DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING.

TOPIC: BIOMASS AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

COURSE: ENERGY SOURCE AND UTILIZATION IN AGRICULTURE

(AGE 806)

BIOMASS AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

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OVERVIEW
Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology, it means living organisms,
and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms.
In the latter context, there are variations in how biomass is defined, e.g., only from plants, or
from plants and algae, or from plants and animals. The vast majority of biomass used for
bioenergy does come from plants. Bioenergy is a type of renewable energy with potential to
assist with climate change mitigation.

Among the renewable energy sources, biomass offers some benefits due to its low cost and
presumed zero-carbon emission when compared with fossil fuels (Dominković et al., 2016).
However, the moisture content of biomass is often high that lower sits heating value, reduces the
combustion temperature and causes operational problems. Because of these, when burning
biomass for power generation, biomass is often dried prior to the combustion. To lower the
drying cost or to maximize the power output of a biomass power plant, proper heat integration in
between the steam power plant and the drying process has to be considered (Gebreegziabher et
al., 2014).

Biomass is one of the oldest sources of energy for humans: since times of early humans, we’ve
been using biomass in various forms to cook our food, heat dwellings, and more (Demirbaş,
2001). In addition to providing heat, biomass can be used for generating renewable electricity.
Biomass is renewable organic material that comes from plants and animals. Biomass continues to
be an important fuel in many countries, especially for cooking and heating in developing
countries (Demirbas, 2007). The use of biomass fuels for transportation and for electricity
generation is increasing in many developed countries as a means of avoiding carbon dioxide
emissions from fossil fuel use.

Example of materials commonly used as biomass;

1. Wood

Wood, in all of its forms including logs, sawdust, wood chips, wood pellets and tree bark can be
used to produce energy.

2. Agricultural Products

This category includes plant-based materials, both biological residue and energy crops. These are
burned, and the heat is used to heat up a boiler. The steam produced by the boiler is then used to
power a turbine and then a generator, which produces electrical energy. The entire system is
similar to the one used for wood.

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The agriculture industry can also put its waste to good use by employing it to produce part of the
energy it needs. This is an extremely important aspect because it can reduce the overall costs of
the entire industry.

3. Solid Waste

Garbage can be put to good use by burning it to produce energy. The system is essentially the
same as the one described for wood combustion. However, there is a crucial difference. Not all
garbage is biomass because quite a large part of it consists of plastics, which are petroleum-
based. Thus, a considerable amount of the energy produced from garbage is not green energy.

The units that obtain energy from garbage are called waste-to-energy plants. While they are an
extremely useful for getting rid of the enormous amounts of garbage produced by society, the
process can have notable detrimental effects on the environment.

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 Figure 1: Example of materials commonly used as biomass
The main biomass types harvested directly for energy is wood, some food crops and all perennial
energy crops:

Woody biomass harvested directly for energy consists mainly of trees and bushes harvested for
traditional cooking and heating purposes (mostly in developing countries.). The IEA argues that
traditional bioenergy is not sustainable and in its Net Zero by 2050 scenario it is phased out
already in 2030 (Slorach and Stamford, 2021). Short-rotation coppices and short-rotation forests
are also harvested directly for energy and the energy content provided is 4. These crops are seen
as sustainable, and the potential (together with perennial energy crops) is estimated to at least 25
EJ annually by 2050 (Kalt et al., 2020).

The main food crops harvested for energy are sugar-producing crops (e.g. sugarcane), starch-
producing crops (e.g. corn) and oil-producing crops (e.g. rapeseed). Sugarcane is a perennial
crop, while corn and rapeseed are annual crops.

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 Sugar- and starch-producing crops are used to make bioethanol, and oil-producing crops are
used to make biodiesel. Biofuel from food crops harvested for energy is also called "first-
generation" or "traditional" biofuel, and has relatively low emission savings. Perennial energy
crops are seen as the preferred category of crops for energy production because of high yields
and a much better ecological profile than annual crops. However, the commercial production of
these crops is currently not significant on a global scale.

Residues and waste are by-products from biological material harvested mainly for non-energy
purposes. The most important by-products are wood residues, agricultural residues and
municipal/industrial waste. Wood residues are by-products from forestry operations or from the
wood processing industry. Had the residues not been collected and used for bioenergy, they
would have decayed (and therefore produced emissions) on the forest floor or in landfills, or
been burnt (and produced emissions) at the side of the road in forests or outside wood processing
facilities.

Figure 2: Sawdust as a residue from the wood processing industry.

The by-products from forestry operations are called logging residues or forest residues, and
consist of tree tops, branches, stumps, damaged or dying or dead trees, irregular or bent stem
sections, thinnings (small trees that are cleared away in order to help the bigger trees grow large),
and trees removed to reduce wildfire risk. The extraction level of logging residues differ from
region to region, but there is an increasing interest in using this feedstock, since the sustainable
potential is large.

The by-products from the wood processing industry are called wood processing residues and
consist of cut offs, shavings, sawdust, bark, and black liquor.

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 Wood processing residues have a total energy content of 5.5 EJ annually. Wood pellets are
mainly made from wood processing residues, and have a total energy content of 0.7 EJ. Wood
chips are made from a combination of feedstocks, and have a total energy content of 0.8 EJ
(Ojolo, Orisaleye and Abolarin, 2012).

The energy content in agricultural residues used for energy is approximately 2 EJ. However,
agricultural residues have a large untapped potential. The energy content in the global production
of agricultural residues has been estimated to 78 EJ annually, with the largest share from straw
(51 EJ). Others have estimated between 18 and 82 EJ (Bentsen, Felby and Thorsen, 2014).

BIOENERGY
 Since biomass can be used as a fuel directly (e.g. wood logs), some people use the words
biomass and biofuel interchangeably. Others subsume one term under the other, but in the real
sense, biofuel is the fuel or energy produced by the biomass. Converting biomass to energy

Biomass is converted to energy through various processes, including:

• Direct combustion (burning) to produce heat

• Thermochemical conversion to produce solid, gaseous, and liquid fuels

• Chemical conversion to produce liquid fuels

• Biological conversion to produce liquid and gaseous fuels

 Direct combustion is the most common method for converting biomass to useful energy.
All biomass can be burned directly for heating buildings and water, for industrial process
heat, and for generating electricity in steam turbines.

 Thermochemical conversion of biomass includes pyrolysis and gasification. Both are

thermal decomposition processes in which biomass feedstock materials are heated in
closed, pressurized vessels called gasifiers at high temperatures. They mainly differ in the
process temperatures and amount of oxygen present during the conversion process.

• Pyrolysis entails heating organic materials to 800˚F–900˚F (400˚C–500˚C) in the near

complete absence of free oxygen. Biomass pyrolysis produces fuels such as charcoal, bio-oil,
renewable diesel, methane, and hydrogen.

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• Hydro treating is used to process bio-oil (produced by fast pyrolysis) with hydrogen
under elevated temperatures and pressures in the presence of a catalyst to produce renewable
diesel, renewable gasoline, and renewable jet fuel.

• Gasification entails heating organic materials to 1400˚F–1700˚F (800˚C–900˚C) with

injections of controlled amounts of free oxygen and/or steam into the vessel to produce a carbon
monoxide and hydrogen rich gas called synthesis gas or syngas. Syngas can be used as a fuel for
diesel engines, for heating, and for generating electricity in gas turbines. It can also be treated to
separate the hydrogen from the gas, and the hydrogen can be burned or used in fuel cells. The
syngas can be further processed to produce liquid fuels using the Fischer–Tropsch process.

 Chemical conversion involves 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. A chemical conversion process known as transesterification is used
for converting vegetable oils, animal fats, and greases into fatty acid methyl esters
(FAME), which are used to produce biodiesel.

 Biological conversion includes fermentation to convert biomass into ethanol and

anaerobic digestion to produce renewable natural gas. Ethanol is used as a vehicle fuel.
Renewable natural gas—also called biogas or bio methane—is produced in anaerobic
digesters at sewage treatment plants and at dairy and livestock operations. It also forms in
and may be captured from solid waste landfills. Properly treated renewable natural gas
has the same uses as fossil fuel natural gas.

Researchers are working on ways to improve these methods and to develop other ways to
convert and use more biomass for energy.

How biomass fuel works

Just like fossil fuels, such as coal or gas, biomass contains lots of chemical energy. Biomass can
be processed into different fuel sources:

Liquid biofuels such as bioethanol can be used for cars and other transport, just like petrol and
diesel.

Solid biofuels such as wood pellets can be burned to heat homes and other buildings or to
generate electricity.

Biogas, often a mix of methane and carbon dioxide can burned for heating or to generate
electricity.
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Biomass power stations works in exactly the same way as fossil fuel power stations:

Biomass is burned, giving off heat - chemical energy is transferred into heat energy.

The heat is used to boil water to create steam.

The steam expands and builds up enough pressure to turn turbines - heat energy is transferred to
kinetic energy.

The turbines turn generators which contain electromagnets. This creates a flow of electricity -
kinetic energy is transferred into electrical energy

Electricity is supplied to the grid for use at home, work or school.

Unlike coal, which is often used as a fuel for thermal power plants, biomass contains much
higher levels of moisture (Demirbas, 2004). The high moisture content increases the difficulty in
operation, lowers the combustion efficiency and threatens environmental limitations. Most of the
latest biomass power plants are often integrated with drying facilities of which biomass is
shredded and/or thermally dried before sending it to the boiler plant. In order to sustain the
combustion in a boiler, biomasses often burnt at a moisture level below 55–65 wt.% while the
optimum moisture content could be as low as 10–15 wt. showed the importance of biomass
drying for small-to-medium scale biomass gasification plants for the production of heat and
power, and verified that high levels of moisture content within feedstock not only lowers the
performance of the system but also deteriorates the quality of the product gas (Bridgwater,
2003). Gebreegziabher et al., suggested that, using waste heat of a power plant is an economical
solution for drying wood chips (Gebreegziabher et al., 2014)

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 Figure 3: The main processes used for the thermo-chemical conversion of biomass (Mckendry, 2002)

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 Figure 4: Direct combustion of EFB

It is worthy to note that location of the biomass power plant is important for environmental and
economic reasons.

Like fossil fuels, biomass fuels are very portable.

Solid, liquid and gas biofuels can all be transported by road, rail or boat. In some placers biogas
is transported through pipelines to where it is needed.

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Sites for processing and burning biofuels are often located near where the source of fuel is
grown, for example near timber forests or sugar cane plantations. This reduces the need for
transport.

Advantages of Biomass Energy

Biomass is a clean source of energy. Its initial source of energy is sunlight. The biomass, derived
from plants or algae, can regrow in a short period of time. This is because crops, trees, and solid
waste are available constantly and are well managed.

The carbon emissions can be offset if trees and crops are grown in a proper manner. The offset
happens when they absorb carbon dioxide through respiration. Some bioenergy processes allow
the amount of carbon that is reabsorbed to exceed the release of carbon emissions during fuel
processing or usage. Many biomass feedstocks, such as switchgrass, can be harvested on small
pastures or lands. This is possible as they are not competing with food crops. Biomass energy is
stored within the organism and harvested. This is very unlike other renewable energy sources,
such as wind or solar, when needed.

Disadvantages of Biomass Energy

1. Biomass feedstocks can become non-renewable if you do not refill them quickly. For
example, it takes hundreds of years for a forest to re-establish itself. In comparison, this is still
much less than fossil fuels such as peat. Fossil fuel like three feet of peat can take around 900
years to replenish itself.

2. You require arable land for the development of most biomass. Hence, land used for
biofuel crops such as corn and soy is unavailable to provide natural habitats or to grow food.

3. Forest land areas that have matured for decades are able to store more carbon than newly
planted areas. Forested areas, if cut, must be replanted and given time to grow in a balanced
manner. Otherwise, the advantages of using wood for fuel are not offset by the regrowth of trees.

4. Biomass has a lower energy density as compared to fossil fuels. It is not economically
viable to transport biomass more than 100 miles from the place of processing. However, the
conversion of biomass into pellets, as opposed to wood chips, can increase the fuel’s energy
density. This will make it more advantageous to ship.

5. Burning biomass leads to the release of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides,
and other pollutants and particulates. These pollutants, if not captured and recycled, will lead to
problems. Otherwise, the burning biomass will create smog. It can even exceed the number of
pollutants released by fossil fuels.

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6. Wood is one of the most used sources of biomass energy. The desired amount of power
production requires the burning of vast amounts of wood and other waste products. While
currently there is enough wood waste already, there is a risk of deforestation in the future.

7. The space requirements for Biomass plants are quite large.

Role of Biomass Energy in Agriculture.

Biofuels and biomass come in liquid, gaseous, and solid forms. They are used for heating,
cooking, processing, cooling, electricity production, and as transport fuels. Most common in the
agriculture and energy interlace is the generation of electricity from agricultural residues, such as
from crops (like straw and husk), from husbandry (like manures and slurries), and from other
organic material from excess production or insufficient market (like grass silage On the
consumption side, bioenergy has extensive use for various agricultural processing activities, such
as the cooling of agricultural products. Cogeneration is an important aspect to discuss when we
think of the role of biomass energy in agriculture. Cogeneration is for the on-site generation of
heat (cooling) and electricity and thereby optimizing generation efficiency (Bazmi and Zahedi,
2011).

The difference between Biofuel and Fossil Fuel.

• It takes millions of years to generate fossil fuel in the earth but regeneration of biofuel is a very
short period.

• Fossil fuel is a non-renewable energy source whereas biofuel is a renewable energy source.

• Using fossil fuel pollutes the environment in many ways, but the consumption of biofuel is an
environmental friendly concept.

• We cannot produce fossil fuel; it has to be generated naturally. But we can easily produce
biofuel , varying from small scale to large scale.

• Health hazards of fossil fuels are very high; biofuel causes fewer problems to our health.

• The contribution of fossil fuel for the world energy demand is very high while that of biofuel is
relatively low

Material used and design of a biomass plant

The physical handling of biomass fuels during collection or at a processing plant can be
challenging task, particularly for solid biomass.
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Biomass fuels tend to vary with density, moisture content and particle size and can also be
corrosive. Therefore biomass fuel handling equipment is often a difficult part of a plant to
adequately design, maintain and operate.

The design and equipment choice for the fuel handling system, including preparation and
refinement systems is carried out in accordance with the plant configuration. This is of special
importance when the biomass is not homogeneous and contains impurities, typically for forest
and agricultural wastes. Some of the common problems encountered have been the unpopular
design and undersized fuel handling, preparation and feeding systems.

The fuel handling core systems and equipment are dependent on both the raw fuel type and
condition as well as on the conversion/combustion technology employed. The core equipment in
a biomass power plant includes the following:

 Fuel reception

 Fuel weighing systems

 Receiving bunkers

 Bunker discharge systems (stoker, screw, grab bucket)

 Fuel preparation

 Fuel drying systems

 Crushers

 Chippers

 Screening systems

 Shredding systems

 Grinding systems (for pulverized fuel burners)

 Safety systems (explosion relieve, emergency discharge, fire detections etc)

 Fuel transport and feeding

 Push floors

 Belt feeders

 Conveyers and Elevators

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  Tube feeders

 Fuel hoppers and silos (refined fuel)

 Hopper, bunker and silo discharge

 Feeding stokers

 Feeding screws

 Rotary valves

 Fuel storage and handling equipment

 Combustor / furnace

 Boiler

 Pumps

 Fans

 Steam turbine

 Generator

 Condenser

 Cooling tower

 Exhaust / emissions controls

 System controls (automated).

To enable any available biomass resource to be matched with the end use energy carrier required
(heat, electricity or transport fuels) the correct selection of conversion technologies is required.
Since the forms in which biomass can be used for energy are diverse, optimal resources,
technologies and entire systems will be shaped by local conditions, both physical and socio-
economic in nature.

As the majority of people in developing countries will continue using biomass as their primary
energy source well into the next century, it is of critical importance that biomass-based energy
truly can be modernized to yield multiple socioeconomic and environmental benefits.

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 Figure 5: A biomass power generation station

Figure 6: plant Diagram of a biomass power generation station

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DESCRIPTION
Most biopower plants use direct-fired combustion systems. They burn biomass directly to
produce high-pressure steam that drives a turbine generator to make electricity. In some biomass
industries, the extracted or spent steam from the power plant is also used for manufacturing
processes or to heat buildings. These combined heat and power (CHP) systems greatly increase
overall energy efficiency to approximately 80%, from the standard biomass electricity-only
systems with efficiencies of approximately 20%. Seasonal heating requirements will impact the
CHP system efficiency.

Direct combustion systems feed a biomass feedstock into a combustor or furnace, where the
biomass is burned with excess air to heat water in a boiler to create steam. Instead of direct
combustion, some developing technologies gasify the biomass to produce a combustible gas, and
others produce pyrolysis oils that can be used to replace liquid fuels. Boiler fuel can include
wood chips, pellets, sawdust, or bio-oil. Steam from the boiler is then expanded through a steam
turbine, which spins to run a generator and produce electricity.

In general, all biomass systems require fuel storage space and some type of fuel handling
equipment and controls. A system using wood chips, sawdust, or pellets typically use a bunker or
silo for short-term storage and an outside fuel yard for larger storage. An automated control
system conveys the fuel from the outside storage area using some combination of cranes,
stackers, reclaimers, front-end loaders, belts, augers, and pneumatic transport. Manual
equipment, like front loaders, can be used to transfer biomass from the piles to the bunkers, but
this method will incur significant cost in labor and equipment operations and maintenance
(O&M). A less labor-intensive option is to use automated stackers to build the piles and
reclaimers to move chips from the piles to the chip bunker or silo.

Wood chip-fired electric power systems typically use one dry ton per megawatt-hour of
electricity production. This approximation is typical of wet wood systems and is useful for a first
approximation of fuel use and storage requirements but the actual value will vary with system
efficiency. For comparison, this is equivalent to 20% HHV efficiency with 17 MMBtu/ton wood.

Most wood chips produced from green lumber will have a moisture content of 40% to 55%, wet
basis, which means that a ton of green fuel will contain 800 to 1,100 pounds of water. This water
will reduce the recoverable energy content of the material, and reduce the efficiency of the
boiler, as the water must be evaporated in the first stages of combustion.

The biggest problems with biomass-fired plants are in handling and pre-processing the fuel. This
is the case with both small grate-fired plants and large suspension-fired plants. Drying the
biomass before combusting or gasifying it improves the overall process efficiency, but may not
be economically viable in many cases.

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Exhaust systems are used to vent combustion by-products to the environment. Emission controls
might include a cyclone or multi-cyclone, a baghouse, or an electrostatic precipitator. The
primary function of all of the equipment listed is particulate matter control, and is listed in order
of increasing capital cost and effectiveness. Cyclones and multi-cyclones can be used as pre-
collectors to remove larger particles upstream of a baghouse (fabric filter) or electrostatic
precipitator.

In addition, emission controls for unburned hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and sulfur might
be required, depending on fuel properties and local, state, and Federal regulations.

How it works

In a direct combustion system, biomass is burned in a combustor or furnace to generate hot gas,
which is fed into a boiler to generate steam, which is expanded through a steam turbine or steam
engine to produce mechanical or electrical energy.

Figure 7: Direct Combustion / Steam Turbine System

In a direct combustion system, processed biomass is the boiler fuel that produces steam to
operate a steam turbine and generator to make electricity.

Types and Costs of Technology

There are numerous companies, primarily in Europe, that sell small-scale engines and combined
heat and power systems that can run on biogas, natural gas, or propane. Some of these systems
are available in the United States, with outputs from about 2 kilowatts (kW), and approximately
20,000 British thermal units (Btu) per hour of heat, to several megawatts (MW). In addition,

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small-scale (100 to 1,500 kW) steam engine/gen-sets and steam turbines (100 to 5,000 kW) that
are fueled by solid biomass are currently available in Europe.

In the United States, direct combustion is the most common method of producing heat from
biomass. Small-scale biomass electric plants have installed costs of $3,000 to $4,000 per kW,
and a leveled cost of energy of $0.8 to $0.15 per kilowatt hour (kWh).

The two principal types of chip-fired direct combustion systems are stationary- and traveling-
grate combustors, otherwise known as fixed-bed stokers and atmospheric fluidized-bed
combustors.

FIXED-BED SYSTEMS

There are various configurations of fixed-bed systems, but the common characteristic is that fuel
is delivered in some manner onto a grate where it reacts with oxygen in the air. This is an
exothermic reaction that produces very hot gases and generates steam in the heat exchanger
section of the boiler.

FLUIDIZED-BED SYSTEMS

In either a circulating fluidized-bed or bubbling fluidized-bed system, the biomass is burned in a

hot bed of suspended, incombustible particles, such as sand. Compared to grate combustors,
fluidized-bed systems generally produce more complete carbon conversion, resulting in reduced
emissions and improved system efficiency. In addition, fluidized-bed boilers can use a wider
range of feedstocks. Furthermore, fluidized-bed systems have a higher parasitic electric load than
fixed-bed systems due to increased fan power requirements.

BIOMASS GASIFICATION SYSTEMS

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 Figure 8: Small, modular biopower system by Community Power Corporation

Although less common, biomass gasification systems are similar to combustion systems, except
that the quantity of air is limited, and thus produce a clean fuel gas with a usable heating value in
contrast to combustion, in which the off gas does not have a usable heating value. Clean fuel gas
provides the ability to power many different kinds of gas-based prime movers, such as internal
combustion engines, Stirling engines, thermo electric generators, solid oxide fuel cells, and
micro-turbines.

The efficiency of a direct combustion or biomass gasification system is influenced by a number

of factors, including biomass moisture content, combustion air distribution and amounts (excess
air), operating temperature and pressure, and flue gas (exhaust) temperature.

APPLICATION

The type of system best suited to a particular application depends on many factors, including
availability and cost of each type of biomass (e.g. chip, pellet, or logs), competing fuel cost (e.g.
fuel oil and natural gas), peak and annual electrical loads and costs, building size and type, space
availability, operation and maintenance staff availability, and local emissions regulations.

Projects that can make use of both electricity production and thermal energy from biomass
energy systems are often the most cost effective.

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 If a location has predictable access to year-round, affordable biomass resources, then some
combination of biomass heat and electricity production may be a good option. Transportation of
fuel accounts for a significant amount of its cost, so resources should ideally be available from
local sources. In addition, a facility will typically need to store biomass feedstocks on-site, so site
access and storage are factors to consider.

As with any on-site electricity technology, the electricity generating system will need to be
interconnected to the utility grid. The rules for interconnection may be different if the system is a
combined heat and power system instead of only for electricity production. The ability to take
advantage of net metering may also be crucial to system economics.

Economics
The major capital cost items for a biomass power system include the fuel storage and fuel
handling equipment, the combustor, boiler, prime mover (e.g. turbine or engine), generator,
controls, stack, and emissions control equipment.

System cost intensity tends to decrease as the system size increases. For a power-only (not
combined heat and power) steam system in the 5 to 25 MW range, costs generally range between
$3,000 and $5,000 per kilowatt of electricity. Levelized cost of energy for this system would be
$0.08 to $0.15 per kWh, but this could increase significantly with fuel costs. Large systems
require significant amounts of material, which leads to increasing haul distances and material
costs. Small systems have higher O&M costs per unit of energy generated and lower efficiencies
than large systems. Therefore, determining the optimal system size for a particular application is
an iterative process.

Assessing Resource Availability

The most important factors in planning for a biomass energy system are resource assessment,
planning, and procurement. As part of the screening and feasibility analysis processes, it is
critical to identify potential sources of biomass and to estimate the fuel quantities needed.

If possible, determine, in detail, the capability of potential suppliers to produce and deliver a fuel
that meets the requirements of the biomass equipment.

This can be a bit of an intensive process as it involves determining the load to be served,
identifying possible equipment manufacturers or vendors, working with those vendors to
determine a fuel specification, and contacting suppliers to see if they can meet the specification
—and at what price. It is also necessary to estimate the monthly and annual fuel requirement, as
well as peak fuel use, to help with fuel handling and fuel storage equipment sizing.

Since there is no established wood chip distribution system in most of the United States, it is
sometimes difficult to find suppliers. One suggestion is to contact the Nigeria Forest Service and

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state forest service offices. Other resources to contact include landscape companies, lumber
mills, and other wood processors, landfills, arborists, and wood furniture manufacturers.

County-level biomass resource estimates are also available online through an interactive
mapping and analysis tool. The Biomass assessment tool was developed by the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) using funding from EPA (Moriarty, 2013). Previously,
resource assessment efforts were usually static and did not allow user analysis or manipulation of
the data. This new tool enables users to select a location on the map, quantify the biomass
resources available within a user-defined radius, and estimate the total thermal energy or power
that could be generated by recovering a portion of that biomass. The tool acts as a preliminary
source of biomass feedstock information; however, it cannot take the place of an on-the-ground
feedstock assessment.

A process must be developed to receive biomass deliveries and to assess the fuel properties. As
of July 2011, there are no national wood chip specifications, but regional specifications are being
developed (Sikkema, et al., 2011). Having a specification helps to communicate and enforce chip
requirements. The specification should include physical dimensions, fuel moisture content range,
energy content, ash and mineral content, and other factors that affect fuel handling or
combustion. To ensure fair value, fuel procurement contracts should scale purchase price
inversely with moisture content, as higher moisture content significantly decreases combustion
efficiency and increases the weight of material to be transported.

A case Study
Sugars from plants can be converted into ethanol and carbon dioxide by a process
called fermentation using enzymes in yeast. Ethanol is highly flammable; it is a store
of chemical energy which is converted to different types of energy (including heat) when
burned.

When ethanol comes from a plant it can be classed as a biofuel.

In some countries, such as Brazil, the source of sugar is sugar cane, which yeast can directly
ferment into ethanol. Brazil has been using bioethanol as a fuel in cars since the 1970s. Brazil is
a major producer of sugar cane so there is always plenty available to be turned into ethanol.

Bioethanol can be burnt in a car engine but some engine modification is needed. Modern petrol
engines can use petrol containing up to 10% ethanol without needing any modifications, and
most petrol sold in the UK contains ethanol.

In Brazil, they commonly use fuel that is 25% ethanol and 75% petrol although there are some
cars that run on 100% ethanol.

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This is one way of removing fossil fuels from modes of transport. This works successfully in
Brazil because the climate is suitable for growing sugar cane and petrol is expensive and must be
imported.

Figure 9: Sugar cane at a bioethanol refinery, Brazil

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 REFERENCES

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