Usage of biomass for energy

1. Usage of
Biomass for
energy
S K Singh
Centre for Energy Studies, IIT
Delhi

2. What to expect from this presentation?
 Basics
 What is Biomass?
 Formation and composition of Biomass
 Introduction
 Why Biomass?
 Utilization of Biomass For Energy
 What is 1 Btu (British Thermal Unit)
 How much Biomass is used for energy?
 Supply Chain
 Scenarios
 Indian Scenario
 Global Scenario
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3. What is Biomass?
Biomass is plant or animal material used as fuel to
produce electricity or heat.
Any
organic
matter
availabl
e on
Example:
plants,
wood,
wood
residues,
agricultu
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4. Formation and Composition
Stored chemical energy from the
sun.
Plants produce Biomass through
the process of Photosynthesis.
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CO2 H2
O
Sunlight
(Light
Energy)
Biomass O2
Car
bon Hydr
ogen
Oxyg
en
Nitr
oge
n
Sulfu
r
Mois
ture
Ash

5. Why Biomass?
 less expensive than fossil fuels
 Sustainable Development
 Important role in reducing greenhouse
gas emissions.
 renewable source of energy
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6. Utilization of Biomass For Energy
we can get biomass from following sources
Biodiesel Corn stover Yard Waste
Crop residues Switchgrass Manure
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7. 1 British Thermal Unit (Btu)
 Unit of heat.
 Amount of Heat given to
raise the temperature of 1
pound of water by 1 degree
Fahrenheit
 1 BTU = 1055 Joules
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8. How much and where? 8
 Industrial: 2451 TBtu (49%)
 Transportation: 1410 Tbtu (28%)
 Residential: 529 TBtu (11%)
 Electric Power: 448 TBtu (9%)
 Commercial: 146 TBtu (3%)
United States, 2019
% share of total US
Biomass Energy by
consuming sector in
2019

9. Biomass Supply Chain 9
Field
Prepar
ation
Cultiv
ation
Harve
sting
Storag
e
Field/For
est
transport
Road
transport
Biomass
utilization
at the
Production
station
Harvest
Operatio
ns
Transp
ort
Storag
e

10. Biomass Harvest 10
Problems:
Seasonal Availability
of Biomass
Crop Harvest
period
Weather
conditions
Replanting of
fields and forests
Seasonal need for
resources,
equipment and
workforce
Increase in
cost of
obtaining
these
resources

11. Solutions
 From Primary or Secondary harvest of
residues of wastes.
 Carried out in forests, agricultural fields or at
industrial processing centres.
 Use of multiple feed stocks with different
harvest periods
 (Demirbas MF, 2009
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12. Transport
Factors favoring road transport
• Short distances in the biomass
industry,
• Greater Flexibility
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Factors affecting suitability
• Average transport distance
• Biomass density
• Load capacity
• Speed of Vehicles
• Availability of Vehicles
Capacity is limited
in volume rather
than in load weight
Low biomass
density further
increases costs
Improvements in
handling
efficiency and
transportability
Densification
(i.e.
bundling)

13. Storage
 Critical Component of logistics chain
 Objective: Minimise the cost of storage
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Risks:
• Degradation of the
quality of the
biomass
• Dry matter losses of
the same.
• Safety and Health
Solutions:
• Choice of the storage
system and the storage
time of the biomass
• Common procedure to
leave the waste from
forestry operations at

14. 14
Scenarios

15. Indian Scenario
 Important for remote villages and urban clusters with
decentralized settlements
 An annual investment of $9251 every year. -> electricity
generation of 5000 million units.
 Current Scenario:
 32% of total primary energy used is derived from Biomass
 More than 70% of country’s population depends upon
biomass
 Around ~5+ GW capacity biomass Powered plants
 Potential of about 18 GW of energy from Biomass
 Achieve 10GW of installed biomass Power by 2022
15
Biomass Energy in India. Retrieved from https://indien.um.dk/en/innovation/sector-updates/renewable-
energy/biomass-energy-in-
india/#:~:text=India%20has%20a%20potential%20of,biomass%20for%20its%20energy%20needs.

16. Highly Competitive Market 16
https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/india-biomass-market.html

17. Global Scenario
 Contributing to more than 14% of the global energy supply.
 About 38% of such energy is consumed in developing countries,
primarily in the rural and traditional sectors of the economy
 In 2009, biomass production contributed 3.9 quadrillion Btu of
energy to the 73.1 quadrillion Btu of energy produced in the
United States or about 5.3% of total energy production.
 In terms of energy content, the total annual production of biomass
is estimated at 2,740 Quads (1016 Btu)
 Biomass production is about eight times the total annual world
consumption of energy from all sources
 At present the world population uses only about 7% of the annual
production of biomass
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18. Usage Of Biomass For Energy
 Biomass is the only renewable energy source that can
be converted into liquid biofuels such as ethanol and
biodiesel. Biofuel is used to power vehicles, and
is being produced by gasification in countries such as
Sweden, Austria, and the United States
 Some examples of biomass fuels are wood, crops,
manure, and some garbage. When burned, the
chemical energy in biomass is released as heat.
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19. Usage Of Biomass For Energy
 use of biomass fuels for transportation and for
electricity
 common form of biomass is wood. For
thousands of years people have burned wood
for heating and cooking.
 "Biofuels" are transportation fuels like ethanol
and biodiesel
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20. BIOMASS PYROLYSIS
 Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of biomass
occurring in the absence of oxygen.
 precursor of both the combustion and gasification
processes
 occurs naturally in the first two seconds
 The products of biomass pyrolysis include biochar,
bio-oil and gases including methane, hydrogen,
carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide.
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21. Why BIOMASS PYROLYSIS
Pyrolysis offers a flexible and attractive
way of converting solid biomass into an
easily stored and transported liquid,
which can be successfully used for the
production of heat, power and chemicals
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22. Pyrolysis offers a flexible and attractive way of converting solid
biomass into an easily stored and transported liquid, which can be
successfully used for the production of heat, power and chemicals
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23. Uses of Bio-Oil
 higher density than woody materials which
reduces storage and transport costs
 bio-oil can offer major advantages over solid
biomass and gasification due to the ease of
handling, storage and combustion in an
existing power station
 cheaper to transport and store
 attractive for co-firing
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24. Thank you!
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