Lecture 4

Sustainable Energy
Technology
-Biomass-
KQK7012
Dr. Muhammad Khairi Faiz
Outline
➢ Introduction
1. Energy Context
2. Biomass as Renewable Energy Resources
➢ Bioenergy production overview
1. Feedstocks Analysis
2. Biomass to energy routes (1st / 2nd / 3rd gen biofuels)
➢ Conversion Technologies
1. Thermochemical Processes
2. Bio-chemical Processes
3. Chemical Processes
Introduction

bi·o·fuel

Can be described as a fuel, such as biogas, bioethanol or

biodiesel, that is produced from renewable resources, especially
plant biomass, vegetable oils, or treated municipal and
industrial wastes.
Introduction – Energy Context
• World population is rising (8.3 billion by 2030)

Global energy use increase

• GHG emissions to the atmosphere (especially CO2)

• Renewable energy offer a good mechanism to reduce

carbon emissions.

Meet the requirements

(Sustainability)
Introduction
Biomass as a renewable resource

• Biomass is biological organic matter derived from living or recently-living organisms

• Bioenergy is the energy contained (stored) in biomass
• Biomass is an extremely important energy source, available nearly everywhere
• Biomass encompasses a large variety of materials, including wood from various
sources, agricultural and industrial residues, and animal and human waste
• Two forms of biomass
• Raw: forestry products, grasses, crops, animal manure, and aquatic products
(seaweed)
• Secondary: materials that undergone significant changes from raw biomass.
Paper, cardboard, cotton, natural rubber products, and used cooking oils
Introduction
How Biomass gets its energy
Example of Bioethanol Production
 Feedstock Potential Evaluation
What are the critical factors that must be considered in evaluating/comparing feedstocks?

Supply
factors Resources
Technical
factors

Agroclimatic
factors Feedstocks Economic
factors
Sustainability

Biofuel Feedstocks and Production

Feedstock Potential Evaluation
Bioenergy Production Overview
 Bioenergy / Biofuels
• Bioenergy is the energy retrieved from biomass sources. It is the largest used
renewable energy resource in the world.
• Large bioenergy potential: Biomass resource is widely available and diversified:
Livestock waste, Municipal and Industrial effluents (paper, plastic, food, …etc.), Poultry
waste, Sewage sludge.
• Bioenergy is a significant mean for waste disposal to prevent environmental
pollution and allow economic stability.
• Main Technologies:
– Biogas based power plant technology.
– Gasification power plant technology.
– Biodiesel and Bioethanol Plants technology.
Bioenergy Production Routes
Conversions Technologies

1. Thermochemical Processes
2. Bio-chemical Processes
3. Chemical Processes
 Thermochemical Processes

In thermochemical conversion pathways,

bonds between adjacent carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen molecules are
broken down to release their stored
chemical energy that was stored during
the process of photosynthesis.

Thermochemical conversion includes

combustion, pyrolysis, liquefaction, and
gasification.
Thermochemical conversion options
 Thermal Conversion of Biomass
DOES NOT MAKE OIL!
Oils
“Bio-Oils”
 Pyrolysis – liquid (bio-oil) and solid
(biochar) products

• Fast & Slow Pyrolysis

• Vacuum & High Pressure Pyrolysis
• Liquefaction (very hot solvents)

Food is biomass and cooking food

often biomass pyrolysis, especially
when you are browning things
 Fast & Slow Pyrolysis

Faster heating rates make more liquids (bio-oil) and

slower heating rates make more solids (biochar)
Vacuum & High Pressure Pyrolysis

High pressures make higher quality liquids (bio-

oil), but lower pressures make more liquids.
Supercritical & Solvent Liquefaction Pyrolysis
Torrefaction and Biochars
Pyrolysis can make a variety of valuable products
we use regularly – like potting soil
 Gasification
Pyrolysis → liquid and solid
Gasification → Gas !!

•Conversion of solid biomass into

combustible gas mixture called
producer gas (CO + H2 + CH4)
in presence of limited (O2/air)
•Involves partial combustion of
biomass (controlled combustion)
•Four distinct process in the gasifier

26

Basic Process Chemistry schematic

 Gasification
Producer Gas Characteristics

Component Rice Husk Woody Biomass

CO 15-20% 15-20%
H2 10-15% 15-20%
CH4 Up to 4% Up to 3%
N2 45-55% 45-50%
CO2 8-12% 8-12%
Gas C.V. (kcal/Nm3) Above 1050 Above 1100
Gas generated in Nm3/kg 2 2.5
of biomass
 Gasification
Gasification Methods
Gasifier Types – Updraft Gasifier
Gasifier Types – Downdraft Gasifier
Gasifier Types – Twin-fire Gasifier
Gasifier Types – Crossdraft Gasifier
Example of gasification unit in UK
 Biochemical Processes
Based on breaking down the cellulosic part of the organic fraction of the
waste stream → vegetables, fruits, paper products, and yard vegetation.

Involves use of bacteria, microorganisms and enzymes to breakdown

biomass into gaseous or liquid fuels, such as biogas or bioethanol.

The most popular biochemical technologies are;

• Anaerobic digestion (or bio-methanation)
• Fermentation (anaerobic/aerobic)
Anaerobic Digestion

AD is a series of biological processes in which microorganisms breakdown biodegradable

material in the absence of oxygen.

End-products of the processes:

• Biogas: a mixture of CH4 and CO2 mainly which is combusted to generate electricity
and/or heat or processed into renewable natural gas and transportation fuel
• Digested solid: residue from the digester, can be composted and applied as land
amendment or used for dairy bedding
• Nutrients: residue from liquid digestate, used in agriculture as fertilizer

Various feedstock can be used:

Livestock manure, municipal wastewater solids, food waste, industrial wastewater and
residuals, fats, and other organic waste streams
Anaerobic Digestion Principle

Initial hydrolysis of particulate matter

and larger molecules

Fermentation (acidogenesis) →
(formation of acids) generating
primarily acetate but also other
Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA)

Acetogenesis (formation of acetate) →

Hydrogen is used as an electron
acceptor

Methanogenesis
Acetate → CO2+ CH4 (major pathway
app. 70%)
4H2 + CO2 → CH4 + 2H2O
 Anaerobic Digestion
Biogas properties

Biogas potential of some biomass substrate

Type of biomass Biogas yield [m3/t]

Beef slurry 25
Dairy waste 55
Cuttings from beef 75
Green waste 110
Biowaste 120
Fresh fat 400
Old fat 800
Anaerobic Digestion
Biogas properties
 Anaerobic Digestion
Typical Biogas Power Plant
Tennamaram 1.6MW Biogas Power Plant, Bestari Jaya, Selangor → Utilize waste palm biomass
 Anaerobic Digestion
Schematic of a typical agricultural AD system
Swine manure

Higher methane
production
Anaerobic Digestion
 Fermentation
Prepared waste stream is mixed with water and sulfuric acid in a closed reactor vessel.
This causes a reaction that in conjunction with common bacteria already in the waste
breaks down the material into sugar compounds and a by-product known as lignin.

The resulting sugar compounds and water are

sent to a fermentation unit where yeast is
added.

The yeast reacts with the sugars to convert

them to alcohol. The alcohol mixture is then
heated and distilled to remove the solids.
 Fermentation
Bioethanol production process
 Fermentation
Bioethanol production flow diagram

Feedstock: corn, wheat, sugarcane, rice, potato, …

Bacteria > Yeast
Bacteria grow faster,
produce a much wider
suite of products, eat
more things and can live
in a wider range of
conditions
 Chemical Processes
Where biofuels are made through chemical reactions

Biodiesel production is the process of producing the biofuel, biodiesel,

through the chemical reactions of transesterification and esterification.

This involves vegetable or animal fats and oils being reacted with short-
chain alcohols (typically methanol or ethanol).

The alcohols used should be of low molecular weight.

 Biodiesel

 Mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids that derived from vegetable oils or animal
fats which conform to ASTM D6751 specifications for use in diesel engines.
 Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) or Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester (FAEE)
 Can be blended with petroleum diesel at any concentration: 6% to 20% (B6–B20)

CH3
H3C
Ordinary diesel (C16) H3C O
CH3
O

Biodiesel (C16) O
H2C
O CH3
O

HC
O CH3

O Vegetable oil or Triglyceride

H2C
O CH3
Chemical Reaction For Biodiesel Production
O O
Acid Catalyst
R
1
C O H + H O R R
1
C O R + H2O
Esterification Reaction
O O
1 1
H2C O C R H3C O C R
H2C OH
O O
2 Catalyst 2
HC O C R +3 H3C OH HC OH + H3C O C R
O O
3 H2C OH 3
H2C O C R H3C O C R

Triglyceride Methanol (3 mole) Glycerol Methylester (3 mole)

Transesterification Reaction

R= Small alkyl groups , R1, R2, R3 = Fatty acid chains

 Reaction conditions
✓ Degumming
Pure Biodiesel
• 3% v/v of H3PO4
• 60°C temp.
• 30 minutes
Steps of biodiesel Chemical drying and filtration • Separation
production process ✓ Esterification
Glycerin separation and evaporation • Methanol
of methanol • Acid Catalyst (H2SO4)
• reaction temp.
Transesterification & separation • 3 h reaction time
✓ Transesterification
Esterification & Separation • Methanol
• Base Catalyst (NaOH, KOH)
Pretreatment (Preheating, Degumming ) • reaction temp.
• 2 h reaction time
Property testing of crude oil
Bioethanol and Biodiesel Blends– Why are they important today?

Easy To Use → No vehicle modifications or special fueling equipment (Up to B20 and E20) — just
pump and go

Power, Performance and Economy → Proven performance and economy make biodiesel a renewable
winner.

Emissions & Greenhouse Gas Reduction → With lower exhaust emissions biodiesel and ethanol are
helping to reduce pollution and improve health. Lower CO2 emissions help reduce the impacts of
global warming.

Energy Balance & Security → Self production and use at home, helps reduce the need for foreign oil.

Toxicity, Biodegradability, Safety & Recycling → Less toxic than table salt, has minimal environmental
impact. With a high flash point, biodiesel is safer to handle and store than petroleum diesel. When
made from used oils and fats, biodiesel helps ensure proper recycling of former waste products.

Economic Development → Helps communities by keeping energy dollars at home.

Bioethanol and Biodiesel Blends– Why are they important today?
Bioethanol and Biodiesel Blends– Why are they important today?
Bioethanol and Biodiesel Blends– Why are they important today?

According to the CSIRO, E10 fuel has between 2 to 5% lower CO2 emissions than regular unleaded petrol.

Exact greenhouse gas emissions reductions depend upon the ethanol fuel feedstock and source of energy
used to produce the ethanol (that is, to run the fermentation and refining facility).
MAS flight MH7979, on the Airbus 330-200
aircraft, flew from AMS to KUL. This flight was
loaded with a blend of nearly 38% SAF made
from used cooking oil, and conventional jet fuel.
Bio-Hydrogen… The ultimate fuel of the future?
Moving Forward…

It is not yet clear whether the green fuel currently available is the wave of
the future or merely an interim step on the journey away from fossil fuel
use.

Governments around the world are devoting enormous resources to the

research of clean, sustainable fuels to replace the pollutant and quickly
disappearing oil reserves used today.

Green fuel may not be a perfect solution to the problems of oil need and
global protection, but it remains an important innovation that may pave
the way to a better future.