BIOMASS IN POWERPLANT

Ivan Kier R. Galono

BSEE – Student
Reporter
What is Biomass?
 Biomass is burned in a boiler to produce high-pressure steam. This steam flows over a series
of turbine blades, causing them to rotate. The rotation of the turbine drives a generator,
producing electricity.

 Biomass is used for facility heating, electric power generation, and combined heat and
power. The term biomass encompasses a large variety of materials, including wood from
various sources, agricultural residues, and animal and human waste.

 Biomass is becoming increasingly well known as the main source of renewable energy on
Earth. Biomass is the production of electricity and heat through the combustion of plant or
animal matter. The main interest of this solution of energy production is the fact that the
material used is inexhaustible, as long as it is produced in an ecological way, contrary to
fossil fuels.
The operation of a biomass plant

 A biomass power plant produces electricity from the steam that is released
during the combustion of plant or animal matter in a combustion chamber.
This process in the operation of biomass plants has
several steps:
1. Combustion: The biomass is burned in a combustion chamber.
2. Steam production: The biomass releases heat that heats water in a
boiler. The water is transformed into steam, which is sent under pressure to
turbines.
3. Electricity production: The steam turns a turbine which in turn drives an
alternator. Thanks to the energy supplied by the turbine, the alternator
produces an alternating electric current. A transformer raises the voltage of
the electric current produced by the alternator so that it can be more easily
transported in medium and high voltage lines.
4. Recycling: At the exit of the turbine, part of the steam is recovered to be
used for heating. This is called cogeneration.
The rest of the steam is again transformed
into water thanks to a condenser in which
cold water from the sea or a river circulates.
The water thus obtained is recovered and
recirculated in the boiler to start another
cycle.
The advantages of biomass
 The main advantage of biomass power plants is simple: they allow
to create energy without using fossil fuels, thanks to ecological
resources. With biomass, it is also possible to recover waste and
reuse it to create energy.

This mode of electricity production has, in principle, a neutral

carbon balance, because it rejects a relatively low quantity of CO2,
similar to the quantity consumed by the plants during their growth
phase.

 In a world where ecology and respect for the environment are

increasingly important, the use of natural fuels is necessarily a
welcome solution. However, this solution is contested by many
associations.
Different mechanisms allow to create
energy with biomass:
Combustion of raw material:
 This is the most frequently adopted method. It relies on the combustion of raw material, such
as wood, in order to create steam, which is necessary for the turbine to function.

One detail is particularly pointed out by environmental associations: deforestation.

Wood being the main material consumed by biomass power plants, the increasing presence
of this mode of energy production will potentially cause a need in trees more and more
important. It will be necessary to be careful that the exploitation of the resources is not too
intensive.

Example of use: from residue of sugar cane production: bagasse. This form of biomass is
used instead of coal to fuel thermal power plants. This practice allows to use the natural
resources of the islands in the DROM-COM (Reunion, Guadeloupe, ...).
2. Gasification:
 This is an innovative alternative that consists, through a thermochemical process, of
transforming solid biomass into combustible gas that can be used in multiple ways. With this
process, the raw material is transformed into a gas, which will then be used as fuel.

Example of use: Gasification can create a biogas, for example thanks to hemp. Gasification
is a high-temperature thermo-chemical process (between 800°C and 1400°C) that can be
used for various inputs such as dry biomass, solid recovered fuels or wood waste. Hemp can
therefore be used in this process.

Similarly,there is an association in Japan called HySTRA, which aims to develop a reliable

and economical hydrogen supply network. Thanks to this association, a terminal for
unloading this fuel is being built in Japan, and a lignite gasification plant is also being built in
Australia.
3. Methanization:
 The methanization process is sometimes used by biomass power plants. In this case, the
organic materials used, such as household waste, paper, cardboard or manure, are not burned,
but fermented.

Example of use: Methanization will create a biogas used for the operation of cars and trucks. It
is a technique in full expansion! The number of methanization sites injecting biogas into the gas
networks has largely increased in 2020. As of December 31, 2020, France had 214 biogas
plants.

A national information portal for the general public dedicated to methanization has recently
been created. Called MéthaFrance, its objective is to provide educational answers to questions
that French people may have about the development of methanization in our territories.
Biomass has been in use since people first began
burning wood to cook food and keep warm. Wood is still
the largest biomass energy resource today. Other sources
include food crops, grassy and woody plants, residues
from agriculture or forestry, oil-rich algae, and the organic
component of municipal and industrial wastes. Even the
fumes from landfills (which contain methane, the main
component in natural gas) can be used as a biomass
energy source.