Biomass Power Generation Research Articles

Biomass yield potential on U.S. marginal land and its contribution to reach net‐zero emission

AbstractBioenergy with carbon capture and geological storage (BECCS) is considered one of the top options for both offsetting CO2 emissions and removing atmospheric CO2. BECCS requires using limited land resources efficiently while ensuring minimal adverse impacts on the delicate food‐energy‐water nexus. Perennial C4 biomass crops are productive on marginal land under low‐input conditions avoiding conflict with food and feed crops. The eastern half of the contiguous U.S. contains a large amount of marginal land, which is not economically viable for food production and liable to wind and water erosion under annual cultivation. However, this land is suitable for geological CO2 storage and perennial crop growth. Given the climate variation across the region, three perennials are major contenders for planting. The yield potential and stability of Miscanthus, switchgrass, and energycane across the region were compared to select which would perform best under the recent (2000–2014) and future (2036–2050) climates. Miscanthus performed best in the Midwest, switchgrass in the Northeast and energycane in the Southeast. On average, Miscanthus yield decreased from present 19.1 t/ha to future 16.8 t/ha; switchgrass yield from 3.5 to 2.4 t/ha; and energycane yield increased from 14 to 15 t/ha. Future yield stability decreased in the region with higher predicted drought stress. Combined, these crops could produce 0.6–0.62 billion tonnes biomass per year for the present and future. Using the biomass for power generation with CCS would capture 703–726 million tonnes of atmospheric CO2 per year, which would offset about 11% of current total U.S. emission. Further, this biomass approximates the net primary CO2 productivity of two times the current baseline productivity of existing vegetation, suggesting a huge potential for BECCS. Beyond BECCS, C4 perennial grasses could also increase soil carbon and provide biomass for emerging industries developing replacements for non‐renewable products including plastics and building materials.

Potential for on-grid hybrid renewable energy in a humid subtropical climatic zone: technological, economic, and environmental aspects

Abstract China’s abundant natural resources reveal inconsistencies in economics, environment, and society. Renewable energy sources can reduce environmental pollutants and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Using HOMER software, Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, China, optimizes the economic, environmental, and technological aspects of creating an off-grid hybrid power system for 100 houses. According to the results, the most economically feasible photovoltaic (PV)–wind turbine (WT)–grid hybrid system is made up of one WT, 25.55 kW converters, and 80 kW PV panels. Its total net present cost (NPC) is $494 119, and its cost of energy (COE) is $0.043/kWh. However, because it has the greatest operation expenses, the PV–grid hybrid configuration has the highest NPC of $687 906 and COE of $0.068/kWh. Furthermore, according to the technical analysis’s findings, WT contributed 49.2% of the overall power generation, equivalent to $357 694/kWh. The optimal WT/PV/grid configuration, which is the suggested configuration, has the lowest yearly emissions of carbon dioxide (174 236 kg/year), whereas the PV–grid configuration has the highest carbon dioxide emissions (246 769 kg/year). The results of the sensitivity evaluation’s findings demonstrate that the COE and NPC amounts for the ideal configuration decline as solar irradiation and wind velocity increase. To clarify, raising the system’s velocity of wind or radiation from the sun can make it more economically viable. It may be concluded that the WT–PV–grid hybrid configuration is the more environmentally friendly and economical technology. Zhanjiang, China, has the potential to develop a sustainable alternative energy system combining WT and biomass power generation, but factors like fuel limitations and energy consumption must be considered.

Utilizing the Heat Waste from Biomass Power Generation to Reduce the Moisture Content of Woodchips

This paper is to study the drying method to reduce the moisture content (MC) of the woodchip. The methods used are to utilize the heat from solar and waste heat from the Biomass Power Plant (BioPP). By using a 250 °C heat waste from the BioPP, and stirring on the woodchip inside the drying equipment, the results obtained to reduce the MC from more than 40 % to MC around 20 % will take 2 h and 4 h faster than that which was not done on woodchips. Reducing MC from 40 % to 20 % will save 25.44 % on the woodchip consumption for combustion in the boiler of the BioPP. An analysis related to MC, CV, and woodchip consumption in generating electricity is also carried out. When MC is 26.70 %, the CV is 13.5 GJ T-1, and the woodchip consumption becomes 4.62 T h-1 and 1.31 T MWh-1, the energy produced is 764.7 kWh T-1. When the MC is higher, 47.68 %, causing the CV to become 9.8 GJ T-1, it is found that the consumption of the woodchips becomes 6.41 T h-1 and 1.81 T MWh-1, the energy produced is 551.3 kWh T-1.

Smart Energy Management Construction of Electric Power with Application of Bioelectricity Technology

Abstract The search for sustainable energy solutions has become urgent against the current energy crisis and increasing environmental pollution. Biomass energy conversion and utilization technology, a clean and renewable energy source, constantly evolves, particularly in biomass power generation technology. This technology can effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. Biomass conversion and utilization techniques include combustion, gasification, and biochemical methods that generate different energy forms, including heat, electricity, and fuel. Developing these technologies provides strong technical support for optimizing energy structures and protecting the environment. The article explores the application of biopower technology in intelligent energy management of electricity and improves its efficiency. The efficiency of biopower technology and its influencing factors were investigated using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model and Tobit regression analysis. A study was conducted on ten biopower energy companies. The energy management efficiency score of 1 was present in six of these companies, suggesting a relatively high operational efficiency level. Company C has a super-efficiency value of 2.654, indicating its outstanding energy management efficiency. Factors such as human resource input, total investment, and annual production costs significantly affect energy management efficiency. By optimizing resource allocation and improving management efficiency, biopower technology can be applied more effectively to intelligent energy management, thus promoting sustainable development.

Synergistic conversion of iron ore sintering dust and waste biochar to produce direct reduction iron and syngas: Gasification, reduction behavior and thermodynamic analysis

Waste biochar from biomass power generation and sintering dust from ferrous metallurgy were skillfully used to produce direct reduced iron (DRI) and syngas via a synergetic conversion in this study. The thermodynamic analysis of their related reactions, biochar conversion and reduction behavior of sintering dust were investigated. The biochar gasification and reduction of sintering dust were coupled and promoted by each other at 1000 °C for 60 min with 1.2 mol (C/Fe). For biochar conversion, adding sintering dust deepened the pyrolysis of the volatiles in the waste biochar to generate more CH4, and it provided more oxygen atoms, gasifying carbon atoms in the fixed carbon to generate more CO. The CO and CH4 yield from biochar conversion with iron oxides of sintering dust increased by 633.8% and 41.5% to its pyrolysis alone. For the reduction of sintering dust, the whole conversion process of sintering dust was the generation, aggregation and growth of the iron grains, including the generation of metallic iron grains, forming curved bars and composite flocculent metallic iron, and its larger lumps particles finally. A DRI with a 92.4% metallization ratio, meeting the requirements of the subsequent electric arc furnaces, was obtained at 1000 °C for 60 min with 1.2 mol (C/Fe). This study achieves an efficient and reciprocal conversion of these two solid waste resources. It offers an essential research reference for fuel gasification and DRI processes.

Biomass-to-power: Opportunities and challenges for Nigeria

Power is needed for the growth and development of any country. The Nigerian power sector continues to face tremendous challenges, especially in the areas of power generation and sustainability in the electricity value chain. Successive governments have carried out several reforms, but these problems persist. The major causes are tied to the lack of diversity in the country’s energy mix and over-dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels for power generation. With Nigeria’s growing power demand and the Federal Government’s commitment to renewable energy for reduced carbon emission, the potential of biomass in power generation can no longer be overlooked. Biomass is a renewable resource that is abundant in supply in Nigeria. Biomass resources can be obtained from multiple sources and has very low net carbon emission. Its immediate addition to Nigeria’s energy mix would aid the country in meeting its 2030 goal of increasing renewable power generation by 45% and reducing greenhouse emissions by 20%. This paper therefore studies the history of power generation in Nigeria and the challenges encountered so far. It then looks at biomass resources availability in the country, their viability as feedstocks for power generation, and biomass-to-power conversion processes. The challenges of this alternative power solution are identified and recommendations given. If these can be implemented, the biomass-to-power solution can significantly address the issues of low power generation and carbon emission. It would help improve energy security, environmental sustainability, circular economy, and economic opportunities for those in the biomass and power supply chain in Nigeria.

Study on Market-Based Trading Strategies for Biomass Power Generation Participation in Microgrid Systems

The Chinese government places significant importance on biomass energy due to its renewable and environmentally friendly attributes. However, the high cost of power generation poses a considerable hurdle to its development. This study aims to address the challenges facing the profitability and sustainable development of biomass power generation after the gradual withdrawal of the Chinese government by proposing a day-ahead real-time market-based trading strategy. It is prompted by the incentives offered by the Chinese government for the ongoing power market reform. This strategy is developed for a microgrid system that integrates biomass power generation with other renewable energy sources. The principles followed by the microgrid system include self-generation and consumption, electricity surplus sales, and electricity shortfall procurement. During the day-ahead stage, peak and valley tariffs are decided by the microgrid operator to exert influence on the incentives of capacity providers in accordance with the load trends, while in the intraday stage, the supply-demand imbalance is resolved by the stored electricity. In the trading process, marginal production and marginal pricing are specified to ensure the minimum trading volume and price for capacity traders, ensuring their profitability. It is demonstrated in this study that the trading strategy presented is more effective than conventional fixed-price trading in making biomass power generation profitable and sustainable, even after the Chinese government subsidy is phased out. Moreover, the other participant in the microgrid system can boost their earnings when compared to generating power individually for trading.

Combined resource utilization of ash from biomass power generation and wheat straw biochar for soil remediation

The lack of power resources leads to the rapid development of biomass power generation. Biomass power generation technology can not only rationally utilize biomass resources, but also alleviate energy crisis. But if this biomass ash is not handled properly, indiscriminate dumping can cause serious environmental problems such as dust, air and water pollution. The purpose of this study was to use the basic physical and chemical properties of biomass waste ash and biochar to evaluate the effects of mixed uses on soil pH、heavy metal remediation and plant growth. Plant growth was undertaken using ryegrass to examine the potential value of an ash-biochar mixture to ameliorate soil acidity and heavy metal pollution. The special fertilizer for rice was prepared by adding ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, potassium chloride, and urea to the ash and biochar. The results showed that the mixed use of ash and biochar could ameliorate soil acidification, reduce the absorption of cadmium and lead by the plants (43 % and 35 %, respectively), and promote plant growth. Determining of its total nutrients, soluble phosphorus, nitrate nitrogen, and particle size supported that it fell within the high concentration fertilizer range of the national standard for compound fertilizers. The special fertilizer can be used as high quality fertilizer to promote crop growth. In-depth research on the treatment and recycling of biomass power generation waste ash has an essential effect on reducing secondary environmental pollution and waste recycling .It can reduce random dumping, thereby reducing dust, air and water pollution. This was conducted to provide a reference for the preparation of soil amendments and to develop a better amendment and high-quality special fertilizer for rice with biomass waste ash and biochar.

A Nexus-Based Impact Assessment of Rapid Transitions of the Power Sector: The Case of Greece

Power system transformation can unleash wide-ranging effects across multiple, frequently interlinked dimensions such as the environment, economy, resource systems, and biodiversity. Consequently, assessing the multidimensional impacts of power system transformation, especially under rapid transitions, has become increasingly important. Nonetheless, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to applying such an analysis to a Mediterranean country facing structural socioeconomic challenges. This paper explores the potential multifaceted implications of rapidly decarbonizing the Greek power sector by 2035, focusing on the local-level consequences. The evaluation criteria encompass the cost-optimal power mix, power costs, land use, biomass utilization, GDP, and employment. In this effort, a technology-rich cost optimization model representing Greece’s power sector is linked to a global Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) macroeconomic model focusing on the Greek economy. The results indicate that a fast decarbonization of the Greek power sector could trigger positive socioeconomic consequences in the short- and medium-term (GDP: +1.70, employees: +59,000 in 2030), although it may induce negative long-term socioeconomic effects due to increased capital investment requirements. Additionally, the impact on land use may only be trivial, with the potential to decrease over time due to the de-escalation of biomass power generation, thereby reducing the risk of harming biodiversity.

Bringing to light a new energy path: the case of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

In Brazil, more than 55% of the energy comes from hydroelectricity, making the system highly vulnerable in the context of global climate change, with precipitation and temperature shifts over the years. Characterised by its multiple opportunities in sources and conversion technologies for energy, biomass has a high potential to become responsible for a relevant share of the renewable energy supply. Previous studies on biomass energy production in Brazil confirm promising results. This paper highlights possibilities for biomass power generation in Minas Gerais State. To estimate energy productivity, a Sustainable Technical Coefficient was adopted: a conservative index that considers the portion of residues that could be used to maintain the integrity of the soil. This index was applied with the data on silviculture and selected crop yields. The local energy demand was also calculated and compared to the potential energy production. Results show that 78% of the municipalities could have their basic energy needs and 18% of the demand for productive uses met by crop residues and silviculture production. For the state of Minas Gerais, with its tradition of agriculture, biomass residual energy is viable and should be considered by policymakers.

Research on an Investment Decision Model of Waste Incineration Power under Demand Guarantee Policies

In order to encourage social capital to sustainably enter waste incineration power generation projects, policy-makers propose demand guarantee policies to ensure the fundamental interests of social capital. Nowadays, demand guarantee policies in China are artificially set based on industry experience and similar biomass power generation projects but lack theoretical support, thus bringing pitfalls to sustainable development. To address this issue, this paper constructs a decision model under the Real Option Approach to obtain investment triggers and guarantee level. Under lower, upper and bidirectional demand guarantee policies, this paper compares three Real Option models considering uncertain factors. The results show that demand guarantee policies usually have an excess guarantee phenomenon that affects long-term interests, and the lower demand guarantee policy can most effectively promote social capital to invest. Policy-makers can choose appropriate policies based on their demands or adjust existing guarantee policies to avoid the excessive guarantees phenomenon and attract social capital to invest in waste incineration.

Biomass co-fired combined cycle with hydrogen production via proton exchange membrane electrolysis and waste heat recovery: Thermodynamic assessment

The application of renewable energy sources such as biomass for power generation is becoming increasingly important, as is hydrogen production for use as a fuel or for other purposes. A novel combined cycle based on a gas turbine is proposed for a fixed power output of 10 MW using biomass as a co-fuel with natural gas, and integrated with hydrogen production via a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer. This combined cycle consists of two bottoming cycles: organic Rankine and steam Rankine. These allocate the generated power to the electrolyzer for hydrogen production. Energy and exergy analyses of the proposed cycle are performed to better understand it and its behavior. The produced hydrogen can be either sold in the marketplace for a variety of uses or injected into the combustion chamber. These two possibilities are considered two layouts of the system, for purposes of comparison. Hydrogen injection reduces natural gas consumption by around 33% and lowers CO2 emissions by around 11%, in addition to other environmental benefits, while hydrogen injection lowers the system exergy destruction and loss rates by around 2% and 19%, respectively. System energy and exergy efficiencies of around 58% and 52% respectively are determined for the hydrogen production layout and of 51% and 45% respectively are determined for the hydrogen injection layout.

Characteristics of trace elements and potential environmental risks of the ash from agricultural straw direct combustion biomass power plant

The rapid expansion of biomass power generation has resulted in a large amount of ash, which need to be treated urgently. The trace elements in ash also have environmental risks during treatment. Therefore, the essential characteristics and potential environmental risks of biomass ash generated by direct combustion of agricultural straw were studied. The leaching characteristics of elements, including major elements (Mg, K, Ca) and trace elements (V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, As, Pb and Ba), in fly ash and slag produced by biomass power plant were analyzed through the static leaching experiments of simulating the possible pH value of natural water in the laboratory. The results show that the trace elements are enriched in fly ash and slag, which may be related to the volatility of elements during combustion. And during the leaching test, the leaching concentration of major and trace elements in fly ash is higher than that in slag. Sequential chemical extraction is used to reveal the occurrence forms of trace elements in biomass ash. Except for residue, Mn, Co, Zn, Cd, and Pb in fly ash mainly exist in carbonate bound, V and As are Fe–Mn oxides bound, and Cr, Ni, Cu, and Ba are mainly organic matter bound. In the slag, Cd is mainly carbonate bound, Cu is mainly organic matter bound, while other elements are mainly Fe–Mn oxides bound. The Risk Assessment Code values calculated based on the existing forms of elements show that As and Cd in slag and Mn, Co, Pb and Cd in fly ash need special attention during utilization. The research results can provide reference for the management and utilization of biomass ash.

Estimation of renewable biogas energy potential from livestock manure: A case study of India

The rationale of the case study is to estimate biomass resources potential in rural Haryana, India from animal manure and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The state has the potential of 52.29 million tons of livestock dung which generates a biogas of 5464.11 million m3 and electrical energy of 9835.4 GWh annually. Assessment of biogas equivalence of traditional fuels is also carried out. The state has a biofertilizer potential of 6.78 million tons/year. The biomass resource distribution, power density, and electricity per-capita potential of livestock manure are projected to be 27.41 kton/km2, 0.59 W/m2, and 387.96 kWh/capita respectively. Biomass power generation leads to an estimated saving of 1707.08 to 3583.73 million kg/year, with a baseline headline of 2560.32 million kg/year CO2equivalent emissions, from transition to local livestock biomass in place of diesel for power. These findings can assist policy planners in decentralized bioenergy generation and map emission profiles with bioenergy.

Impacts of biomass power generation on ambient air quality–evidence from China

ABSTRACT With deteriorating air pollution and climate change, generating power with cleaner technologies to meet energy demand of economic development has become a crucial policy consideration globally. Biomass power generation, despite being cleaner than coal power generation, still emits certain air pollutants that can impact ambient air quality. On the other hand, biomass power plants might mitigate air pollution by reducing open-field crop burning. With this counteracting in play, it is unclear which effect is dominant and how biomass power generation affects ambient air quality eventually. We build a unique spatially high-resolution dataset for 20-km-radius circles, considering both regions with biomass power plants and those without, to explore the impacts of biomass power generation on air quality in nearby regions. By applying panel and canonical difference-in-differences models with various model specifications and estimation strategies, we demonstrate that biomass power generation in China significantly reduces ambient annual concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and CO. The impacts on NO2 reduction could only be observed in summer, when open-field burnings decreased substantially. The impacts on PM2.5 could be observed in both summer and fall. No seasonal pattern is observed for the reductions in PM10, SO2, and CO concentrations.

Assessment of bioenergy and syngas generation in India based on estimation of agricultural residues

India possesses a huge potential in biomass power generation to reduce dependency on fossil fuel imports. Of the available biomass sources, crop residues are particularly interesting as they dispersed resources with varying spatiotemporal availability and features. These residues also have competing applications which differ geographically. In India, state-wise crop-level biomass databases are found to be scarce, and local biomass records are critical to implement decentralized bioenergy projects. The main objective of this study is to critically assess the potential of agricultural crop residues, their subsequent bioenergy, and the syngas production potential in all of India’s regions (28 states and 8 UTs). 43 major crop residues produced from 28 different crops produced in different regions of India were taken for this study, considering their recent crop production statistics for the year 2017-18 and following standard estimation procedures. The syngas production potential was estimated using a Python gasification model using input parameters from the literature.Overall, 869.11 MT of gross residue is generated annually, with 288.14 MT (33.15%) of surplus residue. In terms of surplus crop residue, Uttar Pradesh produces the most surplus residue (57.72 MT) and sugarcane ranks first with a national potential of 62.68 MT. For the 2017-18 fiscal year, the bioenergy production potential from surplus crop residue was estimated to be 4.88 EJ. This syngas generation potential is determined to be 37.64% of India’s gross residual potential. Upgrading this quantity of syngas via, for example, methanol (MeOH) synthesis is expected to provide 81.7905 MT of MeOH with an equivalent energy content of 1.85 EJ.

Main Problems Faced by Biomass Coupling Power Generation Metering

Carry out in-depth research on the electricity metering project of the biomass gasification coupled power generation project of Hubei Huadian Xiangyang Power Generation Co., Ltd., and upgrade the existing metering capacity based on the requirements of the power industry standard "Calculation of biomass energy from coal-fired coupled biomass power generation Part 1: Gasification coupling of agricultural and forestry waste residues" to form a complete, accurate and advanced electricity metering capacity. In view of the shortcomings of the hardware and software of the current electricity metering, we will improve and upgrade them one by one. In this plan, the existing biomass energy and electricity metering system is planned to be modified by replacing the sampling system, pre-treatment system, adding missing parameters of the analyzer, adding power measuring points, replacing gas, steam and condensate flow meters, and arranging explosion-proof cabins.

Life Cycle Assessment of Power Generation from Imported Woody Biomass Fuels

With the promotion of woody biomass power generation in Japan, wood fuel imports have increased yearly. However, the environmental impact of the transportation process is expected to increase compared to procuring the fuel domestically. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the environmental impact of biomass power generation using imported woody fuel. Human health, ecosystem, and global warming were evaluated using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method under four scenarios: three scenarios for importing woody fuel and one scenario for procuring woody fuel domestically. The results reveal that replacing heavy oil with liquefied natural gas (LNG) or ammonia as ship fuel at the time of importation could reduce the environmental impact to the same level or up to 86% compared to the case wherein wood fuel is procured domestically. Thus, using next-generation vessels to import wood fuel and generate biomass power effectively reduces environmental impact. Furthermore, the use of wood fuel—a renewable energy source whose generation can be adjusted—should be promoted toward achieving carbon neutrality.

Assessment of biomass energy barriers towards sustainable development: Application of Pythagorean fuzzy AHP

Biomass has the dual benefit of promoting economic expansion and protecting the environment. Sugarcane bagasse, animal manure, and kitchen waste are some of the sources of biomass waste that are abundant in Pakistan. However, achieving renewable energy goals while relying on Pakistani road plans is riddled with difficulties. In contrast, there is a significant research gap in examining the barriers to biomass energy development using the multiple‐criteria decision‐making technique. This study aims to fill a knowledge gap by applying the Pythagorean fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to the problem of how to overcome the barriers to expanding Pakistan's biomass power generation. The results reveal that the political and policies/institutions are the most noteworthy obstacle with a weight of 0.2281 and follow the economics and financial, meteorological, technology and infrastructure, and cultural and behavioural hurdles stand second to fifth places, respectively. In addition, the analyses demonstrate that political instability is the most important sub‐obstacle, possessing a global weight of 0.0471. According to the study's outcome, it is suggested that decision‐makers, stakeholders, and regulatory agencies coordinate their efforts to ensure the availability of appropriate incentives, boost feedstock supply, and offer locals training to speed up the Pakistan biomass industry's presently sluggish growth.

Impacts of Government Policies on the Adoption of Biomass Power: A System Dynamic Perspective

As a kind of renewable energy, biomass power has great development potential in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, under the background of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, the diffusion of biomass power generation technology has practical significance. To address these issues, this paper constructs a system dynamics model to study the impact of different policy effects on the diffusion of biomass power generation technologies. The results show that the feed-in tariff policy can significantly promote the installed capacity growth of biomass power generation projects; on the other hand, carbon emission trading increases the investment value of projects and promotes the growth of the installed capacity of biomass power generation projects, to a certain extent, so relevant policies need to be improved to achieve the promotion of biomass power generation technology in the future.