13.

0 Bioenergy Energy Systems

A truly green car

Frank R. Leslie,
B. S. E. E., M. S. Space Technology, LS IEEE
3/15/2010, Rev. 2.1 fleslie @fit.edu; (321) 674-7377 www.fit.edu/~fleslie

Crude oil ~$81 on 3/15/2010

In Other News . . .
The new town of Destiny (south of Yeehaw Junction, FL) will grow various biocrops to evaluate their profitability for biofuels The Farm to Fuel program is receiving significant funding from the Florida Dept of Agriculture

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Overview: Bioenergy
Bioenergy consists of biomass (biological mass) used in the production of energy; http://www.bioproducts-bioenergy.govBiomass Phototrophs use light to survive and propagate Chemotrophs (like us) eat phototrophs (vegetables and salads)! Salads topped with biodiesel and acetic acid!
CO2 + H2O >--solar energy and chlorophyll CH2O + O2,

or carbohydrate and oxygen While biomass combustion releases CO2 into the atmosphere, new plants require CO2 to grow, balancing the process for no net CO2 over a long time

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Cheremisinoff and Regino, 1978

13.0 About This Presentation

13.1 Bioenergy Locations 13.2 Sources and Availability

13.3 Energy Extraction and Preparation 13.3.1 Dry Biomass 13.3.2 Wet Biomass 13.3.3 Gaseous Biomass 13.3.4 Energy Conversion 13.4 Environmental Aspects 13.0 Conclusion

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13.1 Bioenergy Map (From Biomass)

Direct firing, cofiring, and gasification are forms of biopower Ethanol can be made from grain or soybeans, and methanol can be made from cellulose (wood) Liquid fuels are essential for transportation vehicles due to high energy density in the tank! May be intentionally grown (coppicing) such as poplar trees or might use waste byproducts

Biomass satisfied 4% of energy demand in 1990

Biomass can serve as a bridge from fossil fuels, although it is an inefficient producer of energy (~1%)
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http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/biomass/biomass.gif

13.1 Bioenergy Use Changed with Time

The Midwest is now using less biomass while the West use is rising
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13.1 Bioenergy Definitions

Bagasse: Sugar cane refuse left after pressing the juice from the cane Bioenergy: Energy derived from biomass Biomass: Mass of plant material formed from solar energy, water, and air; any organic material that is renewable Cofire: To burn an additional fuel with the primary fuel, such as bagasse or sawdust with coal IWS: Industrial Waste Stream Waste wood, plastics, fiber; same kind of discard MWS: Municipal Waste Stream, or MSW, municipal solid waste Trash, plant trimmings, garbage (batteries, heavy metals, poisons, chemicals?) contaminate the air
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13.2 Sources and Availability

Typical fuels are sugarcane, sugar beets, sorghums, corn, wheat, forage, grasses, kenaf, eucalyptus, short rotation hardwoods, sunflowers, and comfrey. [Blackburn, 1993] The materials are so cheap that the cost of hauling them determines the overall economics of using them Truck haulage should not exceed ~70 miles to avoid overall loss of energy from truck fuel consumption Are the sources sustainable or will there be shortages? Biomass acts as seasonal peaking, since the growth occurs in time for harvesting for winter heating

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Comfrey photo from biology.clc.uc.edu

13.2 Florida Biomass Resources

Biomass Resources 1,539 MW Corn: 65,000 acres planted 2,262,000 bushels produced Soybeans: 10,000 acres planted 261,000 bushels produced Wheat: 10,000 acres planted 369,000 bushels produced CRP: 83,847 acres enrolled MSW: 24,800,000 tons generated Forest Land: 16,285,000 acres Poultry: 126,056,000 head Livestock: 1,815,000 head

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http://www.bioproducts-bioenergy.gov/

13.2.1 Florida Energy Resources

Florida Quick Facts Floridas per capita residential electricity demand is among the highest in the country, due in part to high air-conditioning use during hot summer months and the widespread use of electricity for home heating during winter months. Geologists believe that there may be large oil and gas deposits off Floridas western coast in the Federal Outer Continental Shelf. Florida is a leading producer of oranges and researchers are attempting to derive ethanol from citrus peel waste. More petroleum-fired electricity, in absolute terms, is generated in Florida than in any other State. Hurricanes and severe storms from the Atlantic Ocean put Florida at risk for massive power outages during the storm season.

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=FL
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13.2 Biomass Pollutants

From recent Clean Air Act revisions:

Particulate (PM 10)

Annual Arithmetic Mean 24-hour Average 50 mg/m3 Primary & Secondary 150 mg/m3 Primary & Secondary

Particulate (PM 2.5)

Annual Arithmetic Mean 24-hour Average 15mg/m3 Primary & Secondary 65mg/m3 Primary & Secondary

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

Annual Arithmetic Mean 24-hour Average 3-hour Average 0.030 ppm (80 mg/m3) Primary 0.14 ppm (365 mg/m3) Primary 0.50 ppm (1300 mg/m3) Secondary

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)

Annual Arithmetic Mean 0.053 ppm 100 mg/m3) Primary & Secondary

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http://www.sierraclub.org

13.3 Energy Extraction and Preparation Dry biomass may have some residual moisture but only requires physical preparation like chipping to fire it

Some research is being done to see if long trees can be directly fired on a metal conveyor belt Wet biomass can absorb more heat energy from a furnace than it can supply; the biomass must be externally dried to burn Small biomass pellets are made from wood scraps and sawdust There are pellet-burning stoves with a screw conveyor feed

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www.harmanstoves.com/

13.3.1 Dry Biomass

Dry biomass consists of tree chips, paper, various other plant matter such as corn, soybean, sorghum, sunflower, oats, barley, wheat and hay When first cut, the sap may absorb energy, and the mass should dry Spread on fields in the sun

Placed in oven heated by what would otherwise be waste heat Using solar thermal energy air-heaters

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13.3.1 Biofarms: Trees, Shrubs, and Grasses Energy tree farms are grown to produce a sustainable crop suitable for chipping and combustion Switchgrass, sugar beets, and sugar cane residual waste are likely possibilities Counterculture groups are pushing biohemp for various reasons and agendas growing hemp is illegal in the US -- Controlled Substances Act of 1971 These groups claim trace levels of THC (tetrahydrocannibinol), active ingredient of marijuana, shouldnt make it a controlled substance Mostly in the tips of leaves The Drug Enforcement Agency has free food and housing for you available should you grow it anyway!
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13.3.1 Biofarms: Bagasse (processed cane) The stalks of the sugar cane are squeezed to get the juice out to make sugar

The wet fibrous residue is called bagasse A bioenergy version could be developed to make a cane maximized for energy, yet it would still yield sugar juices The leaves could be burned as well; now discarded or burned off in the fields
Jaggery: making from sugar cane juice

NREL

www.tide-india.org/ images/big-images/conservi...
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13.3.1 Examples of Existing Systems

Forest waste or mill waste byproducts

Agricultural waste A boiler receives the combustion heat and produces steam The boiler supplies steam to a condensing steam turbine-generator unit generating about 25 to 60 MW
Coal plants can cofire biomass or convert completely to burn only biomass
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13.3.1.1 Example: Forest Waste

Prairie Woods Cogeneration Plant at Prairie Woods Oregon burns sawmill waste called hog fuel Operates under PURPA to produce 450 psi steam Fuel units are 200 cubic feet, and 200 units per day is the typical rate Generator is 2-pole, 13,800V GE 7500kW upgraded to 9375kVA, and often runs at 7.5 MW High line electrical transmission is at 69kV The plant is considered distributed generation Plant meets DEQ PM10, NOx, CO, SO2, and VOC and is less polluting than wildfires A Warm Springs tribe forester says, This material is going to burn. We get to choose how.
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13.3.1.2 Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) Municipal waste streams may have anything in it that people want to throw away -- its a mix

Air blast and magnetic separation can select different streams to go in various piles Permanent magnets first extract the steel and iron Alternating current electromagnets use the eddy current effect to remove nonferrous metals (Al, Cu) Light paper and plastic will stratify in an air column to remove them from heavier substances (metal and bottles) Hand sorting can pick out some of whats left Without this process, pollutants arent removed
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13.3.1.3 Industrial Waste Streams (IWS) Industrial wastes differ from municipal wastes in that they are often separated or categorized as outputs from specific processes Its relatively easy to have pure waste streams all of one material, like wood strips, pallets, trim scrap Paper products are a possibility, but dioxin content can cause air pollution Any wet waste stream will require drying before burning Could require more energy to dry than can be extracted from it

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13.3.2 Wet Biomass

Wet biomass tends to be in water or to stay moist Examples are water plants, animal wastes, and biodiesel oil Florida has lots of weeds that came from dumped aquariums (also fish that shouldnt be here, like piranha and snakehead will they burn?)

Treated with hydrogasification at high pressure and low temperatures to produce a gas or biofuel oil

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www.bridgewater.edu

13.3.2.1.1 Hydrofarms: Water Hyacinth, etc. Impoundments containing water plants can clean effluent water by extracting nutrients that should be kept out of lakes and streams Harvesting by boats uses wide conveyor belts that lift the weed onto the boat The wet weeds are heavy and hard to pack densely
www.water-hyacinth.com

This is uneconomic in most areas Drying is by dumping in fields for sun drying

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www.water-hyacinth.com

13.3.2.1.2 Hydrofarms: Orlando Wetlands Park

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http://boonie-maps.home.att.net/Orlando_Wetlands/doq_map.jpg

13.3.2.1.3 Hydrofarms: Orlando Utilities Water Park

This tertiary cleaning process extracts nutrients and flows the water through long channel lakes and ponds
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13.3.2.2 Animal Wastes

Average manure production for fully bred cows and pigs is 40 kg and 2.3 kg wet weight per day [Sorensen, 2000]
(a thing I never wanted to know)

Manure lagoons at Consolidated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) pose a stored pollution problem

Lagoon dam breaches have poisoned nearby streams and killed thousands of fish in NC Anaerobic digestion allows methane gas recovery

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13.3.2.2.1 Municipal Sewer Plants

The same processes for farm animal wastes can be used at city sewer plants

40 billion Btus of methane per 100,000 people per year Florida methane could yield 20 trillion Btus per year Cost would be $6 to $8 per million Btu At present, filtered sewage sludge is often bulk dumped (sprayed) on agricultural pastures The methane gas from a sewage lagoon can be recovered by a bioenergy process, reducing the sludge before disposal A cruise ship is like a small city -- where does the sewage go?
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13.3.2.3 Biodiesel Fuel

Biodiesel is liquid fuel oil that can be burned in diesel engines

See http://www.homepower.com/files/HP93_32.pdf for an excellent discussion on how to make it A $20 million biodiesel plant is being built for Utahs Smithfield Foods, Inc. to convert swine waste into biodiesel If fryer oil smells like french fries, does this stuff smell like pork chops? A local company, Brevard Biodiesel, is experimenting with developing a local market for biodiesel SynFuel (Grant) is working to make syngas from glycerol, a biodiesel byproduct
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13.3.2.3.1 Biodiesel Fuel Process

Used, strained canola oil from a supermarket deli

Methanol and crystal lye are used in processing some 48 gallon batches 5 parts oil to 1 part methanol plus titration of the mixture with 0.1% lye to reach a ~8.5 pH Mixture separates after several hours

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http://www.homepower.com/files/HP93_32.pdf

13.3.2.3.2 Biodiesel Fuel Results

See Home Power magazine [the ultimate renewable energy magazine; ed. comment] #93 for the full story The top layer is biodiesel oil The middle sometimes appears and is soap

The bottom part is glycerin, and can be used to make soap [do you smell like French fries after a bath?]

http://www.veggievan.org

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http://www.homepower.com/files/HP93_32.pdf

13.3.3 Gaseous Biomass

Methane is the primary biogas Aside from sewage, theres termites, livestock flatulence, swamps, etc. Landfill gas is primarily methane but contains CO2 and other gases from plastics, etc. 80% of odors humans find offensive are the result of nitrogen- or sulfur-bearing compounds. The nitrogen and sulfur atoms are rearranged into smaller molecules that give off odor when they're volatilized as gases into the air, as little as one part per billion - needs to be present for sensitive noses to notice. --- Doug Mason of Continuum Chemical Corporation in Houston, TX

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http://www.forester.net/mw_0303_controlling.html

13.3.3.1 Methane
Methane, CH4, is a likely future hydrogen gas source The four H atoms allow more hydrogen to be produced per molecule of methane Cracking or pyrolysis changes the molecules to yield hydrogen and CO, which is also combustible The combination of methane and COx is known as biogas and can be made from acetic acid, produced from glucose by microorganisms Methane hydrates exist in cold, deep water in the ocean, but are difficult to extract without methane release

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13.3.3.2 Landfill Gases

Landfills, often dubbed Mount Trashmore, emit methane and other gases due to decomposition of organic materials The methane leaks to the atmosphere and is a GHG that is twenty times more potent than its combustion product of CO2 and water; some say 23 times

Collecting and burning the methane is clearly better than letting it escape to the air Landfill gas cleanup is necessary because of the many other VOCs that should be kept out of the air

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13.3.4 Energy Conversion

Conversion from biomass to heat requires some extraction if the fuel stream is contaminated with polluting substances Typical processes are the following: Direct combustion Anaerobic Digestion Fermentation Pyrolysis Other less-used techniques

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13.3.4.1 Conversion: Direct Combustion Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) can be fired (burned) directly or in combination with conventional fuels

Some processing, such as cleaning, chopping, etc. may be needed for handling or air pollution avoidance Fluidized grate furnaces blow air in beneath the grate, and this keeps the burning mass in seething flotation as it burns

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13.3.4.2 Conversion: Anaerobic Digestion Bacteria produce acetic acid (found in vinegar) Methane gas 50% to 80%, $2.50/kft3 (1976) Microgy Cogeneration Systems, Inc. is building a 25 MW digestion plant Essex Junction Wastewater Treatment facility in Essex Junction, Vermont treats 1.7 million gallons of waste water per day and will produce 400 MW electricity per year to reduce plant costs Price of electricity is estimated at $0.02 per kWh

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13.3.4.3 Conversion: Fermentation Enzymes can change cellulose into sugars, which can then be fermented into alcohol Cane sugar, C6H12O6 2C2H5OH + 2CO2 Fermentation of corn or other biomass will produce ethanol The use of food stocks in this way might be seen as a poor use of food Brewery spillage or waste and outdated soda can be filtered, cleaned, and reprocessed to produce fuel

It is denatured with 15% gasoline to discourage drinking and avoid Federal liquor law taxes Fermentation of stillage refuse can also produce methane
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13.3.4.4 Conversion: Pyrolysis Fast pyrolysis is heating biomass without oxygen to decompose it into vapors, aerosols and char

The liquid has ~one-half the heating value of fuel oil The process is tuned to produce liquid rather than charcoal Low-quality producer gas can be cleaned to remove CO2 and N2, then this synthesis gas reacted as 2H2 + CO CH3OH to yield methanol

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13.3.4.5 Conversion: Other Hydrogasification Low temperature and high pressure produces ethane & methane plus CO2 A catalyst aids the process Hydrogenation Waste + Steam and CO forms low-sulfur oil having 16000 Btu/pound heating value Used to make peanut butter and margarine

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13.4 Issues and Trends

Environmental considerations Biomass conversion plants are often fought by some as a source of pollutants Less polluting than a coal plant MSW may contain heavy metals and should not be burned Paper colored inks often contain heavy metals Trash production can be decreased by careful purchases, conservation, reusing, and recycling If these waste reduction practices are followed, there is less available for bioenergy

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13.4.1 Some Environmental Biomass Views Policies or viewpoints of the Sierra Club (a large environmental organization) may be found at
http://www.beyondgrass.org/greenpower/archives/Florida%20Sierra%20Biomass%20 or at http://sierraclub.org/policy/conservation/biomass.asp

The reuse or recycling of wastes is necessary prior to land filling or biomass combustion to avoid more toxics introduced into the air and water In many cases, separation of undesirable materials is so difficult that combustion should be avoided Municipal waste streams have heavy metals, toxins, pesticides, etc.; whatever someone wanted to get rid of

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13 Conclusion: Biomass
Renewables are a very small contributor to present Florida energy sources Biomass energy is the predominate renewable energy source in Florida; little wind or sun, surprisingly Unfortunately, most of present production is from municipal solid waste (MSW) that should be avoided or phased out due to heavy metal contaminants

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/st_profiles/florida/fl.html#t1

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Olin Engineering Complex 4.7 kW Solar PV Roof Array

Questions?

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References: Books/Periodicals
Blackburn, John O. Solar Florida: A Sustainable Energy Future. Winter Park: Florida Conservation Foundation, 1993. ISBN 0-913297-07-1. Cheremisinoff, Paul N., and Thomas C. Regino. Principles and Applications of Solar Energy. Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor Science, 1978. ISBN 0-250-40247-5. Brower, Michael. Cool Energy. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 1992. 0-262-02349-0, TJ807.9.U6B76, 333.7940973. Boyle, Godfrey. Renewable Energy, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-19-26178-4. (my preferred text) Duffie, John and William A. Beckman. Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes. NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 920 pp., 1991 Srensen, Bent. Renewable Energy, Second Edition. San Diego: Academic Press, 2000, 911 pp. ISBN 0-12-656152-4. Durkee, Scott. Getting off the Petroleum Grid with Biodiesel. Home Power, No.93, pp. 32-39, 2003.

Tickell, Joshua. From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank. Ashland OH: BookMasters, 2001? www.veggievan.org
http://www.wnbiodiesel.com/ Willie Nelson

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References: Websites, etc.

http://mmf.ruc.dk/energy/Amsterdam2002.PDF Sorensens paper on Bioenergy http://www.biomass.org/
http://boonie-maps.home.att.net/Orlando_Wetlands/doq_map.jpg Florida trail map of Orlando Utilities Wetlands Park

http://www.solwest.org/news/page1.htm#feature2 story by Jennifer Barker on a biomass plant http://gis.joensuu.fi/termit/termeng/frame.htm Bioenergy glossary http://www.bioproducts-bioenergy.gov/ US Govt. Bioenergy Office http://www.bioproducts-bioenergy.gov/about/glossary.asp Bioenergy definitionshttp://florida.sierraclub.org/issues/energy.html Florida Chapter on Energy http://florida.sierraclub.org/issues/energylinks.html links to sustainability and renewable organizationshttp://www.energycentral.com/sections/search/site_search.cfm enter biomass http://www.homepower.com/files/HP93_32.pdf on biodiesel fuel http://www.biomass.org/ Lobbying group http://www.forester.net/msw.html More than you ever wanted to know about trash http://www.forester.net/mw_0303_controlling.html Smelly trash and suppression http://www.pnl.gov/biobased/bcf.stm Hydrogenation http://www.coppicing.com/ on cutting plants to the ground and letting them regrow http://www.veggievan.org Biodiesel production http://www.brevardbiodiesel.org http://journeytoforever.org http://biodiesel.org http://changingworld.tech.com __________________________________________________________________________________www.dieoff.org. Site devoted to the decline of energy and effects upon population www.ferc.gov/ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission www.google.com/search?q=%22renewable+energy+course%22 solstice.crest.org/ dataweb.usbr.gov/html/powerplant_selection.html http://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy/tech_biomass.cfm?state=FL

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Notes bioenergy
P. 827, 725 in Sorenson Biomass fuel costs twice fossil fuel

www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/.../ re_renew_maps_bio_poten.htm