Use of Waste Biomass as Remediator for Environmental Pollution

Abstract

Biomass materials are been considered as a useful and important raw material for energy production for different countries including India. Biomass materials originated from agricultural and kitchen waste have several benefits; considering these benefits it offers different advantageous uses like the production of cooking gas, generation of power and the conversion into value-added recycled items. By efficient and effective utilization of agricultural and kitchen waste for above mentioned purposes may be a good solution for waste management. Waste biomass has the ability to generate renewable power, cooking gas, etc. and it also has the possibilities to generate services for rural youths in different countries like India, other Asian and African countries. At present, global development is an agenda but this has several disadvantages due to human and industrial activities that are directly and indirectly related to challenges of human health, the health of our planet and its ecosystems. Agricultural waste and kitchen wastes are available in plenty; therefore, the focus is to be given to the use of these wastes into alternative fuels to minimize environmental pollution. Around the world, in many countries including India, this waste biomass is maybe one of the best choices for clean energy production, especially for modern energy applications like bioenergy power plants and biomass gasifiers that produce biogas. In principle, they use a significant amount of waste biomass (food waste, agriculture residue and forestry biomass). It is expected that till 2040, biomass waste-based power generation will increase five to six times than present power generation and this will contribute to the reliable power supply in the rural areas. Therefore, to support modern biomass-based technologies, the use of agricultural and kitchen waste for bioenergy should be increased; as of now, these supplies are limited due to high costs and low finance support. This is a fully developed resource, its utilization has not only the potential to provide common benefits like electricity generation and biogas production but its use can also reduce the required dumping area. We can also diminish the chances of air, water, and soil contamination and ecological health. Subsidies and incentives schemes are promoted by India’s Ministry of Renewable Energy to use waste as a renewable energy source and to encourage technologies based on biomass waste utilization. All the aspects of clean energy production from agricultural and kitchen waste biomass are reviewed and discussed in this chapter.