Biofuel

s
Biofue
ls
• Biomass is one of the few renewable
sources for transportation fuels

• Biofuels produce fewer emissions than

petroleum fuels

• The three main types of biofuels are :-

• Ethanol
• Biodiesel
• Biogas
 Ethanol: a form of Biofuel
• Also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol.
• Made from the starch in certain grains, such as
wheat, corn etc.
• Its production begins with the grinding up of
biomass such as wheat or corn.
• The starch or cellulose is converted into sugar.
• The sugar is then fed into microbes that use it for
food, producing ethanol in the process.
Ethanol Uses :--
• Most gasoline mixtures contain about 10
percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.
• All vehicles are equipped to handle this mixture.
• Such a mixture reduces greenhouse gases by
up to 4 percent.
 E85 Fuel
• Fuel containing 85 % gasoline and 15 %
ethanol can be used in flexible fuel vehicles.
• Use of this fuel reduces the
emission of greenhouse gases by
up to 37 percent.
• Considered as an alternative fuel under the
Energy Policy Act of 1992.
• Vehicles that run on E85 are called Flexible
Fuel Vehicles (FFV).
• Many vehicle manufacturers offer FFVs.
Ford, Mercedes, GM and Chrysler all
Bio-Ener
gy

•Bioenergy is renewable energy made available

from materials derived from biological sources.

•Biomass is any organic material, may include

wood, wood waste, straw, manure, sugar cane
and many other byproducts from a variety of
agricultural processes.
STORAGE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
BY PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN GREEN
PLANTS (ORIGIN OF BIOMASS)
• The origin of biomass energy
resources is through the
Photosynthesis in green plants under
sunlight.
• Photosynthesis means synthesis of
chemicals using light.
• Green plants consume atmospheric
carbon- dioxide gas, moisture, minerals
and water from earth/water and photo
energy from the sunlight and produce
biomass containing energy.
 Biomass Energy
Biomass:
– renewable organic matter
– produced by plants through photosynthesis.

–It can be converted into useful forms of

energy through different conversion
routes.
– It is a source of ‘5F’
Food, Fodder, Fuel, Fiber and Fertilizer.
BIOMASS TERMINOLOGY
• Biomass
Biomass is biological material derived
from living, or recently living
organisms.
The term equally apply to both animal and
vegetable derived material, but in the context of
energy, it refers to plant based material.

• Biomass Energy
Energy obtained from biomass is
called biomass energy.

• Bio-fuel
Fuels produced from Biomass (bio-gas, biodiesel).
Bioma
ss
• Biomass is organic matter produced by
plants – terrestrial and aquatic – and their
derivatives.
• It includes dead trees, tree branches,
rotting garbage, agricultural and human
wastes like sugarcane, grasses and
wood chips.
• Energy derived from biomass is mostly
used to generate electricity or to produce
heat.
• Biomass is found easily all over the world. It
 Biomass Energy
•Biomass continues to account for an
estimated 1/3rd of primary energy use, while
in the poorest counties up to 90% of all
energy is supplied by biomass
•Biomass energy, or bio energy is the
conversion of biomass (organic material
originating from plants, trees, and crops and
essentially the collection and storage of the
sun’s energy through photosynthesis) into
useful forms of energy such as heat, electricity,
and liquid fuels
Types of
Biomass
Sources of
Biomass
Sources of
Biomass

• Land
– Agriculture waste
– Energy plantation
– Forest
• Aquatic
– Plants (e.g.
hyacinth)
– Algae
•In all these biomass Energy is stored
in the form of complex organic
compounds of carbon, hydrogen,
nitrogen, etc.
•The biomass can be converted to
useful energy forms such as:
– Heat
– Gaseous fuel
– Solid fuels
– Organic chemical
– Liquid fuels
Some idea about Biomass Sources
• Every year, the agricultural industry produces
millions of tons of waste that could be utilized
for energy production.
• In addition, the forest products industry also
produces countless tons of waste that can be
used as an energy source.
• Energy crops, such as willows and switch
grass can be grown for the specific purpose
of energy production.
• Farmers grow corn and soybeans that can be
used for ethanol production
How Biomass
Works?
 Energy Plantations
• Growing of selected species of tree and plants on a
short rotation basis on waste or arable land for
energy generation point of view e.g.
– Acacia nilotica (Babul, grows even in wasteland)
–Dalbergia Sissoo (Sheesham, high calorific value, up to
4900 kcal/kg)
– Prosopis Juliflora (Vilayati Babul, Root up to 50m)
– Albizzia Lebbeck (Siris)
 Energy
Plantations
•Growing of floating water plants e.g.,
(aquatic)
water hyacinth in
rivers, lakes, ponds etc in tropical /
sub-tropical area (yield 25 T(dry)/ha/yr)
•Biomass energy is well known
since dawn of agricultural age.
– Wood, cow dung etc. are used as
fuels particularly in rural and tribal
areas.
•Biomass energy is produced in
green plants by photosynthesis in
presence of sun light.
•Other living organisms consume
green plants or their products and
generate biomass.
•Biomass cycle maintains the
environmental balance of
oxygen, carbon- dioxide, rain
etc.
•Biomass energy technology is
an environment friendly
technology.
•Biomass is being used for production
at process heat, electricity, gaseous,
liquid and solid fuels etc.
 SCOPE OF
BIOMASS
• Rural applications of biomass energy.
•Urban and industrial applications of
biomass energy.
•Biomass as a primary source for large
scale electrical power generation.
•Present contribution of biomass energy is
between 4% to 18% of total energy
consumption of various countries.
•It is expected by 2015 it will become 25% -
40% as disposal of agriculture byproduct is
Present State of Biomass Energy in India

•3,500 MW of power generation through

biogases based cogeneration in sugar mills.

• 537 MW has so far been commissioned

• 536 MW is under installation

Typical composition of
biogas
%
Matter
Methane, CH4 50-7
5
Carbon dioxide, CO2 25-5
0
Nitrogen, N2 0-10
Hydrogen, H2 0-1
Hydrogen sulfide, H2S 0-3
Oxygen, O 0
A Typical
Power-plant
What is Bioenergy ?

• The energy stored in biomass is called

bioenergy.

• Bioenergy is very versatile: It can be used to

provide heat, make fuels, and generate
electricity.
How Much Biomass is Out There?

• “INDIA” has enough land and agricultural

networks to sustainably replace half of the
nation’s gasoline use or all of its nuclear
energy.

• Millions of tons of unused agricultural waste,

manure, and sawdust has the potential to
generate energy.
Biomass Energy Conversion Technologies

Biomass energy conversion

technologies/applications include:
1) Direct Combustion
2) Pyrolysis
3) Gasification
4) Chemical conversion
1. DIRECT COMBUSTION
• Biomass can be burned directly in
waste-to-energy plants without any chemicals
processing to produce steam for making
electricity.
• Direct combustion and co-firing with coal
for electricity production from biomass has
been found to be a promising method in
the nearest future.
• Also biomass can be burned to provide
heat for industries and homes.
2.PYROLYSIS
• Pyrolysis of biomass is thermal
decomposition of the organic matters in the
absence of oxygen.
• Pyrolysis is a relatively slow chemical
reaction occurring at low temperatures to
convert biomass to a more useful fuel such
as hydrocarbon rich gas mixture and a
carbon rich solid residue.
• The main products of biomass pyrolysis
depend on the temperature, heating rate,
particle size and catalyst used.
• The main pyrolysis reaction is
3. GASIFICATION
• Gasification is the thermo chemical
conversion of biomass into gaseous fuels by
means of partial oxidation of the biomass at
high temperatures.
• The combustion products from complete
combustion of biomass generally contain
nitrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide and
surplus of oxygen.
• However in gasification where there is a
surplus of solid fuel (incomplete combustion)
the products of combustion are combustible
gases like Carbon monoxide (CO), Hydrogen
• The production of these gases is by reaction
of water vapor and carbon dioxide through a
glowing layer of charcoal.
• Thus the key to gasifier design is to
create conditions such that
a) biomass is reduced to charcoal and,
b)charcoal is converted at suitable temperature
to produce CO and H2 and O2.
Types of Gasifiers 1. Fixed bed Gasifiers
Updraught or counter current gasifier
The oldest and simplest type of gasifier is the counter
current or updraught gasifier
• Air enters below the combustion zone

• Producer gas leaves near the top

• Easy to built and operate

• Gas produced has practically no ash but

contains tar and water vapour because of
passing of gas through un-burnt fuel

• Suitable for tar free fuel like charcoal

Advantages
• simplicity, high charcoal burn-out and internal
heat exchange

• high equipment efficiency,

Drawbacks
• possibility of "channelling" in the
equipment, which can lead to oxygen
break-through and dangerous, explosive
situations.

• necessity to install automatic moving grates.

Downdraught or co-current
Gasifiers
• Air enters at the combustion zone
• Gas produced leaves at near the bottom of
the gasifiers
• Volatile and tar produced has to pass
through the reaction zone, where they
cracked and gasified
• Gas produced contains more of the ash and
less tar
• Suitable for fuels like wood and agriculture
waste
• May used to generate power upto 150 KW
• Cheap and easy to make
Cross-draught
gasifier
• An adaptation for the use of charcoal.
• Charcoal gasification results in very high
temperatures (1500 °C and higher) in the
oxidation zone which can lead to material
problems.
• insulation against these high
temperatures is provided by the fuel
(charcoal) itself.
Advantages
• Installations below 10 kW (shaft power) can
under certain conditions be economically
feasible.
• gas-cleaning train (only a cyclone and a hot
disadvantage
• minimal tar-converting capabilities and
the consequent need for high quality (low
volatile content) charcoal.
2. Fluidized bed gasifier
• The operation of both up and
downdraught gasifiers is influenced by
the morphological, physical and
chemical properties of the fuel. Problems
commonly encountered are: lack of
slagging and extreme pressure drop over
the gasifier

• A design approach aiming at the removal

of the above difficulties is the fluidized bed
gasifier
• Air is blown through a bed of solid particles at a
sufficient velocity to keep these in a state of
suspension.
• The bed is originally externally heated and the
feedstock is introduced as soon as a sufficiently high
temperature is reached.
• The fuel particles are introduced at the bottom of the
reactor, very quickly mixed with the bed material and
almost instantaneously heated up to the bed
temperature.
• Fuel is pyrolysed very fast, resulting in a component
mix with a relatively large amount of gaseous
materials. Further gasification and tar-conversion
reactions occur in the gas phase. Most systems are
equipped with an internal cyclone in order to minimize
• The major advantages of this is flexibility in feedstock
resulting from easy control of temperature, which can
be kept below the melting or fusion point of the ash
(rice husks), and their ability to deal with fluffy and fine
grained materials (sawdust etc.) without the need of
pre-processing. Problems with feeding, instability of
the bed and fly-ash sintering in the gas channels can
occur with some biomass fuels.

• Other drawbacks of the fluidized bed gasifier lie in the

rather high tar content of the product gas (up to 500
mg/m³ gas), the incomplete carbon burn-out, and poor
response to load changes.

• Particularly because of the control equipment needed

to cater for the latter difficulty, very small fluidized bed
gasifiers are not foreseen and the application range
must be tentatively set at above 500 kW (shaft power).
CHEMICAL CONVERSION

• Biomass can be converted into gas or liquid

fuels by using chemicals or heat.

• In India cow manure is converted to methane

gas to produce electricity.

• Methane gas can be converted to

methanol, a liquid form of methane.
Main Advantages of Biomass Energy

• Indigenous source
• Economic development opportunities in rural
areas
• The pollutant emissions from combustion of
biomass are usually lower than those from
fossil fuels
• Commercial use of biomass
• Improve fertility of soil
Environmental
Advantages
• Renewable resource
• Reduces landfills
• Protects clean water
supplies
• Reduces acid rain and
smog
• Reduces greenhouse
gases
• Carbon dioxide
• Methane
Disadvantages of Biomass Energy

• It is dispersed and land intensive as a source

• It is often of low energy density
• It is labour intensive and the cost of collecting
large quantities for commercial application is
significant
Fuel Properties of Biogas
Calorific Value
60% Methane : 22.350 to 24.22
MJ/m3. Without CO2 : 33.525 to
35.390 MJ/m3. Octane rating
without CO2 : 130 Octane rating
with CO2 : 110
Ignition temperature : 6500 C
Air to methane ratio for complete
Combustion (by volume) : 10 to 1
Explosive limits to air (by volume) : 5
to 15
Applications
• Anaerobic digestion is used for effluent and
sewage treatment.
• Anaerobic digestion is a simple process that
can greatly reduce the amount of organic
matter which might otherwise be destined to
be landfilled or burnt in an incinerator.
• Almost any organic material can be processed
with anaerobic digestion. This includes
biodegradable waste materials such as waste
paper, grass clippings, leftover food, sewage
and animal waste.
• Anaerobic digesters can also be fed with
specially grown energy crops such as silage
Biogas plants used in
India 1.Janata Biogas
Plant
• Fixed dome type
• Developed by planning & action division
Lucknow 1978
• Very economical is design.
• Works with the constant volume principle.
• Main structure is made up of brick and
cement masonry.
• Doesn't have any moving parts so it is safe
from wear and tear.
• The operating pressure varies from 0 to 100
cm of water column. It is also known as
Janata model
2. Deenbandhu Biogas Plant (Fixed dome
type)
• Was developed in 1984, by Action for Food
Production (AFPRO), a voluntary organization
based in New Delhi.
• Reduced the cost of the plant half of that of
KVIC model
• The cost reduction has been achieved by
minimizing the surface area through joining the
segments of two spheres of different diameters
at their bases.
• The cost of a Deenbandhu plant having a
capacity of 2 m3/day is about Rs.8000-00.
• The Deenbandhu biogas plant has a
hemispherical fixed-dome type of gas holder,
KVIC Biogas Plant (KVIC- Khadi Village
Industries Commission)
• Floating dome type
• Mainly consists of a digester or pit for
fermentation and a floating drum for the
collection of gas
• Digester depth and diameter 3.5-6.5 m and 1.2
to
1.6 m.
• Partition wall in the center, which divides
the digester vertically and submerges in
the slurry when it is full.
• Inlet and outlet, the dung is mixed with water
(4:5)
• The fermented material will flow out
• Drum constructed of mild steel sheets
with cylindrical in shape with concave.
• The top is supported radically with angular
iron. The holder fit into the digester like a
stopper.
• It sinks into the slurry due to its own weight
and rests upon the ring constructed for this
purpose.
• The gas pressure varies between 7 and 9
cm of water column.
• The cost of drum is about 40% of total cost of
plant. It requires periodical maintenance. The
unit cost of KVIC model with a capacity of 2
 Application of biogas
One cubic meter of biogas can do the
following operations:
• It can illuminate a mantle lamp (60 W) for a
period of 7 hours.
• It can be used for cooking three meals for a
family of five.
• It can run 2 hp engine for one hour.
• It can run 100 lt. capacity refrigerator for 9
hours.
• It can generate electricity of 1.25 KWH.
 Biodiesel
• Made by transforming animal fat or
vegetable oil with alcohol .

• Fuel is made from rapeseed (canola) oil or

soybean oil or recycled restaurant grease.

• It is directly used in place of diesel either as

neat fuel or as an oxygenate additive
Biodiesel can be used in existing
Diesel Engines
• Pure Biodiesel (B100) or blended with
petroleum diesel (B20, BXX).
• Rudolf Diesel: peanut oil.
• Little or no engine modifications
• Use existing fuel distribution network.
• Available now
Environmental Issues
• Burning fossil fuels increases atmospheric levels of carbon
dioxide
• Fossil fuels
are a finite
resource
Biodiesel’s Closed
Carbon Cycle
30% Increase
 Relative Greenhouse Gas
Emissions
B100
B100 = 100% Biodiesel
Electric B20 = 20% BD + 80% PD

Diesel Hybrid

B20
Ethanol 85%
Diesel
LPG
CNG

Gasoline

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Data from “A Fresh Look at CNG: A Comparison of

Alternative Fuels”, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Program,
 Relative emissions: Diesel and Biodiesel
B100 **
B20
Diesel CO2
Mutagenicity
n-PAH

PAHs

Sulfates
Particulate Matter
**NOx
CO
Total Unburned
HCs
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Percent
** B100 (100% biodiesel) with NOx adsorbing catalyst on vehicle
After Glycerin removal, biodiesel now just needs to be
cleaned/purified before use:
Methods of Bio-Diesel production
from oil
• Pretreatment (seed selection, oil
extraction).
a) If % FFA < 4 ( single phase Method)
• Trans-esterification.
b) If % FFA > 4 (Two phase
Method)
Jatropha Tree

• Biodiesel from Jatropha.

• Seeds of the Jatropha

nut is crushed and oil is
extracted

• The oil is processed and

refined to form
bio-diesel.
 Biodiesel
Benefits
• The roll of biodiesel is not to replace the
petroleum diesel, but to help create a
balanced energy policy
• Biodiesel is one of several alternative fuels
designed to extend the usefulness of
petroleum and the longevity

Benefits are
• Easy to use:-
No vehicle modifications or special fuelling
equipment is needed.
• Power, Performance and Economy:-
• Emissions & Greenhouse Gas Reduction:-
With lower exhaust emissions biodiesel is
helping to reduce pollution and improve health.
Lower CO2 emission help reduce the impact of
Global warning.
• Energy balance & security:-
Biodiesel helps reduce the need for foreign oil.
• Economical Development:-
Biodiesel helps communities by keeping energy
RUPEES at home.
Advantages of Biodiesel as
a fuel
• Renewable, Biodegradable, Non toxic,
portable
• Economical if excessive production.
• Less polluting than diesel.
• Lack of sulfur – Extends life of catalytic
converters.
• Blended with other energy resource & oil.
• Distributed with existing diesel pumps.
• Lubricating property – Lengthen lifetime of
engine.
• Successfully passed all health effects testing –
 Disadvantages of Biodiesel as
a fuel
• One and half time expensive.
• Damage Rubber Hoses in some
engines.
• Cleans dirt from engine – collected in
fuel filter – clogging.
 Indi
a
• Sources of ethanol:
• Sugarcane
• Molasses (From Sugarcane)
• Agricultural waste
• Low average cost of Rs.18/litre
projected
• Annual production capacity of 1.5
Billion litres
 India
(Contd.)
• Sources of biodiesel:
• Honge (Pongamia oil)
• Jatropha
• High capital, broad scale production
plan initiated
• Cost per liter projected at Rs. 27