Renewable Energy Sources

(18EE653)
Module 4
BIOMASS ENERGY

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 Biomass
Biomass is organic matter produced by plants – terrestrial and
aquatic – and their derivatives.
The term biomass refers to those organic matters that are stored in
plant and trees in the form of carbohydrate (sugar).It is then
transferred through food chains in humans, animals, and other
living creatures and their waste.
It includes all plant life: trees, agricultural plants, bush, algae, and
their residues after processing
It may be obtained from forest woods, agricultural lands, arid lands,
and even waste lands

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 Biomass Energy
 The energy stored in biomass is called bioenergy.
 Bioenergy is very versatile: It can be used to provide heat, make
fuels, and generate electricity.
 Many bioenergy sources are replenished through the cultivation of fast
growing grasses, trees, and agricultural residues like vegetable oils,
wheat straw, or corn.
 Biomass energy, or bio energy is the conversion of biomass (organic
material originating from plants, trees, and crops and essentially the
collection and storage of the sun’s energy through photosynthesis)
into useful forms of energy such as heat, electricity, and liquid fuels

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 Photosynthesis process
Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon
dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the
energy from sunlight

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PHOTOSYNTHESIS
PROCESS
Biomass is produced in the photosynthesis
process which converts the solar energy into
biomass energy.
Photosynthesis process only occurs in green
plants.it is the process of combining the carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere with water plus
light energy to carbohydrates produce(sugars ,
starches, celluloses etc.)and oxygen.

6CO2 + 6H2O +solar light energy C6H12O6 +

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 Biomass Production and Usage
1. Direct Methods
Biomass is available in the following forms
1. Forest wood and wastes
2. Agricultural crops and residues
3. Residential food wastes
4. Industrial waste
5. Human and animal waste
6. Energy crops

These raw biomass has a low energy density

Their direct uses are burning them for cooking
The problems with direct usage are energy inefficiency and excessive
pollution
This necessitates some kind of pre processing and conversion
technology for enhancing the usefulness of biomass 9
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 2.Indirect
Biomass
Methodscan be used indirectly by converting it to
electricity or heat or into a convenient fuel in solid
,liquid or gaseous form
The Conversion processes are
Thermo electrical Conversion
Biomass conversion to fuel

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 Thermo electrical conversion
Direct combustion of biomass material in the boiler
produces steam
That steam is used to drive a turbine coupled with a
generator to produce electricity or to provide heat for
residential and industrial system
But the boiler equipment are expensive and energy
recovery is low
Emissions from burning biomass are less compared to
that of fossil fuels
The efficiency of this process is influenced by
Biomass moisture content
Combustion air distribution and amount
Operating temperature and pressure 12
 Biomass conversion to fuels
Two main types:
Thermochemical conversion includes
processes such as destructive distillation,
pyrolysis and gasification
Biological conversion includes processes such as
fermentation and anaerobic digestion
Gasification: produces synthesis gas with usable
energy content by heating biomass with less
oxygen than needed for combustion
Pyrolysis:Yields bio oil by rapidly heating in
absence of oxygen 13
 Biomass Gasification
Process of partial combustion
Solid biomass is converted to combustible gas mixture
Incomplete combustion process
Biomass+airCO+CO2+CH4+H2+N2+water vapour
The gas produced is a mixture of CO, CO2,CH4,H2,N2
Producer gas can be used
To run IC engines
As a substitute for furnace oil
To produce methanol economically

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Gasification processes involved with biomass are:
1. Drying of fuels: Process of drying biomass before it is
fed into
gasifier
2. Pyrolysis: Breaking down of biomass into charcoal by
applying heat in the absence of oxygen
3. Combustion: All the heat required for gasification
process are
available from combustion
4. Cracking: Breaking down of large complex molecules
when heated
5. Reduction: Oxygen atoms are removed in this process
from combustion products and returning them to
combustible form again
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 Gasification Processes
Low temperature gasification
Process temperature:750 to 1100 degree celcius
The gas produced has high level of hydrocarbons
It can be directly used for steam production and
electicity generation or it can be cleaned and used for
IC engines
The gas mixture composition depends on type of
gasifiers
High temperature gasification
Carried out at high temperature 1200-1600 degree
celcius
The product gas is known as syngas 16
Conversion Efficiency of gasifiers

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 Theory of gasification
Gasification is an incomplete or partial combustion process
where the biomass is decomposed by heat and converted to
charcoal ,oils, tars , dusts and a combustible producer gas
It takes place at a temperature of about 1000 degree Celcius

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 Gasification
In a typical combustion process , generally the
oxygen is surplus, while in a gasification
process, the fuel is surplus.
The combustion products mainly CO , water
vapour, hydrogen ,nitrogen, carbon dioxide passes
through a glowing layer of charcoal
During this stage both Carbon dioxide and
water vapour oxidise the char to form CO,
Hydrogen and Methane
The key to gasifier design is to create conditions
such that
1.Biomass is reduced to charcoal
2.Charcoal is converted at a suitable temperature to
produce CO, Hydrogen and Methane 19
Composition of Biogas based producer gas
Chemistry of Reaction Processing in Gasification

Four distinct processes are taking place in a gasifier

1.Drying Zone of fuel:
In this zone moisture content of biomass is removed to
obtain the dry biomass.
Some organic acids also comes out during the drying
process. These acids give rise to corrosion of gasifiers

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Chemistry of Reaction Processing in Gasification

2.Pyrolysis zone:
In this zone tar and other volatiles are driven off.
(a) Upto 200 degree Celcius, only water is driven off
(b)Between 200 -280 degree Celcius,CO2 ,acetic acid and
water are driven off
(c) Between 280 and 500, large quantity of tar and gases
containing carbon dioxide is produced. Besides, methyl
alcohol is also formed
(d)Between 500-700,the gas production is small and
contains hydrogen

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Combustion (Oxidation) zone:
C+O2CO2+Heat
Reduction Zone:
The hot gas passes through the reduction zone after the
combustion zone
No free oxygen in this zone.
The carbon dioxide gas reacts with carbon in the fuel
forming carbon monoxide gas
1.C+CO2+heat2CO(endothermic)
Water gas shift reaction:
2.C+H2O+HeatCO+H2 (endothermic)
Surplus water vapour reacts with CO to liberate
CO2 and hydrogen
3.CO+H2O-HeatCO2+H2 (exothermic)
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 Classification of Gasifiers
Two types:
1.Fixed bed gasifier:
In this type biomass fuels move either counter current
or concurrent to the flow of gasification medium which
is air, steam or oxygen
They are further classified according to the way in
which air flow is introduced in it.
2.Fluidized bed gasifier:
In fluidized bed gasifier inert materials like sand ,ash ,
or char is tilized to make bed and act as heat transfer
medium
It makes use of excellent mixing characteristics and
high reaction rates of gas solid mixture

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Updraft gasifier

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The air intake is at the bottom and gas leaves at the top
(counter current flow)
The reactive agent is injected at the bottom of the reactor
and ascends to the top ,while the fuel is introduced at the
top, and descends to the bottom
The combustion reactions occur near the grate at the
bottom followed by
reduction reaction somewhat higher up in the gasifier
Drying and Pyrolysis happens at the upper part
In the upper part ,gases ,tar and other volatile compounds
are dispersed at the top part

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Ash is removed at the bottom
The producer gas or syngas will have high ash content which should
be removed before direct use.
Slagging and ash content can be severe if high ash fuels are used
Unsuitable for use with fluffy, low density fuels

Applications:
Packaged boilers, thermal fluid heaters, Aluminium
melting/annealing furnaces, all kinds of fryer roaster

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Downdraft Gasifier

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Air is introduced at ,or above the oxidation zone in the
gasifier and the producer gas is removed at the bottom
Fuel and gas move in the same direction
Biomass fuel is admitted at the top similar to the updraft
gasifier
As the feed progresses down through the gasifier,it dries and
its volatiles are pyrolysed.
The char is directed into a reduced diameter cylindrical throat
section at the bottom of the gasifier

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Crossdraft Gasifier

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Here the biomass is fed through one side of the
gasifier and the producer gas leaves through the
other side
In crossdraft gasifier, the ash bin, fire and
reduction zone and reduction zone in
crossdraft gasifiers are separated
Air enters the gasifier through a water cooled
nozzle mounted on one side of the firebox
Confines its combustion and reduction near the
air nozzle
High operating temperature
The high operating temperature will affect the
gas composition such as high CO, and low
hydrogen and methane content when dry fuels
like charcoal is used
Operates well with low ash ,dry biomass feed
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fuels.
Fluidized bed gasifier

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Improved version of fixed bed gasifiers
The bed is made of an inert material (such as sand ,ash,or
char) is heated initially and the fuel is introduced when
the temperature has reached the appropriate level.
The bed material transfers heat to the fuel
Fluidized bed gasifiers have no distinct reaction zones
and drying, pyrolysis and gasification occur
simultaneously

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The fuel particles are introduced at the bottom of the

reactor ,very quickly mixed with the bed material and

almost instantaneously heated up to the bed
temperature
As a result fuel is pyrolysed fast resulting in a

component mix with a relatively large amount of

gaseous materials
Further gasification and tar conversion reactions

occur in the gas phase 35

Benefits of fluidized bed gasifier
High overall efficiency
Fuel flexibility
Highly reliable
Low purchase and installation costs
Flexible operation
Low emission
Reduced costs for boilers, additional steamers
Reduced dependency on external fuel sources.

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Gasifier Feed characteristics
The following will dictate the feed characteristics of gasifier
1.Energy content of fuel and Bulk density
Higher the energy conent and bulk density, higher will be the
volume of gasifier
2.Moisture content
Low moisture content is desirable
Should be less than 20%
3.Dust content
The undesirable dust produced by gasifier fuels can clog IC
engines and
hence should be removed
The gasifier design should be such that it should not
produce dust beyond limits
Higher the dust produced higher will be the load on the
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4.Tar content
Tar is one of the most unpleasant components
It tends to get deposited on carburator and
intake valves causing sticky and troublesome
operations
By product of pyrolysis process
Filters and cleaners are used to remove tar
content

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5.Ash and slagging characteristics
The mineral content in the fuel that remains in the
oxidised state after complete combustion is called ash.
Ash interferes with gasification process in two ways:
1.it fuses together to form slag and this clinker stops or
inhibits the flow
of biomass feed
2.Even if it does not fuse together, it shelters the points in
fuel where ignition is initiated, thus lowering the fuel
reaction response
Slagging can be overcome by two types of gasifier
operations
Low temperature operation with temperature below the
flow
temperature of ash
High temperature operature that keeps the temperature
above the melting point of ash 39
Applications of biomass Gasifiers

1.Motive Power
2.Direct heating Applications
3.Electrical Power generation
4.Chemical Production

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Cooling and cleaning of gasifier

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The types of filters are:
1.Cyclone filters:
Useful for particle size 5 micrometer and above
Due to the combined effect of Cyclonic movement of the
gas and the effect of gravity ,the dust particles sediment at
the bottom and are removed
2.Wet scrubber
Here gas is washed by water in countercurrent mode
The scrubber also acts like a cooler
3.Cloth filters
Fine filter
For many gasifiers the hot gases passes through cyclone
filter ,then to cloth filter and finally through wet scrubber

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BIOGAS
ENERGY

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 BIOGAS
 Biogas is a clean and efficient fuel, It is a mixture of:
 Methane
 Carbon Dioxide
 Hydrogen
 Nitrogen
 Hydrogen Sulphide
 Moisture
 The chief constituent of biogas is methane(50- 70%)

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COMPOSITION OF BIOGAS

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 BIOGAS PRODUCTION
 Biogas is produced by anaerobic
digestion
 It is a biological process in which microorganisms
breaks down organic matter into simpler chemical
components in the absence of oxygen
 The digestion process itself takes place in a digester

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 Anaerobic digestion
 Ithas a series of processes where microorganisms break
down biodegradable material in absence of oxygen
 Step1:Organic matter is decomposed to break down into
usable sized molecules such as sugar
 Step2:Conversion of decomposed matter into organic acids
 Step 3:Organic acids are converted to biogas

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Process Stages of anaerobic digestion

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1.Hydrolysis
 The process of breaking down large biomass organic chains into smaller
constituent parts such as sugars ,fatty acids and amino acids and dissolving the
smaller molecules into solution
 Assists the bacteria in the anaerobic digester to access the energy potential of
the material

2.Acidogenesis
 The products of the hydrolysis process are broken down by
fermentative (acidogenetic) bacteria
 The products are ammonia, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and other by products

3.Acetogenesis
 The products of acidogenesis are further digested to produce acetic
acid, carbon dioxide and hydrogen
 4.Methanogenesis

 Here the methanogens use the products of preceding stages and convert
them into biogas rich in methane and carbon dioxide

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Construction of biogas plants

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 It is a brick and cement structure with the following five sections:

 1.Mixing tank
 2.Digester tank
 3.Gas holder or dome
 4.Inlet chamber
 5.Outlet chamber

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1.Mixing tank:
 In mixing tank ,the water and cattle dung are mixed in equal proportion to form
the slurry
2.Inlet chamber:
 The cow dung slurry is supplied to the digester tank via inlet chamber

 It is made at the ground level for easy inlet of the slurry

 Made of bricks, cement and sand

 The outlet wall of the inlet chamber is made inclined so that slurry easily flows
into the digester
3.Digester tank
 Most important part of any biogas plant where all the important chemical
processes takes place
 Deep underground well like structure of cylindrical shape made of brick, cement
and sand built on a solid foundation
 It is divided into two chambers by partition wall in between
 Also called as fermentation tank
 Two long pipes are used:
4.Inlet pipe opening into inlet chamber for slurry input to digester
5.Outlet pipe opening into the outlet chamber for the removal of used slurry from
the tank
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4.Dome or Gas holder
 The hemispherical top portion of the digester is called dome.

 The biogas formed after anaerobic digestion in the digester gets collected in the dome

 It can be either fixed or floating type

 Cements and bricks are used in the construction of fixed dome and is made
approximately at the ground level
 For floating type, an inverted steel drum resting on the digester above the ground
surface is used.
 The drum floats over the digester and moves up and down with biogas pressure

5.Outlet chamber
 The digested slurry from the biogas plants is removed through the outlet chamber .

 The opening of the outlet chamber is also at the ground level 6.Gas

outlet pipe and valve

 The gas holder has an outlet at the top which could be connected to
gas stoves for
cooking or gas lighting purpose .
 Flow of the gas from the dome via gas pipe can be controlled by valve

7.Foundation
 Forms the base of the digester

 Provides stability and should be able to sustain the full load of slurry filled 53
in it.
Working of biogas Plants

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Types of biogas plants
1. Fixed Dome type
2. Floating Dome type

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Fixed Dome type

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 Fixed Dome type
The parts of the fixed dome biogas plants are
1.Mixing tank
2.Digester 3.Inlet
chamber 4.Outlet
chamber 5.Fixed
Dome 6.Overflow
tank
7.Gas pipe & Gas
control valve

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 Fixed dome type
 Advantages:
 Low cost compared to floating dome type
 Simple construction as there is no moving dome
 Long life can be expected(20 yrs or so)
 Underground and almost ground level dome
construction prevents damage to plant
 The anaerobic digestion inside digester is less
influenced by temperature variations during day and
night
 Disadvantages:
 Porosity and cracks in walls of the plant may occur
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 Difficult to maintain
Types of fixed dome plants
• Chinese fixed-dome plant is the arch type fixed dome
plants.. The digester consists of a cylinder with round
bottom and top.

• Janata model was the first fixed-dome design in

India. It is not constructed anymore. The mode of
construction lead to cracks in the gasholder - very few
of these plant had been gas-tight.
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• Deenbandhu,
• the successor of the Janata plant in India, with improved
design, was more crack-proof and consumed less
building material than the Janata plant,with a hemisphere
digester
• CAMARTEC model:
• Simplifies structure of hemispherical dome shell based
on a rigid foundation ring and was developed in tanzania

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Floating Dome Type

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Floating dome type

 The different parts are:

 1.Mixing tank
 2.Digester tank
 3.Inlet pipe & inlet tank
 4.Floating dome
 5.Outlet pipe & overflow tank
 6. Gas outlet pipe
 7.Gas control valve

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Working

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Floating dome type
 Advantages:
 Efficient
 Easy maintenance
 Disadvantages:
 Expensive
 Steel drum may rust
 Requires regular maintenance

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 Types of floating drum plants

 KVIC model
 Pragati Model(with hemisphere digester)
 Ganesh Model(angular steel and plastic foil)
 Arati Model(low cost, made of plastic water containers and fiberglass
drums)
 BORDA Model(with hemispherical digester, has longer life and
stability)

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 Benefits of biogas:

1. Production of energy
2. Transformation of organic waste into high quality
organic fertilizer
3. Health benefits of biogas and the improvementof
hygienic conditions(reduction of pathogens, worm
eggs and flies)

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4. Reduction of workload for collecting firewood and
cooking
5. Environmental advantages through protection of
forests ,soil, water and air
6. Reduced emission of carbon dioxide through the use of
biogas than fossil fuels will reduce global warming

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Selection of biogas plants
 Principal and maintenance cost
 Simplicity of design
 Durability
 Suitability of use with available raw inputs
 Frequency of utilization of biogas as well as the
frequency of fresh slurry input influence the
selection of a particular plant model and the size
of various components

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Biogas feed

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 Carbon to Nitrogen ratio
 The most important characteristics of biogas feed is amount of
carbon to nitrogen ratio present in the organic matter
 A C/N ratio of 20 to 30 in the organic matter is considered optimum
for anaerobic digestion
For very high C/N ratio
The nitrogen will be consumed rapidly by methanogens and the
remaining carbon will not have any reaction process.This will reduce
biogas production

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The nitrogen will be consumed rapidly by methanogens and the

remaining carbon will not have any reaction process.This will

reduce biogas production

 For very low C/N ratio

Nitrogen will be liberated and accumulated to form NH4 (ammonia)

which will increase the pH of the content in the digester. A pH >8.5

will be toxic for the methanogens population

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 The animal wastes particularly cattle dung has an
average C/N ratio of 24
 The plant materials(Straw, sawdust,etc..) have
much higher C/N ratio(60- 70)
 In order to balance the C/N ratio ,normally the
feed will be a composite mix of high C/N ratio
materials and low C/N ratio materials

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 Biogas

No residue , smoke,dust
Non polluting
Economical
High quality nutrient rich manure for plants
Limitations:
High initial cost
Inadequcy of raw materials and continuity of supply
Social acceptability
Maintenance and repair
Uses:
Domestic fuel for cooking, Electricity generation , fuel for
motive power

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Advantages:
 Clean fuel
 High calorific value
 Convenient ignition temperature

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 TIDAL ENERGY

Introduction
Tidal Energy Resources
Tidal Energy Availability
Tidal Power Generation In
India
Leading Country In Tidal
Power Plant Installation
 Introduction

Tidal energy is a form of hydropower that
converts the energy obtained from tides into useful
forms of power, mainly electricity.
 The tide is created by gravitational effect of the sun
and the moon on the earth causing cyclical
movement of the seas.
 Commonly plant for tidal power facilities involved
erecting a tidal dam, or barrage, with a sluice across
a narrow bay.
 As the tide flows in or
Introduction


out, creating uneven

water levels on either
side of the barrage, the
sluice is opened and
water flows through low
head hydro turbines to
generate electricity.

For a feasible barrage,
the difference between
high and low tides must
- Vtu Notes, question Paper, books, Internship, Final ar P e a tb l e a s t 5 m
roject s anYe d m an ye xcit ing off ers for students
 Tidal Energy Resource
 Tides are the waves caused due to the gravitational
pull of the moon and the sun. The rise of seawater is
called high tide and fall of seawater is called low tide.
 This process of rising and receding of water waves
happen twice a day & cause enormous movement of
water.
 When the moon, the Earth and the sun are in a
straight line, the highest tides called spring tides
occur.

When the earth, moon and the Sun are at right angles
to each other, the lowest tides called neap tides occur.
 Tidal Energy Resource

Commercially ocean energy can be used to generate
Electricity in following ways :-
1. Tidal energy :- using dams
2.wave energy :- using the kinetic energy of the
ocean.
3.Ocean thermal energy :- It focus on the
temperature difference
between warm ocean
surface water and deep
sea cold water.
 Tidal Energy Availability
 Gravitational forces between the moon,the sun and
the earth cause the rhythmic rise and fall of ocean
waters throughout the world.
 The moon exerts more than twice as great force on
the tides as the sun due to much clear position to the
earth.

So tides closely follows the moon during rotation
around the earth.

Rise of water in ocean due to moon's gravitational
pull is called tide cycle.

Receding of water as water as moon moves away
from moon to land, reducing its gravitational
cle.
 Tidal Energy Availability
 The amplitude or height of the tide wave is very
small in the open ocean where it measures several
cm in center of the wave distributed over hundreds
of KM.
 However, the tide can increase dramatically when it
reaches continental shelves, bringing huge masses of
water into narrow bays, and river estuaries along a
costline.

The tides in the Bay of Fundy in Canada are the
greatest in the world, with amplitude between 16-
17m.
 Tidal Power Generation In India
Site Location Tide Height (m) Estimated
Power Potential
(MW)
The Gulf of 11 (6.7 av) 7000
Cambay, Gujrat
Gulf of 8 (5.23 av) 12,000
Kutch,
Gujarat
The Ganges Delta 5 (2.97 av) 8,000
in the Sundarban,
West Bengal
 Leading country in Tidal Power Plant Installation er
Country Site Location Installed Capacity (MW)

France La Rance 240 MW

UK The Severn Barrage 8,560 MW

Russia Kislaya Guba 0.4 MW

Canada Annapolis 18MW

China 3.9 MW

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man
Thankyou 89