Abstract
In response to the lack of locally natural sources and the environmental concerns about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, using a wide variety of biomass residues as energy sources has attracted much attention in the past two decades. The purpose of the case study was to examine the energy use of imported palm kernel shell (PKS) in Taiwan, which has generated superheated steam for the end users in the industrial sector. In this work, characterizing the thermochemical properties of imported PKS (including proximate analysis, elemental analysis and calorific value) was first conducted by the standard test methods. Based on the statistics of imported PKS and the method developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the preliminary benefit analysis of PKS-to-energy was further addressed in the paper to verify its equivalent GHG emission mitigation. The results showed the annual benefit of equivalent GHG mitigation of about 78,647 metric tons (using annual imported PKS of 60,000 metric tons on an average). In addition, the economic benefit for purchasing PKS in the industrial boilers can gain the cost-down at approximately NT$60,000,000 (US$2,000,000) in comparison with that of fuel oil. Furthermore, the regulatory measures for upgrading PKS-to-energy and countermeasures for controlling air pollutant emissions from PKS-to-energy facilities were briefly summarized to create another circular economy. Finally, some technological recommendations have been addressed to upgrade the added values of imported PKS in Taiwan.
Highlights
IntroductionTaiwan is an island country with a high population density (i.e., about 650 people per km2 ) and a lack of natural resources
Taiwan is an island country with a high population density and a lack of natural resources
In addition to being neutral in carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emission, palm kernel shell (PKS) and its resulting biochar will reduce the emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx ) and nitrogen oxides (NOx ) if it is directly used as a solid fuel
Summary
Taiwan is an island country with a high population density (i.e., about 650 people per km2 ) and a lack of natural resources. Its dependence on imported energy ranged from 97 to 98%. In 2017, the energy supply can be divided into two categories. One belongs to indigenous energy, which contributed 3.0 million kiloliters of oil equivalent (KLOEs) or 2.02% [1]. Another is the imported energy, which occupied 97.98%, or 143.6 million KLOEs. By classifying them with energy forms, their contributions were given as follows [1]: coal 30.17%, oil 48.45% natural gas
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