SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED CHEMISTRY

Yousif Eltom|061413353

HOW BIOENERGY CAN HELP MEET

THE WORLD ENERGY DEMAND IN
THE COMING DECADES

FOR THE ATTENTION OF

DR J. BRAMMER
Author: Yousif Eltom| 061413353
 Yousif Eltom|061413353

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The worldwide energy demand is expected to increase in the coming decades, and an increase from 2006 to
2030 has been quoted at 45% and is expected to between 600EJ-1000EJ in 2050. This growing demand will
require an increase in the world supply of fuel, and current studies show that fossil fuels are peaking and are
not a sustainable source of fuel. An alternative fuel must be sought, and the use of biomass to generate energy
is anticipated as a futute contributor to the world energy demand. One of the biggest attractions of bioenergy
is the carbon netrual nature of it, since the CO 2 is used to generate further biomass; this will also help
countries meet legistlations and targets .

Various forms of biomass can be used to generate energy, the most common and available types are waste
and energy crops. These can be residual waste which can be used or dedicated energy crops grown on land for
the sole purpose of generating energy.

The potential of how much energy is available from biomass varies a lot, and this is dependant on how
potential is defined. There are five types of potential dependant on the level of detail, these are :

 Theoretical potential
 Geographical potential
 Technical potential
 Economical potential
 Implentational potential

The energy potential from biomass can vary from 50EJ to 1500EJ in 2050, however the implementation of
sustainable resources must be in place and this can only be acheived when the social, environmental and
economic issues are all taken into consideration.

Bioenery has many applications, and with research and development can grow to a lucrative market. The use
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of 1 generation biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel is already being implemented in many
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countries,however it has sparked a food vs fuel war due to the type of feedstock used. 2 generation systems
are currently being made available to mitigate this, where lignocelluse biorefineries can produce an array of
products similar to those produced in a conventional petrorefinery.

Ultimately the use of biomass to generate bioenergy will contribute a significant amount to the world energy
demand, however the speed at which it launch into commercial viable technology will depend on the influence
and incentives offered from goverments .
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 1

World Energy .......................................................................................................................................................... 2

Future demand .............................................................................................................................................. 2

Bio-energy .............................................................................................................................................................. 4

Feedstock ........................................................................................................................................................... 5

Waste ............................................................................................................................................................. 5

Energy Crop .................................................................................................................................................... 5

Algae .............................................................................................................................................................. 6

Biomass Potential ................................................................................................................................................... 7

Factors affecting potential ................................................................................................................................. 7

Defining Potential ............................................................................................................................................... 8

Sustainable Biomass ............................................................................................................................................... 9

Biofuel Application ............................................................................................................................................... 10

Process Types ................................................................................................................................................... 10

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1 Generation Biofuel ..................................................................................................................................... 11

Food Vs Fuel ................................................................................................................................................. 11

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2 Generation Biofuel ..................................................................................................................................... 12

The Future ........................................................................................................................................................ 12

Discussion and conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 13

References ............................................................................................................................................................ 14
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TABLE OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1. AN EXAMPLE OF HOW BIOMASS CAN BE USED TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS .......................................................... 1
FIGURE 2. WORLD ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY FUEL TYPE .................................................................................................... 2
FIGURE 3. FUTURE WORLD ENERGY DEMANDS ................................................................................................................. 3
FIGURE 4. WORLD ENERGY DEMAND GROWTH BASED ON SCENARIOS .................................................................................... 3
FIGURE 5. DEFINING BIOMASS,BIOFUEL, AND BIO-ENERGY .................................................................................................. 4
FIGURE 6. VARIOUS SOURCES FOR BIOMASS ..................................................................................................................... 6
FIGURE 7. SUMMARY OF THE DIFFERENT POTENTIAL DEFINITION ........................................................................................... 8
FIGURE 8. DIFFERENT BIOMASS POTENTIALS COMPARED TO DEMAND IN 2050 ........................................................................ 8
FIGURE 9. DIAGRAM TO SHOW HOW SUSTAINABLE BIOMASS CAN BE ACQUIRED ....................................................................... 9
FIGURE 10. BIO ENERGY ROUTES .................................................................................................................................. 10
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INTRODUCTION

According to the International Energy agency, the worldwide energy demand will rise by 45% from 2006 to
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2030 . With oil and gas production either at its peak or very close to peaking , the need for sustainable
renewable energy is required with immediate effect.

The UK is currently seeking to meet its targets under the Kyoto agreement to reduce its carbon emissions
below the 1990 emissions before 2008-2012, and also of the EU agreement for “a 20% share of renewable
energies in overall EU energy consumption by 2020; a 10% minimum target to be achieved by all Member
States for the share of bio fuels in overall EU transport petrol and diesel consumption by 2020, to be
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introduced in a cost-efficient way”

With both the rising demand for energy and the UK’s commitments to reducing carbon emissions and meeting
its EU targets, much research is being undertaken in the available sources of sustainable fuel. One option
which has been forecasted to meet up to 10% of the future world energy demand is the use of biomass to
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produce energy . Biomass can be used in Bio refineries to produce energy, fuel, and a wide variety of
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chemicals , of which bio-energy can be utilised.

Figure 1. An Example of how Biomass can be used to reduce carbon emissions

Bio-energy can be used to supply the growing demand of energy worldwide and is already a key contributor;
however there are many differing studies and reviews with the real potential of bio-energy. This report will
aim to determine what potential bio-energy can contribute to the global energy demand the coming decades.

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WORLD ENERGY

Currently the world consumption of Energy is estimated to be around 12,267 Mtoe which is equivalent to
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500EJ and this is currently dominated by fossil fuels. With 1/8 of all energy being provided from renewable
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source, biomass currently stands out as the biggest contributor with 77% share of the renewable energy
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market which is around 10% of world energy consumption and is estimated to be around 50EJ .

Current World Energy Consumption

Gas
21% Nuclear
6% Hydro
15%

Oil Renewables
34% 13% Biomass
77%

Coal Other
26% 8%

Figure 2. World Energy Consumption by fuel type6

The main consumers for current biomass production are developing countries, where ‘traditional biomass’ is
used for cooking and heating. The remaining amount is consumed in modern systems to generate electricity
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and transport fuels .

FUTURE DEMAND

The world’s most authoritative source of energy analysis, the International Energy Agency has recently
released its World Energy Outlook 2010 in which it discusses in depth how the world’s energy demand is
dependent upon many factors. In order to be able to assess how bio-energy can contribute to the world
energy demand in the coming decades, the projection of world energy demand in the coming decades must be
attentively looked at.

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Figure 3. Future World Energy Demands6

According to the IEA the key factor to how the world energy demand will shape up in future decades is the
behavior of governments and how they decide to tackle the critical energy-related problems.
Governments can choose to take one of three routes:
1. Only Commit to formally adopted and implemented policies and not any introduce any new policies
2. Introduce new measures cautiously to implement broad policy commitments
3. Set out policy in line with the goal of limiting global increase in average temperature to 2°C and limit
greenhouse gases concentration in the atmosphere to 450 million parts per million of carbon dioxide
equivalent.
Based on what decisions governments take, the below graph shows the potential growth of world energy
demand.

Route 1

Route 2

Route 3

Figure 4. World Energy demand growth based on scenarios16

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Population growth and economic development are the main factors of overall energy use, and developing
countries, especially India and China are, and will continue to be the largest contributor’s to the world’s
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growing energy demands

From this it is evident that the trend in world energy demand will increase from just over 12,000 Mtoe in 2010
to between 15,000 Mtoe and 18,000 Mtoe in 2035.

Regardless of how goverments react,there is a growing need for increased energy supply, and an even bigger
emphasis on increasing the supply of renewable energies; namely from biomass.

BIO-ENERGY

Bio-energy is defined by the world bio-energy association as ‘Energy from Biofuels’ where biofuel is defined as
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‘fuel produced directly or indirectly from biomass’ and biomass defined as ‘material of biological origin’ . This
is represented below.

Figure 5. Defining Biomass,Biofuel, and Bio-energy

The growing energy demand and peaking of the oil and gas industry means sustainable and renewable sources
of energy must be sought and due to its flexibility and applications the use of biomass to produce energy has
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been highly sought after by leading energy suppliers and strongly promoted by governments .

In order to study the potential supply of bioenergy, the supply of its main raw material ‘ biomass’ must be
examined.

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FEEDSTOCK

Various forms of feedstock can be used with to produce bio energy; biomass feedstock is generally widely
distributed with areas of low density and is only available seasonally. However the key distinguishing property
is the fact that biomass is seen as a sustainable and renewable source as crude oil and natural gases are finite.

The types of feedstock used can be broken down into two main categories, waste and energy crop

WASTE

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): this is waste which is thrown out as rubbish, although not all of it is suitable for
use as biomass.

Waste from Forest Management: waste wood and crops that otherwise go to landfill can be used to recover
energy.

Animal waste: In the UK around 3 million tonnes of animal wastes and slurries are generated annually. If 50%
of this was used as biomass in anaerobic digesters, up to 1.1TWh of electricity can be produced and a carbon
saving of over 0.13MtC annuallyError! Bookmark not defined..

Other sources in this category include waste from the food industry, such as vegetable oils.

ENERGY CROP

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These are dedicated energy crops which are grown solely for the purpose of generating bio products . They
tend to have a considerable level of sugars, Lignocellulose, starches and oil which in turn give the crop
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relatively high energy content .

The main form of energy crops are short rotation coppice (SRC) and miscanthus. The UK currently produces
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around 25,000 tonnes per annum of both SRC and miscanthus .

Short Rotation Coppice (SRC): SRC consists of a variety of willow or poplar which are usually densely planted
and highly yielding. These are harvested anytime between a 2-5 year period, and a plantation can be viable for
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up to 30 years .

Miscanthus: Miscanthus is a highly-yielding energy crop which has rapid growth which can be harvested
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annually, and grows to over three metre .

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Energy Crops have many advantages :

- They contain high amounts of sugars meaning they can be converted into energy using advanced
technologies

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- They produce high volumes of fuel per tonne compared to corn and agricultural waste, up to three
times

- The land on which they are grown does not have to be productive therefore they can be planted in
areas close to where they will be refined and used. This reduces the logistical issues involved with
transporting bulk materials.

ALGAE

Due to the methods of formation for algae, it has a potential to be a key supplier of biomass for Bio refineries.
Algal fuel can be cultivated in open pond systems and photo bioreactors; however there are still mane
complications in the process and its productions is not yet commercially viable.

Figure 6. Various sources for Biomass19

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BIOMASS POTENTIAL

The use of biomass for energy will grow in the coming decades, however this is dependant on many factors.
The two main catergories for general approach of biomass resource assessments are demand –driven
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assessment and Supply-driven assessments .

Demand driven Assessment:

These are assesmentsthat analyse the competitiveness of biomass-based fuels and electricity or the required
amount of biomass to meet climate-neutral energy supply.

Supply driven assessment :

These are assessments that focus on all bioenergy resources currently available, and the competitiveness of
the differing uses for the resource.

FACTORS AFFECTING POTENTIAL

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The main factors affecting potential biomass resources are :

- Availability of land for biomass production

- Moderisation and technology development in agriculture

- Efficiency of feestock logistics

- Biomass yields obtainable on available land and choice of crop

- The sustainable constraints on bioenergy crop production

- Population growth, and the food demands related to it

- Cost of Production/Collection

- Availability of suitable infrastructure

- Competing fossil fuel cost

- Level of policy incentives which support the production of bioenergy

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DEFINING POTENTIAL

Many definitions for bioenergy potential can be given, but these depend on the level of detail to how biomass
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resources are assessed .

•Physical and Biological Barriers

Theoretical Potential •Includes Production from land, rivers, seas and
oceans

Geographical Potential • Fraction of theoretical potential limited by Land

• Fraction of geographical potential that does not

Technical Potential include land used for food production, housing,
infrastructure, and forest conservation.

•Fration of technical potential which can be

Economic Potential producted at economically viable levels

•Fraction of economic potential which is

Implementation Potential implementable within a certain timeframe
• takes into account constraints and policy incentives

Figure 7. Summary of the different potential definition17

Because there are many forms of studies that can be undertaken, and many factors which can affect the
amount of bioenergy available of being produced, the varying reviews which have been conducted to date
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show different bioenergy potential levels .

Figure 8. Different Biomass potentials compared to demand in 205018 8|P a g e

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Total World Primary Energy Demand 2050 (600-1000 EJ/year) - This is based on the World Energy Assessment

Modelled Biomass demand in 2050 ( 50-250 EJ/Year) – This is based on a number of lierature reviews

Technical Biomass Potential in 2050 (50-1000 EJ/Year) – This is based on a number of literature reviews

Sustainabile Biomass Potential in 2050 – This is based on the biomass used is acquired under a sustainable
manner.

World Biomass production in 2050 can lie anywhere between 50-1500 EJ/Year , and this is dependant on how
all of the factors which are key to determing the production of biomass are addressed. To ensure that the
acquisition of biomass doesn’t defeat the purpose of seeking bioenenergy, a sustainable manner must be
approached.

SUSTAINABLE BIOMASS

To ensure the bio-energy produced is sustainable, three factors must be considered when developing
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bioenergy; Environmental Impact, Social Impact, and Economic Impact .

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The below diagram depicts how these factor can affect the sustainable production of bio-energy .

- Impact on Soil
- Impact on Water
- Impact on Biodiversity
Environmental

Bearable Viable

Sustainability

Social Equitable
Economic
- Capital Investment
- Biomass Supply Costs
- Jobs and income - Biofuel Production Cost
- Final use product - Welfare and effect to
- Land issue national budget
- Food security

Figure 9. Diagram to show how sustainable biomass can be acquired

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BIOFUEL APPLICATION

Many routes have been establisted to produce bioenergy from biomass, and these are summarised in the
image below.

Feedstock Conversion Route Heat, Power and Fuels

•Oil Crops, Waste Oil, animal fats •Biomass Upgrading + Combustion •Biodiesel
•Sugars and starch crops •Transesterification or hydrogentation •Bioethanol
•Lignocellulose Biomass •Hydrolysis + Fermentation •Syndiesel/Renewable Diesel
•Biodegradable MSW, Sewedge Sludge, •Gasification •Methanol/ DME
manure, wet wastes, macro-algae •Pyrolysis •Biomethane
•Photosynthesis micro organisms •Anaerobic Digestion •Hydrogen
•Bio-photochemical routes •Other fuels and fuel derivatives

Figure 10. Bio energy Routes18

Many conversion routes have developed over the past years and adapted according to the feedstock’s
chemical and physical properties and to provide the required energy output be it heat or power. New
technologies such as torrefaction and pyrolysis are being developmed to convert bulky biomass into denser
and more convenient carriers of energy; thus providing more effecient transportation, and storage prior to
conversion.

PROCESS TYPES

Currently the upgrading of biomass, and its upgrading to produce heat is the leading application of bioenergy
throughout the world and is relatively cost-competitive with fossil fuels. For more energy efficient use of
biomass resourse, modern and large-scale heating systems are being combines with electricity production in
combined heat and power (CHP) systems.

Other developments include:

- Co-Firing
o The combination of biomass and coal in coal-based power stations for a cost effective use of
biomass to generate power

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- Biomass combustion Plants

o These include MSW combustion plants commonly used for providing industrial and district
heating CHP.
- Anaerobic Digestion
o Used for sludges, liquids andwet organic materials to produce electricity and heat from
biomass

In the future the use of commercial gasification and pyrolysis plants can be be deployed based on their cost-
effectiveness. They have been affected by the complexity and cost’s assosciated however if this obstacle is
overcome, these plants will show greater effeciency and economics than other biomass-based power
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generation .

1 S T GENERATION BIOFUEL

Currently the transport sector in many countries operature biofuel or biodiesel fleets; biofuel fleets mainly use
bioethanol which is derived from starch and sugar crops while while biodiesel is produced from oil crops and
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residual oils and fats. 1 generation technologies have great potential but is subject to land use, which creates
an issue with regards to sustainable land use, and can be seen as viable and equitable, however not bearable.
This is due to the use of land for food crops, which could lead to an increase in the price of food.

FOOD VS FUEL

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The times magazine has recently scrutinised the use of 1 generation biofuels and unveiled the following
facts:

 The grain it takes to fill an SUV truck can feed a person for a year

 As deforestation takes place to grow biomass, 20% of the world carbon emissions come from
deforestation

 It will take around 400 years of biodiesel use to pay back the carbon emitted by clearing land to
produce Biofuel

The use of food for fuel has started this row, known to some as ‘food vs. fuel’. The rise in usage of foodstuff to
produce fuel has caused the price of certain foods to rise sharply in past years and those needing food have
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suffered the worst. The United Nations World Food Programme has labelled the rise in food prices as an
emergency.

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This hugely contentious issue has been ongoing for quite a while now, and its arguments are inconclusive.
Evidently, it is essential that new technology is needed to overcome the huge energy costs and emissions
emitted, and that much research is being undertaken to produce a ‘clean’ fuel, which has minimum
environmental applications, contribution towards the ‘carbon footprint’.

2 ND GENERATION BIOFUEL

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To mitigate the effects if 1 generation biofuels, the advancement of technology to accumulate non-food
biomass such as organic waste, forest residues, energy crops and algae are being persued. The biofuels
produced will decrease the pressures involved around land use, and will improve greenhouse emission
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reductions in comparison to 1 generation biofuels. The implementation of 2 generation technologies which
use lignocellulose feedstock is still not to that of a commercially viable scale, and are believed to be immature
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and in need of development . These are believed to become commercial over the next decade, including the
development of future generation biofuels which include the likes of oil from algae, currently in the research
and development stage, requiring a considerable amount of development to compete in the energy market.

THE FUTURE

The development of bioenergy technologies is ongoing and requires improvements in the fields of effeciency,
reliability and sustainabilty. In the production of heat, improvments would mean a cleaner and more robust
system linked to higher quaity fuel supplies, and in the production of electricity the development of smaller-
scale CHP systems will better match local resources. In the transport industry, these improvements will result
in higher quality and more sustainable biofuels.

The ideal formation of bioenergy will be in third generation biorefineries which will allow a mixture of biomass
feedstock to be converted into power, heat , chemicals and other valuable commodities however these still
need more technical and commercial advancements.

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DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

It is evident that biomass is a renewable energy source provided the new crops and trees replensish supplies
and on that basis can be considered carbon neutral as the CO2 it releases is recaptured during the regrowth.

Provided the sustainable acqusistion of biomass is achieved, it can grow to become a integral contributor to
the world energy demand which can vary from 20-50% of the overall primary energy demand.

The overcoming of obstacles involved will be key to the success and support bioenergies gain, especially in the
use of agricultural land. The influence of governments will also play a pivotal role, especially in providing grants
and financial support to institutions who seek to exploit the implementation of bioenergy.

The development of integrated biorefineries to process many feedstocks and process a range of products will
also mean the by-products of producing energy products will have an added value, and for manufacturers and
potential investers the prospects of which can be very lucrative.

In the coming decades the production of bio-energy will grow, although it is dependent on many factors; the
varied benefits it can bring and the peaking of world fossil fuel supplies means alternatives fuels must be
sought, and bio-energy can potentially lead in that field.

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REFERENCES

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Tanaka,N. (2008). World energy outlook 2008. International energy agency p78.

2
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Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. (2007). UK Biomass Strategy. p8.

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Tanaka,N. (2008). World energy outlook. International energy agency p159.

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IEA. (2010). Key World Energy Statistics. International energy agency.p6

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Tanaka,N. (2010) . World Energy Outlook. International Energy Agency. P276

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