Renewable%20Energy-Biomass

1
Renewable Energy-Biomass

• Paul and Chetta

2
Biomass

• The term biomass refers to any form of plant or
  animal tissue. In the energy industry, biomass
  refers to wood, straw, biological waste, such as
  manure, and any other nature materials that
  contain stored energy (www.re-energy.ca)

3
Biomass-Energy

• The energy stored in biomass can be released by
  burning the material directly, or by feeding it
  to micro-organisms that use it to make biogas, a
  form of natural gas.(www.re-energy.ca)

4
Biomass-USA
5
Biomass-Govt

• Any solid non-hazardous cellulosic waste material
  which is segregated from other waste materials
  and which is delivered from (A) forest-related
  resources, (B) solid waste materials, and (C)
  agricultural sources.

6
Energy Policy

• Federal Govt. projections of renewable
• 2005-07 Not less than 3
• 2008-10 Not less than 5
• 2011- Not less than 7.5
• Grants Program Payment will not exceed 20 per
  ton
• 75M annually for spending on Biomass/Biofuels
• Projects U. of TN- Switch grass (1M)
• IO State clean energy gasification from switch
  grass (250K)
• MI soybean biodiesel (300K)
• NE soybean oil for biodiesel (500K)

7
Biomass-Biofuels

• Converting biomass into liquid fuels for
  transportation

8
Biomass-Biopower

• Burning biomass directly, or converting it into
  fuel or, to generate electricity

9
Biomass-Bioproducts

• Converting biomass into chemicals for making
  products that are made from petroleum

10
Agricultural Crops

• Cane, corn, wheat, sorghum and vegetable
  oil-bearing crops
• Liquid fuel sources
• either as ethanol or biodiesel
• Residues- rice husk, sugar cane fiber, coconut
  husks, groundnut shells, straw

11
Ethanol

• Used to produce Gasohol
• Made from Corn or Sugar cane
• Currently used widely in the Midwest and South
• 10 ethanol and 90 gasoline
• New technologies are using switch grass and
  willow, more efficient

12
Animal Waste

• Most common are manures from pigs, chickens and
  cattle (feed lots)
• Convert waste via anaerobic digestion into biogas

13
Forestry crops

• Fast-growing and coppicing
• Residues are generated by thinning , clearing
  for roads, extracting stem wood for pulp and
  timber, sawdust, off-cuts, bark and woodchip

14
Industrial waste

• Solid waste-peelings from fruits and veggies,
  substandard food, filter sludge's and coffee
  grounds
• Liquid waste-washing meats, fruits and veggies
  pre-cooking, wine making

15
Municipal waste

• Millions of ton(s) into landfills
• Converted into energy by direct combustion or
  anaerobic digestion, with gas collected from the
  stored material
• Sewage-Biogas production

16
Anaerobic Digestion

• Decomposition of wet and green biomass thru
  bacterial action w/o oxygen
• Mixed gas output of methane and carbon dioxide
• Pipeline distribution

• Biogas is produced using animal manure
• Can be burnt directly for cooking or heating or
  used as fuel in combustion engines

17
Methane
18
Benefits

• Renewable that does not contribute to global
  warming-recycled in next generation of trees
• Negligible sulphur content
• Conversion of agricultural, forestry, municipal
  waste reduced landfill

• The growing of trees and plants remove carbon
  dioxide during photosynthesis and store carbon
• Fast growing trees recycle carbon rapidly
• Energy crops provide dual purpose of soil
  protection, drought and habitat

19
Benefits-Economically

• New technologies to create ethanol from switch
  grass and willow trees
• Farmers profit
• Marginal lands can be used
• Domestic resource
• Job increase
• Byproducts can be used as animal feeds,
  fertilizer and soil amendments

• Local energy for communities
• Biogas from landfills

20
Problems

• Biomass has low energy density-transportation
• Incomplete combustion-localized air pollution
• Biomass-combustion-pollution
• Deforestation
• Conflict of land use for other uses,-farming
• Not fully competitive
• Takes energy to make energy

• Exotics
• Increased need for pesticides and fertilizers
• While landfill space is saved, may destroy
  resources that could be recycled or reused
• Waste products, wood, tires, sewage can contain
  contaminants

21
Problems-Economically

• Ethanol production is viable with federal tax
  subsidies
• Growing corn for ethanol has high production
  costs and impacts from fertilizers, pesticides
  and fuels
• Conversion efficiency low
• Short term production cost high, cheaper in the
  long-term

• Biomass is not free-labor, equipment, fuel costs
• Landfill methane technologies are perceived to
  have high risk (DOE)

22
Biomass Use

• 3 of primary energy in industrialized countries
• Developing countries, especially rural areas use
  50 of traditional biomass (wood)

23
Future within Biomass

• Strategies must be different in different
  geographical areas determined by land quality,
  land uses, competing uses and the areas demands
  for energy.

24
Future

• Several Indian tribes, BLM and Forest Service
  are developing small biomass energy systems as
  healthy forest initiative
• Biodiesel is cleaner alternative
• DOE sponsoring efforts to increase conversion
  efficiencies
• Gasifier technology being used in HI to produce
  hydrogen from biomass (Bagasse, nutshells, sugar
  cane, switch grass)

• Direct combustion within boilers to produce
  energy
• 40 million vehicles run on alcohol in Brazil
• Monsanto and Shell have teamed to produce
  genetically modified, rapid growing trees
• Biomass accounts for 1.6 of total US electricity

25

• Should anything that creates pollution in order
  to create energy be considered green, clean or
  renewable?