Analysis of Biomass and Biofuels

as source of energy
Guests on today’s show

With your favorite host K. Vaideesh Subbaraj

Vignesh Sridharan Shivendra Upadhyay
M. Vishwanath
 Technology
and
Environmental Impact
of
Biomass & Biofuels
Technology
• Biomass technology today serves many markets
that were developed with fossil fuels and modestly
reduces their use

• Uses - Industrial process heat and steam, Electrical

power generation, Transportation fuels (ethanol
and biodiesel) and other products.

• Primary focus of the Biomass Program –

development of advanced technologies.
Current Focus
• Platform technologies

• Sugar Platform Technology

• Thermochemical Platform Technology

Bio-refinery
• A facility that integrates biomass conversion
processes and equipment to produce fuels,
power, and chemicals from biomass.

• Analogous to today's petroleum refineries

• It is based on the “Sugar Platform“ and the

“Thermochemical Platform“
Bio-diesel

• Made by transforming animal fat or vegetable

oil with alcohol .

• Fuel is made from rapeseed (canola) oil or

soybean oil or recycled restaurant grease.

• Directly substituted for diesel either as neat

fuel or as an oxygenate additive
Modified Waste Vegetable Fat
• Designed for general use in most compression
ignition engines .

•  The production of MWVF can be achieved in a

continuous flow additive process.  

• It can be modified in various ways to make a

'greener' form of fuel
E-Diesel

• Uses additives in order to allow blending of

ethanol with diesel.

• Ethanol blends of 7.7% to 15% and up to 5%

• Additives that prevent the ethanol and diesel

from separating at very low temperatures or
if water contamination occurs.
 Jatropha

• Biodiesel from Jatropha

• Seeds of the Jatropha nut is

crushed and oil is extracted

• The oil is processed and

refined to form bio-diesel.
Gasification Technology

• Gobar gas Production

• Biogas

• Synthesis gas
Gasification
• A process that uses heat, pressure, and steam to
convert materials directly into a gas composed
primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

• Gasification technologies rely four key engineering

factors
1. Gasification reactor atmosphere (level of oxygen
or air content).
2. Reactor design.
3. Internal and external heating.
4. Operating temperature.
Gasification
• Typical raw materials - coal, petroleum-based
materials, and organic materials.

• The feedstock is prepared and fed, in either dry or

slurried form, into a sealed reactor chamber called a
gasifier.

• The feedstock is subjected to high heat, pressure, and

either an oxygen-rich or oxygen-starved environment
within the gasifier.
Raw Materials for Gasification
Gasification
• Products of gasification :
* Hydrocarbon gases (also called syngas).
* Hydrocarbon liquids (oils).
* Char (carbon black and ash).

• Syngas is primarily carbon monoxide and

hydrogen (more than 85 percent by volume)
and smaller quantities of carbon dioxide and
methane
Gasifier Plant
Gasifier Plant
Types of Gasifiers

• Updraft Gasifier
Types of Gasifiers

• Downdraft Gasifier
Types of Gasifiers

• Twin-fire Gasifier
Types of Gasifiers

• Crossdraft gas producers

Gobar gas

• Gobar gas production is an anaerobic

process

• Fermentation is carried out in an air tight,

closed cylindrical concrete tank called a
digester
Wood
• Domestic heating with wood is still by far
the largest market for bio-energy
• Dramatic improvements of technology in
domestic heating equipment
• Improved tiled stoves, advanced logwood
boilers, woodchip boilers, pellet boilers and
pellet stoves.
• Pourable wood-based fuel is also available
Tiled stoves
Pellet Boilers and Stoves
Logwood boiler
Woodchip boilers
Environmental Concerns

• Air Pollution

• Soil Deterioration
Air Concerns

• Biomass processing technologies and biofuels use have the

potential to increase emissions of ozone precursors
o Increase in Nox emissions
• Excessive inhalation of ethanol is harmful
• Combustion of ethanol would result in increased
atmospheric concentrations of carcinogens
• Emission of relatively large sized particulate matter
Soil Concerns

• Burning biomass deprives local eco-systems of nutrients

• Production of dedicated energy crops renders land fallow
• Reduced land availability for cattle grazing
• Increased use of pesticides and fertilizers to produce energy
crops contaminate ground and surface water
o Affects fish and wildlife
Environmental Benefits

• Reduction of waste
• Extremely low emission of greenhouse gases compared to
fossil fuels
• Ethanol is Carbon neutral and forms a part of the carbon
cycle
• Growing variety of crops increases bio-diversity
Socio-Economic Benefits

• Helps developing economies by promoting agrarian

communities
• Increase in jobs
• Increase in trade balance (Indian perspective) due to lesser
dependence on foreign resources
 BIO FUELS

THE WORLD SCENARIO

BRAZIL

•World leader in production and export of

ethanol.
•Ethanol produced per day equivalent to
200,000 barrels of gasoline.
•24% blend ethanol mandatory.
•Competitiveness
•Bio diesel initiatives underway
U.S.A.

• Ethanol : a big boost to economy

• E85 sells cheaper than gasoline
• Currently production aimed at 4.5 Billion gallons/yr
• MTBE phased out in many states
• Soya bean main source of biodiesel
E.U.

• Rapeseed main source of bio diesel

• 3-15% blended petrol
• France: Bio diesel exempted from domestic tax
• Germany: Sales of bio diesel 99 million US gallons
• Rise of SVO as domestic fuel
The Significant Others
• China: 3rd largest producer of ethanol
producing 220,000 tons of ethanol, exporting
90,000 tons in 2000.
• In southeast Asia, the Jatropha tree is used
as a significant fuel source
• Malaysia and Indonesia are starting pilot-
scale production from palm oil.
India

• Sources of ethanol:
• Sugarcane
• Molasses
• Agricultural waste
• Low average cost of Rs.18/litre projected
• Annual production capacity of 1.5 Billion
litres
India (Contd.)
• Sources of biodiesel:
• Honge
• Jatropha
• High capital, broad scale production plan initiated
• Cost per liter projected at Rs. 27
 Bio Mass
• Biomass already supplies 14 % of the world’s
primary energy consumption. On average, biomass
produces 38 % of the primary energy in developing
countries.

• USA: 4% of total energy from bio mass, around

9000 MW

• INDIA is short of 15,000 MW of energy and it costs

about 25,000 crores annually for the government to
import oil.
• Bio Mass from cattle manure, agricultural waste,
forest residue and municipal waste.
• Anaerobic digestion of livestock wastes to give bio
gas
• Digester consumes roughly one third the power it’s
capable of producing.
• Fertilizers as by product.

• Average electricity generation of 5.5kWh per cow

per day!!
Thank You