Biomass

Biomass Energy Resources

consists of solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels.
Liquid fuels can be used directly in the existing
road, railroad, and aviation transportation network
stock, as well as in engine and turbine electrical
power generators.
Solid and gaseous fuels can be used for the
production of electrical power from purposedesigned direct or indirect turbine-equipped power
plants.
Chemical products can also be obtained from all
organic matter produced. Additionally power and
chemicals can come from the use of plant-derived
industrial, commercial, or urban wastes, or
agricultural or forestry residues.

Classification
Can be classified into primary, secondary and tertiary
biomass resources
Primary biomass resources are produced directly by
photosynthesis and are taken directly from the land.
Includes perennial short-rotation woody crops and
herbaceous crops, the seeds of oil crops, and residues
resulting from the harvesting of agricultural crops and forest
trees (e.g., wheat straw, bark from trees, etc)
Secondary biomass resources result from the processing of
primary biomass resources either physically (e.g., the
production of sawdust in mills), chemically (e.g., black
liquor from pulping processes), or biologically (e.g., manure
production by animals).
Tertiary biomass resources are post-consumer residue
streams including animal fats and greases, used vegetable
oils, packaging wastes, and construction and demolition
debris

Biomass conversion
technologies
The energy conversion technologies may
be grouped into four basic types:
Physical method
Incineration
Thermochemical method
Biochemical method

Physical Method
Production of briquettes or pellets out of the
biomass by compressing it thus volume is
reduced and density is increased

Physical method
Pelletizingis the process ofcompressingor molding
a material into the shape of apellets. Pelletizing is
done in apellet mill, where feed is normally
conditioned and thermal treated in the fitted
conditioners of a pellet mill. The feed is then pushed
through the holes and a pellet die and exit the
pellet mill as pelleted feed
Pelletization of biomass includes pulverization,
drying and forcing waste wood into a pellet mill
The pellets which are of desired size are produced
and can be used for power plants. Pelletization
reduces the moisture content and increases the
heating value.

Briquetting
Abriquette(orbriquette) is a compressed block of
coal dustor other combustible biomass such as
charcoal, sawdust, wood chips, peat, or paper used
forfueland kindling to start afire.
Biomass briquettes are made from agricultural
waste and are a replacement forfossil fuelssuch as
oil or coal, and can be used to heat boilers in
manufacturing plants, and also have applications
indeveloping countries.
Briquetting is brought about by compression and
squeezing out moisture and breaking down the
elasticity of wood and bark.
No binders are
involved as the lignin present in wood acts as
natural binders

Expelling agro products

Vegetable oils may be obtained from certain agro products
but it may be difficult to use them directly in diesel
engines. Therefore they are upgraded through a process
called esterification process

Incineration
It means direct combustion of biomass for immediate useful
heat. The heat or steam produced are either used to
generate electricity or provide the heat for industrial
processes space heating etc.

Thermochemical
Biomass is heated either in absence or presence of oxygen.
High temperature pyrolysis at about 1000 C maximises the
gaseous product, this process is called gasification. The
process used for production of charcoal is called
carbonization.