BIOMASS

• Biomass is plant or animal material used as

fuel to produce electricity or heat.
Top 10 Countries Turning Waste And Biomass
Into Energy
Biomass Resources in the Philippines

• Biomass resources available in the Philippines

are generally residues from rice, maize,
coconut, and sugarcane products, which are
abundantly grown in the country.
•  Nearly 30 percent of the energy for the 100 million
plus people living in the Philippines comes from
biomass, and is mainly used for household cooking
by the rural population.  
• Biomass energy sources, account for approximately
15 percent of the primary energy use in the
Philippines.  These resources that are available in
the Philippines can generate biomass power projects
with a potential capacity of more than 200 MW.
Coal Reserves in the Philippines
• The Philippines holds 348 million tons
(MMst) of proven coal reserves as of 2016,
ranking 47th in the world and accounting for
about 0% of the world's total coal reserves of
1,139,471 million tons (MMst).
Coal Reserves in the Philippines
• The Philippines is largely a coal consuming country with
coal having the highest contribution to the power
generation mix at 44.5% in 2015. But, local demand for
coal is not limited to power generation. In 2015, the
cement industry utilized 15.22% of the country’s coal
supply, 5% went to other industries such as alcohol,
sinter, rubber boots, paper and chemical manufacturing,
fertilizer production and smelting processes.
 Advantages of using coal energy
• Coal energy is an affordable energy source
because of the coal’s stable price compared to
other fuel sources
• Coal is easy to burn
• Coal energy is inexpensive
• Coal energy is a reliable energy source
Disadvantages of using coal energy
• Coal energy produces large amount of carbon
dioxide which leads to global warming and
climate change
• The burning of coal is not environmental
friendly
• Coal mining ruins the environment and puts
the lives of people specially the coal miners in
danger
 Biocoal/ Charcoal Briquette
• Bio coal is a carbon-neutral fuel that can
replace fossil coal in industrial processes. It is
produced within the process of Biogreen
pyrolysis and carbonization of raw biomass
performed within controlled temperature and
residence time conditions.
• A charcoal briquette is a compacted mass of
fuel material made from a mix of charcoal
fines and binder, and molded under pressure.
Although charcoal briquettes are not very well
known in the Philippines, the product is
already a household fuel in Europe and
America. In some Asian countries, hotels and
big restaurants use it for roasting.
 The uses of Bio coal
• Using bio coal is identified as a tool to fight
climate change while also improving soil fertility
and results in increased crop yields from
previously degraded soils for smallholder
farmers.
• Bio coal systems are particularly relevant in
developing country contexts and could be
leveraged to address global challenges associated
with food production and climate change.
 The uses of Bio coal
• Cooking energy dominates at the household
scale, and projects generating electricity
occurring at larger scales. Both of these results
could be beneficial to forests. By decreasing
wood gathering from forests already in
decline.
 What are the benefits related to the
development of bio coal system?
• Climate Change 
Carbon storage and stabilization is probably
the most direct and important quality for
climate change mitigation efforts based on bio
coal, which is one of the few GHG reduction
strategies that can actually withdraw carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere.
 What are the benefits related to the
development of bio coal system?
• The Social Impacts
biochar systems can affect energy, health,
economics, and food security by reducing
pressure on wooded ecosystems and decreasing
the burden of fuel gathering an improving crop
yields and resilience against crop shortages and
hunger.
 What are the benefits related to the
development of bio coal system?
• Competing Uses of Biomass
Bio coal production could, among others,
divert food crops for fuel production, divert
arable land from food crops, affect direct and
indirect land use change.
 Geothermal Energy
• Geothermal energy is the heat that comes
from the sub-surface of the earth. It is
contained in the rocks and fluids beneath the
earth’s crust and can be found as far down to
the earth’s hot molten rock, magma.
 Geothermal Energy
• Geothermal energy can be used in different
ways depending on the resource and
technology chosen—heating and cooling
buildings through geothermal heat pumps,
generating electricity through geothermal
power plants, and heating structures through
direct-use applications.
Advantages of Geothermal Energy
• Geothermal energy is more environmentally
friendly than conventional fuel sources such as
coal and other fossil fuels
• Geothermal energy is a source of renewable
energy that will last until the Earth is destroyed
by the sun in around 5 billion years. The hot
reservoirs within the Earth are naturally
replenished, making it both renewable and
sustainable.
Advantages of Geothermal Energy
• Since geothermal energy is a naturally
occurring resource there is no fuel required,
such as with fossil fuels that are a finite
resource which needs mining or otherwise
extracting from the earth.
Advantages of Geothermal Energy
• It has a huge potential because worldwide
energy consumption is currently around 15
terawatts, which is far from the total potential
energy available from geothermal sources.
While we can’t currently use most reservoirs
there is a hope that the number of exploitable
geothermal resources will increase with
ongoing research and development in the
industry.
Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy

• The largest single disadvantage of geothermal

energy is that it is location specific.
Geothermal plants need to be built in places
where the energy is accessible, which means
that some areas are not able to exploit this
resource.
Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy

• Although geothermal energy does not

typically release greenhouse gases, there are
many of these gases stored under the Earth’s
surface which are released into the
atmosphere during digging. While these gases
are also released into the atmosphere
naturally, the rate increases near geothermal
plants. 
Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy

• Geothermal energy also runs the risk of

triggering earthquakes. This is due to
alterations in the Earth’s structure as a result
of digging. This problem is more prevalent
with enhanced geothermal power plants,
which force water into the Earth’s crust to
open up fissures to greater exploitation of the
resource.
Geothermal Energy in the Philippines

• The Philippines is one of the world’s top

producers of geothermal power, as it is
located along the Ring of Fire zone of Pacific
volcanoes. However, in 2018, the country
dropped in the global rankings for geothermal
countries, just behind Indonesia.
Geothermal Energy in the Philippines

• The Philippines currently has seven

geothermal fields which supply about 12
percent of the nation’s energy, with a long-
term plan to nearly double capacity by 2040.
Geothermal Power Plants in the Philippines
Station Community Capacity (MW)

Nasulo
Valencia,
Geothermal Negros Oriental 49.4
Power Plant

Tiwi
Geothermal Tiwi, Albay 275
Power Plant

Maibarara
Santo Tomas,
Geothermal 20
Batangas
Power Plant

Makiling-
Banahaw (Mak-
Brgy. Bitin, Bay,
Ban) 480
Geothermal Laguna
Power Plant
Geothermal Energy in the Philippines
• despite the potential of geothermal resources in
the Philippines, there are still a number of
factors contributing to a decline in investments:
unattractive incentives package compared to
other countries, a privatised energy sector,
tedious permitting processes and a lack of
potential investors who are willing to take the
risk. Although geothermal energy is theoretically
free, finding the resource is an expensive
enterprise, with exploration wells costing up to
US$8 million each with no guarantee of success.
Geowell
Geowell
• Geowell is aiming to develop reliable, cost-
effective and environmentally safe
technologies for design, completion and
monitoring of high-temperature geothermal
wells, leading to the expansion in use of this
technology.
Geowell
• the fully‐automated rig is testing new
technology to try to minimise these issues,
bring down maintenance costs and increase
the efficiency of the drilling operations. The
technology was developed by scientists as
part of a European research project,
coordinated from the Isor Iceland GeoSurvey
Institute in Reykjavik.
Geothermal Energy
• The problem in geothermal energy in general
is that you are dealing with a lot of heat. And
when you need to maintain wells, sometimes
you need to cool the wells down.
Geowell
• The objective is to enhance and improve
flexible versions of the couplings to allow their
thermal expansion, yet minimise the risk of
them buckling.
References:
• https://www.aist-riss.jp/old/lca/ci/activity/project/biomass/report/04102
8_paper/chiu_paper.pdf
• https://www.worldometers.info/coal/philippines-coal/
• https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/biomass-industry-philippines/
• https://interestingengineering.com/four-top-bioenergy-innovations
• https://sunglitz.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/advantages-and-disadvantag
es-of-using-coal-energy/
• https://www.doe.gov.ph/coal-overview?ckattempt=1
• https://www.greenfacts.org/en/biochar/index.htm
References:
• https://www.power-technology.com/features/what-is-geothermal-energy
/
• https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/5-things-know-about-geothermal-p
ower
• https://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/geothermal-in-the-philippines-an-urgen
t-revamp-of-targets-and-development-needed/
• https://www.euronews.com/next/2020/08/31/the-new-technology-innov
ations-to-expand-geothermal-energy-use-in-europe
• https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/horizon-2020/projects/h2020-energy/geoth
ermal/geowell
• https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/geothermal-energ
y/pros-and-cons#WhataretheAdvantagesofUsingGeothermal