EET431

ELECTRICAL ENERGY
SYSTEM
CHAPTER 3 RE SYSTEM– BIOMASS ENERGY
Why biomass? Plants store solar
energy.
 Biomass and bioenergy
Biomass
Recent organic matter originally
derived from plants (as a result of
the photosynthetic conversion
process) or from animals.
Bioenergy
The utilisation of biomass as a
store of chemical energy to
provide heat, electricity, or
transport fuels.
 OVERVIEW

Biomass is a renewable energy Biomass includes biological Energy derived from biomass is
source that is derived from material such as trees, grasses, mostly used to generate
living or recently living or agricultural crops, not electricity or to produce heat.
organisms. organic material like coal.

Thermal energy is extracted by Biomass can be chemically and

means of combustion, biochemically treated to
torrefaction, pyrolysis, and convert it to an energy-rich
gasification. fuel.
WOOD AND WOOD AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTS BIPRODUCTS AND
RESIDUES

TREES, SHRUBS, TYPICALLY FAST

GRASSES AND OTHER GROWING
ENERGY CROPS
 Biomass & Types of Biomass

BIOMASS – any
form of
BIOMASS biologically-
any form of biologically-
derived
derived substance that, if
not utilized would be an
substance that, if
economic, environmental
not utilized would
and social liability that
be an economic,
needs to be properly
disposed. environmental
and social
liability that
needs to be
properly
disposed.
Biomass energy resource categories

Source: Hoogwijk (2003, Biomass and Energy, 25, 119-133)

Biomass can be converted into renewable energy
(RE) from the forms of solid (pellets), liquid
(biofuels) or gaseous (syngas or biogas).

In Malaysia, the biomass used for bioenergy

generation are :

• Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB)

• Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) & Fibre
• Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)
• Wood Waste
• Landfill Gas from Municipal Solid Waste
• Sawdust
• Rice Husk
• Other Agriculture Waste
Bioenergy Crops

Annuals

Perennial
grasses

Woody
Crops
(trees)
 Starch-rich crops (maize (corn),
wheat, potatoes) (used to
produce ethanol)

Sugar-rich crops (sugarcane,

Annuals sugar beets) (used to produce
ethanol)

Oil-rich crops (coconut oil, palm

oil, sunflower oil) (used to
produce biodiesel)
 Sugarcane (a
sugar-rich
crop)

Source: www.wikipedia.org
 Sugarcane
harvesting

Source: www.wikipedia.org
 Cut sugarcane
stalks

Source: www.wikipedia.org
 Palm oil (an oil-rich
crop)

• Sources: Left, Photo by Jeff

McNeely in Howarth and
Bringezu (2009, Biofuels:
Environmental Consequences
and
• Interactions with Changing
Land Use, SCOPE); upper right,
Stone (2007, Science, vol 317,
pp149 );
• lower right, Koh and Wilcove
(2007, Nature, vol 448, pp993–
994)
Perennial grasses

• Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)(native to North America)

• Miscanthus (native to tropical Africa and tropical and temperate Asia)
• Napier grass (native to tropical Africa)
• Jatropha curcas (a poisonous weed native to Central America, used in
India)
 Switchgrass
(Panicum
virgatum)

Source: US Gov public domain

 Miscanthus sinensus
(upper)
& Napier grass
(Pennisetum
pupureum) (lower)

Source: www.wikipedia.org
 Close-up of Jatropha (left),
and degraded land before
(upper right) and after being
planted with Jatropha
(lower right) in India

Source: Left, photo by Jeff McNeely in Howarth and Bringezu (2009, Biofuels: Environmental Consequences and
Interactions with Changing Land Use, SCOPE); right, Fairless (2007, Nature, vol 449, pp652–655)
 • Short-rotation coppicing
- Willow (Salix)
Woody - Poplar (Populus)
• Modified conventional forestry
crops - Acacia (N-fixing)
- Pine (Pinus)
- Eucalyptus
 Harvest of coppice
willow and
irrigation of new
growth with sewage
water in Sweden.

Source: Dimitriou and Aronsson (2003, Unasylva 56, 221, 47-50)

 Five-year old
Acacia
plantation

Source: Doug Maquire, Oregon State University, www.forestryimages.org

 Eucalyptus
plantation in Spain
(left) and 4-year old
Eucalyptus in
Hawaii (right).

Source: NREL Photo Exchange, www.nrel.gov/data/pix)

14-year old
loblolly pine
(Pinus taeda) in
Georgia, USA

Source: Dennis Haugen, www.forestryimages.org

 • A variety of residues (stalks, shells, husks,
leaves) from a wide variety of crops (such
as coconut, maize, cotton, groundnuts,
pulses, rice, sugarcane) are produced and
Agricultural used for household energy use in rural
areas of developing countries already
Residues • Straw is co-fired with coal in Denmark
• Bagasse is a fibrous residue produced
during the processing of sugarcane into
sugar
Bagasse, a residue
from Source: Kartha and Larson (2000, Bioenergy Primer, Modernized Biomass
Energy for Sustainable Development, United Nations Development
processing of Programme, New York)

sugarcane Source: Warren Gretz and DOE/NREL

 • Primary (left in the field): From
thinning of plantations and
trimming of felled trees
Forestry • Secondary (produced during
processing): Sawdust, bark, wood
residues scraps from production of
marketable wood; bark and black
liquor from the production of pulp
for paper
 Reduce GHG emissions – does not emit

Rationales of Utilisation of
carbon dioxide and reduce the possibility

Biomass for Bioenergy:

of methane emission

Conveniently available and renewable –

abundant in rural areas

Reduce dependency of finite resources –

reduces dependency on fossil fuels

Reduce the need for landfills – prevents

unnecessary expenses
 Most of them are renewable, e.g., wood, mustard oil
and crop residues.

The Solve energy crisis in the future.

advantages
of Some of them are re-using the waste, e.g.,crop
residues, sewage.

biomass
energy High energy efficiency.

Generally it does not polluted the atmosphere as

much as oil and coal.
 More serious air The source of biomass can

The
use fertilize soil, e.g., crop
pollution was found residues and animal manure. Raising the price of
when burning plants Cutting too many woods is a food, wood and wood
matters, e.g., CO2, CO, kind of deforestation can products indirectly.
disadvantages
cause, soil erosion and
solid particulate matter. natural disasters.

of biomass
energy Emission more
carcinogens into the air.
Reduce soil nutrient
replenishment.
May cause accident.

It takes too much

energy to collect, dry
Emission some toxic It uses large area to
and transport the
gases and ash. grow biomass.
residues to power
plants.
 Either high technological level or
catalytic combustion is needed.
The
limitations
for Large area is needed to grow
using plants for biomass energy use.

biomass
energy When producing biomass fuel,
large amount of waste will be
produced.
The environmental
problems are caused
by biomass energy
It will intensify air pollution.

It may cause saltilization and decrease to total size

of the arable land.

The source of biomass can use fertilize soil, e.g.,

crop residues and animal manure.

Cutting too many woods is a kind of deforestation

can cause, soil erosion and natural disasters
 Biomass Value Chain
Biomass Value Chain

Bio-Energy is the best

approach towards
mitigating climate change
i.e. creating highest
environmental benefits in
term of Greenhouse Gas
(GHG) emission reduction
but has low economic
value from business
standpoint.

Bio-Energy is the best approach towards mitigating climate change i.e.

creating highest environmental benefits in term of Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
 For producing heat energy

• Anything from the nature which can

burn to heat.
What is the • E.g. charcoal, wood, Mustard oil
use of
For producing electricity
biomass
energy? • Using method is same as oil. Burn it
and get energy either for a state or
a house.
• E.g. wood, crop residues, Mustard
oil
Biomass
energy
conversion
 Solid Fuel
Combustion
Wood
Direct combustion of solid matter
where the biomass is fed into a
furnace where it is burned. The
heat is used to boil water and the
energy in the steam is used to
turn turbines and generators.

Peat is an accumulation of
partially decayed vegetable
matter. Peat forms in wetlands,
bogs, moors, mires and fens.
Animal Dung
Biomass
Power Plant
Power
generation
cycle –
steam cycle
Power
generation
cycle –
combined
cycle
Biogas
energy
 • Anaerobic decomposition is decomposition in the
Biological absence of oxygen that produces methane
gasification • Among other places, it occurs in sanitary landfills (in
which waste including organic matter alternates with
(anaerobic clay layers, creating anaerobic conditions and
digestion) temporarily trapping any methane produced from
anaerobic decomposition)
• The methane is extracted with perforated pipes
• The efficiency (heating value of extracted methane
over heating value of the organic waste is only ~ 20%)
• Can be done with greater efficiency (50-55%) in
dedicated digesters
 Collection of
biogas from a
municipal landfill
Source: Ramage and Scurlock (1996, Renewable Energy,
Power for a Sustainable Future, Oxford University Press,
Oxford, 137-182)
Anaerobic
• 5 million household cattle-dung digesters in
digestion of China, along with 500 large-scale digesters at pig
animal farms and other agro-industrial sites, and 24,000
and sewage digesters at sewage treatment plants
• 20 million households in China use biogas from
wastes digesters for cooking and lighting needs, and 4
million households in India
• 5000 digesters in industrialized countries,
primarily at livestock processing facilities and
municipal sewage treatment plants
 Cattle dung digester in India
Source: Kartha and Larson (2000, Bioenergy Primer, Modernized Biomass Energy for
Sustainable Development, United Nations Development Programme, New York)
Digester on a pig
farm in England
Source: Unknown
BIOGAS DIGESTER

Biogas is produced by exposing biomass to high

temperatures and limited oxygen.

Biogas energy can serve as a feedstock for electricity

generation or a building block for chemicals.

Anaerobic digesters compost (or “digest”) organic waste in a

machine that limits access to oxygen encouraging the
generation of methane and carbon dioxide by microbes in
the waste. This digester gas is then burned as fuel to produce
electricity.
Biofuel
 Biofuel refers most commonly to ethanol which is
produced through the fermentation of carbohydrates by
yeast
cells.

Fermentation is an energy-yielding process that cells

carry
out in the absence of oxygen. Although fermentation
does not

Ethanol provide much usable energy for the cell, it is sufficient for
yeast
cells.

Yeast cells produce ethanol and CO2 as byproducts, and

the ethanol produced has become a valuable energy
source.

Ethanol is an alcohol, created by fermenting biomass high

in carbohydrates. It is used as a fuel additive to cut down
CO2 and other emissions.
Biodiesel
 Biodiesel production
• Biodiesel is an alternative fuel similar to conventional or
‘fossil’ diesel. Biodiesel can be produced from straight
vegetable oil, animal oil/fats, tallow and waste cooking
oil. The process used to convert these oils to Biodiesel is
called transesterification.
• The Transesterification process is the reaction of a
triglyceride (fat/oil) with an alcohol to form esters and
glycerol. A triglyceride has a glycerine molecule as its
base with three long chain fatty acids attached. The
characteristics of the fat are determined by the nature of
the fatty acids attached to the glycerine. The nature of
the fatty acids can in turn affect the characteristics of the
biodiesel.
• During the esterification process, the triglyceride is
reacted with alcohol in the presence of a catalyst, usually
a strong alkaline like sodium hydroxide. The alcohol reacts
with the fatty acids to form the mono-alkyl ester, or
biodiesel and crude glycerol. In most production
methanol or ethanol is the alcohol used (methanol
produces methyl esters, ethanol produces ethyl esters)
and is base catalysed by either potassium or sodium
hydroxide.
Pyrolysis

Heat is used to • Pyrolysis Oil, is easier to store and transport than solid biomass
chemically material and can be burned like petroleum to generate electricity.
• Phenol Oil , a chemical used to make wood adhesives, molded
convert biomass plastics and foam insulation. Wood adhesives are used to glue
together plywood and other composite wood products.
to bio-oil.
 Oil crops (rape, Sugar and starch plants Wet biomass (organic
Solid biomass
sunflowers...) (sugar-beet, cereals, etc.) waste, manure, etc.)

refining crushing extraction hydrolysis pyrolysis gasification fermentation anaerobic

Biomass energy conversion

Vegetable oil Sugar Pyrolytic oil Fuel gas Biogas

hydrolysis
transesterification fermentation

combustion

Methyl ester
Ethanol
(biodiesel)

overview
ETBE

Liquid biofuels Electricity Heat Vapor

cogeneration

Transport process

Electric devices Heating

 Biogas is a mixture of gases produced during
the anaerobic digestion of biological or organic
materials. Anaerobic means oxygen free while
aerobic means with oxygen.

BIOGAS Biogas is produced when bacteria known as

methanogen bacteria ferment or breakdown
ENERGY the organic material in the absence of oxygen.

Methanogen bacteria prefer certain conditions

and are sensitive to the microclimate within the
digester. Methanogen bacteria develop slowly
and are sensitive to sudden changes in
temperature.
 Biogas consists of methane (40-70%), also known as
marsh gas or natural gas (CH4), 30 to 40% carbon
dioxide (CO2), and low amounts of other gases such
as hydrogen, nitrogen and hydrogen sulphide.

Biogas is about 20% lighter than air and has an

BIOGAS
ignition temperature in the range of 650° to 750° C.
It is odourless (after burning) and colourless and it
burns with a clear blue flame similar to that of
Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) gas.

Biogas is a renewable fuel because it is produced

from waste treatment. Biogas is produced inside a
plant known as a bio digester.
BIOGAS
PRODUCTION
FLOW
DIAGRAM
 Typical Biogas Power Plant

Typical
biogas
plant
 Anaerobic Digestion
Schematic of a typical agricultural AD system

Typical
Agricultural
Biogas
Generation

42 43
 Biogas digester is a covered vessel in which
anaerobic digestion of organic or biological matter
occurs. It is commonly known as a biogas plant.

Since various chemical and microbiological

reactions take place inside the bio digester, it is also

BIOGAS known as a bio- reactor or anaerobic reactor.

DIGESTER The main function of this plant is to provide

anaerobic conditions for biogas production. A bio
digester should be air and water tight.

It comes in different shapes and sizes and can be

made of various materials.
 conditions for biogas production. A bio digester should be air and water tight. It
comes in different shapes and sizes and can be made of various materials. Figure 1.1
below illustrates a bio digester or biogas plant.

BIOGAS
DIGESTER

Figure 1.1: A floating drum bio digester

 BIOGAS SYSTEM
Biogas system required quantity of substrate or feedstock is mixed with water and fed to the
digester through the inlet tank.

Once the mixture is digested, gas is produced and collected in the dome, also known as the
gasholder.

The digested slurry flows to the outlet tank through the manhole and eventually ends up in
the compost pit where it is collected and composted.

The gas is supplied to the point of application through the pipeline.

 Biogas Production for Domestic Us

BIOGAS
COMPONENT

Figure 2.2: Com

mponents of a biogas plan
nt

The followingg are the maiin componennts of a biogaas plant:

• Inlet pipe:
p a syste
em used to collect and trransport wasste or substraate to the
Components of a Biogas System

a system used to collect and transport waste or substrate to the digester. It

consists of a receptacle for the raw/fresh organic waste and a pipe of at
Inlet pipe
least 10 cm diameter leading to the digester. The connection between the
inlet pipe and the digester must be airtight.

this is the reservoir of organic wastes in which the substrate is acted on by

A digester
anaerobic microorganisms to produce biogas.

a system to collect the gas produced: this may be simply an empty but enclosed
Biogas holder
space above the slurry in the digester.

A gas pipe or a
system to
this system is connected to a special lighting lamp or a modified cooking
distribute the
burner.
gas to the end
user

this system collects and distributes the digested slurry to the end user. It
An outlet consists of a pipe of similar size to the inlet pipe, which is connected to the
discharge pipe digester at a slightly lower level than the inlet pipe. It facilitates the outflow
of exhausted slurry.
 Indian
digester
design

Source: Kartha and Larson (2000, Bioenergy Primer, Modernized Biomass Energy for
Sustainable Development, United Nations Development Programme, New York)
 Chinese
digester
design

Source: Kartha and Larson (2000, Bioenergy Primer, Modernized Biomass Energy for
Sustainable Development, United Nations Development Programme, New York)
Inputs for Biogas Production

Remains of agriculture or food production such as feed

remains, chaff from rice and wheat
input material or substrate
In domestic settings, the

for biogas production Organic household waste

includes:
Fresh plant material such as maize, grass, water hyacinth.

Human excrements or night soil

Animal excrements such as slurry or manure.

addition to human excreta other organic waste such as
cattleGasdung can be
production addedofto
potential the types
various generator to dung
of animal increase
biogas production). See Table 2.

Table 2: Approximate biogas production rates of different waste

Source Biogas per day (m3/day) [5]
1kg Cattle dung 0.04
1kg Pig dung 0.06
1kg Chicken droppings 0.07
1kg Human excreta 0.02-0.07

The amount of biogas produced in a human excreta fed

plant can be increased with the addition of animal manure,
 Anaerobic Digestion Process
Hydrolysis Acidogenesis Methanogenesis

• The • Acid-producing • The methanogenic

microorganisms bacteria reduce bacteria processes
compounds with a low
excrete the principle acids
molecular weight into
extracellular acetic acid produced in Stage
enzymes which (CH3COOH), hydrogen 2 to produce
break down the (H2) and carbon methane. The
organic matter dioxide (CO2). To reaction that takes
into simpler and produce acetic acid, place in the
soluble these bacteria need process of
compounds. oxygen and carbon. methane
For this, they use the
oxygen found in the production is
solution. Thereby, the called
acid-producing Methanization.
bacteria create an
anaerobic (oxygen
free) condition, which
is essential for the
methane producing
microorganisms.
 1. Phase 2. Phase 3. Phase
Anaerobic digestion process 4. Phase
Hydrolysis Acidification Acetic acid Methane
formation formation
Hydolisis Acidogenesis Methanogesis

hydrogen &
carbon
dioxide
Biomass Biogas
sugars, amino
carbohydrate, methane &
acids, fatty
proteins, fats carbon
acids
fatty acids, dioxide
(propionic acetic acid
acids),
alcohols
 Principle

• Initial hyd
matter and
• Fermenta
(formation
Anaerobic primarily a
Volatile Fat
digestion • Acetogen
acetate), H
electron ac
• Methanog
Acetate !
(major path
4H2 + CO2
SIZING THE BIOGAS PLANT

When designing your biogas digester, you

should consider the following factors:
• the size of the digester
• daily gas production
• the plant parameters;
• the size of the gas holder
• average daily feedstock
Size of the Digester
The size of the digester, also
known as the digester volume
(Vd), is determined by the daily
substrate input quantity (SD) and
the chosen retention time (RT),
using the following formula:
Vd = SD x RT
[in cubic metres (m3) /day
x number of days]
• Digester volume (Vd) is in cubic
metres (m3);
• Daily substrate input quantity in
cubic meters (m3) per day or
litres per day (L/day)
• Retention time (RT) is in days
• Biomass or organic material in
Kg; and
• Water is in litres (L)
The Substrate input
The Substrate input depends on how much water has to be
added to the substrate in order to arrive at a solids content of
4-8%. It is calculated using the following formula:

Substrate input (SD) = Biomass (B) + Water (W) m3 /Day.

In most agricultural biogas plants the mixing ratio for dung

(cattle and/or pig) and water (B:W) is normally between 1:3 and
2:1. For cow dung the ratio for dung and water is normally 1:1.
Daily Gas Production (G)

The amount of biogas generated each day G (m3 gas / day), is

calculated on the basis of the specific gas yield Gy of the substrate
and the daily substrate input SD. The calculation may be based on
the following:
• Volatile solids content:
G=Vs x Gy m3/day = kg x m3/day kg
• Weight of moist mass B
G = B X Gy (moist mass) m3 / day kg x m3 /day kg
• Standard gas yield values per Livestock Unit (LSU)
G = Number of LSU x Gy (species) m3 /day = number x m3 = (day number)

As a rule it is advisable to calculate according to several different

methods, since the available basic data are usually very imprecise.
A higher degree of sizing certainty can be achieved by comparing
and averaging the results.
 The larger Vg––value (Vg1 or Vg2 ) determines the size of the gas
g holder. However,
H a
saafety marginn of 10 – 20 % should be added since practical experience sho ow that

Generally, a 4-cubic meter biogas plant can

40 – 60 % of the
t daily gas production has normallyy has to be stored.
s
The ratio Vd ÷÷Vg (digester volume ÷ ggasholder volume) is a major factor with
w regard

take 24 to 40 kilograms of substrate

too the basic design
d of a biiogas plant. For
iss between 3::1 and 10:1, with
w 5:1 to 6:1
F a typical agricultural biogas plantt, the ratio
6 occurringg most frequently.

combined
Average
A with 24 to 40 liters of water per
Dailyy Feedstock
day
G
co
with
Generally,
a
a 4-cubic
4
hydraulic
meteer biogas plan
retention
nt can take 24
time of
2 to 40 kiloggrams of sub
40
bstrate
ombined witth 24 to 40 liiters of wateer per day witth a hydraulic retention time of 40
days.
Average
days. Table 3..1 below give
es you informmation about the four different sizess of biogas
plants and the average daaily feedstock or substratte in kilogram
ms.

Daily
Table
T 3.1. Pla
ant size and average
a dailyy feedstock or
o substrate

Feedstock
Plant Size (m3) Daily Fee
edstock (kilogram) Daaily Water (lliters )

4 24 - 40 24 - 40

6 40 - 60 40 -60

8 60 - 80 60 - 80

10 80 - 100 80 - 100
0

Note:
N Plant siize is the sum
m of digesterr volume and
d gas storagee based on a hydraulic
reetention timee of 40 days..
Some approximate biogasbiogas
Approximation consumption ratesrate
consumption are shown in
Table 3.

[1]
Table 3: Approximate biogas consumption rates
Application Volume biogas (m3)
Consumption per person per meal 0.15-0.30
Boil 1 litre water 0.03-0.04
Cook 0.5kg rice 0.12-0.14
Cook 0.5kg vegetables 0.16-0.19
Gas lamp lighting (1 hour) 0.07-0.20
 Bioenergy Production Routes
Combustion Heat

Char, Bio-oil
Thermoche Pyrolysis
Fuel gas
mical
Platform
Fuel gases Combined
Bioenergy
Gasification
(Syngas, H2)
heat &
power,
production Biomass Biochemical
Platform
Anaerobic
digestion
Biogas
(methane)
Fuels,
Chemicals
Feedstock and
Fermentation Bioethanol
materials

Chemical Trans-
Platform Biodiesel
esterification
12
 Thermochemical conversion options

Thermochemical
process

21 22
 Bioethanol production flow diagram

Biochemical Process

Fermentation