Biomass: A Viable Solution To The Shortage of

Electricity in Zambia
Chabala Kingsley1, Mulenga Chileshe2
1,2
Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, The Copperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia.

E-mail: 1kingsleychabala@gmail.com, 2mulengachileshe00@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Electricity is an important aspect to the development of manufacturing industries of every country.

Zambia has been facing electricity shortages which have led to extreme load shading and Low
manufacturing Industry setup regardless of the vast natural resources. This paper focuses on the use of
Biomass energy as a possible solution to the electrical deficit. It also include a Historical view of energy
in Zambia, the development of the existing electrical power stations and there capacities. It has also given
the role that the government, universities, industries and individuals should play in order to produce
enough Electrical energy.

Keywords: Biomass, Hydro-Electric Power (HEP)

1. Introduction renewable energy technology should be

Large Hydro-Electric Power (HEP) Plants
contributes the largest amounts of energy
towards power production in Zambia.
However, environmental concerns of large
HEP projects are increasingly blocking its
growth, it is therefore necessary to focus
on other renewable energy technologies
such as Biomass.
Biomass is a substantial renewable
resource that can be used as a fuel for
producing electricity and other forms of
energy. Biomass feedstock, or energy
source, is any organic matter available on
a renewable basis for conversion to
energy. Agricultural crops, bagasse, paper
that can not be recycled, industrial wood
(saw dust) and logging residues, farm
animal wastes, and the organic portion of
municipal waste are an example of
biomass feedstock. The interest in
stimulated by the global awareness that
fossil fuels are not infinite and emit green
house gases which are a contributing
factor to global warming.
Zambia has abundant natural resources
such as rivers, natural vegetation and wide
areas which can be used for setting up
biomass energy power plants.
2. Problem Statement
With the aging installed HEP stations in
Zambia, it is convenient that other
means of electrical productions which
are cleaner and renewable. In order to
get a clear view of the country’s energy,
an historical view of energy and the
development of the currently existing
power stations have been well outlined.
The main proposed method being the
Biomass method of Electrical generation

Biomass Energy Production © 2012. Page 1

 has been explained; its advantages and
disadvantages are further considered
before arriving at it as a better method
that the country can adopt to increase on
the amount of energy demand in the
country.
The government being in control of the
major projects that are taking place in
the country has also been given a part
which it needs to play in order to tackle
the electrical energy shortage that the
country is facing.
It is a well noted fact that Industries are
the major consumers of the electrical
energy produced; therefore, a proposal
has been made as to what measures they
have to take in order to balance up and
increase the amount of energy that the
country produces.
Universities being the highest
institutions of learning in the country
also need to take part in resolving the
electrical shortage crisis that the country
is facing. It is for this reason that
suggestions have been outlined
concerning what they should do to
contribute to the development.
3. Historical View of Energy
Hydro-electric power (HEP) production
has been the main form of electrical
energy generation in Zambia. The
country has 3 large HEP stations,
namely: Kafue Gorge, Kariba North
Bank and Victoria Falls, and 4 small
HEP stations: Lusiwasi, Chishimba
Falls, Musonda Falls and Lunzuwa.
 Kafue Gorge is an HEP plant of
the Kafue River. The
Biomass Energy Production © 2012.
construction took a period of 5
years (1967-1972). It had an
installed capacity of 990MW
with six installed generators. It
was later upgraded to a capacity
of 1,080MW.
 Kariba North Bank is a double-
curvature concrete arc dam
which was constructed between
1955 and 1959, but was fully
completed in 1977. It supplied
1266 MW of electricity to both
Zambia and Zimbabwe. The
north bank belonging to Zambia
had an installed capacity of
615MW and has been in
operation since 1976 with 4
generators each having a
capacity of 153.5MW.
Currently, the total generation
capacity is 720MW.
 Victoria Falls is the third large
HEP plant in Zambia and has 3
sections. Section A was
commissioned in 1936 and had
an installed capacity of 8MW.it
consisted of 4 generators. 2 of
1MW each and another 2 of
3MW each. Section B was later
commissioned in 1968 and had
6 machines each of 10MW,
adding up to 60MW. Section C
was commissioned in 1968 and
had an installed capacity of 40
MW consisting of 4 machines of
10MW each. The total capacity
of the three power sections is
108MW.
Besides the large HEPs, Zambia has
small HEP plants such as the
Lusiwasi (12MW); Chishimba falls
(6MW); Musonda Falls (5MW),
Lunzua (750KW).
Page 2
 There are new projects such as the Below is A Summarized table
Itezhi Tezhi HEP plant which will showing HEP stations and there
have an installed capacity of capacities.
120MW once completed. The
Shiwang’andu Mini HEP of 1MW Table 1- Installed HEP Stations
in Chinsali district is another
HEP STATION CAPACITY
promising project. (MW)
Kafue gorge 1080
Copperbelt Energy Cooperation
Kariba North 720
(CEC) is spearheading in another Victoria Falls 108
mini HEP plant in Kabompo which Lusiwasi 12
will have a capacity of 34MW and Chishimba Falls 6
is expected to come on stream by Musonda Falls 5
2014. Lunzua 0.75
Source: Report on the General
The Kalungwishi HEP which was Description of Electricity System-
planned to be built by the Lunzua ZESCO-31/03/2009
Power Company with expected
capacity of 210MW; however it did
not take place due to unforeseen
Table 2- New HEP Projects
circumstances. Its main purpose
would have been to supply power to HEP CAPACITY
Copper Mines in Zambia and STATIONS MW
eastern parts of Congo DR. Itezhi Tezhi 120
Shiwang’andu 1
Kalungwishi 210
Kabompo 34

Biomass Energy Production © 2012. Page 3

 4. The Proposed Solution
A standard Biomass plant should have
the following:
http://www.unendlich-viel-energie.de/en/electricity/details/article/111/functioning-
principles-of-a-biomass-combined-heat-and-power-chp-station.html
 Steam Turbine: This device
extracts thermal energy from
pressurized steam and uses it to
do mechanical work on a
rotating output shaft. Since it
produces rotary motion, the
shaft is coupled to the Electrical
Generator.
 Generator: This is an electrical
device that converts mechanical
energy to electrical energy. The
electrical energy is then
connected to the electrical grid.
Biomass Energy Production © 2012.
 Water Source: This provides
constant water supply to be
heated so that it is converted to
pressurized steam, which in turn
drives the steam turbines. The
water also serves a purpose of
condensing steam.
 Storage for Biomass/ Conveyor
Belt: The storage is a place were
the product that be burnt to
produce heat energy will be
stored. These products such as
saw dust are transported to the
combustion chamber by means
of a conveyor belt.
Page 4
  Combustion Chamber: This is
where the raw material is
burned to produce heat which
converts the fed water into high
pressure steam.
 Boiler: The boiler further heats
the pressurized steam to
temperatures about 550oC about
and pressures of about 20MPa.
 Condenser: This converts the
steam which was used to drive
the turbines to water. Then the
water circulates back to the
reservoir or water source via
pipes.
 Flue Gas Cleaner: This serves a
purpose of cleaning the air
pollutants which are produced
from the burning of raw
material. It has fabric filters
where the raw gases pass. The
filter allows passage of air, but
retains particle material. The
particles remain in the filter
until compressed air is blown in
the opposite direction, cleaning
the filter and causing the dust to
fall down where it is collected.
Intoxicating gases such as NOx
are removed either by Selective
Non-Catalytic Reduction
(SNCR) or Selective Catalytic
Reduction (SCR). In SNCR,
ammonia (NH3) is added as a
reducing agent directly into the
furnace. This turns the nitrogen
monoxide into nitrogen and
water.
4NO + 4NH3 → 4N2 + 6H2O
In SCR the reductive process
takes place in a catalyst, where a
mixture of ammonia and air
Biomass Energy Production © 2012.
reacts with the flue gas to form
oxygen and water.
4NO + 4NH3 + O2 → 4N2 +
6H2O
SNCR can achieve reduction
rates of 70 percent while SCR
can achieve up to 85 percent.
 Chimney: This is a ventilating
structure where the hot gases
and smoke from the boiler exits
into the atmosphere after the
combustion process.
The Conversion of Biomass energy to
electrical energy in the biomass plant is
achieved by first burning the renewable
sources of energy such as saw dust, into
the combustion chamber. The high heat
energy which is emitted is used for
heating the water in the heat exchanger to
very high temperatures in order to produce
steam. The combustion gases are then
removed to the flue gas cleaner which
helps in reducing the emissions of Carbon
Monoxide by converting them to carbon
Dioxide CO2 which is used by plants for
photosynthesis and the oxides of nitrogen
are converted to Nitrogen and water.
The steam is then sent to the Boiler which
pressurizes it to pressures of about
20MPa; this is what is finally used for
driving the impellors of turbines that is
coupled to the Generators.
The generators finally produce the
electrical energy which is transmitted to
the point of use. The Steam which was at
high pressures then goes to the condenser
which converts it back again to water and
then it circulates back to the source.
Page 5
 The main advantages of this form of
electrical energy production are that:
 Biomass is a renewable form of energy
and it can never run out because the raw
materials which are fed are a by-product
of daily manufacturing processes.
 Once a biomass plant is set up, it can be in
operation for many years.
 In the combustion process, less ash is
produced than that of coal and the ash
produced can be used in the agriculture
sector as an amendment for farm lands,
therefore reducing on the cost of ash
disposal.
 Biomass fuels "recycles" atmospheric
carbon dioxide, minimizing global
warming impacts since zero "net" carbon
dioxide is emitted during biomass
combustion, i.e. the amount of carbon
dioxide emitted is equal to the amount
absorbed from the atmosphere during the
biomass growth phase.
Regardless of Biomass having such
advantages, it also has drawbacks such as:
 Transportation: since biomass plants are
usually built away from the source of the
biomass, the biomass usually arrives in
small quantities at the plant.
 Many type of biomass such as wood pellets
will require large warehouse inside the
plant for storage before use. Other handling
equipment such as conveyor belts will be
required for transportation from the
warehouse to the combustion chamber.
 If the raw material is chosen to be grown, it
will lead to land competition. Instead of
using the land for other things, it will be
occupied with trees for bio-energy.
 There will be need for special machinery
for harvesting therefore increasing on the
cost of running the plant.
Biomass Energy Production © 2012.
 Agriculture waste may not enough if the
basic crop is no longer grown; meaning that
the plant has to be modified in accordance
with what is available.
5. Role Of Stakeholders
 It is the government’s role to subsidize or
give grants and loans to companies such as
Zambia Electricity Supply Company
(ZESCO) so that they can start up Biomass
energy plants in the country.
 Industries such as mines should be
encouraged by the government to start up
biomass plants so that they can be
producing part of the energy so as to reduce
on the total energy they buy from
electricity supplying companies.
 Companies such as Zambia sugar PLC
should utilize the bagasse and molasses
which are by-products of sugar cane. These
are raw materials which can be burnt in a
furnace to produce heat. The heat can then
used for conversion of water to steam.
 The universities should promote student
projects which are concerned with energy
production by working in conjunction with
well established companies so as to put the
ideas into practice.
 Institutions like the Engineering Institute of
Zambia (EIZ), Energy Regulation Board
(ERB), should release journals which give
updates on various new technologies
concerning energy which have been
implemented.
 Government should stimulate research and
development programs at universities.
These research centers should be centered
on developing appropriate and affordable
forms of energy production.
Page 6
 6. Conclusion
In this paper we had researched on the
possible solution to the electricity
shortage in Zambia. Biomass energy
was chosen as an alternative solution
due to abundant renewable sources of
raw material which can be used in
power production. Implementation of
Biomass in Zambia will result in the
usage of by-products such waste paper,
saw dust and bagasse which is not easily
disposed in Zambia. This will lead to a
cleaner environment while increasing on
the electrical energy produced thus
reducing on load-shading. This will only
be achieved if the government and other
stakeholders take responsibility of the
roles they are suppose to play.
[7]http://www.puco.com/industryinform
ation/industry-topics/biomass-energy-
and-its-enefits/
[8]www.centreforenergy.com/aboutener
gy/biomass/overview
[9]http://www.zesco.co.zm/CAAndBD/
Environment.html
[10]http://www.zesco.co.zm/CAAndBD
/Projects/MuchingaPowerStation.html
[11]http://www.ianswer4u.com/2012/02
/biomass-energy-advantages-
and.html#axzz1wqnDNDJZ
[12]http://library.thinkquest.org/20331/t
ypes/biomass/advant.html
[13]http://lisas.de/projects/alt_energy/bi
o/ADVAN.HTML

REFERENCES

[1]Mulolani, F. Electrical Energy Notes,

2012
[2] Energy Sector Report 2008 by
Energy Regulation Board (ERB).
[3] Report on the General Description of
Electricity System-2009, Business
Development Department, ZESCO
[4] Press Statement-Zambia Sugar PLC
advised to apply for a license to generate
electricity- 6/05/2010, by ERB.
[5] http://www.unendlich-viel-
energie.de/en/electricity/details/article/1
11/functioning-principles-of-a-biomass-
combined-heat-and-power-chp-
station.html
[6]http://www.biomassmagazine.com/ar
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biomass-power-plant

Biomass Energy Production © 2012. Page 7