Analysis of Biomass and Biofuels

as source of energy
Guests on todays show

With your favorite host

K. Vaideesh Subbaraj

Vignesh Sridharan

Shivendra Upadhyay
M. Vishwanath

Technology
and
Environmental Impact
of
Biomass & Biofuels

Technology
Biomass technology today serves many markets

that were developed with fossil fuels and modestly

reduces their use

Uses - Industrial process heat and steam, Electrical

power generation, Transportation fuels (ethanol
and biodiesel) and other products.
Primary focus of the Biomass Program
development of advanced technologies.

Current Focus
Platform technologies

Sugar Platform Technology

Thermochemical Platform Technology

Bio-refinery
A facility that integrates biomass conversion
processes and equipment to produce fuels,
power, and chemicals from biomass.
Analogous to today's petroleum refineries
It is based on the Sugar Platform and the
Thermochemical Platform

Liquid Fuel
Technology

Bio-diesel
Made by transforming animal fat or vegetable
oil with alcohol .
Fuel is made from rapeseed (canola) oil or
soybean oil or recycled restaurant grease.
Directly substituted for diesel either as neat
fuel or as an oxygenate additive

Modified Waste Vegetable Fat

Designed for general use in most compression
ignition engines .
The production of MWVF can be achieved in a
continuous flow additive process.
It can be modified in various ways to make a
'greener' form of fuel

E-Diesel
Uses additives in order to allow blending of
ethanol with diesel.
Ethanol blends of 7.7% to 15% and up to 5%
Additives that prevent the ethanol and diesel
from separating at very low temperatures or if
water contamination occurs.

Jatropha
Biodiesel from Jatropha
Seeds of the Jatropha nut is
crushed and oil is extracted
The oil is processed and
refined to form bio-diesel.

Gaseous fuel
Technology

Gasification Technology
Gobar gas Production
Biogas
Synthesis gas

Gasification
A process that uses heat, pressure, and steam to
convert materials directly into a gas composed
primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
Gasification technologies rely four key engineering
factors
1. Gasification reactor atmosphere (level of oxygen or
air content).
2. Reactor design.
3. Internal and external heating.
4. Operating temperature.

Gasification
Typical raw materials - coal, petroleum-based
materials, and organic materials.
The feedstock is prepared and fed, in either dry or
slurried form, into a sealed reactor chamber called a
gasifier.
The feedstock is subjected to high heat, pressure, and
either an oxygen-rich or oxygen-starved environment
within the gasifier.

Raw Materials for Gasification

Gasification
Products of gasification :
* Hydrocarbon gases (also called syngas).
* Hydrocarbon liquids (oils).
* Char (carbon black and ash).
Syngas is primarily carbon monoxide and
hydrogen (more than 85 percent by volume)
and smaller quantities of carbon dioxide and
methane

Gasifier Plant

Gasifier Plant

Types of Gasifiers

Updraft Gasifier

Types of Gasifiers

Downdraft Gasifier

Types of Gasifiers

Twin-fire Gasifier

Types of Gasifiers

Crossdraft gas producers

Gobar gas
Gobar gas production is an anaerobic
process
Fermentation is carried out in an air tight,
closed cylindrical concrete tank called a
digester

Solid Fuel

Wood
Domestic heating with wood is still by far
the largest market for bio-energy
Dramatic improvements of technology in
domestic heating equipment
Improved tiled stoves, advanced logwood
boilers, woodchip boilers, pellet boilers and
pellet stoves.
Pourable wood-based fuel is also available

Tiled stoves

Pellet Boilers and Stoves

Logwood boiler

Woodchip boilers

Environmental Concerns
Air Pollution
Soil Deterioration

Air Concerns
Biomass processing technologies and biofuels use have the
potential to increase emissions of ozone precursors
o Increase in Nox emissions
Excessive inhalation of ethanol is harmful
Combustion of ethanol would result in increased atmospheric
concentrations of carcinogens
Emission of relatively large sized particulate matter

Soil Concerns

Burning biomass deprives local eco-systems of nutrients

Production of dedicated energy crops renders land fallow
Reduced land availability for cattle grazing
Increased use of pesticides and fertilizers to produce energy
crops contaminate ground and surface water
o Affects fish and wildlife

Environmental Benefits

Reduction of waste
Extremely low emission of greenhouse gases compared to
fossil fuels
Ethanol is Carbon neutral and forms a part of the carbon cycle
Growing variety of crops increases bio-diversity

Socio-Economic Benefits

Helps developing economies by promoting agrarian

communities
Increase in jobs
Increase in trade balance (Indian perspective) due to lesser
dependence on foreign resources

BIO FUELS
THE WORLD SCENARIO

BRAZIL
World leader in production and export of
ethanol.
Ethanol produced per day equivalent to
200,000 barrels of gasoline.
24% blend ethanol mandatory.
Competitiveness
Bio diesel initiatives underway

U.S.A.

Ethanol : a big boost to economy

E85 sells cheaper than gasoline
Currently production aimed at 4.5 Billion gallons/yr
MTBE phased out in many states

Soya bean main source of biodiesel

E.U.

Rapeseed main source of bio diesel

3-15% blended petrol
France: Bio diesel exempted from domestic tax
Germany: Sales of bio diesel 99 million US gallons
Rise of SVO as domestic fuel

The Significant Others

China: 3rd largest producer of ethanol
producing 220,000 tons of ethanol, exporting
90,000 tons in 2000.
In southeast Asia, the Jatropha tree is used
as a significant fuel source
Malaysia and Indonesia are starting pilotscale production from palm oil.

India
Sources of ethanol:
Sugarcane
Molasses
Agricultural waste

Low average cost of Rs.18/litre projected

Annual production capacity of 1.5 Billion
litres

India (Contd.)
Sources of biodiesel:
Honge
Jatropha

High capital, broad scale production plan initiated

Cost per liter projected at Rs. 27

Bio Mass
Biomass already supplies 14 % of the worlds
primary energy consumption. On average, biomass
produces 38 % of the primary energy in developing
countries.
USA: 4% of total energy from bio mass, around
9000 MW
INDIA is short of 15,000 MW of energy and it costs
about 25,000 crores annually for the government to
import oil.

 Bio Mass from cattle manure, agricultural waste,

forest residue and municipal waste.
Anaerobic digestion of livestock wastes to give bio
gas
Digester consumes roughly one third the power its
capable of producing.
Fertilizers as by product.
Average electricity generation of 5.5kWh per cow
per day!!

Thank You