ENIR 11

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

ENGINEERING
BIOMASS ENERGY
Waste to Energy Demand
Waste Generation Rate over Time
Composition of Solid Waste
Environmental & Health Impacts
Outline
• Biomass – An Introduction
• Biomass classification & characteristics
• Biomass conversion technologies
• Physical conversion
• Thermo-chemical conversions
• Biochemical conversions
• Physico-chemical conversions
• Feedstock preprocessing
• Physical, chemical, physiochemical, biological treatments
• Environmental benefits & impacts
What is Biomass?
• Biomass is any organic matter—wood, crops, seaweed, animal
wastes—that can be used as an energy source.
• Two forms of biomass
• Raw: forestry products, grasses, crops, animal manure, and
aquatic products (seaweed).
• Secondary: materials that undergone significant changes from
raw biomass. Paper, cardboard, cotton, natural rubber products,
and used cooking oils.
Biomass Classification
Biomass group Varieties and species
Wood and woody Coniferous or deciduous; Angiospermous or gymnospermous;
biomass Stems, branches, foliage, bark, chips, lumps, pellets, briquettes,
sawdust, sawmill and others from various wood species.
Herbaceous Grasses and flowers (alfalfa, bamboo); straws (barley, bean, flax,
biomass corn, rice, wheat); other residues (fruits, shells, husks, grains,
seeds, coir, stalks, cobs, kernels, bagasse, cakes, etc.)
Aquatic biomass Marine or freshwater algae; macroalgae (blue, green, blue-green,
brown, red) or microalgae; seaweed, kelp, lake weed, water
hyacinth, etc.
Animal and human Solid waste, sewage waste, various manures, etc.
waste biomass
Biomass Sources & Characteristics

Main constituents of biomass

1. Lignin
2. Hemicellulose
3. Cellulose
4. Mineral matter
5. Ash
Biochemical composition of different
lignocellulosic biomass
Lignocellulosic composition (wt.%)
Feedstocks Cellulose Hemicellulose Lignin
Sugar cane bagasse 42 25 20
Hardwood 40–55 24–40 18–25
Softwood 45–50 25–35 25–35
Corn cobs 45 35 15
Corn stover 38 26 19
Rice straw 32 24 18
Grasses 25–40 25–50 10–30
Wheat straw 29–35 26–32 16–21
Banana waste 13.2 14.8 14
Bagasse 54.87 16.52 23.33
Agricultural residues 5–15 37–50 25–50
Proximate Analysis
Feedstocks Proximate analysis (wt.%) Heating value
Moisture Fixed carbon Ash Total volatile (MJ/kg)
solid (VS)
Rice husk 9.8 8.8 17.4 64 14.9
Wheat straw 4.4–8.4 17.3 7.3–12.8 74.4–92.7 17–18.9
Rice straw 4.2–6 14.5 8.2–16.0 71.6–92.8 14.5–15.5
Cotton stalk 8.9 16.6 3.5 71 17.3
Sorghum stalk 8.7 16.5 8.8 66.0 16.9
Corn Stover 5.3–7.4 16.9 4.2–6.3 86.5–96.8 16.2–16.5
Mustard stalk 9.7 12.3 7.9 70.0 15.9
Sugarcane 16.07 ** 3.20–4.34 79–83.66 18.61–18.73
bagasse
Corn cob 10.2 4.2 5.7 80 15.5
How Biomass gets its Energy?

In the process of photosynthesis

plants convert radiant energy
from the sun into chemical
energy in the form of
glucose/sugar.
World Energy Production
• According to International Energy
Agency (IEA, 2018), global energy
consumption has grown by 37% over
the last 15 years, standing at 368 EJ in
2016 against 269 EJ in 2000.
• Currently, renewable energy resources
account for 66 EJ, accounting for
approximately 18% of the total global
energy consumption out of which
72.3% is contributed by biomass (WBA,
2018). Biomass derived energy
production has increased from 42.8 EJ
in 2000 to 56.5 EJ in 2016 (+32%).
Why Fresh Biomass is
relatively inferior to Fossil
Fuels?
• Modest thermal content with fossil fuels.
• High moisture content – energy loss.
• Low bulk density necessitates large
equipment for storage and handling.
• Non-homogeneous physical form – difficult
to transport.
Objectives of biomass conversion
• Reduce water content to increase
thermal value.
• Improve handling characteristics by
converting into fluids (gas/liquid)
Bioconversion Methods
Biomass

Dry Biomass Wet Biomass

Thermo-chemical Physico-chemical Biochemical

Anaerobic
Combustion Pyrolysis Gasification Transesterification Fermentation
digestion
Thermochemical Conversion

1. Combustion
• Combustion is a process where carbon and hydrogen in the fuel
reacts with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water and
release of heat.
• Biomass + Oxygen → Carbon Dioxide + Water + Heat
• Temperatures range : 800 to 1000 °C
Thermochemical Conversion
2. Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is the conversion process of specific biomass into liquid (bio-oil),
solid (charcoal), and gaseous (combustible gas) products in the absence of
oxygen around 500 °C .

Steps Involved
• Drying of biomass at 100- 120 °C.
• Distillation of the outlet gases (N2, CO, and CO2, acetic acid and
methanol) at 275 °C
• Exothermic reactions : 280 °C and 350 °C ; Removing complex
mixtures of chemical substances (i.e., ketones, aldehydes, phenols,
esters), CO2, CO, CH4 by breaking the weakest chemical bonds.
• Removal of all volatile compounds by evaporation at 350 °C with
formation of higher proportions of H2, CO, and carbon. Last one
remains in the form of charcoal as residues.
• Condensed liquids (tar) from the pyrolysis process can be
separated.

The approximate yield of the products from 100 kg of dry wood is:
• 30 kg of charcoal
• 14 m3 of gas (10.4 MJ/m3 )
• 7.6 L of wood oil and light tar
• 1.4 L of methyl alcohol
• 5.3 L of acetic acid
• 0.8 L of esters
Classification of Pyrolysis Methods
Thermochemical Conversion
3. Gasification
The gasification process converts solid carbon materials (solid
biomass) into a gas, called synthesis gas or syngas, mainly composed
of CO, hydrogen (H2), and nitrogen (N2).
Why gasification?
Biomass gasification is a staging combustion process, hence air
required is close to stoichiometry unlike combustion where excess air
is used which increases the pollution (Nox, CO, Unburnt hydrocarbons
and ash) and air handling energy more.
 Thermo chemical conversion of Biomass in a packed bed Gasifier
CO,H2,CO2, CH4 , N2,
HHC, H2O
Syngas Composition + Steam/CO2,out
Syngas
CO CO, H2, CH4, HHC,
20%
N2
H2
800 – 1000°C Char layer
15% CH4 Reduction
1000 – 1500°C Devolatalization 54% Char (FC)
CO2
300°C 1%
N2
Gasification 10% + Steam/CO2,in
CO, CO2v, H2, H2Ov,
Air ≤ 0.6 s CH4,HHC, N2
Volatile
Oxidation

Biomass + Δ

Oxidizer O2 + Air
Steam/CO2,in
With O2/CO2 /steam as Oxidizer

C + CO2 2 CO
C + H2O CO + H2
CO + H2O CO2 + H2
 Types of Gasifiers

Fixed Bed Bubbling Circulating Moving grate boiler

Fluidized Bed Fluidized Bed
Low and medium scale heating and Power Applications Power Applications ( > 5 MW)
power applications ( 0.1 – 1 MW) ( 5 – 20MW)
 Thermo-chemical Conversion

Combustion Gasification Pyrolysis

Biomass + heat Biomass + heat Biomass + heat

Air ≤ 0.6 s Inert Air = 0

Air ≥ s
Volatile oxidation/partial Pyrolytic gas +
CO2 + H2O + N2 + oxidation products Oil + Charcoal
(O2)
CO + H2 + CO2 + HHC
+ CH4 + H2O + N2
Fixed carbon

Reduction C + CO2 2 CO
C + H2 O CO + H2
reactions
CO + H2O CO2 + H2
CO + H2 + CO2 + HHC + CH4 + H2O + N2
Biochemical Conversion
1. Anaerobic Digestion is a series of biological processes in which
microorganism breakdown biodegradable material in the absence of
oxygen.
Feedstock: Livestock manure, municipal wastewater solids,
food waste, industrial wastewater and residuals, fats, and other organic
waste stream.
End product of the process:
• Biogas: a mixture of CH4 and CO2 mainly which is combusted to generate electricity
and/or heat or processed into renewable natural gas and transportation fuel.
• Digested solid: residue from the digester, can be composted and applied as land
amendment or used for dairy bedding .
• Nutrients: residue from liquid digestate, used in agriculture as fertilizer.
Anaerobic Digestion
1. Initial hydrolysis of particulate
matter and larger molecules
2. Fermentation (acidogenesis)
(formation of acids) generating
primarily acetate but also other
Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA)
3. Acetogenesis (formation of
acetate), Hydrogen is used as
an electron acceptor
4. Methanogenesis
Acetate CO2+ CH4
Fixed Dome Type Biogas Plant
2. Fermentation
Fermentation is a process in
which sugars are transformed
into a new product through
chemical reactions carried out
by microorganisms.
Types
• Lactic acid fermentation
• Alcoholic fermentation
 Bioethanol Production

C6H12O6 (glucose) → 2 C2H5OH (ethanol) + 2 CO2 (carbon dioxide)

 In India, National policy on biofuels 2018 recommended an
indicative target of 20 percent ethanol (E20) blending in petrol and
5 percent blending of biodiesel (B5) in diesel by 2030.
Biobutanol Production
Why Butanol?
More similar to gasoline than ethanol.
Butanol can:
• Be transported via existing pipelines (ethanol cannot)
• Fuel engines designed for use with gasoline without modification
(ethanol cannot)
• Produced from biomass (biobutanol) as well as petroleum
(petrobutanol)
Major problem:
• Recovery of butanol
 Triglyceride consists of glycerol backbone + 3 fatty acid
Physicochemical tails
Conversion The OH- from the NaOH (or KOH) catalyst facilitates the
breaking of the bonds between fatty acids and glycerol
Methanol then binds to the free end of the fatty acid to
Transesterification produce a methyl ester (biodiesel)
Multi-step reaction mechanism: Triglyceride→Diglyceride
→Monoglyceride →Methyl esters+ glycerine
Algae based biodiesel production – Third generation biofuel
Summary of Biomass to Bioenergy Routes
Feedstock Preprocessing
• Pretreatment is very important step in lignocellulosic biomass
conversion.
Main objectives
• Removes crosslinked matrix of lignin and hemicellulose that embed
cellulose.
• Disrupt crystalline structure of cellulose.
• Increase the surface area.
Schematic representation on the effect of
pretreatment on lignocellulosic biomass

Cellulose (40% - 50%) Hemicellulose (20% - 40%) Lignin (10% - 30%)

Feedstock Pretreatment Methods
Distribution of pre-treatment technique per
biomass streams in biofuel production
Electricity from biomass-fired power plants
State Commissioned projects Projects under implementation
Number of projects (MW) Number of projects (MW)
Andhra Pradesh 37 194.2 11 70.25
Chhattisgarh 2 11 5 51
Gujarat 1 0.5 – –
Haryana 1 4 – –
Karnataka 5 36 11 61
Madhya Pradesh 1 1 – –
Maharashtra 1 3.5 1 6
Punjab 1 10 1 6
Rajasthan 1 7.8 4 29.1
Tamil Nadu 4 34.5 6 48.5
Total 54 302.5 39 271.85
Global Status of Biofuel
• According to projections by the IEA (International Energy Agency), India is expected to
overtake China to become the third largest producer of ethanol by 2023.
• The USA is the largest ethanol producer in the world (46%) and the second largest in
biodiesel production (19%). 87 percent of bioethanol production in the USA is corn-
based.
• Brazil is the second largest ethanol producer in the world accounting for 28 percent
global production (sugarcane) and 14 percent of biodiesel production (soyabean).
• The European Union is the world’s largest biodiesel producer but most of it is
produced from imported feedstock.
• Globally, biofuels accounted for 0.2 percent of total primary energy consumption
and 0.7 percent of transportation energy consumption in 2019.
• In India the share of biofuel consumption in total primary energy consumption was
roughly the same at 0.2 percent and its share in transportation was 0.7 percent.
Environmental Impacts of Biomass Energy
Broad impacts of thermal conversion technologies are:
• air pollution—emissions of particulates, carbon oxides, sulphur
oxides, nitrogen oxides
• organic emissions—dioxin, hydrocarbons, toxic irritants such as acid,
aldehyde, phenol, and carcinogenic compounds such as benzopyrene
• generation of solid wastes—bottom ash, flyash sometimes containing
toxic substances with accompanying pollution problems
• water pollution—biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen
demand, suspended solids, trace metals
Environmental Impacts of Biomass Energy
“If alcohol is a ‘clean’ fuel the process of making it is very dirty”
- Gaulart
• Burning of crops result in air pollution and release of greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere.
• Burning of natural forest/ deforestation/
• soil erosion.
• Reduce soil nutrient replenishment.
GEOTHERMAL & OCEAN
THERMAL ENERGY
What is Geothermal?

• Geothermal energy comes from the heat

within the Earth. The word geothermal comes
from the Greek word geo, meaning earth and
therme, meaning heat.
• Geothermal energy is generated in the Earth’s
core almost 4,000 miles (6,400 km) beneath
the Earth’s surface.
• Temperatures hotter than the sun's surface
are continuously produced inside the earth by
the slow decay of radioactive particles.
History of Geothermal
• Geothermal energy was used by ancient people for heating and
bathing.
• In 1904, a group of Italians used geothermal energy to produce
electricity at Lardarello. Their generator was powered by the natural
steam erupting from the earth.
• In 1922, first attempt to develop geothermal power in the United
States at the Geysers steam field in northern California.
Geothermal Resources
Most of the geothermal activity in the world occurs in an area known
as the "Ring of Fire."

Major geothermal resources:

• Hydrothermal
• Hot dry rock
• Magma/Volcanoes
Hydrothermal Sources
Hydrothermal resources are traditional geothermal resources which
have two common ingredients: water (hydro) and heat (thermal).
• Vapour dominated or dry steam reservoirs (150-370°C) are rare but
highly efficient at producing electricity. The steam from the
geothermal reservoir is piped directly from a well to a turbine
generator to make electricity.
• Liquid dominated reservoirs (150-370°C) are the most common type.
Hot water is turned into steam. The steam powers a turbine
generator just like a dry steam plant. When the steam cools, it
condenses to water and is injected back into the ground.
Hot Dry Rock / Petrothermal
• Well drilled 3-6 km into the crust
to reach high temperature rocks
ranging from 90 to 650°C.
• Water circulate through the rocks
to extract thermal energy.
• Hot water/steam return to the
surface.
• Steam generates power.
Geothermal Power Plant
• Worldwide Total Installed Capacity for
Geothermal Power is around
13.5 GW.
• Leading countries in geothermal
power generation capacity are USA
(3600 MW), Philippines (1900 MW),
Indonesia (1600 MW).
• Leading countries in geothermal
direct heat use are China (6.1 GWth),
Turkey (2.9 GWth), Japan (2.1 GWth).
• As per Geological Survey of India
around 300 geothermal hot springs
are in India.
Advantages & Disadvantages
• Versatile in its use and reliable • Drilling operation is noisy.
source of energy. • Continuous extraction of heated
• Require little land area. ground water may lead to
• Availability is independent of subsidence of land.
weather. • Geothermal fluid reduces the life
• No extra storage systems are of plants.
necessary. • Overall efficiency is low about 15
• Minimum pollution. percent comparing fossil fuel.
What is Ocean Energy?
• Ocean energy is the energy harnessed from ocean waves, tidal range
(rise and fall) & tidal streams, temperature gradients and salinity
gradients.
• Leading countries in Ocean Energy technology are UK, USA, Sweden,
Canada, France, South Korea.
• Examples of few large scale Tidal (Barrage) Plants are 254 MW at
South Korea, 240 MW at France, 20 MW at Canada.
Tidal Energy
• Tidal energy (or tidal power) is a form of hydropower, using water to
create energy.
• Tidal energy converts the energy obtained from tidal movement into
electric power using tidal generators.
• Tidal power was first conceived in the 1970s, during the oil crisis,
when there was an initial emphasis on developing alternative energy
sources to distance the U.S. and Europe from the volatility of the oil
markets.
• As per study conducted by IIT Madras, Theoretical
Potential for tidal Energy in India is 12500 MW. Promising locations
are Gulf of Khambhat & Gulf of Kutch (GJ), Sunderbans
(WB), Western Ghats (MH), etc.
Tidal Power Generation
• The tidal cycle occurs every 12
hours due to the gravitational pull
of the moon.
• The difference in water level from
low tide and high tide (atleast 5m/
16 feet) is potential energy that can
be harnessed.
• Tidal water is captured in a barrage
across an estuary during high tide
and forced through a turbine during
low tide.
Environmental Impacts of Tidal Energy
• The turbine blades striking or entangling marine organisms, as higher
speed flowing water increases the risk of organisms being pulled near
or through these devices.
• There is also a concern about how the creation of electromagnetic
fields and acoustic outputs may affect marine organisms.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)
• Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is a process or technology
for producing energy by harnessing the temperature differences
(thermal gradients) between ocean surface waters and deep ocean
waters.
• Temperature difference of at least 20° Celsius required to power a
turbine to produce electricity.
• The desalination plant is located on Kavaratti island in
Lakshadweep and is powered by about 65 kW power generated
from OTEC.
Technology in OTEC
• In the closed cycle method, a
working fluid, such as ammonia, is
pumped through a heat exchanger
and vaporized. This vaporized
steam runs a turbine. The cold
water found at the depths of the
ocean condenses the vapor back to
a fluid where it returns to the heat
exchanger.
• In the open cycle system, the warm
surface water is pressurized in a
vacuum chamber and converted to
steam to run the turbine. The
steam is then condensed using cold
ocean water from lower depths.
Advantages & Disadvantages of OTEC
• Power from OTEC is continuous, • Capital investment is very high.
renewable and pollution free. • Due to small temperature
• Drawing of warm and cold sea difference in between the
water and returning of the sea surface water and deep water,
water, close to the thermocline, conversion efficiency is very low
could be accomplished with about 3-4%.
minimum environment impact. • Low efficiency of these plants
• Electric power generated by coupled with high capital cost
OTEC could be used to produce and maintenance cost makes
hydrogen. them uneconomical for small
plants.