2 methods for obtaining energy from biomass

1. Methods for obtaining energy from biomass
Er. Arvind Kumar Verma, Senior Lecturer,Department of Mechanical
Engineering ,
Email: hod.dip.me@srmu.ac.in
Dr. N.C Sarcar, Director, Institute of Diploma Studies,
Email: director.diploma@srmu.ac.in
Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Barabanki, 225003

2. 1.0 Combustion
• The most obvious way of
extracting energy from
biomass, the technology of
direct combustion is well
u n d e r s t o o d ,
s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d a n d
commercially available.
Souce:https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-chemical-
reaction-of-burning-wood

3. • Combustion systems come
in a wide range of shapes
and sizes burning virtually
any kind of fuel, from
chicken manure and straw
b a l e s t o t r e e t r u n k s ,
municipal refuse and scrap
tyres.
https://genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/srawoodfuel.h
tml

4. • Some of the ways in which
heat from burning wastes
is currently used include
space and water heating,
industrial processing and
electricity generation.

5. • One problem with this method is its very low efficiency.
With an open fire most of the heat is wasted and is not
used to cook or whatever.
• One method of improving this in developing countries is
to build stoves out of mud and scrap iron.

6. 2.0 Pyrolysis
• Pyrolysis is a process of
chemically decomposing
organic materials at elevated
temperatures in the absence
of oxygen.
• The process typically occurs at
temperatures above 430 °C
(800 °F) and under pressure.
• It simultaneously involves the
change of physical phase and
chemical composition and is
an irreversible process. Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Pyrolysis-
Process-General-Layout_fig1_41058023

7. • A wide range of energy-rich fuels can be produced by
roasting dry woody matter like straw and woodchips.
• The process has been used for centuries to produce
charcoal.
• The material is pulverised or shredded then fed into a
reactor vessel and heated in the absence of air.
• In the absence of oxygen it goes through chemical and
physical separation into different molecules.
• The decomposition takes place thanks to the limited
thermal stability of chemical bonds of materials, which

8. • Pyrolysis is a thermochemical treatment, which can be
applied to any organic (carbon-based) product. It can be
done on pure products as well as mixtures.

9. 3.0 Anaerobic-Digestion
• Anaerobic Digestion is a
process by which organic
waste materials are
broken down by naturally
occurring bacteria in the
a b s e n c e o f o x y g e n .
Organic waste is the
technical term of plant
and animal material -
think food waste, cow
manure, energy crops,
sewage, etc.

10. • Biogas is produced when wet sewage sludge, animal dung
or green plants are allowed to decompose in a sealed tank
under anaerobic (oxygen-free) conditions.
• The digestion takes much longer.
• Each kilogram of organic material (dry weight) can be
expected to yield 450-500 litres of biogas.
• The residue left after digestion is a potentially valuable
fertilizer or compost.

11. 3.1 Fermentation:
• Fermentation is a natural
process.
• People applied fermentation
to make products such as
wine, mead, cheese and beer
long before the biochemical
process was understood.
• In the 1850s and 1860s, Louis
Pasteur became the first
scientist to study fermentation
w h e n h e d e m o n s t r a t e d
fermentation was caused by
living cells.
https://www.assignmentpoint.com/science/chemis
try/fermentation.html

12. • Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is produced by the fermentation of
sugar solution by natural yeasts. Suitable feed stocks
include crushed sugar beet and fruit.
• After about 30 hours of fermentation, the brew contains 6-
10 per cent alcohol, which can be removed by distillation
as a fuel.

13. What is yeast
• Yeast is a single-cell organism, called Saccharomyces
cerevisiae, which needs food, warmth, and moisture to
thrive. It converts its food—sugar and starch—through
fermentation, into carbon dioxide and alcohol. It's the
carbon dioxide that makes baked goods rise.
• Yeast is an egg-shaped single-cell fungus that is only
visible with a microscope. It takes 20,000,000,000 (twenty
billion) yeast cells to weigh one gram. To grow, yeast cells
digest food and this allows them to obtain energy.
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14. • When baking yeast-leavened bread, the yeast ferments
the sugars in the flour and releases carbon dioxide.
• Because the dough is elastic and stretchable, the carbon
dioxide cannot escape.
• The expanding gas causes the dough to inflate or rise.
Yeast is also an essential ingredient in brewing beer.
• The yeast eats the sugar in beer and produces carbon
dioxide and alcohol.
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17. References:
• https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-chemical-reaction-of-burning-wood
• https://genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/srawoodfuel.html
• https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Pyrolysis-Process-General-
Layout_fig1_41058023
• https://www.cleancoastresources.com/industry-resources/what-is-anaerobic-
digestion
• https://www.assignmentpoint.com/science/chemistry/fermentation.html
• https://youtu.be/pFg_X_Ywxro