SIKKIM GOVERNMENT LAW COLLEGE

GANGTOK EAST SIKKIM

YEAR-2020

TOPIC-BIOMASS ENERGY

SUBMITTED BY- SUBMITTED TO-

KALAWATI SUBBA ASST,PROFF-DAWA

SEMESTER – 8THSEMESTER BHUTIA

16GLB049

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ACKN OWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost I thank the almighty for the inspiration and strength to complete this project
report successfully.

I would firstly like to thanks professor dawa bhutia who has provided me the kind opportunity to
do this project and finish it in a successful manner.

My heartily thanks to Dr T,D lama the vice principal of Sikkim government law college and
other faculties who provided all the facilities to completed this project.

I consider it my proud privilege and immense pleasure working under the guidance of professor
Ajay pradhan who gave me constant guidance valuable suggestions, an inspiring encouragement
to make my project success.

My sincere thanks to my professor dawa bhutia has done me the correction and formatting of
project report and helped me by providing details and quotations of my topic, this helped me
make my project very precise and accurate to a great extent.

On a personal note, I wish to thank my family members and friends for their constant support in
helping me accomplish my mission.

kalawati subba

16glb049

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SERIAL NO. TOPIC PAGE NO.
1 ABSTRACT 4

2 INTRODUCTION 5
3 6 to 8
DEFINATION&,CONVERSIO
N TECHNOLOGIES
4 BIOMASS USE AS A ENERGY 8 to 10
5 BIOMASS WASTE 10 to 15
6 IMPORTANT OF BIOMASS 15 to 16
7 BENEFITS OF BIOMASS 17 to 18
8 ADVANTAGES AND 18 to 21
DISADVANTAGES OF
BIOMASS
9 CONTROL OF BIOMASS 21 to 26
10 CONCLUSION 27

11 BIBLIOGRAPHY 28

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ABSTRACT
The use of renewable energy sources is becoming increasingly necessary, if we are to achieve the
changes required to address the impacts of global warming. Biomass is the most common form
of renewable energy, widely used in the third world but until recently, less so in the Western
world. Latterly much attention has been focused on identifying suitable biomass species, which
can provide high-energy outputs, to replace conventional fossil fuel energy sources. The type of
biomass required is largely determined by the energy conversion process and the form in which
the energy is required. In the first of three papers, the background to biomass production (in a
European climate) and plant properties is examined. In the second paper, energy conversion
technologies are reviewed, with emphasis on the production of a gaseous fuel to supplement the
gas derived from the landfilling of organic wastes (landfill gas) and used in gas engines to
generate electricity. The potential of a restored landfill site to act as a biomass source, providing
fuel to supplement landfill gas-fuelled power stations, is examined, together with a comparison
of the economics of power production from purpose-grown biomass versus waste-biomass. The
third paper considers particular gasification technologies and their potential for biomass
gasification.

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INTRODUCTION

Biomass is plant or animal material used for energy production (electricity or heat), or in various
industrial processes as raw substance for a range of products.[1] It can be purposely grown energy
crops (e.g. miscanthus, switchgrass), wood or forest residues, waste from food crops (wheat
straw, bagasse), horticulture (yard waste), food processing (corn cobs), animal farming (manure,
rich in nitrogen and phosphorus), or human waste from sewage plants.[2]

Burning plant-derived biomass releases CO2, but it has still been classified as a renewable energy
source in the EU and UN legal frameworks because photosynthesis cycles the CO2 back into new
crops. In some cases, this recycling of CO2 from plants to atmosphere and back into plants can
even be CO2 negative, as a relatively large portion of the CO2 is moved to the soil during each
cycle.

Cofiring with biomass has increased in coal power plants, because it makes it possible to release
less CO2 without the cost associated with building new infrastructure. Co-firing is not without
issues however, often an upgrade of the biomass is most beneficial. Upgrading to higher grade
fuels can be achieved by different methods, broadly classified as thermal, chemical, or
biochemal.1

..

1
Darby,Thomas,real world energy retrieved 12 june (2014)

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CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES

 Biomass energy technology is inherently flexible. The variety of technological options available
means that it can be applied at a small, localized scale primarily for heat, or it can be used in
much larger base-load power generation capacity whilst also producing heat. Biomass generation
can thus be tailored to rural or urban environments, and utilized in domestic, commercial or
industrial applications.

 A host of technologies are available for realizing the potential of biomass waste as an energy
source, ranging from very simple systems for disposing of dry waste to more complex
technologies capable of dealing with large amounts of industrial waste.  

 Biomass can be converted into energy by simple combustion, by co-firing with other fuels or
through some intermediate process such as gasification. The energy produced can be electrical
power, heat or both (combined heat and power, or CHP). The advantage of utilizing heat as well
as or instead of electrical power is the marked improvement of conversion efficiency - electrical
generation has a typical efficiency of around 30%, but if heat is used efficiencies can rise to more
than 85%.

 Biochemical processes, like anaerobic digestion, can also produce clean energy in the form of
biogas which can be converted to power and heat using a gas engine. In addition, wastes can also
yield liquid fuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, which can be used to replace petroleum-based fuels.
Algal biomass is also emerging as a good source of energy because it can serve as natural source
of oil, which conventional refineries can transform into jet fuel or diesel fu

THERMAL CONVERSION

Thermal conversion processes use heat as the dominant mechanism to upgrade biomass into a
better and more practical fuel. The basic alternatives are torrefaction, pyrolysis, and gasification,
these are separated principally by the extent to which the chemical reactions involved are
allowed to proceed (mainly controlled by the availability of oxygen and conversion temperature.

There are other less common, more experimental or proprietary thermal processes that may offer
benefits, such as hydrothermalupgrading. Some have been developed for use on high moisture

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content biomass, including aqueous slurries, and allow them to be converted into more
convenient forms.

CHEMICAL CONVERSION

A range of chemical processes may be used to convert biomass into other forms, such as to
produce a fuel that is more practical to store, transport and use, or to exploit some property of the
process itself. Many of these processes are based in large part on similar coal-based processes,
such as the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Biomass can be converted into multiple commodity
chemicals.

BIOCHEMICAL CONVERSION

As biomass is a natural material, many highly efficient biochemical processes have developed in
nature to break down the molecules of which biomass is composed, and many of these
biochemical conversion processes can be harnessed. In most cases, microorganisms are used to
perform the conversion process: anaerobic digestion, fermentation, and composting.

Glycoside hydrolases are the enzymes involved in the degradation of the major fraction of
biomass, such as polysaccharides present in starch and lignocellulose. Thermostable variants are
gaining increasing roles as catalysts in biorefining applications, since recalcitrant biomass often
needs thermal treatment for more efficient degradation.

ELECTROCHEMICAL CONVERSION

Biomass can be directly converted to electrical energy via electrochemical (electrocatalytic)

oxidation of the material. This can be performed directly in a direct carbon fuel cell, direct liquid
fuel cells such as direct ethanol fuel cell, a direct methanol fuel cell, a direct formic acid fuel
cell, a L-ascorbic Acid Fuel Cell (vitamin C fuel cell), and a microbial fuel cell. The fuel can
also be consumed indirectly via a fuel cellsystem containing a reformer which converts the
biomass into a mixture of CO and H2 before it is consumed in the fuel cell. 2

TRADITIONAL BIOMASS USE AS ENERGY

The current extraction and consumption pattern of biomass has led to forest degradation and
deforestation, loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, atmospheric pollution from emissions of
2
Munning,C,kulkarni, international journal of hydrogen energy. Biomass to power conversion in direct carbon fuel
cell (august 2014)

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greenhouse gases (GHG) during the combustion of wood (with its implications for climate
change), and indoor air pollution leading to domestic health hazards (particularly for women
during cooking); and loss of nutrients due to combustion of cattle dung and crop residues.

DEFORESTATION AND LAND DEGRADATION

Biomass comprising traditional fuels constitutes about 50% of energy consumption in

developing countries. In the case of some countries like Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso,
Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda (Kaale, 1990), it is estimated to be as high as 90%. Deforestation
leading to soil erosion, risks of floods, desertification on account of clearing of forests and
woodlands for agriculture and livestock, and so on, are the common concerns of
environmentalists at macro levels. At a microlevel, the concerns range from non-suitability of
forest soils for agricultural purposes, health problems due to smoke caused by burning of
fuelwood, loss in soil fertility due to use of agricultural residues and so on. Even a shift towards
non-wood biomass fuels creates direct competition with animals that rely upon crop residue and
the shrubs for fodder (Kaale, 1990). The global fuelwood consumption is estimated to be about
1.3 X 109 m3 (during 1990) and is further projected to treble by 2020 (FAO, 1993). The main
sources of fuelwood are forests, village trees, and forest residues. Fuelwood is largely used as
domestic fuel in developing countries and in some countries (such as Brazil) it is used as a
source of heat in industries (steel industry). There are divergent views on the contribution of
fuelwood extraction to deforestation ranging from a marginal (such as in India) to a significant
factor (for charcoal production in Africa for domestic use and as industrial fuel in Brazil).
Studies (Ravindranath and Hall, 1995) have concluded that fuelwood. extraction contributes at
varying degrees to loss of trees (in villages and forests), forest degradation and ultimately to
deforestation. Imbalance between the demand and production of fuelwood is reported to be one
of the primary factors responsible for forest depletion (Ravindranath and Hall, 1995). The
increasing use of fuelwood for meeting the domestic and industrial needs of both rural and urban
areas has contributed to forest decline. The environmental impacts of urban fuelwood
consumption have been severe due to commercial exploitation of fuelwood for charcoal
production. The demand for charcoal in urban areas has spread deforestation, which begins at the
surrounding areas of urban centres and moving outwards.

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 LOSS OF SOIL NUTRIENTS

Agricultural residues constitute an important source of energy in rural areas of developing

countries when left on fields improves the fertility of the soil. The use of agricultural residues for
energy would thus be an issue if it reduces the fertility of the soil. It is important to note that all
residues do not have the same effect on the soil. Some residues such as corncobs, rice husk, jute
sticks, cotton stock, coffee prunings, and coconut shells do not decompose easily and have
potential as energy sources. The choice of agricultural residues thus has an impact on the
environment. Cattle dung, similarly, though it is a fertilizer, loses its value as fertilizer if burnt or
left under the sun for a few days. Fuel shortages, if experienced, generally force the use of all
available energy sources irrespective of their environmental values and thus cause environmental
damages. The two categories of residues from agriculture sector are crop residue and cattle dung.
The large-scale use of agriculture residue as fuel is peculiar to South Asia, probably due to high
population density and lower area under forests. Currently crop residue of cereals is largely used
as fodder and ligneous (woody) residues are used as fuel. Burning of woody crop residue may
not lead to any significant loss of nutrients to soil. Burning of cattle dung as fuel leads to loss of
organic mater and other nutrients affecting crop production. In India the loss of Nitrogen due to
use of dung as fuel is estimated to be about 3kg/ha/year (Ravindranath and Hall 1995). Thus the
environmental impact of loss of nutrient value due to burning of crop residue and dung is margin

GHG EMISSIONS

Combustion of fuelwood and other biomass fuels leads to CO2 emissions, as nearly 50% of
wood is carbon. If fuelwood is coming from sustainable modes of extraction, its combustion will
lead to no net C emission. However, it is difficult to estimate what percentage of fuelwood use is
from non-sustainable source. At a global level, about 2.8% of CO2 emission is attributed to
fuelwood combustion (Ahuja, 1990). In addition to CO2 emissions, combustion of fuelwood and
agro-residues leads to emission of products of incomplete combustion. These products are even
more powerful GHGs per gram in carbon emitted than CO2 (IPCC 1992). An estimate of the
global warming. potential of non CO2 GHGs, such as CO, CH4 and non methane hydro-carbons,
could be in the range of 20-110% as much as that of CO2 itself, depending on the timeframe
(Smith, 1991).

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 HEALTH HAZARDS

Smoke from use of biomass fuels in rural kitchens, wood fires, and the associated pollution are a
common phenomena in most developing countries. Cooking in smoke filled kitchen is
inconvenient and leads to drudgery among women. According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), smoke from low quality biofuels such as farm residues and animal wastes can cause
acute bronchitis and pneumonia among infants and women. SAMPLE CHAPTERS
INTERACTIONS: ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT – Environmental Effects of Energy from
Biomass and Municipal Wastes - N. H. Ravindranath, K. Usha Rao Encyclopedia of Life
Support Systems (EOLSS) potential of non CO2 GHGs, such as CO, CH4 and non methane
hydro-carbons, could be in the range of 20-110% as much as that of CO2 itself, depending on the
timeframe (Smith, 1991).3

BIOMASS WASTE

Biomass is the material derived from plants that use sunlight to grow which include plant and
animal material such as wood from forests, material left over from agricultural and forestry
processes, and organic industrial, human and animal wastes. Biomass comes from a variety of
sources which include:
 · Wood from natural forests and woodland

· Forestry residues - Animal waste

· Sewage -  Municipal solid wastes (MSW)

- Agricultural residues such as straw, stover, cane trash and green agricultural wastes

· Agro-industrial wastes, such as sugarcane bagasse and rice husk

· Industrial wastes, such as black liquor from paper manufacturing

· Food processing wastes - forestry plantation

3
Prasad,ram sustainable forest management for dry forest of south asia,(2010)

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 The energy contained in biomass originally came from the sun. Through photosynthesis carbon
dioxide in the air is transformed into other carbon containing molecules (e.g. sugars, starches and
cellulose) in plants. The chemical energy that is stored in plants and animals (animals eat plants
or other animals) or in their waste is called bio-energy.

 When biomass is burned it releases its energy, generally in the form of heat. The biomass carbon
reacts with oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide. If fully combusted the amount of carbon
dioxide produced is equal to the amount which was absorbed from the air while the plant was
growing.

 In nature, if biomass is left lying around on the ground it will break down over a long period of
time, releasing carbon dioxide and its store of energy slowly. By burning biomass its store of
energy is released quickly and often in a useful way. So converting biomass into useful energy
imitates the natural processes but at a faster rate.

 Biomass wastes can be transformed into clean energy and/or fuels by a variety of technologies,
ranging from conventional combustion process to state-of-the art thermal depolymerization
technology. Besides recovery of substantial energy, these technologies can lead to a substantial
reduction in the overall waste quantities requiring final disposal, which can be better managed
for safe disposal in a controlled manner while meeting the pollution control standards.

 Biomass waste-to-energy conversion reduces greenhouse gas emissions in two ways. Heat and
electrical energy is generated which reduces the dependence on power plants based on fossil
fuels. The greenhouse gas emissions are significantly reduced by preventing methane emissions
from landfills. Moreover, waste-to-energy plants are highly efficient in harnessing the untapped
sources of energy from wastes. 

MAJOR TYPES OF BIOMASS WASTE

 Biomass energy projects provide major business opportunities, environmental benefits, and rural
development. Feedstocks can be obtained from a wide array of sources without jeopardizing the
food and freed supply ,forestsnand biodiversity .
 

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 AGRICULTURAL RESIDUES

Crop residues encompasses all agricultural wastes such as bagasse, straw, stem, stalk, leaves,
husk, shell, peel, pulp, stubble, etc. Large quantities of crop residues are produced annually
worldwide, and are vastly underutilised. Rice produces both straw and rice husks at the
processing plant which can be conveniently and easily converted into energy. Significant
quantities of biomass remain in the fields in the form of cob when maize is harvested which can
be converted into energy. Sugar cane harvesting leads to harvest residues in the fields while
processing produces fibrous bagasse, both of which are good sources of energy. Harvesting and
processing of coconuts produces quantities of shell and fibre that can be utilized.

 Current farming practice is usually to plough these residues back into the soil, or they are burnt,
left to decompose, or grazed by cattle. These residues could be processed into liquid fuels or
thermochemical processed to produce electricity and heat. Agricultural residues are characterized
by seasonal availability and have characteristics that differ from other solid fuels such as wood,
charcoal, char briquette. The main differences are the high content of volatile matter and lower
density and burning time.
 

ANIMAL WASTE

There are a wide range of animal wastes that can be used as sources of biomass energy. The most
common sources are animal and poultry manures. In the past this waste was recovered and sold
as a fertilizer or simply spread onto agricultural land, but the introduction of tighter
environmental controls on odour and water pollution means that some form of waste
management is now required, which provides further incentives for waste-to-energy conversion.

The most attractive method of converting these waste materials to useful form is anaerobic
digestion which gives biogas that can be used as a fuel for internal combustion engines, to
generate electricity from small gas turbines, burnt directly for cooking, or for space and water
heating.

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 FORESTRY RESIDUES

Forestry residues are generated by operations such as thinning of plantations, clearing for
logging roads, extracting stem-wood for pulp and timber, and natural attrition. Harvesting may
occur as thinning in young stands, or cutting in older stands for timber or pulp that also yields
tops and branches usable for biomass energy. Harvesting operations usually remove only 25 to
50 percent of the volume, leaving the residues available as biomass for energy.

Stands damaged by insects, disease or fire are additional sources of biomass. Forest residues
normally have low density and fuel values that keep transport costs high, and so it is economical
to reduce the biomass density in the forest itself.

WOOD WASTES

Wood processing industries primarily include sawmilling, plywood, wood panel, furniture,
building component, flooring, particle board, moulding, jointing and craft industries. Wood
wastes generally are concentrated at the processing factories, e.g. plywood mills and sawmills.
The amount of waste generated from wood processing industries varies from one type industry to
another depending on the form of raw material and finished product.

 Generally, the waste from wood industries such as saw millings and plywood, veneer and others
are sawdust, off-cuts, trims and shavings. Sawdust arise from cutting, sizing, re-sawing, edging,
while trims and shaving are the consequence of trimming and smoothing of wood. In general,
processing of 1,000 kg of wood in the furniture industries will lead to waste generation of almost
half (45 %), i.e. 450 kg of wood. Similarly, when processing 1,000 kg of wood in sawmill, the
waste will amount to more than half (52 %), i.e. 520 kg wood.

INDUSTRIAL WASTES

The food industry produces a large number of residues and by-products that can be used as
biomass energy sources. These waste materials are generated from all sectors of the food
industry with everything from meat production to confectionery producing waste that can be
 utilise as an energy sources .Solid wastes include peelings and scraps from fruit and vegetables,

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food that does not meet quality control standards, pulp and fibre from sugar and starch
extraction, filter sludges and coffee grounds. These wastes are usually disposed of in landfill
dumps.

Liquid wastes are generated by washing meat, fruit and vegetables, blanching fruit and
vegetables, pre-cooking meats, poultry and fish, cleaning and processing operations as well as
wine making.

These waste waters contain sugars, starches and other dissolved and solid organic matter. The
potential exists for these industrial wastes to be anaerobically digested to produce biogas, or
fermented to produce ethanol, and several commercial examples of waste-to-energy conversion
already exist.

Pulp and paper industry is considered to be one of the highly polluting industries and consumes
large amount of energy and water in various unit operations. The wastewater discharged by this
industry is highly heterogeneous as it contains compounds from wood or other raw materials,
processed chemicals as well as compound formed during processing. Black liquor can be
judiciously utilized for production of biogas using anaerobic UASB technology.

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTES AND SEWAGE

Millions of tonnes of household waste are collected each year with the vast majority disposed of
in open fields. The biomass resource in MSW comprises the putrescibles, paper and plastic and
averages 80% of the total MSW collected. Municipal solid waste can be converted into energy
by direct combustion, or by natural anaerobic digestion in the engineered landfill. At the landfill
sites the gas produced by the natural decomposition of MSW (approximately 50% methane and
50% carbon dioxide) is collected from the stored material and scrubbed and cleaned before
feeding into internal combustion engines or gas turbines to generate heat and power. The organic
fraction of MSW can be anaerobically stabilized in a high-rate digester to obtain biogas for
electricity or steam generation.

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Sewage is a source of biomass energy that is very similar to the other animal wastes. Energy can
be extracted from sewage using anaerobic digestion to produce biogas. The sewage sludge that
remains can be incinerated or undergo pyrolysis to produce more biogas.

Biomass wastes can be transformed into clean energy and/or fuels by a variety of technologies,
ranging from conventional combustion process to state-of-the art thermal depolymerization
technology. Besides recovery of substantial energy, these technologies can lead to a substantial
reduction in the overall waste quantities requiring final disposal, which can be better managed
for safe disposal in a controlled manner while meeting the pollution control standards .4

IMPORTANTS OF BIOMASS

Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from the carbonaceous waste of various human
and natural activities. It is derived from numerous sources, including the by-products from the
timber industry, agricultural crops, raw material from the forest, major parts of household waste
and wood. Biomass does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount
of carbon in growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel. Its advantage is that it can be used
to generate electricity with the same equipment or power plants that are now burning fossil fuels.
Biomass is an important source of energy and the most important fuel worldwide after coal, oil
and natural gas.

Traditional use of biomass is more than its use in modern application. In the developed world
biomass is again becoming important for applications such as combined heat and power
generation. In addition, biomass energy is gaining significance as a source of clean heat for
domestic heating and community heating applications. In fact in countries like Finland, USA and
Sweden the per capita biomass energy used is higher than it is in India, China or in Asia.

Biomass fuels used in India account for about one third of the total fuel used in the country,
being the most important fuel used in over 90% of the rural households and about 15% of the
urban households.

4
Springteen,bruce,journal of the air and waste management association pg-61(2011)

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Instead of burning the loose biomass fuel directly, it is more practical to compress it into
briquettes (compressing them through a process to form blocks of different shapes) and thereby
improve its utility and convenience of use. Such biomass in the dense briquetted form can either
be used directly as fuel instead of coal in the traditional chulhas and furnaces or in the gasifier.
Gasifier converts solid fuel into a more convenient-to-use gaseous form of fuel called producer
gas.

Scientists are trying to explore the advantages of biomass energy as an alternative energy source
as it is renewable and free from net CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions, and is abundantly available
on earth in the form of agricultural residue, city garbage, cattle dung, firewood, etc. Bio-energy,
in the form of biogas, which is derived from biomass, is expected to become one of the key
energy resources for global sustainable development.At present, biogas technology provides an
alternative source of energy in rural India for cooking. It is particularly useful for village
households that have their own cattle. Through a simple process cattle dung is used to produce a
gas, which serves as fuel for cooking.

Biogas plants have been set up in many areas and are becoming very popular. Using local
resources, namely cattle waste and other organic wastes, energy and manure are derived. A mini
biogas digester has recently been designed and developed, and is being in-field tested for
domestic lighting.Indian sugar mills are rapidly turning to bagasse, the leftover of cane after it is
crushed and its juice extracted, to generate electricity. This is mainly being done to clean up the
environment, cut down power costs and earn additional revenue. According to current estimates,
about 3500 MW of power can be generated from bagasse in the existing 430 sugar mills in the
country. Around 270 MW of power has already been commissioned and more is under
construction5

5
Akhtar,a,krepl,v,and ivanova,T[a combined overview of combustion,prolysis and gastification of biomass energy
and fuel [2018]

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ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF BIOMASS

Biomass benefits are still subject of many debates when compared with other renewable energy
sources. However, biomass has many advantages over fossil fuels due to reduction of the amount
of carbon emissions. The main benefits of biomass are:

BIOMASS IS A RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE

The benefit of biomass energy is that biomass is renewable source of energy and it cannot be
depleted. Biomass mostly derived from plants, that means as long as plants are going to be on
this planet, biomass will be available as renewable energy source.

BIOMASS HELPS CLIMATE CHANGE BY REDUCING GHG

Biomass helps reduce the amount of GHG that give more impact to global warming and climate
change. The biomass emissions level is far smaller compared to fossil fuels. The basic difference
between biomass and fossil fuels when it comes to amount of carbon emissions is: all the CO2
which has been absorbed by plant for its growth is going back in the atmosphere during its
burning for the production of biomass energy. While the CO2 produced from fossil fuels is going
to atmosphere where it increases greenhouse effect.

CLEANER ENVIRONMENT

Biomass energy  helps to clean our environment. World population is constantly increasing with
a increasing  increased waste which needs to be properly disposed. Many of garbage ends up in
water resources harming  ecosystems and having negative impact on human health. This garbage
could be used for valorisation and produced energy, bioferilizers and other products.

BIOMASS IS WIDELY AVAILABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY

Biomass is widely available energy source. The sources are from agriculture, forestry,fisheries,
aquaculture, algae and waste. Many energy experts agree that when you combine economic and

17
environmental character of energy sources biomass is on top of the list as one of the best energy
sources.

GHG emission balances for biomass-fuelled electricity and heat applications

GHG balances for a wide range of technologies to produce electricity and heat were prepared by
Elsayed, Matthews and Mortimer (2003). System boundaries encompassed the entire chain from
fuel production to end-use. Some biomass systems show net GHG emissions savings of more
than 40% of the substituted fossil alternatives, while some others only score 4%. Thus, the span
of the environmental benefit is wide, and the effective value will depend on the particular
application situation (technology, scale etc). The total GHG emissions from contaminated
biomass fuels (non-tradables) are set at 0, since these fuels are available anyway. There existence
cannot be avoided, and all GHG emissions associated with their production should be allocated
to the products from which they are the unavoidable result.6

BIOMASS ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGE

Biomass is a renewable source of energy, derived from burning animal and plant waste. Almost
all industries (see extensive list), including agriculture, forestry, colleges/universities,
municipalities, hotels, resorts, sports venues, hospitals and correctional facilities, produce
waste that can be converted to heat and electricity. A September 2017 report by the U.S.
Energy Information Administration predicts that the capacity to create bioenergy will increase
in 2018.

6
Martin marshallA,first generation biofuels compete new biotechnology pg-27[2010]

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 SOME OF THE ADVANTAGES OF BIOMASS ENERGY ARE

:1.    biomass is always and widely available as a renewable source of energy.

the organic materials used to produce biomass are infinite, since our society consistently
produces waste such as garbage, wood and manure.

2.    It is carbon neutral.

As a natural part of photosynthesis, biomass fuels only release the same amount of carbon into
the atmosphere as was absorbed by plants in the course of their life cycle.

3.    It reduces the overreliance of fossil fuels.

Not only is there is a limited supply of fossil fuels, but fossil fuels come with environmental
baggage, including the release of large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and the
pollutants that result from removal, transportation and production.

4.    Is less expensive than fossil fuels.

While fossil fuel production requires a heavy outlay of capital, such as oil drills, gas pipelines
and fuel collection, biomass technology is much cheaper. Manufacturers and producers are
able to generate higher profits from a lower output.

5.    Biomass production adds a revenue source for manufacturers.

Producers of waste can add value by channeling their garbage to create a more profitable use in
the form biomass energy.

6.    Less garbage in landfills.

By burning solid waste, the amount of garbage dumped in landfills is reduced by 60 to 90
percent, and reduces the cost of landfill disposal and amount of land required for landfill.

 While the advantages of biomass energy are plenty, there are also some shortcomings,
including:

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1.    Biomass energy is not as efficient as fossil fuels

Some biofuels, like Ethanol, is relatively inefficient as compared to gasoline. In fact, it has to
be fortified with fossil fuels to increase its efficiency.

2.    It is not entirely clean

While biomass is carbon neutral, the use of animal and human waste escalates the amount of
methane gases, which are also damaging to the environment. Additionally, the pollution
created from burning wood and other natural materials can be considered just as bad as that
resulting from burning coal and other types of energy resources.

3.    Can lead to deforestation.

Since wood is one of the most used source of biomass energy, vast amounts of wood and other
waste products have to be burned to produce the desired amount of power. While currently
there is enough wood waste already, there is a risk of deforestation in the future.

4.    Biomass plants require a lot of space.

While it’s difficult to find a plant that is in a convenient place in an urban area, utilizing onsite
hardware like the BioMass echnology, companies can create biomass energy at a fraction of
the space of a large facility.

While there are some downsides to biomass energy, more research and innovation is
continuing to be devoted to the field as a more widely available, cheaper alternate and valuable
substitute for traditional electricity and other energy source

currently low in carbon. The assumption that annual cropland provides greater potential for soil
carbon sequestration than grassland appears to be over‐simplistic, but there is an opportunity to
improve predictions of soil carbon sequestration potential using the information on the initial soil
carbon stock as a stronger predictor of ∆C [change in carbon amount] than prior land use.

Forest-based biomass projects has received criticism for ineffective GHG mitigation from a
number of environmental organizations, including Greenpeace and the natural resources defece
council. Environmental groups also argue that it might take decades for the carbon released by

20
burning biomass to be recaptured by new trees. Biomass burning produces air pollution in the
form of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, particulates and other pollutants. In 2009
a Swedish study of the giant brown haze that periodically covers large areas in South Asia
determined that two thirds of it had been principally produced by residential cooking and
agricultural burning, and one third by fossil-fuel burning. The use of wood biomass as an
industrial fuel has been shown to produce fewer particulates and other pollutants than the
burning seen in wildfires or open field fires.7

HOW TO CONTROLS BIOMASS

The objective of this work is the experimental investigation and characterization of the influence
of biomass feeding on combustion efficiency of an industrial biomass boiler. The collected
experimental data relate the biomass feeding control with the operating conditions and boiler
performance parameters. Two different methods to control of the biomass feeding are
considered. One consists on the manually controlled biomass feeding through the boiler control
system. The other consists on an automatic control, with the screw-feeder controlled by the
boiler control system. Boiler control system governs the introduction of the biomass material into
the furnace based on the O2 content of the combustion flue gas stream. Results show that the
biomass feeding into the furnace significantly affects the combustion process and the pollutant
emissions .
Development and application of control policies to reduce harmful substance emissions to the
environment and human health are critical and urgent. Measures to improve ambient air quality
and to control the emission of pollutants in Europe are defined and established on Directive
2008/50/EC of European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality
and cleaner air for Europe with guidelines “designed to avoid, prevent or reduce harmful effects
on human health and the environment as a whole”. Directive (EU) 2015/2193  of European
Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on the limitation of emissions of certain
pollutants into the air from medium combustion plants “lays down rules to control emissions of
sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and dust into the air from medium combustion
plants, and thereby reduce emissions to air and the potential risks to human health and the

7
Kosinkova,jana;doshi ,renewable and sustainable energy reviews pg 29 [2015]

21
environment from such emissions. This Directive also lays down rules to monitor emissions of
carbon monoxide (CO)”.
There is a lack of information and of scientific work concerning medium-scale biomass
combustion systems for thermal energy production and especially related with the
characterization and monitoring of those systems. Once this information available, it allows the
parametric optimization corresponding to the efficient use of different types of biomass fuels
(pellets, woodchip, straw, etc.), ensuring a low level of pollutants emissions and reducing the
common problems of slagging and fouling. Additionally, the study of these systems allows to
improve the development of the best-operating conditions of combustion systems, improving the
performance parameters of the combustion process, and increasing the energy and financial
efficiency of these biomass to energy conversion systems.

Several challenges have been identified following the adoption of biomass as a renewable energy
source. One of the challenges is biomass fuel quality. Biomass fuel can be a heterogeneous mix
(different types of biomass fuels with different properties) and this variability can cause different
effects on the combustion system. These heterogeneous characteristics of the biomass can cause
large fluctuations on process parameters as the temperature and gas composition during the
combustion process, creating challenges in biomass combustion control and an increase in
pollutants emissions .
The biomass feeding process plays an important role in biomass furnaces and boilers since it
directly influences the operating process and related efficiency. Biomass properties such as
moisture content, density, shape, particle surfaces (smooth, rough or sharp), different size
distributions, different compressibility’s, among other properties, may cause problems in
stability of feeding flow . Thus, selection, design, and localization of the feed method depend on
the properties of biomass and system requirements 
Ventil is a leading Portuguese company on the field of manufacturing industrial medium-scale
furnaces able to process a distinct set of biomass fuels, among them residual biomass and sub-
products. The company offers products, integrated furnaces and boilers for hot liquid water
production (T <109 °C), with well-defined characteristics, like underfeed system by screw
feeder, vertical heat exchange system and three different sections to combustion air introduction,
including, on a single product, a set of features not properly studied in medium-scale products
present on the international market. Thus, characterization of these systems has been a challenge
22
and has been regarded by the company as an important supporting tool for technology
development and an effective added value to the state-of-the-art of the technology on the field of
biomass combustion. This work focuses on the influence of the biomass feeding control on the
combustion process efficiency and related pollutant emissions in a biomass furnace/boiler
manufactured by Ventil. The experimental results obtained in a real scale combustion system are
an effective contribution to fulfill the present lack of information concerning this technology,
towards the improvement of operation and process efficiency of these biomass to energy
conversion systems. Characterization of the operating conditions (including flue gas
characteristics and temperature profiles along time) of the biomass boiler has been carried out
during combustion experiments in a real scale boiler using wood pellets as fuel.8

DESCRIPTION OF BIOMASS COMBUSTION SYSTEM

The experimental work has been developed on a fixed bed grate medium-scale biomass
industrial boiler, with biomass underfeed system (underfeed stoker). Liquid water is at
temperatures lower than 109 °C and pressures are lower than 3 bar. The medium-scale biomass
combustion system/boiler (CVT model from Ventil) with 581 kWth nominal power was used for
the experimental work. The system was located at Ventil–Engenharia do Ambiente, Lda.
facilities, and was developed for industrial research and development purposes.
Ventil biomass boilers have a generic structure regardless of their nominal power. To maximize
heat exchange between the flue gas and water VENTIL boilers (fire tube boiler) have a vertical
triple heat exchange system, the flue gases flowing inside the tubes. Inside the furnace (first gas
pass) water (and thus indirectly water) receive heat mainly by radiation, and thereafter the flue
gases flow inside heat exchanger tubes (second and third pass) immersed in water (and thus
indirectly water) receive heat mainly by convection. The boiler was designed with a special
configuration, allowing monitoring of the combustion parameters (measurement ports, allowing
sensors insertion, are located at different positions along the combustion flue gas path). The
furnace is composed by a primary and a secondary combustion chamber. Combustion air is
distributed through three different sections. Primary air is supplied into the fixed bed through the
circular grates. Secondary and tertiary combustion air are supplied through ports located at
distinct heights in the furnace walls above the biomass bed. The combustion system has a bin
8
Pitel', J. and Mižák, J. , Cost effective biomass combustion process control, in Proceedings of the 8th PP&PSC
(Power Plant and Power System Control) IFAC Symposium, pp. 616–620, Toulouse, France, 2012

23
and a volumetric screw-feeder, which allows biomass feeding into the combustion chamber.
Biomass feeding is controlled through the rotation speed of the screw-feeder, acting over the
operating frequency of the geared motor. A gradual and controlled feeding process allows an
improved sequence of biomass to energy conversion (by this order: drying, devolatilization, and
char and volatiles combustion) as it moves towards the combustion front. A multicyclone is
placed downstream of the boiler to remove particulate matter from the flue gas exhaust stream.
Ventil boilers’ configurations allow combustion of a large range of biomass fuels (i.e., different
types of biomass, different moisture contents and/or particle size and shape) over a wide thermal
output ranging from 350 kWth up to 7 MWth.

BIOMASS FEEDING SYSTEM CALIBRATION

Wood pellets of commercial quality (standardized and certified) were used for the experimental
work.The experimental furnace/boiler incorporates an underfeeding system, integrating a screw-
feeder, with a maximum of 12 rpm (100% of the operating frequency of the geared motor), that
inserts the biomass fuel into the bottom part of a circular fixed bed inside the bottom part of the
furnace. This allows the gradual and controlled introduction of biomass into the bottom of the
furnace. As biomass moves upward in the fixed bed and approaching the upper bed combustion
front, it is possible to control the combustion process and promote the material pre-drying. The
biomass feeding system used in these boilers is designed to allow the use of different types of
biomass, inhibiting compression of the material (thus avoiding obstructions and/or blockages).

Screw feeder calibration allows knowledge of the biomass flow rate introduced into the furnace
as depending on the screw rotational speed. The geared motor driven the screw feeder works
with a maximum frequency of 50 Hz and a minimum frequency of 5 Hz (100% and 10% of the
nominal operating frequency, respectively). The operating frequency of the geared motor when
wood pellets are used ranges between 10% (1.2 rpm) (minimum allowed by the system) and 30%
(3.6 rpm) (maximum feeding required by this type of biomass).

BIOMASS FEEDING SYSTEM’S CONTROL

The boiler’s control system is of the ‘Start and Stop’ type, acting over the boiler’s electrical and
mechanical equipment (e.g. valves opening/closing). Control system stops the boiler (boiler
resting phase) whenever the required water temperature is reached.

24
One of the objectives of this work is to experimentally investigate the influence of biomass
feeding on the combustion efficiency. Taking this into account, data were obtained based on the
variables of biomass feeding control. Boiler control system controls the rotational speed of the
screw feeder, and sets the operating frequency of the geared motor, triggering screw rotation
according to the O2 concentration (wet gas) in the flue gas. The O2concentration in the exhaust
flue gas is measured using a lambda sensor located downstream the multicyclone and upstream
the exhaust gas extraction fan.
Two different biomass feeding control methods were considered in this work in order to evaluate
the influence of the biomass feeding conditions. One consists on the manually controlled
biomass feeding through the boiler control system. In other words, the introduction of biomass
into the furnace (start and stop system) is imposed by the operator according to the system’s
needs. The other consists on an automatic control, according which the screw-feeder is
automatically controlled by the boiler’s control system. Comparison of the two operating modes
will also allow understanding if the automatic mode leads to an efficient combustion process,
and if its optimization is possible.

The combustion flue gas sampling and composition monitoring was performed by continuous
extraction at exhaust duct of the combustion system, using a water-cooled stainless-steel probe
including a type-N thermocouple (0–1250 °C).

 FLUE GAS COMPOSITION MONITORING

The water-cooled stainless-steel probe has three high temperature resistant stainless-steel
concentric tubes, with different diameters but equivalent annular areas. This assembly allows
circulation of cooling water between outer tubes, for sample gas quenching, and the
incorporation of a type-N thermocouple and the suction of flue gas through the inner tube. The
sample gas conditioning unit CSS-V1, M&C® works continuously and allows supply of the flue
gas sample to the online gas analyzer. The combustion flue gas was analyzed with the ABB
Continuous Gas Analyzer, Easylin EL3000 Series, Model EL3040, with an infrared photometer
Uras26 (used to measure the concentration of CO, NO, and CO2) and paramagnetic O2 analyzer
Magnos206; upstream the online gas analyzer a gas conditioning unit was used to remove water,
because the gas analyzer works on a dry gas sample. The measuring ranges defined for each
chemical species are: CO: 0–10 000 ppm; NO: 0–2000 ppm; CO2: 0–25 vol% and O2: 0%–25%,
all in dry gas volumetric basis.

25
 CONTROL AND MONITORING SYSTEMS
The furnace/boiler monitoring and control system allow acquisition of many variables, including
furnace pressure, water temperature, flue gases temperature and flue gases composition
(e.g., CO2, CO, NO, O2), allowing also control and monitoring of all ancillary combustion
system’s mechanical equipment. Control system displays all information concerning the progress
of the combustion process along time on an interactive board. The settings and control of the
combustion parameters (i.e., water temperature, screw feeder rotation speed, combustion air
flowrate, etc.) are set through the interactive board. A database allows structured storage of the
experimentally acquired variables. Information from the measurement equipment
(thermocouples, moisture sensors, flue gas analyzer, etc.) and sent by the control system is stored
in the database, allowing integrated and real-time monitoring and control.9

CONCLUSIONS

9
ižák, J. and Pitel', J.the problem of use of lambda sensors for combustion control,” in Proceedings of the ARTEP,
pp. 36,[ 2011]

26
The growing use of waste-to-energy technologies as a method for safe disposal of solid and
liquid wastes, and as an attractive option to generate heat, power and fuels, has greatly reduced
environmental impacts of a wide array of wastes. An environmentally sound and techno-
economically viable methodology to treat different classes of waste is highly crucial for the
sustainability of modern societies. A transition from conventional energy systems to one based
on renewable resources is necessary to meet the ever-increasing demand for energy and to
address environmental concerns.

27
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Pitel', J. and Mižák, J.Cost effective biomass combustion process control, in Proceedings of the 8th PP&PSC (Power

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28