What is Biomass Gasification Power Plant?

Biomass power plants are industrial facilities that convert organic matter into usable energy. These energy production facilities consist of combustion units, boilers, turbines or engines (prime movers), generators and chimneys.

The basic principle of biomass gasification system?

producing flammable gas from agriculture, forestry, and wood-processing waste (such as rice husk, wood flour, tree branches, offcuts, maize stalks, straw stalks, wheat stalks, cotton stalks, fruit shells, coconut shells, palm shells, bagasse, corn cobs, etc.).

What is the biomass power generation process?

The process of converting chemical energy from fuel into electrical energy is known as biomass power generation. Chemical energy is converted into steam thermal potential energy, mechanical energy, electrical energy, and finally electrical energy.

Boiler, turbine, and generator are the three main pieces of machinery. The boiler transforms the chemical energy of the biomass fuel into steam’s thermal energy. The thermal energy is transformed into mechanical power for the turbine in the turbine. The mechanical energy is transformed into electrical energy in the generator.

Circulation of air and ash: A strong induced draft fan draws air into the air preheater. The hot air is supplied partially to the furnace for burning and partially to the silo for drying and transporting feed powder. Heat is transferred to the working medium and air as the hot smoke passes through the U-shaped flue and is drawn in by the induced draft fan. The dust collector cleans the flue gas before releasing it into the atmosphere. The solid ash slag created when the heavy ash slag falls into the hopper at the bottom of the furnace chamber is discharged into the ash ditch by the discharge device. Additionally, the fly ash is removed by the flue gas, which is separated by the dust collector and sent to the ash trench.

Main steam and condensate circulation: The coal saver receives the water and boils it almost to saturation. The hot water is subsequently heated by the evaporator and converted to saturated steam. The heater then converts it into main steam, often known as superheated steam. The generator is powered by the steam turbine, which receives the main steam. The condenser is where the leftover steam from the steam turbine is transformed into water. It’s known as primary condensate. The low pressure heater receives a pumping of the main condensate. The turbine pumps some of the condensate out, and the deaerator uses some of it to purge the water of dissolved oxygen.The pretreated supplementary water is mixed with the main condensate in the deaerator. They are pumped to the high pressure heater. The turbine extracts some of the steam for heat and sends it to the boiler. This forms a thermodynamic cycle. The circulating water pump sends the cooling water to the condenser, forming a circulating cooling water system.

The above process includes the delivery and combustion of fuel, the handling and discharge of ash, slag and flue gas, the conversion of thermal energy to mechanical and electrical energy, and the circulation of make-up water. The whole process is accomplished through the association of boiler, turbine and motor.

What organic materials are used as biomass for power generation?

Biomass power plants use a variety of organic materials as biomass feedstock, including wood, agricultural crops and residues, food processing byproducts, organic waste from municipal landfills, and human and animal manure.

• Wood biomass:
  As was already noted, the main fuel source for the generation of biomass energy is wood and byproducts obtained from wood. For instance, wood will make up 46% of the biomass fuel supply in the United States in 2020. The most prevalent types of woody biomass include trash, sawdust, and logs and wood chips from paper mills.
• Biomass from farming:
  Biomass fuels are also mostly derived from plant-based agricultural waste products and residues. By-products of food processing and crops including corn, soybeans, and sugar cane are frequently used as fuel sources for biomass power plants. Another agricultural residue used as biomass for energy production is animal manure.
• Biomass from sewage and landfills:
  Electricity is produced by biomass power plants using organic waste from municipal landfills. Garden waste, paper, wool, and cotton are examples of this bio-organic content. Even some biomass facilities that generate electricity using municipal sewage systems’ human waste.
• Buying and managing biomass fuel:
  Biomass power plants need reliable access to the proper kind and amount of organic materials in order to produce electricity reliably and efficiently. Organic materials can be erratic in their availability. To guarantee that biomass power plants have a consistent and sufficient supply of high quality biomass, a lot of planning and work is needed. Another crucial component of managing and operating a biomass power plant is the transportation, storage, and preparation of organic materials. Biomass power plants need a lot of organic material for fuel. Therefore, in order to store biomass in excellent condition, these facilities need a large-scale infrastructure and meticulous administration.

How efficient are biomass power plants?

The kind and quality of the biomass fuel, the type of conversion process, and the type of power plant are only a few of the variables that affect how efficient biomass power generation is.

1.Biomass power plants typically have an energy conversion efficiency of between 20 and 85%.

2.Direct-fired biomass power plants have a 20 percent or so energy conversion efficiency. Direct combustion biomass power plants, which produce both electricity and heat, can achieve conversion efficiencies of up to 80%.

3.Because pyrolysis is a more precise and controlled conversion process and uses energy-dense organic materials as biomass fuel, pyrolysis-based biomass power plants are more effective than direct combustion plants.

According to one study, rice husk converts to pyrolysis at an 89 percent rate whereas chicken dung and rice do so at an 84 percent rate.

Anaerobic digestion in biomass power plants may also effectively transform organic materials into usable electricity. Power plants using anaerobic digestion have an energy conversion efficiency of roughly 75%.

In contrast, a coal-fired power plant’s greatest energy conversion efficiency is around 45 percent. This means that biomass power plants are generally significantly more efficient at producing electricity than coal-fired power plants, making them not just more environmentally friendly.

What is the significance of biomass power generation?

Utilizing biomass power generation helps ease the dilemma of energy scarcity and lower energy expenditures. A new business, biomass power generation, has the potential to boost economic growth locally. It also offers two additional advantages.

1.Sensible agricultural waste disposal

Wheat, corn, cotton husk, rice husk, and waste from the processing of wood are the main raw materials used in biomass power plants. They boost farmers’ revenue while reducing open burning and conserving coal resources.

2. Alleviate environmental pollution

Biomass fuels are a kind of renewable energy. They can replace some fossil fuels and reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and flue gas emissions of biomass power plants are lower than those of coal. Many European countries provide subsidies for biomass power plants, aiming to reduce pollution emissions. Policy support will promote the development of biomass power generation.