Biomass Storage
Biomass storage is required to ensure the continuous operation of the facility. To limit the space required for storage at the plant site, biomass must be stored in relatively high piles. Two main problems associated with fuel storage are decomposition and selfheating. Self-heating increases the rate of decomposition and fire risk, and it encourages the growth of thermophilic fungi whose spores can cause a respiratory condition in humans similar to farmers lung. Some small virgin biomass losses may occur at the storage stage, but they are likely to be negligible. For intermediary storage of the fuel between the pretreatment (e.g., drying and sizing) and gasification stage, storage silos may be used. (more…)
Gasification is a thermo chemical process that has been exploited for more than a century for converting solid feedstocks to gaseous energy carriers. The first gasifier patent was issued in England at the end of the 18th century and producer gas from coal gasification was mainly used as lighting fuel throughout the 19th century. At the turn of the 20th century, the main use of producer gas, obtained essentially from coal, switched to electricity generation and automotive applications via internal combustion engines. The use of producer gas was gradually supplanted by the use of higher energy density liquid fuels and as a result confined to areas with expensive or unreliable supplies of petroleum fuels. (more…)
Agricultural and forestry residues provide the largest proportion of biomass used for the production of biomas bioenergy. Some estimates suggest that globally available biomass role in the form of recoverable residues represents about 40 Ejyr -1, enough to meet 10% of the total present energy use of 406 Ejyr -1 . However, realizing this potential is limited by factors such as ease and cost of recovery and environmental concerns relating to sustainable land use practices. (more…)
The quantification of the actual reduction in green house gases sourcess emissions resulting from the substitution of fossil fuels with energy from waste biomass requires a complete lifecycle assessment (LCA). A systematic framework for estimating the net Green House Gases emissions from bioenergy systems and comparing them against the fossil fuel reference system that it would replace has been developed. The major considerations of the life cycle assessment approach to quantifying the greenhouse impacts of bioenergy are as follows: (more…)
Another large source of renewable carbon supplies is waste biomass. It consists of a wide range of materials and includes municipal solid wastes (MSW), municipal biosolids (sewage), industrial wastes, animal manures, agricultural crop and forestry residues, landscaping and tree clippings and trash, and dead biomass that results from nature’s life cycles. Several of these wastes can cause serious health or environmental problems if they are not disposed of properly. Some wastes such as MSW can be considered to be a source of recyclables such as metals and glass in addition to energy. (more…)
