BIOENERGY

The energy unleashed

Definition
Includes any solid/liquid/gaseous fuel derived from recently dead

organisms. Directly from plants or indirectly from plant derived industrial, commercial , urban wastes; agricultural and forestry residues.

Salient features
Non-polluting. Cheap. Renewable.

Various forms of Bioenergy

Biofuel

Solid

Liquid

Gas

Briquettes

Alcohol

Diesel

Syngas

Biogas

Processes Involved
Incineration

Briquettes. Fermentation of carbohydrates Alcohol. Solvent extraction of lipids Diesel. Anaerobic decomposition Biogas. Anoxic heating with steam Syngas.

Briquettes
Raw materials- rice husk , corn cob ,

sugarcane bagasse , coconut coir ,cotton shell , straw , etc 10% moisture content. Uniform shape-continuous burning. Low ash-2%-5% remaining. No fly ash. 60mm and 70mm marketable forms.

Biodiesel
Sources-algae , palm oil , coconut ,

rapeseed , soy , peanut , sunflower , hemp. Algae-highest yield of 3000L/ha. Anti-knock. Directly used-high density due to high octane number .

Contd
Microalgae preferred -fast growth rate , less complexity in extraction. Remaining reprocessed-ethanol. Present research-algenol from

living , growing algae in desert?!

Biogas
Anaerobic decomposition by anaerobic bacteria.
Primarily methane , carbon-di-oxide ,

hydrogen sulphide. Composed of 65% methane-5857kcal/m3. Three step process.

Contd
First coversion-acidic bacteria. Second conversion-methogenic bacteria.

Fat/cellulose/proteins in soluble form

organic acids

CH4,CO2,H2O

Syngas
Source-rejected waste in dry or slurry form.
Reacts with steam and oxygen in o2 starved

environment. Requires elevated temperature and pressure. 85% -CO,H2. Small amounts 0f methane and carbon-dioxide.

Renewable???
Answer is yes. Allows for re-growth . Does not deplete nutrient and water

resources.

Contribute to GHG???
No net emission-crops/plants actually

took up an equal amount of carbondi-oxide from air during their growth. Utilisation of biomass residueslandfills-greatly reducing methane formation.

The Issue
Farmers may switch from food crops to biofuel crops.
Price of food crops will increase .

Self-sufficency of the nation at stake.

Alternate sources such as algae , effluent

come as solutions. Regulations are to be imposed to curb excessive biofuel crops cultivation.

Conclusion
Our duty to make EARTH GREENER.

Use Bioenergy to the maximum.

Efforts to make it cheap & widely accepted.
Environment

Economy