Biomass Energy

Biomass
• Bioenergy is the energy contained (stored) in biomass
• Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living
organisms such as plants, animals, microorganisms and municipal
wastes .
• As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly via
combustion to produce heat, or indirectly after converting it to various
forms of biofuel.
• Biomass gets its energy from the sun. All organic matter contains
stored energy from the sun. During a process called photosynthesis
 Biomass Energy Sources

Livestock manure

Crop residues

Firewood

Sugar crops

City's garbage

City’s sewage

Aquatic plants

Energy crops
Types of Biomass
 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 produce
carbohydrates ( sugars, starches,
celluloses etc.)and oxygen.
Photosynthesis Process
 Steps in photosynthesis

• Splitting of water molecule into H2 & O2

under influence of chlorophyll.
• “Light Reaction”
• Hydrogen is transferred to CO 2 to form
Starch or Sugar.
Advantage
1. Vast variety of source of raw materials.

2. Production technology is simple.

3. Small plant foot print.

4. The operating temperature is not high, about 5 to 35.

5. low fuel cost compared with fossil fuels

6. Air pollution is minimal.

Disadvantages
1. Low conversion efficiency.

2. A high quantity of locally sourced materials is required.

3. Materials have a high water content.

4. Requires a lot of space

 Bioenergy Types

 Biofuels
 Liquids
Methanol, Ethanol, Butanol, Biodiesel
 Gases
Methane, Hydrogen
 Bio heat
 Wood burning
 Bioelectricity
 Combustion in Boiler to Turbine
 Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs)
 Heat Energy Content

13

Boyle, Renewable Energy, Oxford University Press (2004)

 Methods of Conversion

• THERMAL CONVERSION
• BIOCHEMICAL CONVERSION
• CHEMICAL CONVERSION
 THERMAL CONVERSION

• Thermal conversion processes use heat as the

dominant mechanism to convert biomass into
another chemical form.
 CHEMICAL CONVERSION

• A range of chemical processes may be used to

convert biomass into other forms, such as to
produce a fuel that is more conveniently used,
transported or stored, or to exploit some
property of the process itself.
 BIOCHEMICAL

• Biochemical conversion makes use of the

enzymes of bacteria and other microorganisms
to break down biomass. In most cases,
microorganisms are used to perform the
conversion process: anaerobic digestion,
fermentation, and composting.
THANK YOU!!