Biomass is a renewable energy source derived from biological material like plants and wood. It has the potential to reduce global warming if generated sustainably without degrading the environment. Biomass can be used directly for heat or converted to biofuels and used to generate electricity through processes like direct combustion, co-firing with coal, or gasification. South Africa is developing biomass projects from sugar cane to help address electricity shortages and create jobs. EES has experience managing renewable energy projects including biomass and can fulfill roles in construction management, engineering, and project management.

1. WHITEPAPER
BIOMASS – A CRUCIAL RENEWABLE ENERGY
SOURCE IF GENERATED CORRECTLY
By Rodrigue Kamba [Eng; Nat. Dip. (Eng)], Project Engineer, EES Africa (Pty) Ltd
The challenge ahead of us is to ensure that biomass energy is produced in ways that not only
reduce global warming, but also protect the environment thus making it sustainable. It is also
important to ensure costs are kept down during its production. Biomass energy should in fact
do a better job than fossil fuels.

2. CONTENTS
Page 2 Introduction
Page 2 Biomass Renewable Energy
Page 2 Use of Biomass Energy
Page 2 Advantages of Biomass Over Fossil Fuel
Page 2 Electricity Generation Process from Biomass Energy
Page 3 Side Effects
Page 3 Developments in South Africa
Page 3 EES and Biomass
Page 3 Summary and Conclusion
Page 3 Electricity Generation Drawing
ABOUT EES:
Established in 2001, EES Africa (Pty) Ltd specialises in the integration of multiple
system infrastructure including ICT, Data Centres, Audio Visual, Life Safety, Security
and Building Automation Systems. As an ISO 9001:2008 certifi ed company, our
vision is to be Africa’s management, engineering and auditing professional service
provider of choice.
The EES Value Proposition focuses on translating technology into tangible delivera-bles
for clients through the experience of a talented team of Engineering and ICT
Consultants and Project Managers. With offi ces in Cape Town, Johannesburg and
Stellenbosch, EES operates predominantly in the Renewable Energy, Oil & Gas, Fi-nancial
Services, Infrastructure, Utilities, Telecoms and Mining sectors.
EES Cape Town offi ce:
G11 Silverberg Terrace
3 Silverwood Close
Steenberg Offi ce Park
Cape Town 7945
PO Box 31322, Tokai 7966
Western Cape, South Africa
Email: info@eeslive.com
Tel: +27 (0)21 702 8340
Fax: +27 (0) 86 532 3532
EES Johannesburg offi ce:
Unit 8, West Block Loft Offi ces,
First Floor, The Zone Phase II,
26 Cradock Avenue, Rosebank, 2186
PO Box 31322, Tokai 7966
Western Cape, South Africa
Email: info@eeslive.com
Tel: +27 (0)10 590 6270
Fax: +27 (0) 86 532 3532
EES Stellenbosch offi ce:
18 Tegno Road
Techno Park
Stellenbosch 7599
PO Box 31322, Tokai 7966
Western Cape, South Africa
Email: info@eeslive.com
Tel: +27 (0)21 200 5939
Fax: +27 (0) 86 532 3532
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3. BIOMASS – A CRUCIAL RENEWABLE ENERGY
SOURCE IF GENERATED CORRECTLY
Introduction
Biomass is a renewable energy source derived from bio-logical
material, such as plants, wood and farming by-products.
As an energy source, it can be used directly via
combustion to produce heat, or indirectly after convert-ing
it to various forms of biofuel.
Biomass energy has a dual effect, depending on where
and how it is produced. If generated correctly it can be
produced in ways that reduce global warming, as op-posed
to increasing it. It can help clean up the air, water,
soil, and protect wildlife, or it can degrade lands, forests,
water, and harm public health.
The challenge ahead of us is to ensure that biomass
energy is produced in ways that not only reduce global
warming, but also protect the environment thus making
it sustainable. It is also important to ensure costs are kept
down during its production. Biomass energy should in
fact do a better job than fossil fuels.
Biomass Renewable Energy
The use of renewable energy sources is becoming ex-tremely
necessary, if the world is to achieve the changes
required to address the impacts of global warming. Bi-omass
is a form of renewable energy that comes from
plants, forest residues (such as dead trees, branches and
tree stumps), municipal solid waste, corn kernels, soy-beans,
agricultural leftovers (such as rice husks), pressed
sugar cane, wood chips, straw, and plant material. It is
derived from the reaction between carbon dioxide in the
air, water and sunlight, via photosynthesis, to produce
carbohydrates that form the building blocks of biomass.
Photosynthesis converts less than 1% of the available
sunlight to stored chemical energy. Plants capture and
store the sun’s energy as they grow. Virtually all the en-ergy
available for life in the earth’s biosphere, the zone in
which life can exist, is made available through photosyn-thesis.
The energy from the sun driving photosynthesis
is stored in the chemical bonds of the structural compo-nents
of biomass.
When biomass is processed correctly, the procedure is
as follows: It is done either chemically or biologically by
extracting the energy stored in the chemical bonds. The
subsequent “energy” product combines with oxygen,
and carbon is oxidized to produce carbon dioxide and
water. The process is cyclical, as the carbon dioxide is
then available to produce new biomass.
Use of Biomass Energy
Biomass energy can be used to produce heat and elec-tricity
to power the world, as discussed in detail under
‘Electricity generation process from biomass energy’.
Another important use is production of liquid biofuels
that serve as alternatives to oil or transport fuel. Corn
and sugar cane can be fermented to produce the trans-portation
fuel, ethanol. Biodiesel, another transportation
fuel, can be produced from left-over food products like
vegetable oils, and animal fats.
It can also be used to make chemical feedstock, and can
be converted to other usable forms of energy like meth-ane
gas.
May 2014
Only biomass that is carefully chosen, responsibly grown, and effi ciently
converted into energy can reduce carbon pollution and minimize harmful
impacts to land, water, and soil.
Advantages of Biomass Over Fossil Fuel
Biomass does release carbon dioxide but captures carbon dioxide for its own
growth. However carbon dioxide released by fossil fuel, which is formed by
natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organ-isms,
is released into the atmosphere and is harmful to the environment.
Biomass products are abundant and renewable. Since they come from liv-ing
sources, and life is cyclical, these products never run out, as long as
there is something living on earth and there is someone there to “turn”
that living thing. Effi cient growth thereof is critical not to negatively affect
water usage or contribute to food shortages.
Another benefi t of this energy is that it can take waste that is harmful to
the environment and turn it into something useful. For example, garbage
as landfi ll can at least be partially burned to create usable biomass energy.
Burning new biomass contributes no new carbon dioxide to the atmos-phere.
This is because replanting harvested biomass ensures that carbon
dioxide is absorbed and returned for a cycle of new growth. Burning fossil
fuels on the other hand uses “old” biomass and converts it into “new”
carbon dioxide, which contributes to the “greenhouse” effect and depletes
a non-renewable resource.
Electricity Generation Process from Biomass Energy
There are many ways to generate electricity from biomass, which include di-rect
combustion, co-fi ring and gasifi cation. Biomass can be burned directly,
or converted into a gas or oil, to generate electricity (biopower) and heat.
The simplest, and oldest, way of generating electricity from biomass is
known as direct combustion. Direct combustion (“direct-fi red”) burns bio-mass
in boilers to produce high pressure steam. This steam turns a turbine
connected to a generator, causing the turbine to rotate, and electricity is
produced. Most of the world’s biomass power plants use direct combustion.
In some cases the steam from the plants is also captured to heat water and
buildings, these are known as cogeneration facilities. Although this tech-nology
is dependable and proven its effi ciency is limited. Direct combustion
systems typically have thermal effi ciencies around 20%, and these effi cien-cies
can be increased through cogeneration.
Co-fi ring involves burning biomass along with coal in traditional power
plant boilers. This is considered to be one of the most economic ways to
produce electricity from biomass, because existing power plant equipments
can be used without major modifi cations.
New gasifi cation technologies have been developed to covert biomass into
a useful energy source. This operates by heating solid biomass at high tem-peratures
in an oxygen-deprived environment to produce a fuel gas which
contains between one fi fth and one half the heat content of natural gas.
This gas can be used to drive highly effi cient combined cycle systems to
generate electricity.
Gasifi cation offers some advantages over direct combustion. Gasifying
biomass to produce electricity is twice as effi cient as burning it directly,
and results in lower emissions of particulate matter and greenhouse gases.
Gasifi cation systems can also be combined with fuel cell systems which
convert hydrogen gas to electricity and heat.
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4. May 2014
BIOMASS – A CRUCIAL RENEWABLE ENERGY
SOURCE IF GENERATED CORRECTLY
Side Effects
Besides the above advantages of biomass, there are also
some downsides to it. Firstly it is expensive to generate
energy from biomass. Living things are expensive to care
for, feed, and house, all of which have to be considered
when trying to use waste products. Biomasses can be
harmful if they are not used properly and effi ciently. Us-ing
trees and tree products to power machines comes
with its own set of challenges. Not only it takes a lot
more fuel to do the same job as using conventional fuels,
but it can also create environmental problems.
Developments in South Africa
South Africa’s sugar industry has proposed that R20.4
billion ($2.1 billion) be invested in 15 cane-fueled power
projects to help address electricity shortages in one of the
continent’s largest economies. The projects could create
as many as 712 MW of capacity and 37 786 jobs. South
Africa’s 26 600 sugar farmers produce about 2.2 million
metric tons of the sweetener a year, earning revenue of
about R12 billion, the industry association’s data show.
The country has 14 sugar mills that produce suffi cient
power to meet their own needs.
An Italian company which develops energy has been
named preferred bidder for a 17.5 MW biomass plant in
EES and Biomass
EES has a proven track record for project managing several large scale
projects, including renewable energy power stations. The company can
fulfi ll the role of Project Managers for the entire project, ensuring best
practices in construction management and quality management systems
are applied. EES also fulfi lls the role of Consulting Engineer for the balance
of plant.
Summary and Conclusion
The use of renewable energy is vital to help overcome global warming and
ensure a sustainable future. Biomass is a form of renewable energy that
comes from plants and wood. It is derived from the reaction between car-bon
dioxide in the air, water and sunlight, via photosynthesis.
A key use is the production of heat and electricity, and there are many
ways to generate electricity form biomass. These include direct combus-tion,
co-fi ring and gasifi cation.
Biomass has a signifi cant role to play in renewable energy generation and
overcoming global warming. The primary challenge ahead is to ensure
that biomass energy is generated and produced correctly in ways that en-hance
and protect the environment making it sustainable for generations
to come.
Electricity Generation Drawing
Drawing Design by: Rodrigue Kamba
South Africa. The facility was the only biomass scheme
selected under the third round of the South African gov-ernment’s
Renewable Energy Independent Power Pro-ducers
Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and construc-tion
is expected to commence in July 2014.
Written by Rodrigue Kamba
Project Engineer, EES Africa (Pty) Ltd
Tel +27 (0)21 200 5939,
Email info@eeslive.com
Rodrigue obtained his National Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Cape Peninsula
University of Technology in Cape Town. He has experience in designing and manufacturing high
voltage transformers up to 10 MVA and switchboards as well as drawing and wiring of electrical
panels. He joined EES in May 2014 as a Project Engineer.
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