn stalks, and sugarcane bagasse. Forest residues and wood wastes represent a large potential resource for energy production and include forest residues, forest thinnings, and primary mill residues.  Energy crops are perennial grasses and trees grown through traditional agricultural practices that are produced primarily to be used as feedstocks for energy generation, e.g. hybrid poplars, hybrid willows, and switchgrass. Animal manure can be digested anaerobically to produce biogas in large agricultural farms and dairies.

To turn a biomass resource into productive heat and/or electricity requires a number of steps and considerations, most notably evaluating the availability of suitable biomass resources; determining the economics of collection, storage, and transportation; and evaluating available technology options for converting biomass into useful heat or electricity.

Advisory and Consulting Services in Waste-to-Energy and Biomass Energy

BioEnergy Consult is committed to the development of sustainable energy systems based on non-food biomass resources and different types of wastes. We provide a wide range of cost-effective services that are specially designed to your needs, be it determining project feasibility, evaluating risks, preparing business plans, designing training modules or arranging project finance.

Please visit http://www.bioenergyconsult.com for more information on our capabilities, and feel free to contact us. We shall be happy to offer assistance in the development of your waste-to-energy, waste management, biomass energy and sustainable development ventures.

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Email: info@bioenergyconsult.com

Cellulosic Ethanol Feedstock in India

In India, the leading biofuel feedstock today is sugarcane molasses, which is processed to yield bioethanol that can be blended into gasoline (petrol). Sugarcane requires good land and large amounts of irrigation water, which are difficult for the poor to obtain. The bioethanol industry buys its molasses feedstock from the sugar factories. Sugar is the main objective of the sugarcane industry; molasses are simply a byproduct. As such, the unreliability of supply of molasses is a major constraint to biofuels development based on this feedstock.

Even though India is an agrarian economy, the energy potential of agricultural residues has not been realized till now by policy-makers and masses. Most of the biomass wastes are inefficiently used for domestic purposes in absence of reliable and cheaper source of energy. The main crops produced in India are wheat, maize, rice, sorghum, sugarcane and barley. India is among the market leaders in the production of these crops and has tremendous potential to convert lignocellulosic crop residues into ethanol.

Socio-economic and Environmental Benefits of Waste-to-Energy

Waste-to-energy technologies hold the potential to create renewable energy from waste matter, including municipal solid waste, industrial waste, agricultural waste, and industrial byproducts. Besides recovery of substantial energy, these technologies can lead to a substantial reduction in the overall waste quantities requiring final disposal, which can be better managed for safe disposal in a controlled manner. Waste-to-energy systems can contribute substantially to GHG mitigation through both reductions of fossil carbon emissions and long-term storage of carbon in biomass wastes. Modern waste-to-energy systems options offer significant, cost-effective and perpetual opportunities for greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Additional benefits offered are employment creation in rural areas, reduction of a country’s dependency on imported energy carriers (and the related improvement of the balance of trade), better waste control, and potentially benign effects with regard to biodiversity, desertification, recreational value, etc. In summary, waste-to-energy can significantly contribute to sustainable development both in developed and less developed countries. Waste-to-energy is not only a solution to reduce the volume of waste that is and provide a supplemental energy source, but also yields a number of social benefits that cannot easily be quantified.

Waste-to-Energy Projects in India – Technical Issues

For self-sustaining combustion, there should be a heat content of at least 2500 kcal/kg (about 5000 Btu/lb). Usually below 1500 kcal/kg, it is not recommended for combustion. Indian MSW is infamous for its low heat content (770 to 1000 kcal/kg, on dry basis, sometimes as low as 600 kcal/kg), high moisture content (30 to 55 % by weight) and high inert contents (30 to 50 % by weight). It is a fact that Indian MSW is not directly suitable for incineration. Waste preparation is a must for incinerating Indian MSW. Waste should be dried; inerts removed and heat content improved to about 2500 kcal/kg.

In order to determine whether a thermal processing project is a feasible waste management alternative for any city, the following questions should be addressed:

• Is source-segregation practiced in the target area?
• Is the thermochemical technology approved by the MNRE and the CPCB?
• Is there a buyer for the energy (electricity/CHP) produced by the energy recovery facility?
• Is there strong political and public support for a WTE facility?
• Are there enough funds to establish state-of-the-art small modular gasification / pyrolysis plant?

Elements of successful Advanced Thermal WTE Project

• Waste segregation
• Waste receiving and storage capability
• Waste preparation plant
• Gasification/pyrolysis process
• Syngas treatment process
• CHP / Power generation

Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) from Municipal Solid Wastes

• Solid waste is a growing problem in all countries, and a critical problem in almost all the cities of the developing world. Developed countries have in recent years reduced the environmental impact of solid waste through sanitary landfills and high-temperature incineration, as well as conserving natural resources and energy through increased recycling, but the volume of waste generated in developing countries is rising astronomically. Very few cities have adequate solid waste collection and disposal systems, and the accumulating waste threatens health, damages the environment, and detracts from the quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to make use of all possible waste management technologies to arrest the degradation of environment and foster waste-to-energy technologies.
• Urban areas of Asia produce about 760,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day, or approximately 2.7 million m³ per day. In 2025, this figure will increase to 1.8 million tonnes of waste per day, or 5.2 million m³ per day. These estimates are conservative; the real values are probably more than double this amount. Most common method of disposing of wastes is to dump them in low-lying areas on the outskirts of towns which is very haphazard and unscientific. This has serious environmental impacts like water pollution, methane emissions, and soil degradation.
• The advantages of the refuse-derived fuel plant type are focused mainly on the relatively higher energy content of the RDF fuel, which originates from the pre-combustion separation processing.
• RDF plant employs mechanical processes to shred incoming MSW separating the non-combustibles in order to produce a high-energy fuel fraction and thus improved efficiency.
• One of the most appealing aspects of RDF is that it can be employed as a supplementary fuel in conventional boilers. Furthermore, RDF’s energy content is around half that of UK’s industrial coals and nearly two thirds that of low grade US coal.
• Pelletization scores over mass-burning, anaerobic digestion and composting because the pellets’ energy content is close to that of coal and can be substituted in local industry.
• A number of widely employed industrial and utility-scale coal utilisation technologies have the potential to co-utilise RDF and coal, such as large-scale pulverised coal-fired power plant boilers, cement kilns, fluidised bed or stoker-fired boilers, coal gasification plant
• Due to reduction in fuel particle size and reduction in non-combustible material, RDF fuels are more homogeneous and easier to burn than the MSW feedstock.
• RDF has been successfully burned in a variety of stoker boilers and in suspension as a stand-alone fuel in bubbling and circulating fluidized bed combustion technology boilers. It needs lower excess air and hence works at better efficiency. Also, handling is easier since non-combustibles have been already removed.
• In utilizing MSW through a pelletization process, additional tonnage of recyclables will be positively selected to take to that market, assisting the developing regions to work towards sustainable development goals, while positively selecting appropriate materials to mix with purchased high BTU materials in the production of the high BTU pellets, that can be used either to replace coal or coke in industrial processes.
• RDF is a much more uniform fuel than MSW with regard to fuel particle sizing and heating value resulting in a more efficient combustion process. In addition, a majority of the non-combustible material is removed from the RDF before the fuel is fed into the boiler which reduces the size of both the fuel and ash handling systems. These fuel characteristics result in a RDF boiler system which is generally less expensive than a mass-burn system, thereby offsetting the cost of the RDF processing equipment.
• It is much easier to transport and store fuel pellets to power plants or industries than raw MSW.
• Advanced thermal technologies like gasification, pyrolysis, and depolymerization are unattractive to developing countries due to their prohibitive costs.
• Technologies to control the release of air contaminants have improved substantially in the past decade and that, therefore, the releases from modern RDF plants are not high enough to have negative impacts on human health.
• Air emissions from incinerators should be compared with air emissions from other methods of generating energy. When such comparisons are made, it is found that natural gas power plants are the cleanest way to generate energy but that emissions from waste incinerators are equivalent to or less than the emissions from a coal or oil power plant.
• Incinerator proponents also assert that the health risks from exposure to the releases from a RDF power plant are substantially less than the risks from many other common activities.

Woody Biomass and Energy Conversion Efficiency

Every energy conversion system wastes a portion of its input energy. For biomass to electricity conversion systems, 50% or more of the energy input can be lost – even up to 90% for some small-scale and alternative technologies. However, the energy rejected from a conversion system can often be used productively for industrial or residential heating purposes in place of burning fuels separately for that purpose. When this is done the overall efficiency can jump to 75-80%. Most systems must reduce their electricity production somewhat to make cogeneration feasible.

Thermal applications are the most efficient conversion technology for turning woody biomass into energy and should be considered in the development of a national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Thermal applications for woody biomass can be up to 90% efficient, compared to 20% for electricity and 50-70% for bio-fuels. Thermal systems can be applied at multiple scales, and are often more economically viable, particularly in rural and remote areas, than electrical generation.

By not including thermal energy, one of the most efficient uses of woody biomass energy is put at a disadvantage to generating electricity and processing liquid bio-fuels. This runs counter to the goals of displacing fossil fuels, promoting energy efficiency, and minimizing carbon emissions.