BIOMASS TECHNOLOGY

BY

Sumer B. Dirbude

ABSTRACT

The World is facing grave problems - energy crisis, environment pollution. This made peoples to

focus their attentions on the sustainable energy resources. Biomass Technology is a right option in

this regard, because of its renewable, abundant, environment friendly nature, etc.

Available Literature shows that there are various biomass conversion technologies available

such as biogas formation, briquetting, pyrolysis, direct combustion and Gasification. Because of

relative advantages associated with Gasification, the biomass conversion technologies for gasification

such as updraft, downdraft gasifiers are discussed in this seminar. This Gas can be used to generate

electricity / shaft power, which is shown with the help of case study. This also indicates that utilization

of biomass with diesel saves the considerable amounts of diesel.

INTRODUCTION 1

"The main concern in all scientific work must be the human being himself. This, one should never

forget among all those diagrams and equations."

- Albert Einstein

The human race has set itself apart from the animal kingdom by its intensive thirst for
knowledge, its inventiveness and imagination, and its ability to survive such catastrophic events as

war, often accompanied by pestilence and famine. Today, we are faced with a grave problem, the

energy crisis, which if unresolved will certainly have dire consequences for civilization in the not too

distant future.

Biomass resources have perennially met a very wide spectrum of human needs- food, fodder,

feedstock, fiber and energy (amongst others). Development during the last couple of centuries (with

1
the discovery of coal and the beginning of industrial revolution) have resulted in increased use of

synthetic materials and fossil fuels (followed by nuclear energy) as substitute for bio-resources in

some important areas of application. Thus, there was diversification from biomass technology and less

priority was given toward technology development for efficient and convenient utilization of bio-

resources. But, the biomass technology is attracting the mankind. The driving force behind such move

covers a wide range of human concern about energy crisis problems.

LOOK OVER CONVENTIONAL ENERGY:

World Production and Resources

Many estimates have been made regarding the amount of coal still available in the earth.
Estimates of the world's coal resources ranges from 6.9 x 106 to 11.8 x 106 Mt.While proved reserves have

been estimated to range from 0.65 x106 to1.16 x106 Mt.Nearly 70% of the reserves lies in the USA,

Russia and China. The general agreement is that the peak value is likely to attain somewhere between

AD 2030 and AD 2060 and that 80% of the amount available would be consumed by AD 2250.

Estimates of the world's resources of oil have ranged from 1450 to2685 billions barrels. The

best estimate one can make today is that most of the resources of oil are likely to be consumed in

another 20 years.

World's resources of Uranium are estimated to lie in the range of 3.5 Mt to 6.6 Mt.Of

this, 2.315 Mt. is classified as reasonably assured reserves. A nuclear power plant uses 0.15 to 0.2 Mt

of fuel per year for every megawatt of capacity. Thus, the reserves would be adequate for running the

present installed capacity of 350,000 MW for a period of only about 35 years. It is evident that

difficult situation will arise by 200 years from now, if the present technology continues to be used.

The rate of production of economic commodity of which a finite quantity exists is governed by

the laws of supply and demand. As the amount available depletes the commodity becomes costlier, its

production rate goes through maximum and its use gradually declines.

Consequently, it is now increasingly recognized that a sustainable path for energy development

is necessary the world over. A gathering effect of this kind can readily be seen that the transition to a

sustainable energy base will have to move on two legs: one by improving the efficiency of energy and

materials use and the other by developing renewable energy resources. An attempt is: The Biomass

Technology.

2
 BIOMASS: What Is It? 2

Biomass is natural product of solar energy and therefore, a renewable source of carbon and
hydrogen which are the basic constituents of energy and chemical products.

Following is an attempt to define Biomass:

1) Total amount of animal and plant life.

2) Biomass is an organic matter i.e. photochemical approach to harness solar energy can

be converted into other forms of energy like heat, electricity etc. using available conversion

processes.

3) Biomass energy in the context of the present day industrialized

World means the use of natural organic resources to manufacture fuel. [2]

4) Biomass is the organic matter derived from plants as a result of photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is the process by which solar energy is converted into chemical energy by the

plants with the help of the pigment called chlorophyll.

 6C02 + 61-12 0 + Sunlight + chlorophyll 3 C6 1-112 06 + 602 + chlorophyll

 This process uses carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight to produce glucose.

The term Biomass includes all plant life —trees, agriculture plants, bush, grass and algae, and their

residues after processing. Biomass may be obtained from forest, woods, and agricultural lands. It may

be obtained in a planned or unplanned manner. The term is also generally understood to include

animal and human waste.

3
 FURNACE HEAT

BIOMASS
FUEL GAS GAS I.C.
PREPERATION CLEANING COOLLING ENGINE HEAT
POWER

GAS HEAT
TURBINE POWER

Fig (1): Biomass conversion and its applications.

ADVANTAGES WITH
BIOMASS SYSTEMS 2.1

 Stored energy for use at will.

 Renewable.

 Dependent on technology already available, with minimum capital input.

 Can be developed with present manpower and material sources.

 Reasonably priced.

 When we burn the biomass, the oxygen from the atmosphere combines with the carbon in

the plants to produce CO2 and water. This CO2 and water are again available for the plant

growth and hence the cyclic process continues making the biomass, a renewable source of

energy.

 Biomass Energy is unique because

- It is available in majority of the geographical locations -

It effectively stores solar energy and

- It is a renewable source of energy in the form of carbon which

can be processed into solid, liquid and gaseous fuels

 The vast majority of the rural population of the world is totally dependent on biomass as

fuel. Some sources of biomass

- Agricultural Wastes -

Crop Residues

4
 - Wood & Woody Wastes

- Organic Wastes etc,

 Biomass does not contribute to global warming. Low levels of sulphur and ash in biomass

prevent acid rain formation. Biomass energy brings in numerous benefits. To name a few,

- Reduction in usage of conventional fuels. -

Reduction in environment pollution.

- Improving the nations Economy.

- Meets the basic needs of the rural poor

- Land use competition and land tenure

 The environmental benefits include reduction in air and water pollution reducing CO2

emission, greenhouse gases like SO2.

 Availability of biomass in almost all geographical locations.

 Electrical energy can be produced in large scale at low cost.

 Low gestation period.

 Rural employment generation.

 Results in less ash production minimizing ash disposal cost.

APPLICATIONS OF BIOMASS 2.2

 Direct thermal application

-Boiler
-Institutional cooking and other thermal applications.

 Production of producer gas used as fuel in

- IC Engines, vehicles
- Irrigation water pumping / village water supply

 Bio fuels applications

5
 - Ethanol for transport application .

Generation of electricity

BIOMASS: An Energy Source

From India Point Of view 2.3

India is a large country, with total land area of 328.8 million hectare (mba). It has an estimated human
population of about 911 million and a livestock population of about 450 million, mainly living in
about 587,000 villages. The annual production of food grains is about 130 million tones (mt). Though

there is no authentic data available with regard to the quantity of agricultural and agro-industrial
residues, it is estimated to be about 320 mt per annum.It is also estimated that the total cattle dung

available is about 240 mt. per year. About twenty percent of the total land area is under forest cover,
which produces about 40 mt of fuel wood and 4 mt of sawdust.

As per the ministry of Non-conventional energy sources (MNES), several thousand megawatts

of power can be generated from biomass alone. The total amount of Biomass produced annually is

about 1249 million tonnes.It is estimated that 1000 hectares of land can generate 3 MW of power.

Energy plantation should, therefore, be coupled with power generating units based on gasifier and

Stirling engines to form integrated energy cum power projects which can provide fuel wood as well as

power. It is estimated that 2000 MW of power can be generated only from sugar bagasse. Power can

also be made available from systems based on agricultural waste yielded by sugar, rice, pulses and

similar crops, through newer techniques at competitive costs.Futhermore, the 93 million hectares of

woodlands that India has can be efficiently put to use for raising bioenergy plantation, thereby

generating employment in the process. According to MNES, there is a potential of 17000MW

equivalent biomass/Bioenergy in the country, out of which 3500MW is from cogeneration. In addition

there is a potential of 1000MW that can be realized from urban and Industrial waste, out of which only

a very small portion has been tapped so far for commercial applications.

6
Table 1: Potential/ availability of agricultural and agro-Industrial waste [51

Types of residue Potential(MW) Availability(MW) Quantity required

to realize the
potential(mt)

Agricultural residues 9500 320 90

Agro-industrial residues 4500 50 45

Energy plantation 3000 93 (mha) 1 (mha)

Total 17000

Table 2: Break up of different biomass sources 141

Biomass sources percentage

Wheat straw 33.5

Bagasse 32.0
Rice husk 12.0
Cotton stalks 8.1
Ragi and Bajara straw 77.0

Coconut and groundnut shell 6.7

Biomass contributes about 40% of the total energy supply in India. In rural India, Biomass

contributes about 84% of the energy in the domestic sector.

BIOM ASS CO NVERSION TECHNO LOGY 3

There are varieties of ways of obtaining energy from biomass. These may be broadly classified
into:

1) Direct Methods: The direct way of utilizing a biomass resource is to burn it, the fuel most
commonly used being wood.

7
 An interesting approach for the large scale planned use of wood is the 'energy plantation'

approach. In this scheme, selected species of trees are planted and harvested over regular intervals of

time in a phased manner so that wood is continuously available for cooking or allied purposes. Some

of the trees grown in India for this purpose are eucalyptus, babool and casuarinas.

2) Indirect Methods: These methods are classified into:

i) Biological conversion:

- Anaerobic Digestion
ii) Thermo chemical conversion:
- Pyrolysis

- Gasification

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION 3.1

Anaerobic digestion has been extensively used in our country for high moisture organic materials,
particularly dung. Major application has been for domestic and institutional cooking through a few

installations for industrial heat as well as shaft power/ electricity have also been made. The basic

process is also used for treatment of industrial and municipal wastes and effluents with number of

installations for distillery effluents and human excreta having been made in various part of the

country. Being based on bacterial activity, the process has a long cycle time (running into 4 to 6 weeks

at a time) and the long retention time and high moisture / water content also results in relatively large

plant size with associated capital intensity. Total energy available on a daily basis is obviously

restricted to the average gas production level and additional "on demand" generation cannot be

attempted (even if additional feed is available) because of long retention / cycle times.

YROLYSIS 3.2

Pyrolysis could be largely used for production of various gaseous, liquid and solid fuels from biomass

with the most common example being conventional charcoal making. Though the conventional

techniques suffer from low energy efficiency and high environmental pollution, well designed

charcoal kilns can overcome these drawbacks. Production of liquid fuels etc., through pyrolysis has

not been used on any significant scale.

8
 G AS IF IC AT ION C ON V ER S ION T ECH N OLOGY 3 .3

Biomass (firewood, agricultural residue, and dung) is one of the main fuels in India, particularly in the

energy-starved rural sector. Traditionally, biomass use is characterized by the low efficiencies of end-

use devices. Today, gasification is probably the most important and efficient energy-conversion

technology for a wide variety of biomass fuels. The large-scale deployment of efficient technology

along with interventions to enhance the sustainable supply of biomass fuels can transform the energy

supply situation in rural areas. It has the potential to become the growth engine for rural development

in the country.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 3.3.1:

Gasification has been an important part of energy supply earlier; namely at coal gasification plants

wherefrom the gas was distributed through gas pipes and used in gas cookers, and the residue product,

coke, was used for heating in solid fuel stoves. During World War II wood by means of a gasifier was

used as petrol for cars.

Thus, gasification is not a new phenomenon, but the technology was forgotten for many years because

of cheaper and more handy ways of getting energy.

The renewed interest in gasification of biomass, first of all straw and wood/chips, is due to the wish to

utilize the residue products from agriculture and forestry, and encourage a more environmental

conscious energy use. Here is mainly thought of the CO2 impact in the atmosphere.

As part of the new direction was made a study, at the beginning of 1992, on how far the development

of gasifications plants is abroad . A few companies in Europe and North America have developed

gasifiers; but the study shows that it is impossible to buy fully automatic and reliable gasifiers

designed for cogeneration. Another characteristic of the examined plants is that none of them are

capable of utilizing straw, and there is no technology to utilize the waste heat. Up till now the

technology development abroad has mainly been directed towards third world applications, where

abundant labor is available, and heat production is not that interesting.

DEFINITION 3.3 .2:

Gasification is defined as biomass or any other solid fuel combustion through partial oxidation at high

temperature.

9
 WHY GASIFICATION? 3.3.3

I) Solid biomass fuels are usually inconvenient, have low efficiency of utilization and can only be

used for certain limited applications. Combustion is the normal conversion process and while direct

thermal use in cooking, heating space and water or cogeneration of steam is possible (usually with low

efficiencies), generation of power, e.g. Require high, medium pressure steam boilers with steam

engine / turbine with accessories. For small power needs (a few kW to few 100 kW), this conversion

technology is not only capital intensive and complex but also very inefficient.

Conversion of same biomass to combustible gas mixture like producer gas removes most of these

problems associated with the solid biomass fuels.

ii) In 1980's grate fired combustion systems were replaced by more efficient fluidized bed. Combustor

fluidized bed technology has certain shortcomings such as

a) limited fuel flexibility,

b) limited environmental performance, with regard to emissions of sulpher and nitrogen oxides and

particulates.

Gasification process helps to overcome many of these limitations.

PRINCIPLE OF GASIFICATION 3.3.4

Biomass fuels such as firewood and agro-residues essentially contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen

along with some moisture. Under controlled conditions, characterized by low(sub-stoichiometric)

oxygen supply and high temperatures(700 to1000 0C), most biomass materials can be converted into a

gaseous fuel known as producer gas, which consists of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide,

methane and nitrogen. This thermo-chemical conversion of solid biomass into gaseous fuel is called

biomass gasification. The producer gas so produced has low a calorific value 4190-5028 KJ/m3, but

can be burnt with a high efficiency and a good degree of control without emitting smoke. Each

kilogram of air-dry biomass (10% moisture content) yields about 2.5 m3 of producer gas. In energy

terms, the conversion efficiency of the gasification process is in the range of 60%-70%.

10
 G AS I F I C AT I O N T E C H N O L O G Y 3 . 3 . 5

The gasification process is often called thermal gasification, because the biomass is heated in a

chamber with controlled air supply. It is important to control the air supply; otherwise, there may

easily appear a complete combustion without gas production. During the heating, that usually is part of

the process, the volatile gasses, which make up the main part of energy in straw and wood, are

liberated.

Components Wood Gas( vol. %)

Nitrogen 50-54

Carbon monoxide 17-22

Carbon dioxide 9-15

Hydrogen 12-20

Methane 2-3

Gas heating value(KJ/m3) 5000-5900

Table 3:

The most interesting part of the gas according to energy are carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane.

It is a very poor gas (the heating value is lower) compared to natural gas.

TYPES OF GASIFIERS 3.3.6

Typically the gasifier is a vertical cylindrical vessel of varying cross section. The chemical reactions,

the fuel has to undergo before it is gasified, are: drying, pyrolysis, combustion (oxidation), and

reduction

The Countercurrent ( Up draft )Gasifier 3.3.6.1

Special features:

 Solid moves down and gas moves up

 Tolerates variation in the fuel quantity and size

 Simple and robust in construction

 Practically no ash

11
 • Low exit gas temperature with heavy tar content. Therefore, suitable for tar free fuels like
charcoal

 High thermal efficiency and good turn down ratio

 Good scale up potential

Figure(2) shows a schematic picture of a countercurrent gasifier including the most important reaction

zones, temperature levels, main chemical reactions, and flow.

In the combustion (oxidation) zone carbon from the fuel bums and forms carbon dioxide with the

oxygen in the air. Heat is emitted during the reaction and the temperature rises until a balance between

heat supply and heat loss occurs.

Reaction: C + O2 -> CO2 + Q (393,800 kJ/kmol)

After the oxidation zone the hot gas passes through the reduction zone. There is no free oxygen in this

zone which causes that carbon dioxide - an nonflammable gas - reacts with the carbon in the fuel and

forms carbon monoxide which is a flammable gas. This reaction is endothermic (demands heat) and

does not happen before the temperature exceeds 900>C. Carbon monoxide is the most important

flammable compound in the produced gas.

Reaction:

C + CO2 + Q (172,600 ~J / kmol) -> 2CO

Another important endothermic reaction in the reduction zone is the reaction of water vapour and

carbon to carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The reaction is often called the water gas reaction (known

from the old coal gasification plants). Both gasses are flammable, and the heating value of the gas is

increased.

Reaction:

C + H2 O + Q (13,400 kJ/kmol) CO + H 2

During the endothermic reactions the gas temperature decreases and other reactions occur. One of

these is the reaction between carbon and water vapour, which forms carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

12
Reaction:

C + 2112O + Q (88,000 kJ/kmol) -> CO: + 2112

If there is a surplus of water in the reduction zone, then carbon monoxide may react with water

vapour and form carbon dioxide and hydrogen. This reaction is exothermic (emits heat) and decreases

the heating value of the produced gas.

Reaction:

CO + 112 O - Q (41,200 kJ/kmol) CO2 + 112

By gasification of biomass, the water content in the fuel is usually that big, that some part of the

evaporated water passes through the gasifier and forms part of the outgoing gas flow.

In the pyrolysis zone a thermal decomposition of the fuel takes place at temperatures over 400 0 C.

Water vapour, methane, tar, etc., are formed in the pyrolysis zone. After the pyrolysis the fuel has

changed to charcoal.

In the drying zone in the upper part of the gasifier water is separated from the fuel as water vapour.

The heating value of the gas depends to a great extent on, if the oxygen needed for the gasification is

supplied by the air. The nitrogen in the air (app. 78%) passes through the gas generator and makes up

the dominant compound of the produced gas. Another important compound is the water vapour that

decreases the heating value of the gas. If very wet fuel is gasified, there is a risk that the produced gas

is nonflammable.

The countercurrent gasifier has several advantages. First of all it is very simple in its construction and

function. Second it is able to gasify a material with relatively high humidity; as the processes in the

reduction zone show, water/humidity exactly take part in the process.

The drawback is that the gas contains a lot of tar which makes it impossible to use the gas directly in

engines. Therefore it is necessary to remove the tar - or even better to crack it to flammable substances

in order to utilize the energy as good as possible.

13
 Feed

Gas

Drying zone

Distillation zone

Reduction zone

Hearth zone

Air
Ash zone

Fig(2) Up-draft
Feed

Drying zone

Distillation zone
Hearth zone

Air
Air

Reduction zone
Grate

Gas
Ash pit

Fig(3) Down Draft

14
 Parallel( Down Draft) gasifier 3.3.6.

Special features:

 Both solid feed and gas move down

 Simple in construction

 Low moisture and narrow fuel size is required

 Clean gas at high exit temperature is produced

 Requires high solid residence time

 Ash fusion and clinker formation on grate occurs

 Very limited scale up potential

Figure (3) shows a schematic picture of a parallel gasifier. It is mainly the same chemical

reactions in this type of gasifier as described for the countercurrent gasifier.

Unlike the countercurrent gasifier the gas outlet is placed at the bottom of the gasifier and the

reduction zone is under the combustion (oxidation) zone. These two modifications cause that tar, etc.,

which is formed in the pyrolysis zone, has to pass the hot combustion zone before it leaves the

gasifier. By this passage the tar takes part in the combustion or is decomposed to light hydrocarbons,

and the outgoing gas is under ideal circumstances tar-free. In practice the tar content will be

approximately. 0.1-0.2 g/Nm.

When using this gasification technology, the gas is directly usable for running engines after soot and

ash particles have been washed out. On the other hand the parallel gasifier demands that the biomass

do not have too large water content.

A special kind of parallel gasifier has been developed at the Technical University of Denmark. In this,

the pyrolysis is separated as a process by itself where for example co-generators exhaust gasses can be

used as heating source. This way profit is achieved. But the reason is first of all that the pyrolysis gas

can be utilized in the further process taking place in the combustion chamber, in the cavity over the

fuel. In this way, the process is optimized and a total combustion and formation of cinders are avoided.

15
 COMPARISION OF BIOMASS GASIFIER 3.3.7

Down Draft Up Draft

1. Small scale (up to 250KW) 1. Large scale (up to 15 MW)

2. Low heating value gas

2. High heating value gas

3. Low tar and particulate content

3. High tar and particulate contents

4. Uniform and large particles

4. Mixed particulate size
5. Only woody biomass has been used
5. Coal, lignite, peat wood , straw has
successfully
been used

ADVANTAGES OF GASIFICATION 3.3.8

Conversion of solid biomass into combustible gas has all the advantages associated with using gaseous

and liquid fuels such as clean combustion, compact burning equipment, high thermal efficiency and a

good degree of control. In locations, where biomass is already available at reasonable low prices (e.g.

rice mills) or in industries using fuel wood, gasifier systems offer definite economic advantages.

Biomass gasification technology is also environment-friendly, because of the firewood savings and

reduction in CO2 emissions. Biomass gasification technology has the potential to replace diesel and

other petroleum products in several applications, foreign exchange.

A diesel engine will typically will produce up to 3 kW-hr from a litre of diesel. Thus a five hp diesel

engine pump set will consume about 1.25 liters of diesel every hour. When operating in " duel Fuel

mode" with 65% replacement of diesel by gas, it is likely to consume 0.44 liters of diesel and 2.4 to3

kg of woody biomass every hour.

16
A 20 kW power generation system running at about 80% load is likely to consume close to 6 liters of

diesel every hour and so on. But, when operated under duel fuel mode with 65% replacement will

consume 2.1 litre of diesel and 12 to 16 kg of wood every hour. When a gasifier is coupled to a diesel

engine, diesel consumption is reduced by the amount defined as % diesel replacement with wood

substituting for such diesel reduction. In general, 3 to 4 kg. of wood result in saving of one litre of

diesel.

Some useful numbers with biomass gasification

•. 3 to 4 kg of biomass saves litre of diesel

+ 65% to 85% replacement of diesel in C.I. Engines
+ 100% gas operation with S.I. Engines
+ 5 H.P. pump set operating 1000 hours needs only 3.5 tones of biomass
+ 1 MW for 4000 Hrs. requires 4000 t of biomass
+ For irrigation 3-4% of land for tree growing 25% of residues. Typical plantation yields are 10
to 60 tons per hectares.

APPLICATIONS 3.3.9
Producer gas can be used for a variety of applications:

1. Thermal applications: cooking, water boiling, steam generation, drying etc.

2. Motive power applications: Using producer gas as a fuel in IC engines for applications such as

water pumping.

3. Electricity generation: Using producer gas in dual-fuel mode in diesel engines/as the only fuel in

spark ignition engines/in gas turbines.

4. Irrigation pumping

17
 C ASE STUD Y 4

ELECTRICITY/SHAFT POWER APPLICATIONS:

In case of shaft power/ electricity, the gas is basically burnt inside an engine. The engine can be
either diesel based or a petrol based .given that the producer gas —air mixture does not auto ignite

at normal engine pressure and temperature, running diesel engine solely on gas is not possible and

pilot diesel injection is needed to start combustion. In case of S.I. engines, spark plug initiates

combustion and hence such engine can be run totally on gas. Wherever diesel engines are used,

"diesel replacement" therefore becomes a key parameter as economics largely depends on what

percent of total normal diesel consumption can be replaced by gas.

CASE I :

ISLAND VILLAGE ELECTRIFICATION IN SUNDERBANS( WEST BENGAL) USING

"ANKUR" BIOMASS GASIFIER SYSTEMS

West Bengal renewable energy development agencies (WBREDA) have implemented a project for
electrification of an island village (village Gosaba) in Sunderbans area. The village had no

electricity. In addition to supply, installation and commissioning of the system which has an

installed capacity of 500kW (consisting of five modules of 100kW each), Ankur scientific has also

agreed to over see operation and maintenance for a period of two years. The project has

completely taken over by the village co-operative society which was very enthusiastic about the

project and local youth is used to operate the system under Ankur's supervision.

18
 SPRAY TO FLARE AIR FILTER
BIOMASS NOZZLE SPARATER PSV DISTRIBUTION
RUBBER TANK
RING FEED
DOOR Ventury
Scrubber AV
HOPPER AIR

MGV Diesel
BLO-
Tank
WER

FILTER

ALTERNATOR
cyclone
VIBRATOR

ENGINE

ASH POND GASIFIER

DIESEL LINE
AV AIR VALVE

SV PRESET VALVE WATER LINE

GAS LINE

MGV MAIN GAS VALVE

Fig(4) Ankur biomass gasifier (Schematic)

System description

The system has an installed capacity of 500 kW in stand alone mode through five modules of 100 kW

each. The sets are being synchronized through a semiautomatic synchronizer with the local grid being

planned by WBREDA. A normal filtering system is also used and three Ankur's cutters are used for

biomass preparation. The Ankur biomass gasifier is as shown in fig. (4).

19
The biomass is fed through the feed door and is stored in the hopper. Limited and controlled amount

of air for partial combustion enters through nozzles. The ash removed manually through ash floor. In

Case of larger models, automatic ash disengagement through a water seal is built-in. For gasifier , two

gas outlets are given- one for start up and the other normal gas outlets which deliver hot gas to the

cooling-cleaner sub-system. The cooling-cleaner sub-system consists of scrubber, a separator box

with a filter and a drain tub and cyclones. Movement of biomass feed stocks, charcoal and

disengagement of ash is accomplished through low amplitude vibrations imparted to the gasifier.An

electrically operated vibrator is used.

 Total Installed capacity : 500 kW ( 5 x 100 kW)

 Gasifier : Five units of Ankur Gasifier Model AG-100 with rated biomass

consumption of 100 kg/hr and suitable to support power generation @ 100 kW level in duel

fuel mode.

 Specific consumption : Upper limit of 100 cc/kWh for diesel and 1 kg/kWh of biomass
 Fuel cost of generation : Rs 1.60 per kWh

CONCLUSIONS 5

Biomass, a broad term for all organic matter of plants, trees and crops, is currently regarded as a

renewable energy source which can contribute substantially to the world's energy supply in the future.

Various scenarios for the development of energy supply and demand, such as compiled by the World

Energy Council (WEC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Shell and the

Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI), indicate that biomass has the potential to make a large

contribution to the world's energy supply. Estimates of this potential in the year 2050 vary from 14%

to 50% of the total supply, or from 100 to about 300 EJ/yr. It is estimated that currently biomass

contributes 10-14% of the energy supply, which is equivalent to about 40-55 EJ/yr. The use of

firewood in developing countries makes up a large part of this 40-55 EJ, but there it is for a large part

non-commercial and non-sustainable use of biomass.

If biomass is to make a substantial contribution to the world's energy supply it will have to include not

only biomass residues - such as from commercial forestry (e.g. thinning) and agriculture (e.g. straw) -

and organic wastes, but also energy crops. Perennial crops seem to be a particularly promising energy

20
source. Crops like Short Rotation Coppice (e.g. Willow and Eucalyptus) and grasses (e.g. Miscanthus)

give a relatively high net energy yield per hectare, have a low environmental impact and produce

relatively cheap energy. The use of such crops in a Biomass Integrated Gasifier/Combined Cycle

(BIG/CC) plant to produce electricity or combined heat and power, and the gasification of these crops

to produce fuels like methanol and hydrogen appear to be promising routes for achieving high energy

conversion efficiency at relatively low cost.

There has been a steady research interest over many years into the use of alternative biomass fuels in

I.C. engines, including biogas, wood gas, biodiesel and ethanol. Both practical and theoretical work

has also been done on other engine cycles, such as the Stirling and Atkinson cycles, as alternative

means of using a range of fuels and also improving efficiency of the combustion of conventional fuels.

There is strong interest in the increasing opportunity for the use of thermal and biological means to

gasify biomass materials, such as wood and municipal solid waste for power production. This seminar

had a basic aim of making aware about presently available conversion technologies, especially

biomass gasification. Although we have seen up draft and down draft technologies, some other types

may be available in near future. As we have seen the gasification system is suitably used to generate

shaft power / electric power. However, independent use of gas in engines is not feasible, it is necessary

to blend it with diesel as an example.Also the use of producer gas, if not handeled properly, may lead

to toxic hazards, fire hazards, explosion hazards and environmental hazards.

Also, despite the promising outlook, various barriers are hampering the large scale development and

implementation of commercial biomass energy systems. Currently, the commercial use of biomass to

generate electricity is limited mainly to the utilization of zero- or low-cost biomass waste or residues.

At the moment specially cultivated biomass is too expensive an option. However, biomass is able to

compete on a significant scale in countries, like Sweden, Denmark and Brazil, where government

policies support its use financially or have actively discouraged the use of fossil fuels (such as by the

introduction of a carbon tax). The complexity of large scale bioenergy systems is also a barrier.

Furthermore, biomass has a relatively low energy density. The production of biomass is bound up

with seasons and makes high demands on organization and logistics. Furthermore, it involves many

different factors involved in the production and utilization of energy crops: farmers, utilities,

industries, governments, etc. Difficulties concerning public acceptability and uncertainties concerning

the ecological effects of the large scale production of use of biomass are forming another problem.

Last but not least, the availability of land may be a major problem if the large scale production of

energy crops is being considered. If agriculture is not modernized, especially in developing countries,

21
there might be very little room left for alternative crops. Energy farming may then conflict with food

production, a situation which is highly undesirable.

REFERENCES 6

1. Nicholas P. Cheromisinoff, Paul N. Chermishinoff, et. al., application, technology and

production, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York and Basel.

2. Edward S. Cassedy, Prospects for sustainable energy - a critical assessment, Cambridge

university press-2000

3. M. Kalshrestha, MVS Iyer et. al ., energy from biomass: Prospects in India, Biomass energy
system, proceedings of the international conference, 1996,TERI,pg.no.124

4. O.P.Rao , R&D requirements in biomass combustion and gasification, ibid. , pg.no.259-269

5. N.P.Singh , Biomass programme in India: An overview, ibid. ,pg.no.65-72

6. Sukhatme S. P., Solar energy:Principal of thermal collection and storage, TMH, second edition.

7. B.C.Jain , Biomass gasification technology and its role in Indian industry, Renewable Energy
applications to industries, Narosa publishing House, 1997, pg.no.9-17

8. V.N.G. Rao et a! , power generation using Biomass combustion/ Gasification,ibid., pg.no.119-134

9. www.wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in! energy!paper! Se Handbook

22
 APPENDIX

BIOMASS MATERIALS AND THEIR TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Biomass materials and biomass based industry residues are very important renewable energy sources. The importance of

these materials as alternate fuels has been well recognized for use in power generation. While the characteristics of

biomass vary from different geographical regions, the values for typical biomass materials are indicated for general
guidance.

Ash H NO
Bulk Density Content %Kcal/Kg.
Biomass Grade C%
Calorific
Kgs/M3 % % Value
%

Castor stick 5.40 45.97 1.28 40.70 4300

6.65
Castor Seed Shell 8.00 44.25 5.65 0.16 41.94 3860

Corncobs 11% moisture 304 1.20 41.44 5.96 0.14 51.26

Cotton pods 5.01 41.49 6.20 1.81 45.49 4200

Cotton stalk 3.01 41.49 6.20 1.81 47.49 4200

Sawdust Loose 177 1.20 52.28 5.20 0.47 40.85 4400

Straw Loose 80 15.50 35.97 5.28 0.17 43.08 3700

Straw Bales 320

Wood (hard) --- 330 1.50 52.30 5.20 0.50 42.00 4400

Bagasse 0.12 74 4.00 47.00 6.50 0.0 42.50 4200

Coir pith 0.12 47 13.60 41.27 4.02 1.51 39.60 4100

Cotton shell 0.21 79 4.60 44.19 5.87 0.73 44.61 4200

Coconut Wastes 6.31 46.69 5.89 0.07 41.04 3720

Coffee Husk 11.61 46.46 6.26 0.72 34.95 3745

Eucalyptus Saw dust 0.12 239 0.21 49.37 6.39 2.02 42.01 4400

Ground nut shell 0.15 165 3.10 33.90 1.97 1.10 59.93 4500
Mulberry stick 2.49 44.23 6.61 0.51 46.25 4380

Rice husk 0.12 235 22.20 36.42 4.91 0.59 35.88 3200

Sun flower stalk 0.12 93 4.30 44.20 5.50 0.50 45.50 4300

Sugar cane leaves 0.13 167 7.71 39.75 5.55 0.17 46.82 4200
Sawdust 0.12 165 1.20 52.28 5.20 0.47 40.85 4500

23
 Subabul 1.20 42.76 5.68 1.07 49.29 3980

Sweet sorghum stalk 7.40 41.83 5.90 0.53 44.34 4100

Tobacco dust 0.18 586 49.40 19.94 1.63 4.35 24.68 1164

0.17 100 45.97 5.40 2.76 39.17 4000

Tea waste 6.70
Tobacco stem 20.6 28.30 4.50 1.00 45.60 3041

Source: Book titled "BIOMASS, Thermo-chemical characterisation" Published by IIT, New Delhi

24