3:31 BB®” @ TF al < DOC-20230831-W... &% oe all 24% 8 Q } 5.3. BIOMASS '* What is biomass? In what form, biomass can be used? Biomass is organic or carbon-based material that can either react with oxygen for combustion ‘or undergo metabolic process to release heat Biomass can be used as such in its original form. More often, it is transformed to more convenient and useful form, thereby forming solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. 5.3.1 Biofuels ‘+ What are the different forms of biomass available as biofuels? The biofuels can be fuelwood, charcoal, fuel pellets, bioethanol, biogas, producer gas and biodiesel 1OB__NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES Fuel wood It is the most common source of biomass energy. Direct combustion is the simplest way to obtain heat energy, It has energy density of about 16-20 Mi/kg, Charcoal It is obtained by carbonization of woody biomass. This helps in providing higher energy density per unit mass of about 30 MJ/kg. Charcoal can burn without generating smoke, Fuel pellets Fuel pellets are formed from crop residues such as straw or rice husk which are pressed into solid mass. Bioethanol It is derived from wet biomass containing sugars from sugarcane, starches from grains and potatoes or cellulose from woody matters. Ethanol (C.H,OH) is a colourless liquid biofuel with boiling point of 78°C and energy density of 26.9 Mi/kg. Biogas Biogas is the gascous fuel obtained from biomass (organic waste from plants, animals and humans) by means of anaerobic digestion or fermentation. The anaerobic digestion process can be profitably applied to any wet organic matters. Anacrobes are microorganisms or bacteria found to live and grow in organic matter at the temperature of less than 60° in presence of moisture but in the absence of air or oxygen. The anaerobic organism consumes oxygen which it obtains from decomposition of organic matters. Decomposition of the organic matters by anaerobic microorganism is called digestion or fermentation. The biogas is liberated from the organic matters during digestion or fermentation. The biogas produced by digestion contains (i) methane gas (CH,) 65-75%, (ii) carbon dioxide gas (CO,) 25-35% and (iii) small traces of nitrogen, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and other gases. The biogas has energy density of about 23 Mi/m*. It can be used for cooking, lighting, heating and operating small IC engines Producer gas Its obtained by gasification of solid fuels. In this, woody matter (crop residue, wood chips, rice husk, coconut shell and sugarcane residue) is converted into producer gas by thermochemical method which is infact the partial combustion and reduction operation of biomass. The producer gas has 19% carbon monoxide, 18% hydrogen, 1% methane, 11% carbon dioxide and the rest remaining nitrogen. The producer gas is used for IC engines for running pumps, motor vehicles, heating and generation of steam in a small-scale power plant. diesel It is produced by blending of vegetable oils, with normal diesel to obtain cheaper version of diesel engine fuel. Besides vegetable oils, certain hydrocarbons having molecular weight equal to that of petroleum and that are obtainable as by-products from certain plants can also be used for blending purpose. Il O <3:32 FOB SATE all ll 24% 8 < DOC-20230831-W. 102% BloGas 109 5.3.2 Biomass Resources ‘© What are the biomass resources for the production of biomass energy? ‘The biomass resources include organic materials obtainable from forest, agriculture, aqua culture and organic waste residue from industrial and social activities. Forests Forests (natural or cultivated) are source of fuel wood. charcoal and producer gas. Forest waste and residues from forest processing plants can be used as biomass. Certain plants produce sceds to yicld vegetable oils which can also be used in biofuels. Agriculture residues Straw, rice husk, groundnut shell, coconut shell and sugarcane bagasse are crop residues which are the main biomass resources. The crop residues are generally gasified to obtain producer gas. The crop residues are also converted into fuel pellets to be used as solid fuels. Energy crops Energy crops are those cultivations which provide raw materials for biofuels, These include (i) sugar plants to provide bioethanol, (ii) starch plants (tubular plants and grains) to produce bioethanol and (iii) oil producing plants (sunflower, palm oil, groundnut and cottonseeds) to produce biodiesel Urban waste Urban waste can be garbage or municipal solid waste (MSW) and sewage or liquid waste, Garbage can be burnt to obtain biomass energy while sewage has to be processed to obtain v biogass. Aquatic plants Certain aquatic or water plants are capable of growing extremely fast and supply organic raw materials for producing biogas. The fast growing water plants include water hyacinth, seaweed, algae and kelp. 5.3.3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Biomass Energy ‘+ What are advantages and disadvantages of biomass energy? Advantage () It is a renewable source. ii) It can be stored and used as per the requirement. (iit) It helps in waste management. (iv) It is an indigenous source of energy (v) It helps in economic development of rural areas. (si) It helps in improving sanitation in rural areas and towns. 110 _NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES (vii) It helps in providing fertilisers (viii) It provides economical use of vari of wastes and residues Disadvantages Ww (It has low energy density (ii) It is a labour intensive energy source (iii) Its production requires large land area Il O <3:33 BBB - GATE al Fu! 24%8 < DOC-20230831-W.. 4% Q © What is biogas? Biogas is the gascous fuel which is obtained from biomass by means of an anacrobic digestion or fermentation of wet organic matters. The biogas is a flammable gas. The composition of biogas includes 50-60% methane gas, 35-40% carbon dioxide, 5% hydrogen and a small amount of hydrogen sulphide and other gases. Methane and hydrogen gases form the combustible portion of biogas. The biogas has energy density of about 23 MJ/m*. It can be used for cookings, heating, lighting and running small IC engine. 5.4.1 Aerobic and Anaerobic Processes + Explain aerobic an anaerobic processes? The literary meaning of aerobic is any process taking place in the presence of air, while anacrobic means any process taking place in the absence of air or oxygen. It is the anacrobic process or digestion in biomass slurry which helps in converting biomass into biogas. The anaerobic digestion or fermentation in biomass slurry is started by a microorganism called anaerobe. The anaerobe microorganism grows on biomass at a temperature lower than 65°C in the presence of moisture but in the absence of air or oxygen. The microorganism anacrobe consumes oxygen for survival and growth which is obtained from the digestion or fermentation of the wet organic matter. During anaerobic digestion of wet biomass slurry, the biogas is liberated. Anaerobic bacteria are also called methane formers. 5.4.2 Anaerobic Digestion « Explain anaerobic digestion. or © Draw the schematic diagram of anaerobic digestion showing input materials and effluents. or © Write the basic chemical reaction, process and energetics involved in generation of biogas from biomass. or ¢ Explain the process of production of biogas from biomass. What are the main advantages of anaerobic digestion of biomass? BIOGAS 111 or What are the factors affecting the performance of biogas digeste! or What raw materials can be used for the production of biogas? or © How biomass conversion takes place? Dina tn anednna feowe ti lI O < havinn 00 0804 ws teat bee the Tentnsial antine3:34 BOB RTE ll $2 wll 24% OB < DOC-20230831-W.. 4% Q or © What are the factors affecting the performance of biogas digester? or © What raw materials can be used for the production of biogas? or * How biomass conversion takes place? Biogas is produced from biomass slurry having 90-95% water content by the bacterial action of microorganism called anaerobe. The carbon part of biomass is oxidized and the remaining is reduced to produce mainly methane gas (65-75%) and carbon dioxide (25-35%). These bacteria are found to live and grow without atmospheric oxygen as they produce themselves the needed oxygen by decomposing the biomass. The digestion or fermentation process of wet biomass by these bacteria is favoured by the factors such as wetness, warmness and darkness conditions. The general equation for anaerobic digestion is as follows: x H,0 = [+-2+2 } an 6 84 In case of cellulose, the equation is given by (C,Hg05), +2 H,O > 3n CO, + 3m CH, C,H,O, + ( 2 The airtight equipment used to convert the wet biomass into biogas by digestion or fermentation process is called biogas digester or plant which is properly constructed and controlled to favour biogas or methane production. The conversion process is called biodigestion or anaerobic fermentation and the output is methane or biogas. The residuals or nutrients such as soluble nitrogen compounds remaining in the wet biomass slurry provide or produce excellent natural fertilizers and humus. The biogas can provide 60-75% of the energy of the dry converted biomass during combustion. The biochemical process of converse in from biomass to biogas takes place in the followit three stages: (i) Hydrolysis of organic matter, The biomass (complex compounds of carbohydrates protein and fats) is broken due to the action of water (hydrolysis) into simpler soluble compounds. Similarly, large molecules (polymers) are reduced to basic molecules (monomers). The process is completed in a day at a temperature of about 25°C (ii) Anaerobic and faculative microorganisms. These bacteria start growing to produce acetic and propionic acids. The process is completed in a day at the temperature of 25°C. The output of the process is the production of carbon dioxide, (iii) Digestion. Anacrobic bacteria slowly digest the biomass slurry to produce biogas. The process is completed in 2 weeks at the temperature of about 25°C. Digester The anacrobic digester or plant is shown in Figure 5.1. Feed consists of organic material slurry prepared in mixing tank. Feed supply per day to the digester is called the loading rate 112 __NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES Organic material (biomass) slurry lI O <3:34 AO - RTE all $2 wll 24% B < DOC-20230831-W.. 4% Q 112__NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES Organic material (biomass) slurry — Biogas Digester [-F= Biomass slurry qa_) Digester digestion | Mixing furry) u tank as t t] | studge sie | bed 1 Pump Sludge Figure 5.1 Biogas digester or plant Neither overloading nor underloading of the digester is desirable as it reduces biogas production. ‘The acid forming bacteria grows rapidly, whereas methane forming bacteria (anacrobe) grows slowly. To obtain maximum biogas generation rate, seeding of digestion slurry with methane forming bacteria is done. This is achieved by adding certain portion of digested slurry to the fresh slurry. It is also possible to add nutrients containing nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, sulphur and carbon, which can also increase the anaerobic digestion rate. The recommended pH value for the digestion of biomass slurry is about to 7-8. Advantages of anaerobic digestion ei (i) It helps to obtain energy from discarded or waste matter. Otherwise, waste matter has to be disposed off with some additional cost. (ii) It helps to provide two main benefits which include fuel by biogas and fertilizer in the form of sludge. (iii) The process helps in conserving complete nitrogen content of the biomas. Hence, fertilizer produced as sludge is better in terms of both quantity and quality. (iv) It helps in the waste management of an industry such as dairy or milk processing plant with simultaneously meeting the energy requirement of the same industry. (v) It helps in the urban waste management such as municipal solid waste or garbage and sewage or liquid waste. The better management of urban waste improves the sanitation and hygiene in villages and towns (vi) Anaerobic digestion is carried out in the airtight enclosures. which helps in containing and controlling the odours of solid and liquid wastes, Digested slurry is completely odourless, Raw material for biogas The raw materials for biogas can be waste, cultivated material and harvested material. The waste includes industrial waste, agricultural crop residues and waste, animal waste, urban Il O <3:34 BOS « RTE ll $2 wll 24% OB < DOC-20230831-W.. (4 Q BIOGAS 113 waste, aqua waste and forest waste. Agricultural crops include rice, wheat and cereals while agricultural wastes include wheat straw, sugarcane biogasses, groundnut shell, coconut shell and rich husk. Animal wastes include cow dung, horse manure, sheep manure and poultry waste. Urban wastes include paper, leftover food, plastic, rubber, wood and textile. Aqua wastes include water plants (hyacinth), algac and waste from fishery. Forest wastes include waste from sugar mill, tannery, fruit processing industry and paper mill Factors affecting the performance of a digester The factors affecting the performance of a digester are as follow: i) (ii) (iii) (iv) () (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) (x) (xi) Temperature. Anacrobic bacteria grow and work best in the temperature range of 20-65°C. Pressure. A pressure of 6-10 cm of water column is considered ideal for proper functioning of the digester. Water. The presence of water helps in better mixing of various constituents of the biomass, hydrolysis of biomass, movement of bacteria and faster digestion process. The optimum solid content of biomass is 9-10%, pH value. The pH value in the acid forming stage of digestion process should be about 6 (acidic). During methane forming stage, the pH value should be about 6.5~7.5 as anacrobic bacteria do not grow in acidic solution. Feeding rate. A uniform feeding rate should be maintained. In case of faster feed, acids will accumulate to stop digestion process, In case of slow feed, the digestion progresses slowly due to non-availability of sufficient biomass. Presence of nutrients. Carbon, nitrogen and other nutrients are essential for digestion Carbon and nitrogen are main nutrients for anaerobic bacteria and their presence it proper ratio is essential to ensure the maximum microbiological activity. Selected raw materials should added to maintain the proper concentration of nutrients in digestion| solution of bacteria, Seeding. To start or accelerate the digestion process, it is customary to add a small amount of digested slurry containing methane forming bacteria to the freshly charged digester. This process is called seeding of bacteria. Mixing and stirring. Mixing and stirring of digester slurry helps to mix the floating masses of biomass in the slurry for bacterial action so as to speed up the methane forming process in the slurry Retention time. It is the duration for which the biomass slurry remains in the digester. The digesters are designed to keep biomass for the retention period ranging from 30 to 50 days depending on the region (climatic temperature) and type of biomass. Retention time is optimised to get atleast 70-80% of digestion of the slurry. Toxic substances. The presence of pesticides, detergents and ammonia in the biomass affects the digestion process Type of biomass. The digestion process also depends on the type of biomass. The biomass can be cow dung, poultry manure, sheep manure, night soil, rice husk, algae and water hyacinth and these have a different rate of biogas yield per unit mass. Il O <3:35 AOS 2 IE ll $B all 23% B < DOC-20230831-W.. 4% Q 114 _NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES 5.4.3 Classification of Biogas Plants * How are biogas plants classified? Explain them briefly. or + Name various models of biogas plants and describe any one of them. or * Write note on dome type biogas plant. or * Explain the availability and conversion theory of a biogas plant. or * Describe the factors that affect the size of a biogas plant, or + Explain the differences between fixed dome type and floating drum type biogas plants. or * Write the advantages and disadvantages of floating drum type and fixed dome type biogas plants. Biogas plants can be classified as batch type and continuous type. The continuous type biogas plants can be further classified as (i) floating drum or constant pressure type plant and (ii) fixed dome or constant volume type plant Batch type plant A batch type plant consists of a number of digesters which are charged, used and emptied one by one in a synchronous manner to maintain regular supply to gas holder or storage tank. Each digester is charged with fresh biomass and it starts supplying biogas after 8-10 days. The digester is now capable of supplying biogas for about 40-50 days till its biomass is completely digested. Afterwards, this digester is emptied and recharged with fresh biomass. Hence, cach digester should be charged in about at the interval of 50-60 days, Digesters in a batch biogas plant is shown in the Figure 5.2. The installation and operation of batch type plant is both capital and labour intensive. tGas Gas Floating Floating cover cover Gas holder Digester 1 Digester 2 Digester 3 Figure 5.2 Biogas batch type plant with a number of digesters and a gas holder, >| BIOGAS 115 Il O <3:35 BOO « QTE alll 23%8 < DOC-20230831-W.. @ Q eee BIOGAS 115 Continuous type biogas plant In continuous type biogas plant, a certain quantity of biomass slurry is fed daily into the digester. This is made possible by the removal of digested slurry through an outlet so that the digester can have space to intake fresh biomass slurry. The biogas produced is either stored in the digester or removed to be stored in a gas holder. The plant operates continuously and it is stopped only for the removal of sludge. The layer of scum at the top of the biomass slurry is periodically broken with the help of the stirrer as shown in Figure 5.3. The stirring also helps in better mixing of biomass slurry to speed up the digestion process. This type of plant is most suitable for individual house owners as the daily wastage can meet the biomass feed requirement of the digester. Stirrer Feed slurry GZ Sludge Le Figure $3 Continuous type biogas plant Floating drum type biogas plant ¥ The plant consists of an inverted metallic drum to function as gas holder and an underground digester constructed from masonry with a partition wall as shown in Figure 5.4. i= Gas Inlet |_— Digested ising i Gas sn] af slurry tank Gay Ye Masonry work SE Figure 5.4 Floating drum type biogas plant. nw 116 NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES Il O <3:35 AOS « RTE all $2 wll 23% OH < DOC-20230831-W.. 4% Q 116 NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES The digester chamber is provided with a partition wall at the centre so that optimum conditions for growth of acid forming bacteria and methane forming bacteria can be provided in the partitioned portions as biomass slurry should be acidic and basic for acid forming and methane forming bacteria, respectively. The pipe arrangements are provided to the digester for the supply of fresh feed of biomass slurry and the removal of digested slurry. As the digester has floating gas holder, the pressure inside the digester remains constant. There is no risk of explosion due to prevailing low pressure of gas. Fixed dome type biogas plant It has constant volume but varying pressure inside the digester as it has no movable type gas holder but a fixed dome at the upper portion of the digester as shown in Figure 5.5. The biomass and water are mixed into slurry in inlet mixing tank, which is fed into the digester through the inlet pipe. A stirrer is provided in the digester tank to mix the slurry inside the digester, which also helps in mixing of scum floating on the slurry. The generated biogas accumulates in the fixed dome of the digester and it is taken out by an outlel pipe. The residual digested slurry is taken out from an opening in the digester. In the modified fixed dome type biogas plant, a displacement tank is also provided which is connected to the digester. As the pressure of gas in the fixed dome increases, the level of the slurry inside the digester goes down and it forces the slurry to rise in the displacement tank. This arrangement helps in maintaining a constant pressure inside the digester about | m of water column and the removal of digested slurry from the displacement tank. Stirrer Cover —+ Gas Inlet = Cover mixing! . tank - a Level of slurry rises Displacement Figure 5.5 Fixed dome type biogas plant Comparison of floating drum and fixed dome types of plants The comparison of floating drum and fixed dome biogas plants is given in Table 5.1. Il O <3:35 BOO « < DOC-20230831-W.. @ RTE al $2 all 23% OB Q BIOGAS 117 TABLE 5.1 Comparison of floating drum and fixed dome plants Floating drum Fixed dome It has constant pressure in the digester ‘The pressure in the digester is slightly more than the atmospheric pressure No danger of explosion of gas as pressure in the digester is low No danger of leakage of gas Cost is more due to floating steel drum provision Corrosion of steel floating drum is likely More maintenance needed due to sliding metallic drum Gas production is high due to lower pressure in the digester Installation is simple It has constant volume in the digester ‘The pressure inside the digester can be as high as 1 m of water column Danger of explosion exists as pressure is high Due to high pressure there is danger of leakage of gas Less costly No such danger Less maintenance needed Low production of gas Installation is difficult. Advantages and disadvantages of floating drum type biogas plant The advantages are as follow: (i) Higher gas production per cubic meter of digester volume (ii) No gas leakage problem. (iii) Constant gas pressure. (iv) No danger of gas explosion. (v) No separate pressure equalising device is needed when fresh feed is added or digest slurry is removed from the digester. (vi) Simple installation. The disadvantages are as follows: (i) Ithas higher cost due to movable metallic drum i) It has corrosion problem in the metallic movable drum provided. ii) It requires more maintenance Advantages and disadvantages of fixed drum type biogas plant The advantages are as follows: (@ It has lower cost. (ii) It has no corrossion problem. (iii) It has better heat insulation. (iv) It requires no maintenance. The disadvantages are as follows: (i) Gas production per cubic meter of the digester is less. (ii) It has variable pressure of biogas.3:43 G6 BBs QT al Fal 22%8 < DOC-20230831-wW.. & Q : 5.4.4 Application of Biogas in IC Engine © How biogas can be utilised in IC engines? The properties of biogas are as follows: (i) Composition. Methane 60%, carbon dioxide 40% and traces of hydrogen, hydrogen sulphide and other gases (ii) Calorific value. Calorific value 5160 keal/m* or 4250 kcal/kg (iii) Stoichiometric air fuel ratio. The stoichiometric A/F ratio is 5.27 by volume (iv) Calorific value of mixture. It is equal to 767 kcal/m*, that is, 85% of gasoline The biogas alone cannot be used in IC engine unless some modification is carried out in the IC engine. However, with blending of biogas in small amount with both petrol and diesel, it is possible to run IC engine by it with small modification (providing gas kit and supply system). It is found that a mixture of biogas and gasoline containing 510% biogas can be successfully used as IC engine fuel, thereby reducing the limited and costly gasoline consumption by 5-10% and at the same time reducing the cost of fuel 5.4.5 Models of Biogas Plants « Name the various models of biogas plants. Different models of biogas plants are as follows (i) Common circular digester with floating gas holder without water seal (KVIC design, India) (i) Common circular fixed dome digester (China) (iii) Flexible gas type combined digester and gas holder (iv) Taper digester with floating gas holder (Nepal) (v) Two-chamber rectangular digester with floating gas holder and water seal (Philippines) (vi) Jet digester with separate gas holder (Thailand) (vii) Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) model (viii) Planning Research and Action Division (PRAD) model (ix) ASTRA (Application of Science and Technology to Rural Areas) model (x) Ganesh model. 5.4.6 Biogas Plant in Hilly Area « In a hilly geographical region in India, a huge quantity of biomass is available round the year, but this area is highly deficient in electricity supply. Suggest the ways in which the biomass energy can be converted into electrical energy and substantiate your answer with a suitable diagram. BIOGAS 119 Tm hilly racianc the averana tamnaratura ramaine halaw 15°C Tha anaarnhin hantaria araur lI O <343 86@° RTE all $2 wll 22% OH < DOC-20230831-W.. 4% Q 5.4.6 Biogas Plant in Hilly Area + In a hilly geographical region in India, a huge quantity of biomass is available round the year, but this area is highly deficient in electricity supply. Suggest the ways in which the biomass energy can be converted into electrical energy and substantiate your answer with a suitable diagram. BIOGAS 119 In hilly regions, the average temperature remains below 15°C. The anaerobic bacteria grow and digest biomass in the temperature range of 25-75°C. Owing to low temperature of biomass, it is impossible to convert biomass into biogas in hilly regions. However, this problem can be overcome by following methods: (i) Hot water circulation. This method is reported to be efficient for maintaining the biomass slurry at a high temperature in the digester, but the cost of circulation of hot water is high. (ii) Use of chemicals, Urea and urine have been reported to increase the temperature of biomass slurry in the digester. (iii) Solar energy system. Solar collector can be used to increase the temperature of biomass in the digester. A way to obtain electrical energy in hilly region is shown in Figure 5.6. Solar collector is used to heat water, which is circulated in the digester to heat biomass slurry. The biogas is used to generate steam to run turbine. The generator coupled with turbine generates electricity Gas cs Turbine Boiler Digester Cold water 3 Pump Figure 5.6 Biogas generating electricity in the hilly region 5.4.7 By-Product of Digestion + Explain by-product of digestion with the help of a schematic diagram. The by-products of digestion are shown in Figure 5.7 Properties Uses Gas { Biogas } Combustible gas Fiberous {) Scum Insulator Liquid { Supernatant } Biologically active soa Efluent | Fer Il O <344486@° QT al Fal 22%8 < DOC-20230831-W.. 4% Q —S—JI Pump Figure 5.6 Biogas generating electricity in the hilly region. 5.4.7 By-Product of Digestion © Explain by-product of digestion with the help of a schematic gram. The by-products of digestion are shown in Figure 5.7 Properties Uses Gas Biogas } Combustible gas Fiberous Scum Insulator Liquid Supernatant } Biologically active Solid/liquid Efluent Fertiliser solid {| Tnorganie solids | Waste Figure 5.7 By-produets of digestion of biomass 120 _NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES 5.4.8 Location of Biogas Plant © What are the factors considered while locating a biogas plant? The considerations for locating a biogas plant are as follow (i) Do not locate the plant within 13 m of a well or spring used for drinking water purposes. (ii) Locate the plant near to area where biomass is generated. (iii) Water source should be available near the site to meet the need of digester. (iv) The site should be open and exposed to the sun as digester gives better performance at the temperature between 25 and 75°C. (vy) The site should be as close as possible to the point of gas consumption to avoid pressure losses in the pipe system. 5.4.9 Size of Biogass Plant © What are the considerations made to fix the size of biogas plant? The considerations made to decide the size of the plant are as follows: (i) How much waste is generated with the number of animals and people? (ii) How much gas the owners requires? (iii) What will be the volume of the digester tank needed to handle the mixture of biomass and water? (iv) What is the size and shape of digestion tank required? (v) What should be the size of the floating drum of the digester? (vi) What are the requirements of various items for the installation of the digester? Il O <