Biomass Energy

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Biomass Energy
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Biomass Basics

• -Biomass fuels have the potential of providing
  4-25 of the United States energy needs
• -3.6 of United States Energy Consumption
  derived from Biomass Sources

Three major forms of biomass energy -Solid
Biomass (Wood, Incineration) -Liquid Fuel
(Ethanol, Biodiesel) -Gaseous Fuel (Landfills,
Methane)
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Biomass In Context

• US Energy Consumption
• 30 Petroleum
• 24 Natural Gas
• 23 Coal
• 8 Nuclear
• 7 Renewable Sources

US Renewable Energy Consumption - 46
Conventional Hydroelectric - 38 Wood -8
Waste -2 Geothermal -1 Alcohol Fuel -1
Solar -1 Wind
8 Waste (US Energy Information
Administration) Municipal solid waste, tall oil,
digester gas, liquid waste tall oil, waste
alcohol, medical waste paper pellets, sludge
waste, tires, agricultural byproducts sugar and
corn stalks, closed loop biomass, fish oil, straw
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Biomass Municipal Solid Waste Management
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Biomass Energy Landfill Methane

• - Landfill gas results from the decomposition
  of cellulose contained in municipal and
  industrial solid waste.

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Biomass Landfill Gas

• The efficiency of the process depends on the
  waste composition and moisture content of the
  landfill, cover material, temperature and other
  factors.
• 50 methane, 45 carbon dioxide and 5 other
  gases.
• The energy content of landfill gas is 400 to 550
  Btu per cubic foot.
• Capturing landfill gas before it escapes to the
  atmosphere allows for conversion to useful
  energy. A landfill must be at least 40 feet deep
  and have at least one million tons of waste in
  place for landfill gas collection and power
  production to be technically feasible.

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Landfill Gas

• Generation from municipal solid waste and
  landfill gas is projected to increase by nearly 9
  billion kilowatthours, to about 31 billion
  kilowatthours (0.5 percent of generation) in
  2025. No new waste-burning capacity is expected
  to be added in the forecast (US Energy
  Information Administration)

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Biomass In VA

• VA Energy Consumption Sources
• Nuclear 12
• Biomass 5
• Hydroelectric 1
• Petroleum 47
• Natural Gas 13
• Rewnewable- ?

EPA Landfill Incentive Program http//www.epa.gov
/lmop/
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McNeil Emissions
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Environmental Advantages

• Burning municipal waste decreases the amount of
  space needed for landfills
• Using a variety of crops reduces soil loss,
  improves water quality, and creates better
  habitat for wildlife
• Emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides are low

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Environmental Disadvantages

• Emissions of carbon monoxide and carcinogenic
  particulates are higher than those from oil and
  gas
• Air quality problems in United States
• Ash produced from biomass burning contains
  concentrated amounts of pollutants creating
  disposal issues

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Economic Advantages

• Reduces dependence on fossil fuels, which reduces
  the money spent on importing fuel
• Possible increased job growth in new energy and
  environmental technologies
• Boost to rural economies creates a varied crop
  basis and reduces federal subsidies for farming

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Economic Disadvantages

• Large amount of land needed to support crops.
  This will decrease the amount of land available
  for
• Raising cattle
• Further development projects
• Transporting costs for areas that cannot produce
  crops year round.

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Should Food Be Used For Fuel?

• Energy and Food Production in Developing
  Countries
• Average dietary intake in the world is 2100
  kcal/day with 40 g of protein (primarily from
  plants such as grains and legumes)
• Use three to four times less energy for food
  production per person than the United States.
• Most energy goes into harvesting and gathering
  firewood (human power).
• Human power is less economical - if all
  operations are done by hand, one farmer can
  manage about 1 hectare

• Energy and Food Production in The
• United States
• In the United States the average diet is 3300
  kcal/day with 100 g of protein (primarily from
  animal products)
• Half of all feed used for livestock could be used
  for human consumption more than 90 of U.S corn
  crops are used to feed cattle. 25 million tons of
  plant protein per year are fed to animals to
  produce 6 million tons of animal protein.
• One half of the food energy input goes into
  tractors and other machines. Only 1 of energy is
  provided by humans and animals.
• Modern farms are more economical to run - one
  farmer can manage 100 hectare for grain
  production.

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Decreasing Fuel and Increasing Demand For Food

• As the worlds population grows, the demand
  for food, and therefore the demand for fossil
  fuel use increases as well.
• - An easy way to increase the food supply
  without dramatically increasing energy
  consumption is to reduce the intake of animal
  protein.
• - The United States use about 600 kg of grain
  products to produce about 115 kg of animal foods
  per year per person.
• - Developing countries use about 180 kg of
  grain products per year per person are
  consumed.
• - If the United States did not feed that 600 kg
  to animals, 83 million more people in
  developing countries could be fed at their
  current consumption rate.
• - If plant products are used directly for food
  for humans, there will also be more available
  for fuel.

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Biomass in the News

• March 18, 2004 The Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp.
  processing factoring in Hawaii will add a new
  power plant next year to burn macadamia nut
  shells as a means to produce electricity. Plant
  will cost 12 to 15 million to build and will
  produce 1.2 megawatts of electricity. This is
  enough to power the entire nut processing and
  packaging plant will be operating by the end of
  2005. (From the Honolulu Advertiser)
• March 8, 2004 The New Hampshire Public Utilities
  Commission has given and order approving a plan
  to replace a coal-burning boiler with a
  wood-burning boiler at Public Service of New
  Hampshire's Schiller Station in Portsmouth. (From
  SolarAccess.com)
• February 19, 2004 Biomass research is
  increasing the Energy Department will spend 110
  million this year to promote bioproduct research.
  Plant- based materials could potentially create
  less pollution and fewer toxic byproducts than
  petroleum substitutes. (From The Kansas City
  Star)

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Biomass Information Sources

• The American Bioenergy Association
  www.biomass.org This group advocates for expanded
  biomass research, and an expansion in the
  production of power, transportation fuels and
  chemicals from biomass.
• The Department of Energys Biomass Program
  www.eere.energy.gov/biomass.html They are
  bringing you a prosperous future where energy is
  clean, abundant, reliable, and affordable.
• Biomass Energy Research Association www.
  bera1.org This is an association of biofuels
  researchers, companies and advocates that promote
  the education and research on renewable biomass
  energy and waste-to-energy systems.
• National BioEnergy Industries Association
  www.bioenergy.org This is a technical site with
  the purpose of improving the environment and
  offering the best engineering solutions in the
  Biomass sector, especially in the form of wood
  burning boilers.