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ASSIGNMENT 1

GLOBAL OUTLOOK OF BIOMASS ENERGY IN CURRENT AND FUTURE

1.1 Introduction

The latest scientific data confirmed that the earth's climate is rapidly changing.

Therefore, it has been widely accepted worldwide that global warming is by far the greatest

threat and challenge in the new millennium. The main factor that causes global warming is the

release of greenhouse gases to the environment. In order to reduce the emission of these

greenhouse gases and to promote sustainable development, renewable energy is the perfect

solution to achieve both targets.

Recently there has been a growing demand for a renewable energy source that covers

the needs of the world population; especially after the OPEC oil crisis which threatened many

small and non-oil producing countries. It is not viable to depend with the fossil fuel in long term

as it will be facing the shortage of source soon. Besides that many external factors such as rising

crude oil prices, environmental concerns, tougher clean Air Act standards and depletion of raw

petroleum sources have urge to the research effort focusing in identifying the economical

alternatives fuels derived from renewable resources. Some example of the renewable energy

products that might be environmental friendly rather than conventional one are biodiesel from

canola oil and bioethanol from cassava.

Increasing population of people leads to increasing amount of fossil fuel being used and

thus will be will be depleted soon. Clearly fossil fuels reserves are finite but it’s only a matter of

when they run out. Globally every year, currently people consume the equivalent of over 11
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billion tons of oil in fossil fuels. Crude oil reserves are vanishing at the rate of 4 billion tons a

year. Even though there are still gas and coal left, but if gas production increase to fill the energy

gap left by oil then those reserves will only give for only a few years addition to survive. But the

rate at which the world consumes fossil fuels is not standing still, it is increasing as the world's

population increases and as living standards rise in parts of the world that until recently had

consumed very little energy.

It’s often claimed that the presence of coal are enough to last hundreds of years. But if

we step up production to fill the gap left through depleting our oil and gas reserves, the coal

deposits we know about will only give us enough energy to take us as far as 2088. And let’s not

even think of the carbon dioxide emissions from burning all that coal. So does 2088 mark the

point that we run out of fossil fuels? The simple answer is no. Some new reserves will be found

which will help extend this deadline slightly. New reserves of fossil fuels are becoming harder to

find, and those that are being discovered are significantly smaller than the ones that have been

found in the past. Renewables offer us another way, a way to avoid the fossil fuel-based energy

time bomb. As the Saudi Oil Minister said in the 1970s, “The Stone Age didn’t end for lack of

stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil.”

1.2 The Availability of Biomass Feedstock for Future Energy

The most familiar forms of renewable energy are the wind and the sun. But biomass,

plant material and animal waste is the oldest source of renewable energy, used since our

ancestors learned the secret of fire. Since the beginning of civilization, biomass has been a

major source of energy throughout the world. Biomass is the primary source of energy for
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nearly 50% of the world’s population and wood biomass is a major renewable energy source in

the developing world, representing a significant proportion of the rural energy supply. In the

past decade, the number of countries exploiting biomass opportunities for the provision of

energy has increased rapidly, and has helped make biomass an attractive and promising option

in comparison to other renewable energy sources. The global use of biomass for energy

increases continuously and has doubled in the last 40 years.

Biomass energy or bioenergy has been used by many people which are they are the

energy from organic matter. For thousands of years, ever since people started burning wood to

cook food or to keep warm and today, wood is still the largest biomass energy resource. But

many other sources of biomass has been identified a now be used, including plants, residues

from agriculture or forestry, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes.

Even the fumes from landfills can be used as a biomass energy source.

Biomass is a renewable energy source not only because the energy it comes from the

sun, but also because biomass can re-grow over a relatively short period of time. Biomass is the

plant material derived from the reaction between CO2 in the air, water and sunlight, via

photosynthesis, to produce carbohydrates that form the building blocks of biomass. Typically

photosynthesis converts less than 1% of the available sunlight to stored, chemical energy. The

solar energy driving photosynthesis is stored in the chemical bonds of the structural

components of biomass.
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Through the process of photosynthesis, chlorophyll in plants captures the sun's energy

by converting carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground into carbohydrate,

complex compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. When these carbohydrates

are burned, they turn back into carbon dioxide and water and release the energy they captured

from the sun. In this way, biomass functions as a sort of natural battery for storing solar energy.

As long as biomass is produced sustainably as well as meeting current needs without

diminishing resources or the land’s capacity to re-grow biomass and recapture carbon, the

battery will last indefinitely and provide sources of low-carbon energy.

However, since it takes millions of years to convert biomass into fossil fuels, these are

not renewable within a time-scale mankind can use. Burning fossil fuels uses ‘‘old’’ biomass and

converts it into ‘‘new’’ CO2; which contributes to the greenhouse effect and depletes a non-

renewable resource. Burning new biomass contributes no new carbon dioxide to the
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atmosphere, because replanting harvested biomass ensures that CO2 is absorbed and returned

for a cycle of new growth. The net emission of carbon dioxide will be zero as long as plants

continue to be replenished for biomass energy purposes.

Generally, it is accepted worldwide that climate change is currently the most pressing

global environmental problem facing humanity. Scientific data showed that hundreds of millions

of people could lose their lives if the average global temperatures increase by more than 2°C. In

addition, up to one million species of animals and plants are currently at the threat of

extinction. Many environmental problems, for instance flooding, hurricanes as well as droughts

will and has occurred because of the alleviation of earth’s temperature. Other detrimental

effects of global warming include increment in sea level and subsequently submerging of

lowlands, deltas and island as well as changing of weather pattern.

Biomass feedstock availability and sustainability is largely dependent upon commodity

crop prices. Biomass is also highly susceptible to climate and climate change. Right now, fewer

than 1 billion dry tons of biomass are available, but that number could climb to just over 1

billion with modest changes and higher yields. These energy crops, such as fast-growing trees
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and grasses, are called biomass feedstock. The use of biomass feedstock can also help increase

profits for the agricultural industry. Numerous crops have been proposed or are being tested for

commercial energy farming. Potential energy crops include woody crops and

grasses/herbaceous plants (all perennial crops), starch and sugar crops and oilseeds. In general,

the characteristics of the ideal energy crop are; high yield (maximum production of dry matter

per hectare), low energy input to produce, low cost, composition with the least contaminants,

low nutrient requirements. Desired characteristics will also depend on local climate and soil

conditions. Water consumption can be a major constraint in many areas of the world and makes

the drought resistance of the crop an important factor. Other important characteristics are pest

resistance and fertilizer requirements. Only UK climatic conditions are considered in this study.

1.3 Driven Causes of Biomass Production for Future Energy

The drivers for biomass production for future due to three factors; firstly, technology

development relating to conversion, crop production promise the application of biomass at

lower cost and higher conversion efficiency than was possible previously. For example, when

low cost biomass residues are used for fuel, the cost of electricity is already now often

competitive with fossil fuel-based power generation. The second main stimulus is the

agriculture sector in Western Europe and in US, which producing food surpluses. This situation

has led to a policy in which land is set aside in order to reduce surpluses. Related problems,

such as the de-population of rural areas and payment of significant subsidies to keep land

fallow, makes the introduction of alternative, non-food crops desirable. Demand for energy will

provide an almost infinite market for energy crops grown on such (potentially) surplus land.

Thirdly, the potential threat posed by climate change, due to high emission levels of greenhouse
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gases (CO2) being the most important one), has become a major stimulus for renewable energy

sources in general. When produced by sustainable means, biomass emits roughly the same

amount of carbon during conversion as is taken up during plant growth. The use of biomass

therefore does not contribute to a buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Biomass can be converted into three main types of product; electrical/heat energy,

transport fuel, chemical feedstock. While researchers characterize the various types of biomass

in different ways but one simple method is to define four main types, namely; woody plants,

herbaceous plants/grasses, aquatic plants, manures. Within this categorization, herbaceous

plants can be further subdivided into those with high- and low-moisture contents. Apart from

specific applications or needs, most commercial activity has been directed towards the lower

moisture-content types, woody plants and herbaceous species and these will be the types of

biomass investigated in this study. Aquatic plants and manures are intrinsically high-moisture

materials and as such, are more suited to ‘wet’ processing techniques.

1.4 Global including Malaysia Concern about Biomass Energy for Future Development

Although the future of the global and U.S. renewable energy industry is hazy, one thing

is clear-biomass power will play a significant role. The EERC is a research, development,

demonstration and commercialization organization on the University of North Dakota campus.

The center has nine primary areas of focus including renewable energy, waste utilization and

management, and site remediation and environmental control technologies. In his opening

address, EERC Director Gerald Groenewold said there is much confusion in the world right now

regarding energy. "Some people think there are silver bullets that will solve all of the energy
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issues and that is not true," he said. "There is a major portfolio of energy technologies that are

going to address the needs of this world. Biomass is part of that. I don't know how big it's going

to be; a lot of that is dependent upon political decisions and regulatory decisions, cap and trade,

and carbon management.

Besides, latest report has shown that the world, including Malaysia can no longer turn

away from renewable energy as fossil fuel reserves can only last for the next 30 to 40 years. On

the other hand, Malaysia is a country rich in biomass energy resource, many material can easily

convert to biomass. Millions of hectares of land in Malaysia is occupied with plantation

generating huge quantities of biomass. In this context, biomass industries appears to be a very

promising alternative as a source of raw materials including renewable energy in Malaysia.

For the year 2030, the energy demand is expected to be almost 100 Mtoe (million tons

of oil equivalent). In order to meet the increasing demand of energy and to reduce the emission

of carbon dioxide while ensuring energy security, Malaysia needs to have an effective and

sustainable source of energy. Table 1 shows that based on 2005 data, about 93% of Malaysia

energy consumption depended heavily on fossil fuels (natural gas, coal, diesel and oil) and only

0.5% of the energy came from renewable sources such as biomass. If this trend was to continue
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on, Malaysia would suffer from lack of energy security as the Malaysia fossil fuel reserves is

predicted to last only for another 30 to 40 years. Therefore, it is inevitable that the Malaysian

government has to start looking for reliable source of renewable energy urgently. The need for

an urgent source of renewable energy is further supported by the current increasing price of

fossil fuel mainly petroleum.

Malaysia is endowed with abundant supplies of biomass resources. However, the main

sources of biomass in Malaysia are come from plantation residue and agricultural residue.

Plantation such as palm oil, rubber, cocoa, wood and timber and pepper is under supervised on

the Ministry of Primary Industry and Commodities in Malaysia. These plantations are highly

potential to be used as biomass residue for electricity generation. Malaysia is the second palm

oil producer in the world after Indonesia. With the large amount of available palm oil waste,

with the lack of landfill space, the ban of agriculture open burning and the large number of

palm oil mills, there is a good potential for the biomass project using palm oil waste. The large

areas in Northern region of Malaysia are dedicated to sugarcane plantation to supply the

required sugar. From the biomass energy view, sugarcane cultivation produces granulated sugar,

bagasse and dry leaves and cane tops that can potentially be converted into useful energy.

Biofuels are transportation fuels like ethanol and biodiesel that are made from biomass

materials. These fuels are usually blended with the petroleum fuels — gasoline and diesel fuel,

but they can also be used on their own. Using ethanol or biodiesel means we don't burn quite

as much fossil fuel. Ethanol and biodiesel are usually more expensive than the fossil fuels that
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they replace, but they are also cleaner-burning fuels, producing fewer air pollutants. Ethanol is

ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is mainly produced with

maize and is used primarily as a transportation fuel. In the U.S. most cars on the road today can

run on blends of up to 10% ethanol, and the use of 10% ethanol gasoline is mandated in some

U.S. states and cities. There is considerable debate over whether ethanol can or will replace

gasoline as a primary transportation fuel. Many points are considered on this debate including

the total energy balance from ethanol, and the production of ethanol in relation to food prices.

Besides, biodiesel is vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel. Whereas ethanol is meant

to be used in standard gasoline-burning engines, biodiesel is intended for use in diesel

engines, and can usually be burned with little modification. Whereas ethanol is mainly

produced from corn, biodiesel has a wide variety of sources, including algae, soybeans, and

fats left over from food preparation. In the U.S., all diesel engines on the road today can

run on blends of up to 20% biodiesel (B20) with no noticeable change in performance, and

up to B100 with some modifications.

1.5 Advantages and Disadvantage of choosing Biomass as Renewable Energy

Some of the advantages of biomass energy in the future are first, it is abundant since it

can be found anywhere and includes organic matter such as plants, animals or waste products

from organic resource. These energy resource known as biofuels and usually include rotted

trees, wood chips, sewage, manure and tree components. As they come from living sources we

will never run out, so long as there are living things on the earth and there is someone to turn

these components and waste products into energy. Moreover, less pollution is generated

through the production of biomass energy due to the completely natural intake, meaning there

are no carbon dioxide side effects in its use. Many other energy sources struggle to control the
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amount of carbon dioxide realized, resulting in harm to the ozone layer and increases in the

effects of greenhouse gases, potentially warming the planet.

In addition, a huge advantage of biomass energy is its ability to take harmful waste and

turn it into a useful energy resource. For example, rubbish in theory, can be burned to create

useable biomass energy. As biomass is relatively clean, it can be used in such commercial

businesses as airlines, meaning it is good for the environment and good for businesses. Finally,

with the majority of homes and businesses using oil to provide energy, oil will gradually run out

if people do not switch to a renewable energy source such as biomass. Once oil is gone, it is

gone forever. The use of biomass will therefore reduce the dependency on fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, there is still some disadvantage for the biomass energy, first is high initial

cost; the initial costs of a biomass boiler are quite daunting to most. This cost will rise for

commercial and business use. On top of the equipment and installation, fuel costs need to be

taken into consideration, with a tons of wood pellets derived from waste wood materials

typically costing around £150-£200. However, the use of sustainable fuels to generate power

can drastically reduce household bills, however the installation of a biomass boiler has to be

seen as an investment, rather than a cost.

Secondly, it is harmful to the environment; although there is a large reduction of carbon

dioxide emissions compared to other systems, there is an increase in methane gases, which can

also be harmful to the Earth’s ozone layer. These methane gases can omit unpleasant smells

that can possibly attract unwanted pests. Thirdly, in order to acquire enough lumber to power a

plant, for example, companies would have to clear large forest area. This makes the use of trees
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and tree products to power machines inefficient and can create environmental problems.

However, providing the fuel is locally sourced the emissions are much lower than that of fossil

fuels.

Lastly are the replant of plants. In order for biomass energy to be a renewable resource,

crops have to be replanted in order to keep the process continually moving – the process is

sustainable as long as new plants continue to grow to replace the fuel used. Thus, scientist and

engineer are working hard to find the solution to minimize the drawback for the consumption of

biomass as the main source of energy in the future. Moreover, they try to bring the biomass as

the major source of future energy.