Biomass Conversion Technologies

Definition
Biomass refers to the biological
material derived from living, or recently
living organisms. Biomass is composed
largely of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
Nitrogen and small quantities of other
atoms, including alkali, alkaline earth
and heavy metals can also be found.
Biomass is the building block or ‘feedstock’ for many other fuels. Biomass can be
converted into several useful forms of energy using different processes, also
known as conversion technologies

The key difference between biomass and alternatives like fossil fuels is the
difference between the time it takes to replenish the source of each. Biomass
takes carbon out of the atmosphere while it is growing, and returns it as it is
burned. If it is managed on a sustainable basis, biomass is harvested as part of a
constantly replenished crop. This is either during woodland or agricultural
management or as part of a continuous programme of replanting with the new
growth taking up CO2 from the atmosphere at the same time as it is released by
combustion of the previous harvest.

In contrast, when a fossil fuel is burnt the CO2 in the atmosphere increases
as it takes hundreds of millions of years for the fossil fuel source to be replenished.

Types of Biomass
Biomass resources include primary, secondary, and tertiary sources of
biomass.

1. Primary biomass resources are produced directly by photosynthesis and are

taken directly from the land. They include 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,
corn stover, and the tops, limbs, and bark from trees).

2. 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).
 3. Tertiary biomass resources are post-consumer residue streams including
animal fats and greases, used vegetable oils, packaging wastes, and
construction and demolition debris

Several processing steps are required to convert raw biomass into useful
energy using the three main process technologies available: biochemical,
thermochemical, and chemical. These three types of conversion technologies
has appropriate applications for specific biomass types to result in specific energy
products:

1. Thermochemical conversion is the application of heat and chemical processes

in the production of energy products from biomass. A key thermochemical
conversion process if gasification.

2. Biochemical conversion involves use of enzymes, bacteria or other

microorganisms to break down biomass into liquid fuels, and includes anaerobic
digestion, and fermentation.

3. Chemical conversion involves use of chemical agents to convert biomass into

liquid fuels.
Energy from Biomass
Bioenergy is the term used to describe energy
derived from biomass feedstocks. Bioenergy 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 purpose-designed 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.

Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass

Gasification is a process that converts organic or
carbonaceous materials into carbon monoxide, hydrogen
an d carbon dioxide. This is achieved by reacting the
material at high temperatures (>700 °C), without
combustion, with a controlled amount of oxygen
and/or steam.

It sounds like combustion, but it's not. Combustion uses

an abundance of oxygen to produce heat and light by
burning. Gasification uses only a tiny amount of oxygen, which is combined with
steam and cooked under intense pressure. This initiates a series of reactions that
produces a gaseous mixture composed primarily of carbon monoxide and
hydrogen.

The resulting gas mixture is called syngas (from synthesis gas) or producer
gas and is itself a fuel. This syngas can be burned directly for power or used as a
starting point to manufacture fertilizers, pure hydrogen, methane or liquid
transportation fuels.

agricultural and industrial wastes, sewage sludge, switch grass, discarded

seed corn, corn stover and other crop residues all being used.

Gasification Process
The heart of a power plant that incorporates gasification isn't a boiler, but
a gasifier, a cylindrical pressure vessel about 40 feet (12 meters) high by 13 feet (4
meters) across.

Types of Gasifier
1. Updraft Gasifier

In an updraft gasifier, the biomass is supplied through the top of the reactor
and the air is injected through the bottom of the unit through a gate. Coke
undergoes partial oxidation that provides thermal energy needed for the various
process steps. The gas passes through the areas of reduction and pyrolysis and is
cooled down drying the biomass. This type of reactor does not allow for tar
cracking, thus the syngas produced may contain a high concentration of tar.

The throughput for this type of gasifier is relatively low. Thermal efficiency is
high as the temperatures in the gas exit are relatively low. However, this means
that tar and methane production is significant at typical operation temperatures,
so product gas must be extensively cleaned before use. The tar can be recycled
to the reactor.

2. Downdraft Gasifier

Similar to the counter-current type, but the gasification agent gas flows in
co-current configuration with the fuel (downwards, hence the name "down draft
gasifier"). Heat needs to be added to the upper part of the bed, either by
combusting small amounts of the fuel or from external heat sources. The product
gas passes through the hot zone which is able to crack tars formed during the
reaction of pyrolysis. The product gas thus leaves the reactor at a high
temperature, around 700 °C, with a minimum content of tar.

3. Fluidized Bed Gasifier

The solid fuel is fluidized by the addition of air at high velocity into the bed
which is made of small diameter particles such as sand or alumina to improve the
fluidization. The solid thus behaves as a fluid for a good homogenization of
temperature and reactants.

Fuel throughput is higher than for the fixed bed, but not as high as for the
entrained flow gasifier. The conversion efficiency can be rather low due
to elutriation of carbonaceous material. Recycle or subsequent combustion of
solids can be used to increase conversion. Fluidized bed gasifiers are most useful
for fuels that form highly corrosive ash that would damage the walls of slagging
gasifiers. Biomass fuels generally contain high levels of corrosive ash.

4. Entrained Flow Gasifier

The fuel is finely pulverized in the jet of gasifying agent (air, pure oxygen or
air / water vapor) and the reaction proceeds at high temperature and high
pressure, thereby preventing the formation of tar and methane.
 The high temperatures and pressures also mean that a higher throughput
can be achieved, however thermal efficiency is somewhat lower as the gas must
be cooled before it can be cleaned with existing technology. The high
temperatures also mean that tar and methane are not present in the product
gas; however the oxygen requirement is higher than for the other types of
gasifiers. All entrained flow gasifiers remove the major part of the ash as a slag as
the operating temperature is well above the ash fusion temperature.

In all types of gasifiers, the carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapour (H2O)
are converted (reduced) as much as possible to carbon monoxide, hydrogen
and methane, which are the main combustible components of producer gas.

Gasifier Operation

There are a large number of different feedstock types for use in a gasifier,
each with different characteristics, including size, shape, bulk density, moisture
content, energy content, chemical composition, ash fusion characteristics, and
homogeneity of all these properties. A variety of biomass and waste-derived
feedstocks can be gasified, with wood pellets and chips, waste wood, plastics
and aluminium, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Refuse-derived fuel (RDF).
 It is recommended that the wood feedstock must be less than 2 inches in
size and has 20 to 30% w/w moisture content.

Feedstocks enter the gasifier at the top, while steam and oxygen enter from
below. Any kind of carbon-containing material can be a feedstock, but coal
gasification, of course, requires coal.

A gasifier operates at higher temperatures and pressures -- about 2,600

degrees Fahrenheit (1,427 degrees Celsius) and 1,000 pounds per square inch
(6,895 kilopascals), respectively. This causes the feedstock to undergo different
chemical reactions.

1. Drying
The fuel wood pellets are heated and dried at the top of the gasifier unit.
Moisture contained in the wood pellets is removed in this region to a level
below 20%.
2. Pyrolysis
The first of these is pyrolysis, which occurs as feed's volatile matter degrades
into several gases, leaving behind char, a charcoal-like substance. Also
known as devolatilization, the gaseous products from devolatilization are
partially burnt with the existing air
 Oxidation
In the combustion zone the outputs from the above zone, react with the
remaining char in minimal oxygen at a temperature of around 800-900 °C

 Reduction
Then, reduction reactions transform the remaining carbon in the char to a
gaseous mixture known as syngas.

As these reactions proceed the temperature sinks progressively until it

becomes so low (700 °C) that the reaction rates are insignificant. This means that
the extent of the char reduction zone is dependent on the amount of energy
entering the reduction zone and consequently also on the heat losses from the
reactor. Although there is a considerable overlap, each process can be
considered to be occupying a separate zone, in which fundamentally different
chemical and thermal reactions take place. The fuel must pass through all of
these zones to be completely converted.

Gas Clean Up
After the gasification process, gas clean up is necessary to ensure that the
syngas obtained is clean and free from impurities. Impurities such as tar,
particulate matters and poisonous gases including ammonia, hydrochloric acid
and sulfur gases, which are unavoidably produced during gasification, create
severe problems in downstream applications. Therefore, the cleaning of producer
gas is essential before being utilized.

1. Cyclone

Char is a solid by product of gasification. It is typically removed by cyclones

to remove particulates without filters by using rotational movements with
combination of gravity.

2. Thermal Tar Destruction

The tars represent a complex mixture of components, typically polyaromatic

that are difficult to deal with in the downstream processes that accompany
gasification as well as in utilization technologies.

The tars can cause quite a few problems in the different applications such
as cracking in the pores of filters, forming coke and causing plugging of the filters,
condensing in the cold spots and plugging the cold spots; all this resulting in
serious operational interruptions and maintenance costs. Another vital issue
regarding tars is that they contain carcinogenic compounds that have to be
removed to achieve health and environmental demands.

In this approach, the syngas passes out of the gasifier and through thermal
process that destroys the tars at a high temperature. This greatly simplifies the
gas clean-up as it eliminates the need for a tar removal clean-up system. The
trade-off, however, is a lower energy content of the syngas.

3. Cooling Chamber

The raw syngas runs through a cooling chamber that can be used to
separate the various components. Cleaning can remove harmful impurities,
including sulfur, mercury and unconverted carbon. Even carbon dioxide can be
pulled out of the gas and either stored underground or used in ammonia or
methanol production.

That leaves pure hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which can be

combusted cleanly in gas turbines to produce electricity. Or, some power plants
convert the syngas to natural gas by passing the cleaned gas over a nickel
catalyst, causing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide to react with free
hydrogen to form methane. This "substitute natural gas" behaves like regular
natural gas and can be used to generate electricity or heat homes and
businesses.

Composition of Producer Gas

Composition % by weight
H2 18.0
CO 18.0
CH4 1.8
 CO2 108
N2 41.4
H2 O 10.0

Applications
Syngas can be used for heat production and for generation of mechanical
and electrical power. Like other gaseous fuels, producer gas gives greater control
over power levels when compared to solid fuels, leading to more efficient and
cleaner operation.

Syngas can also be used for further processing to liquid fuels or chemicals.

Electricity (Internal Combustion Engines)

 Syngas is used as fuel in internal combustion (IC) engines that are coupled
to a synchronous alternator, which produces electricity.

 The thermal energy generated in the form of combustion gases, both in the
gasifier reactor as well as the IC engines (heat recovery) is used for
generation of thermal energy either in the form of hot water, steam, thermal
oil, hot water or Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC), etc. ensuring full utilization
of the waste power coming into the gasification plant for end use.

Thermal energy generation

 Generation of thermal energy by direct combustion of syngas in heat

generation equipment, such as steam boilers, cement kilns, dryers, etc. This
thermal energy can be used in a range of sectors such as the industrial
sector, in chemicals, cement, food, etc., as well as in tertiary sectors, for
offices, hotels, residential (District heating & cooling) or agriculture
(greenhouses)

Chemical synthesis
 Syngas is subjected to chemical transformation processes, enabling the
generation of Bioethanol, Biochemical (ethylene glycol, DME, methanol)
Bio-SNG (Synthetic Natural Gas), etc. These products are used for the
production of automotive and transportation fuels, chemicals and plastics,
fuel injection into pipelines, etc.