ME165-1

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY RESOURCES

Week-9.3 Biomass and Biofuels
2015-16/ 3T

Prepared By:
Engr. Estelito V. Mamuyac
09 March 2016

Biomass Energy

What is a biomass?

Biomass (plant material and animal waste) is the oldest source of

renewable energy, used since our ancestors learned the secret of fire.
Biomass is a renewable energy source not only because the energy it
comes from the sun, but also because biomass can re-grow over a
relatively short period of time. Through the process of
photosynthesis, chlorophyll in plants captures the sun's energy by
converting carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground
into carbohydratescomplex compounds composed of carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen.

Biomass Energy
When these carbohydrates are burned, they turn back into
carbon dioxide and water and release the energy they
captured from the sun.
In this way, biomass functions as a sort of natural battery for
storing solar energy.
As long as biomass is produced sustainablymeeting
current needs without diminishing resources or the lands
capacity to re-grow biomass and recapture carbonthe
battery will last indefinitely and provide sources of lowcarbon energy.

Biomass Energy
As a renewable energy source, biomass can either be used
directly, or indirectlyonce or converted into another type
of energy product such as biofuel.
Biomass can be converted to energy in three ways: thermal
conversion, chemical conversion, and biochemical conversion.
Biomass is plant matter used either to generate electricity (via
steam turbines or gasifiers), or to produce heat (via direct
combustion).

Biomass Energy
6

distinct biomass energy sources:

wood,
plants,
garbage,
waste,
landfill gases, and
alcohol fuels.

Biomass Energy Sources

Wood energy is derived by using lignocellulosic biomass (second

generation biofuels) as fuel.

This is either using harvested wood directly as a fuel, or

collecting from wood waste streams.
The largest source of energy from wood is pulping liquor or
black liquor, a waste product from processes of the pulp,
paper and paperboard industry plants,

Biomass Energy Sources

Waste energy is the second-largest source of biomass

energy.

The main contributors of waste energy are municipal solid

waste (MSW), manufacturing waste, and landfill gas.
Energy derived from biomass is the largest non-hydroelectric
renewable resource of electricity in the U.S., where waste-toenergy power plants generate enough electricity to supply 1.3
million homes.

Biomass Energy Sources

Plant

energy is produced by crops specifically grown

for use as fuel that offer high biomass output per
hectare with low input energy.

Some examples of these plants are wheat, which typically

yield 7.5-8 tons of grain per hectare, and straw, which
typically yield 3.5-5 tons per hectare.
The grain can be used for liquid transportation fuels while
the straw can be burned to produce heat or electricity.

Biomass Energy Sources

Plant

biomass can also be degraded from cellulose

to glucose through a series of chemical treatments,
and the resulting sugar can then be used as a first
generation biofuel.
The use of plants as a biofuel source not only
provides sustainability but also a way to reduce a
major greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.

Biomass Energy Sources

Rotting garbage, and agricultural and human waste, all
release methane gasalso called "landfill gas" or "biogas."
Sugars and oils (first generation biofuels), such as sugarcane
and corn, are used to produce bioethanol, an alcohol fuel.
Alcohol fuels can be used directly, like other fuels, or as an
additive to gasoline.

Second generation biofuels are less simple to extract or process,

while first generation biofuels are more prone to escalating the
Food vs. Fuel dilemma.

Biofuels

What is a biofuel?

A biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from

biological carbon fixation.
Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as
solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases.
In order to be considered a biofuel, the fuel must contain over
80 percent renewable materials.

Biofuels

Brief History of Biofuels (USA)

In the 1820s, a blend of camphene and alcohol was the dominant fuel
for lamps, as much as 100 million gallons a year were sold, almost ten
times the volume of the more expensive whale oil. Many farmers had
their own stills that they used to make lamp oil (and other things)
from crop wastes.
That all came to an abrupt end in 1862, when a $2 per gallon tax was
assessed on alcohol to help finance the Civil War. But somehow,
kerosene, or coal oil, as it was called then, was taxed at only ten
cents a gallon.

Biofuels

Brief History of Biofuels (USA) (contd.)

By 1870, kerosene was selling over 200 million gallons a year.
The alcohol tax was repealed in 1906 by Teddy Roosevelt, saying,
The Standard Oil Company has, largely by unfair
or unlawful methods, crushed out home
competitionIt is highly desirable that an element of
competition should be introduced byputting
alcoholupon the free list.

Biofuels

Brief History of Biofuels (contd.)

Biofuels roots run deep into the earliest automotive days. The
first internal combustion engine in the U.S. was built by Samuel
Morey who used it to power a small boat up the Connecticut
River in 1826. He fueled it with a mixture of turpentine and
alcohol.
German inventor Nicolaus August Otto is generally credited
with inventing the first automobile engine. The four-stroke
internal combustion engine he developed in 1876 used alcohol,
which was plentiful and untaxed in Europe, as the fuel.

Biofuels

Brief History of Biofuels (contd.)

Rudolph Diesel demonstrated his first engine in 1900 running
on peanut oil. The Ford Model T, which first came out in 1908,
was also designed to run on ethanol.
But somehow the unseen hand gave gasoline prominence. By
1920, there were 9 million gasoline-powered vehicles on the
road.

Biofuels

Brief History of Biofuels (contd.)

Biofuels tried to make a comeback in the 1930s in the form of
gasoline blends. Agrol, of Atchison, Kansas (now Midwest Grain
Products) was backed by Ford but opposed by the oil companies.
At one point there were 2,000 stations across the Midwest, but
the company went bankrupt in 1939. During the war, ethanol
was primarily used to make 75 percent of all synthetic rubber,
which was in high demand. Ethanol was also used as an aviation
fuel.

Biofuels

Brief History of Biofuels (contd.)

After the war, gasoline became so cheap that ethanol disappeared
from the market altogether, until the oil embargoes of the 1970s.
With the gas shortages and long lines at the pumps, interest in
alternative fuels was rekindled; gasohol, a blend of gasoline and
alcohol become widely available during that decade, encouraged
by a tax credit of 58 cents a gallon.

Biofuels

Brief History of Biofuels (contd.)

In 1992, the Energy Policy Act required car makers to offer
models capable of using alternative fuels.
In 2006, the Renewable Fuels Standards (RFS) Program
encouraged the use of ethanol and biodiesel with the goal of
doubling their use by 2012.
In 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA)
required the incorporation of 15 billion gallons of ethanol into
the fuel supply by 2015 and 36 billion gallons by 2022.

Biofuels

Brief History of Biofuels (contd.)

EISA also puts a cap on the amount of corn that can be allocated
for fuel at 15 billion gallons so as not to overly interfere with the
food supply.
Much of the rest is expected to come from cellulosic ethanol,
which has been slow coming on line with the remainder coming
from biodiesel and other unspecified advanced biofuels that
might include algae or other organisms.

Biofuels

Brief History of Biofuels (contd.)

Here in the Philippines, we have our own Biofuels Act of 2006.
On 12 January 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed
into law Republic Act No. 9367, otherwise known as the
Biofuels Act of 2006
R.A. 9637 mandates that all liquid fuels for motors and engines
sold in the Philippines shall contain locally-sourced biofuels
components.

Biofuel Technologies

Liquid Biofuels
Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermentation, mostly from
carbohydrates produced in sugar or starch crops such as corn
or sugarcane.
Cellulosic biomass, derived from non-food sources, such as
trees and grasses, is also being developed as a feedstock for
ethanol production.
Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but
it is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane and
improve vehicle emissions.

Biofuel Technologies

Liquid Biofuels (contd.)

Bioethanol is widely used in the USA and in Brazil. Current plant
design does not provide for converting the lignin portion of
plant raw materials to fuel components by fermentation.
Biobutanol (also called biogasoline) is often claimed to provide a
direct replacement for gasoline, because it can be used directly
in a gasoline engine (in a similar way to biodiesel in diesel
engines).

Biofuel Technologies

Liquid Biofuels (contd.)

Biobutanol will produce more energy and allegedly can be
burned "straight" in existing gasoline engines (without
modification to the engine or car), and is less corrosive and less
water-soluble than ethanol, and could be distributed via existing
infrastructures.
DuPont and BP are working together to help develop butanol.
E. coli strains have also been successfully engineered to
produce butanol by hijacking their amino acid metabolism.

Biofuel Technologies

Liquid Biofuels (contd.)

Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils and animal fats.
Biodiesel can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but
it is usually used as a diesel additive to reduce levels of
particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from dieselpowered vehicles.
Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification
and is the most common biofuel in Europe.

Biofuel Technologies

Liquid Biofuels (contd.)

Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine when mixed with
mineral diesel. In some countries, manufacturers cover their
diesel engines under warranty for B100 use. B100 may become
more viscous at lower temperatures, depending on the
feedstock used.
In most cases, biodiesel is compatible with diesel engines from
1994 onwards, which use 'Viton' (by DuPont) synthetic rubber
in their mechanical fuel injection systems.

Biofuel Technologies

Liquid Biofuels (contd.)

In many European countries, a 5% biodiesel blend is widely
used and is available at thousands of gas stations.
Biodiesel is also an oxygenated fuel, meaning it contains a
reduced amount of carbon and higher hydrogen and oxygen
content than fossil diesel. This improves the combustion of
biodiesel and reduces the particulate emissions from unburnt
carbon.

Biofuel Technologies

Liquid Biofuels (contd.)

Biodiesel is also safe to handle and transport because it is as
biodegradable as sugar, one-tenth as toxic as table salt, and has
a high flash point of about 300F (148C) compared to
petroleum diesel fuel, which has a flash point of 125F (52C.

Biofuel Technologies

Liquid Biofuels (contd.)

Green diesel is produced through hydrocracking biological oil
feedstocks, such as vegetable oils and animal fats.
Hydrocracking is a refinery method that uses elevated
temperatures and pressure in the presence of a catalyst to
break down larger molecules, such as those found in vegetable
oils, into shorter hydrocarbon chains used in diesel engines.
It may also be called renewable diesel, hydrotreated vegetable
oil or hydrogen-derived renewable diesel.

Biofuel Technologies

Liquid Biofuels (contd.)

Green diesel has the same chemical properties as petroleumbased diesel. It does not require new engines, pipelines or
infrastructure to distribute and use, but has not been
produced at a cost that is competitive with petroleum.
Green diesel is being developed in Louisiana and Singapore by
ConocoPhillips, Neste Oil, Valero, Dynamic Fuels, and
Honeywell UOP.

Biofuel Technologies

Biogas
Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the breakdown of
organic matter in the absence of oxygen.
It is a renewable energy source, like solar and wind energy.
Furthermore, biogas can be produced from regionally available
raw materials and recycled waste and is environmentally friendly
and CO2 neutral.
Biogas is produced by the anaerobic digestion or fermentation of
biodegradable materials such as manure, sewage, municipal waste,
green waste, plant material, and crops.

Biofuel Technologies

Biogas (contd.)
Biogas comprises primarily methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide
(CO2) and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H2S),
moisture and siloxanes.

Biofuel Technologies
Biogas

Production

Biogas is practically produced as landfill gas (LFG) or

digested gas.
A

biogas plant is the name often given to an anaerobic digester

that treats farm wastes or energy crops.
Biogas can be produced using anaerobic digesters. These plants
can be fed with energy crops such as maize silage or
biodegradable wastes including sewage sludge and food waste.

Biofuel Technologies

Biogas Production (contd.)

During the process, as an air-tight tank transforms biomass
waste into methane producing renewable energy that can be
used for heating, electricity, and many other operations that
use any variation of an internal combustion engine, such as GE
Jenbacher gas engines.

Biofuel Technologies

Biogas Production (contd.)

Landfill gas is produced by wet organic waste decomposing
under anaerobic conditions in a landfill.
The waste is covered and mechanically compressed by the
weight of the material that is deposited from above.
This material prevents oxygen exposure thus allowing
anaerobic microbes to thrive.
This gas builds up and is slowly released into the atmosphere if
the landfill site has not been engineered to capture the gas.

Biofuel Technologies

Biogas Composition
Typical composition of biogas
Compound

Molecular formula

Methane

CH4

5075

Carbon dioxide

CO2

2550

Nitrogen

N2

010

Hydrogen

H2

01

Hydrogen sulphide

H2 S

03

Oxygen

O2

00

Biofuel Technologies

Biogas Applications

Biogas can be utilized for electricity production on sewage

works.
In a CHP gas engine, where the waste heat from the engine is
conveniently used for heating the digester; cooking; space
heating; water heating; and process heating.
If compressed, it can replace compressed natural gas for use in
vehicles, where it can fuel an internal combustion engine or fuel
cells and is a much more effective displacer of carbon dioxide
than the normal use in on-site CHP plants.

Biofuel Technologies

Biogas Applications (contd.)

Methane within biogas can be concentrated via a biogas upgrader
to the same standards as fossil natural gas, which itself has had to
go through a cleaning process, and becomes biomethane. If the
local gas network allows for this, the producer of the biogas may
utilize the local gas distribution networks. Gas must be very
clean to reach pipeline quality, and must be of the correct
composition for the local distribution network to accept.

Biofuels
Environmental

impacts of current biofuels

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emission through fertilizer use

Emission through land-use change
Threatening valuable wildlife habitats
Wider pollution and water impacts
Biodegradation

Environmental Impacts of Biofuels

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emission through fertilizer use

N2O is released to the atmosphere through nitrogen fertilizer

application and has nearly 300 times the global warming potential of
the same mass of CO2.
Even though it is not as abundant in the atmosphere as carbon
dioxide it currently represents the third most important gas causing
global warming.
In addition recent evidence suggest that the figures assumed (set by
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) may have been
underestimated by up to 5 times.

Environmental Impacts of Biofuels

Emission through land-use change

It takes land to cultivate biofuel feedstocks, and this creates both

direct and indirect land-use change that affects the biodiversity
as well as releasing carbon stored on the land.
Direct land-use change. Carbon stored in undisturbed natural
soils and forests is released if the land is cleared to produce the
extra crops needed as a result of an increase on biofuels
demand.

Environmental Impacts of Biofuels

Emission through land-use change (contd.)

Indirect land-use change.
Indirect land use change happens when as a result of using
available cropland to cultivate feedstocks, food production is
diverted elsewhere, encouraging deforestation and degradation
of preserved ecosystems.

Environmental Impacts of Biofuels

Threatening

valuable wildlife habitats

Wildlife-rich savannahs, if cleared for biofuel plants

cultivation, would have a great impact to several species of
birds, mammals, animals, reptiles, fishes as well as plants, that
are local habitats of the area.
Besides pollutions by runoff, the irrigation needed for biofuel
crops would impact the surrounding wildlife, particularly on
wetland ecosystems.

Environmental Impacts of Biofuels

Wider

pollution and water impacts

Large-scale cultivation of food crop often involves heavy use

of pesticide, herbicide and fertilizers, and their effects could
extend far away from the actual plantations.

References

Textbooks

Renewable Energy Technologies, Jean-Claude Sabonnadiere, 2009

Energy Conversion, D.Yogi Goswami, Frank Kreith, 2008
Power Plant Engineering, 3rd Edition, PK Nag, 2008, Tata McGraw Hill

Web

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/how-biomass-energy-works.html

http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/10/history-of-biofuels/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomass

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas

http://www.birdlife.org/eu/EU_policy/Biofuels/eu_biofuels2.html