Biomass is generated by sun through photosynthesis, wasteland, rain water and soil nutrients are too are available in India. Energy can be recovered from nonedible biomass and conversion methods are discussed here.

1. BIOMASS CONVERSION
METHODS
DIRECT COMBUSTION -
COGENERATION
GASIFICATION – PYROLYSIS -
BIOMETHANATION
FERMENTATION for ETHANOL-
TRANS-ESTERIFICATION-for
BIODIESEL

2. Energy Crisis: Remote Rural India
o Nearly 75% of the rural Indians depend
on bio-fuels (firewood, agricultural
residues, and cow dung-cake) for 80% of
their energy needs.
o Similarly 25 – 30% of the urban poor,
the slum dwellers depend heavily on bio-
fuels.
o Biomass is used as: People’s
purchasing power is low, & commercial
fuels: kerosene and LPG are not available
adequately.

3. Objectives of Bio-energy Program:
• Make bio-energy use environmentally
benign and economical for domestic
and rural applications.
• Use advanced techniques to
produce biomass renewably.
• Biomass is to be converted
efficiently into, useful gaseous,
liquid and processed solid fuels
as coal and oil substitute.

4. BIOMASS UTILIZATION

7. How is BIOMASS
COMBUSTION used?
• RURAL DOMESTIC: COOKING
• HEAT & STEAM: SMALL SCALE
• ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION:
• COGENERATION / COMBINED
CYCLE

8. GASIFICATION
• It is a thermochemical process involving
partial oxidation and thermochemical
decomposition of solid biomass yielding a
fuel called producer gas. The product can
be used for combustion or as energy source
in a dual fuel engine after purification. The
gasifier system has several components
like the thermal reactor, product cooler and
purifier and collector for storage.

9. PYROLYSIS
Thermal decomposition of woody biomass or
agri-residue in with insufficient oxygen to
cause partial oxidation (to provide the heat for
decomposition) is called pyrolysis. Depending
on the rate of heating, final temperature
reached, a mixture of gas, liquid and remaining
solid are the products that are useable as fuel
such as pyrolysis oil, producer gas and char.

10. FERMENTATION for ETHANOL
• Sweet sorghum or sugarcane molasses are
the sources of fermentable sugar to
produce ethanol which is a liquid biofuel
that can be used as gasohol (or blend with
petrol / gasoline). In future, technology for
ethanol from waste lignocellulosic biomass
may be developed. Where biomass is
plenty but gasoline depends on import, this
technology for ethanol is relevant.

11. To obtain biodiesel, the vegetable oil or
animal fat (FA _ Fatty Acid) is reacted with
an alcohol. The vegetable oil or fatty acid is
reacted in the presence of a catalyst (usually
a base) with an alcohol (usually methanol) to
give the corresponding alkyl esters (or for
methanol, the methyl esters) of the FA
mixture that is found in the parent vegetable
oil or animal fat. The product ester is like
diesel in properties and called biodiesel..
TRANS-ESTERIFICATION - for
BIODIESEL