INTRODUCTION TO ENERGY FROM BIOMASS PROCESSING FOR INDIA

BIOMASS CONVERSION METHODS BRIQUETTING COMBUSTION OF SOLID BIOMASS BIOMETHANATION [Biogas]

Many different biomass feedstocks can be used to produce solid, liquid and gas fuels. They include crops specifically grown for bioenergy, and various agricultural residues, wood residues and waste streams. Their costs and availability vary widely. Collection and transportation costs are often critical. Biomass Feedstocks Agricultural crops Bioenergy crops Agricultural residues Wood residues Waste streams
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Agricultural crops:
Sugarcane, sugarbeet, corn, and sweet sorghum (agricultural crops presently grown commercially for both carbohydrate production and animal feeds.) Sugarcane, Corn and sweet sorghum are efficient at trapping solar energy because they are all "C4" plants. They use special biochemical pathways to recycle and trap carbon dioxide that is lost through photorespiration. Sugarbeets are efficient because they store their carbohydrate in the ground. Sugarcane was the basis for the World's first renewable biofuel program in Brazil. Corn is the basis for the present renewable ethanol fuel industry in the United States.
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Conventional use of biomass as low cost fuel for the poor Before 1990s, nearly 75% of the rural Indians depended on bio-fuels (firewood, agricultural residues, and cow dung-cake) for 80% of their energy needs.

Similarly 25 30% of the urban poor, the slum dwellers

depended heavily on bio-fuels. Why was biomass used? Peoples purchasing power was low, and commercial fuels like kerosene and LPG were not available adequately/ not affordable.
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Objectives of Bio-energy Program:

To make bio-energy a sustainable energy source & elevate its present status from the poor mans oil into a modern energy source,

Use advanced techniques to produce biomass renewably and Convert it efficiently into electricity, gaseous, liquid and processed solid fuels.

INPUTS & TASKS FOR BIOMASS UTILIZATION

Biomass-Production-Biomass-residue-Conversion to biofuel

Plant biomass requires input of land, suitable soil and climate, moisture, sunlight and intelligent human labour. After applications for food, feed, fibre, frame-material, feedstock for chemicals and organic feedback to soil _ biomass is usable for fuel. Biomass can be converted to quality fuel after preparatory operations like drying to reduce moisture content, briquetting to obtain bigger partical size or chopping to obtain smaller. Biochemical & Thermochemical Processing of solid, liquid and gas biomass is a technology that enables energy recovery from biomass.
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EFFICIENTLY CONVERT BIOMASS ENERGY TO A CONVENIENT END USE FORM

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RURAL BIOMASS COMBUSTION

RURAL DOMESTIC: COOKING

HEAT & STEAM: SMALL SCALE Processes

ELECTRICITY: Boiler-Steam turbine-

Generator

COGENERATION / COMBINED CYCLE FOR PRODUCING PROCESS HEAT & ELECTRICITY

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BIOMASS COMBUSTION-USES

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COMBUSTION PROCESS

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Briquetting in India
In India, briquettes are mostly made from groundnut shell, cotton stalk, saw dust, coffee husk, bagasse, mustard stalk and press mud. While the Southern region of India produces briquettes mostly from groundnut shell and saw dust, Western and Northern regions produce bagasse, groundnut shell, cotton stalk, mustard stalk and press mud briquettes.
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Briquetting continued
As a recent addition municipal solid waste is also densified for use as fuel in process industries (tea, tobacco, textile, chemical, paper, starch, tyre re-treading, tiles, etc) for thermal applications.

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Screw and Ram Press

Both the machines give briquettes with a density of 1-1.2 gm/cc and are suitable as industrial solid fuels. The screw type machines provide briquettes with a concentric hole that gives better combustibility and is a preferred fuel. These briquettes can also be more conveniently deployed in small furnaces and even cook-stoves than solid briquettes generated by a ram press.
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Ram press for briquetting

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COMBINED HEAT & POWER

STEAM INJECTED GAS TURBINE

INTERCOOLED STEAM INJECTED GAS

TURBINE

COMBINED CYCLE

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Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre, Chennai (Kindly approach them for permission to Use this knowhow)

charcoal briquetting

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Muthaiya Chettiar Research Centres method of charcoal briquetting

1. Locally available biomass (e.g., casuarina leaf litter, sugarcane trash, rice husk, coir pith, groundnut shells, etc) 2. Carbonizing chamber (furnace ) 3. Binder (starch or cassava flour) 4. Mini Briquetting machine (10kg/hr)

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1.Collection of biomass: Collect the locally available biomass, sort them, chop the large-size raw materials into smaller pieces and dry at sunlight. 2. Carbonization: i. Designing the Furnace Outer drum : A 200lits. metal oil drum with the top cut out and a 12" width x 10" height hole cut in the lower side Two iron rids (8) has to be fixed at the bottom of the metal drum running parallel from one side to the other side. This iron rods act as base to support the stainless steel inner drum. Inner drum : A 100lits stainless steel drum with proper lids and six (3/8") holes at the bottom. The inner drum is placed into the larger drum.
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MCRCs method of charcoal briquetting [continued]

ii. Carbonizing the biomass The biomass is tightly packed into the inner drum and fired for 45minutes to 1hr (Depending upon the biomass) using biomass. After firing, the carbonized biomass in the inner drum has to collected and weighed. In this method 30 % of carbonized char can be obtained.
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3. Preparation of binder The binder material is used for strengthening the briquettes For every 100 kg of total weight of carbonized charcoal powder, prepare a binder mixture by adding 5 to 6 kg of starch or cassava flour to 60 - 100 litres of water (based on the weight of the raw materials) 4. Mixing Mix such that every particle of carbonised charcoal material is coated with binder. It will enhance charcoal adhesion and produce identical briquettes.

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5. Briquetting. The charcoal mixture is made into briquettes either manually or using machines. Pour the mixture directly into the briquetting mold / machine to form uniform-sized briquettes. 6. Drying and Packaging Collect the briquettes in a tray, dry them under the sunlight, pack them in plastic bags and seal

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General Characteristics of briquettes

Moisture : 7.1%-7.8% Volatile Matter : 13.0%-13.5% Fixed Carbon : 81.0%-83.0% Ash : 3.7%-7.7% Sulfur : 0.0% Heating Value : 7,100-7,300 kcal/kg Density : 970kg/m3
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