Savu Laura

Waste as a Renewable Energy Source

1.What is BIOMASS?
The term "biomass" refers to organic matter that has stored energy through the process of
photosynthesis. It eists in one form as p!ants and may be transferred through the food chain to
anima!s" bodies and their #astes.
1
An important biomass source for the biomass fue!s production is #ood$ a!so dried
%egetation$ crop residues and a&uatic p!ants are being used. Biomass is an important energy
source and the usage of biomass fue!s has increased up to around 1'( of the #or!d"s tota!
energy supp!y.
The main sources of biomass are)
a) Agricultural Residues:
Agricu!ture is an important practice #or!d#ide$ #hich produces a !arge &uantity of
residues$ such as #heat stra#$ corn Sto%er and biomass materia! !eft on the
ground. This residues can be successfu!!y used for energy generation purposes
*processed into !i&uid fue!s or combusted+gasified to produce e!ectricity and heat,
b) Animal Waste
Anima! #aste can a!so be used in biomass fue! production.
In the past this #aste #as reco%ered and so!d as a ferti!i-er or simp!y spread onto
agricu!tura! !and$ but the introduction of tighter en%ironmenta! contro!s on odour
and #ater po!!ution means that some form of #aste management is no# re&uired.
The most attracti%e method of con%erting these #aste materia!s to usefu! form is
anaerobic digestion #hich gi%es biogas that can be used as a fue! for the interna!
combustion engines$ it can generate e!ectricity from sma!! gas turbines$ burnt
direct!y for coo.ing$ or for space and #ater heating.
c) Sugar Industry Wastes

d) Forestry Residues
After the timber har%est$ the biomass materia! remaining in forests can be
recyc!ed. Because on!y timber of certain standards is usab!e in processing
faci!ities$ the remaining #ood can be used for fue! production.
e) Industrial Wastes
The food industry produces a !arge number of residues and by/products that can
be used as biomass energy sources. These #aste materia!s are generated from
a!! sectors of the food industry #ith e%erything from meat production to
confectionery producing #aste that can be used as an energy source. So!id
#astes inc!ude pee!ings and scraps from fruit and %egetab!es$ food that does not
meet &ua!ity contro! standards$ pu!p and fiber from sugar and starch etraction$
fi!ter s!udge and coffee grounds. These #astes are usua!!y disposed of in !andfi!!
dumps.
f) Pulp and Paper Industry is considered to be one of the high!y po!!uting
industries and consumes !arge amount of energy and #ater in %arious unit
operations. The #aste#ater discharged by this industry is high!y heterogeneous
1
http://www.altenergy.org/renewables/biomass.html, consulted on de ex. the 23rd o !arch 2"1#
1
Savu Laura
as it contains compounds from #ood or other ra# materia!s$ processed chemica!s
as #e!! as compound formed during processing.
Animal manure is a %a!uab!e source of nutrients and rene#ab!e energy. 0o#e%er$
most of the manure is !eft to decompose in the open$ #hich pose a significant
en%ironmenta! ha-ard. The air po!!utants emitted from manure inc!ude methane$
nitrous oide$ ammonia$ hydrogen su!fide$ %o!ati!e organic compounds and
particu!ate matter$ #hich can cause serious en%ironmenta! concerns and hea!th
prob!ems. Anaerobic digestion is a uni&ue treatment so!ution for anima!
agricu!ture$ as it can de!i%er positi%e benefits re!ated to mu!tip!e issues$ inc!uding
rene#ab!e energy$ #ater po!!ution$ and air emissions.
Besides generating e!ectricity *112 mi!!ion .Wh,$ biogas is used as boi!er and
domestic fue!.
3. How It Wors

4ig.1 5!ectricity 6roduction and Waste Management
a, Trash decomposes *or rots, in !andfi!!s$ creating methane gas.
b, Methane rises to the top of the !andfi!! and it is co!!ected in pipes.
c, The methane is burned to produce heat or generate e!ectricity.
Methane is a %ery po#erfu! greenhouse gas. One pound of methane traps 3' times more
heat in the atmosphere than a pound of carbon dioide. Methane is a!so the main ingredient in
natura! gas. Because methane can be captured from !andfi!!s$ it can be burned to produce
e!ectricity$ heat bui!dings$ or po#er garbage truc.s. 7apturing methane before it gets into the
atmosphere a!so he!ps reduce the effects of c!imate change.
Methane can a!so be captured from farm digesters$ #hich are big tan.s that contain manure
and other #aste from barns that house !i%estoc. such as co#s and pigs.
8. Waste/to/5nergy around the Wor!d
2
Savu Laura
5urope and Asia ha%e a #e!! de%e!oped techno!ogy in this fie!d *e%en better than the
9nited States, as the main method of #aste disposa!. This transformation of #aste/to/energy is
an important one for its abi!ity to reduce the %o!ume of #aste in an en%ironmenta!!y/friend!y
manner$ generate %a!uab!e energy$ and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
5urope current!y treats '2 mi!!ion tons of #astes at #aste/to/energy p!ants each year$
generating an amount of energy that can supp!y e!ectricity for 31 mi!!ion peop!e or heat for 18
mi!!ion peop!e. 9pcoming changes to 59 !egis!ation #i!! ha%e a profound impact on ho# much
further the techno!ogy #i!! he!p achie%e en%ironmenta! protection goa!s.
:. Waste/to/5nergy 7on%ersion 6ath#ays
There are 8 main #ays of transforming the organic #aste materia! into energy)
a) thermochemica!
b) biochemica!
c) physicochemica!.
!"ermoc"emical #on$ersion
7ombustion of #aste has been used for many years as a #ay of reducing #aste %o!ume and
harmfu! e!ements #ithin it. 7ombustion can on!y be used to create an energy source #hen heat
reco%ery is inc!uded. 0eat reco%ered from the combustion process can then be used to either
po#er turbines for e!ectricity generation or to pro%ide direct space and #ater heating. Some
#aste streams are a!so suitab!e for fue!ing a combined heat and po#er system$ a!though &ua!ity
and re!iabi!ity of supp!y are important factors to consider.
Thermochemica! con%ersion inc!udes high temperatures and con%ersion rates$ it is best
suited for !o#er moisture starting materia!s and it is genera!!y !ess se!ecti%e for products.
Thermochemica! con%ersion inc!udes incineration$ pyro!ysis and gasification. The incineration
techno!ogy is the contro!!ed combustion of #aste #ith the reco%ery of heat to produce steam
#hich in turn produces po#er through steam turbines. 6yro!ysis and gasification represent
refined therma! treatment methods as a!ternati%es to incineration and they are characteri-ed by
the transformation of the #aste into product gas as energy carrier for !ater combustion in$ for
eamp!e$ a boi!er or a gas engine.
%ioc"emical #on$ersion
The bio/chemica! con%ersion processes inc!ude anaerobic digestion and fermentation.
4or this method the #astes ha%e high percentage of organic biodegradab!e matter and high
moisture content. Anaerobic digestion is a re!iab!e techno!ogy for the treatment of #et$ organic
#aste. Organic #aste from %arious sources is composted in high!y contro!!ed$ oygen/free
conditions circumstances resu!ting in the production of biogas #hich can be used to produce
both e!ectricity and heat. Anaerobic digestion a!so resu!ts in a dry residue #hich can be used as
a soi! conditioner.
A!coho! fermentation is the transformation of organic fraction of biomass to ethano! by a series
of biochemica! reactions using specia!i-ed microorganisms. It finds good dea! of app!ication in
the transformation of #oody biomass into ce!!u!osic ethano!.
P"ysico&c"emical #on$ersion
The physico/chemica! techno!ogy in%o!%es %arious processes to impro%e physica! and chemica!
properties of so!id #aste. The combustib!e fraction of the #aste is con%erted into high/energy
3
Savu Laura
fue! pe!!ets #hich may be used in steam generation. 4ue! pe!!ets ha%e se%era! distinct
ad%antages o%er coa! and #ood because they are c!eaner$ free from incombustib!es$ ha%e !o#er
ash and moisture contents$ they are of uniform si-e$ cost/effecti%e and eco/friend!y.
'. #onclusions
The biomass usage is important for many reasons$ in this case #aste/to/energy con%ersion is
important in order to !o#er the greenhouse effect by to# means)
;enerating e!ectricity #hich reduces the dependence on e!ectrica! production from po#er p!ants
based on fossi! fue!s.
The greenhouse gas emissions are significant!y reduced by pre%enting methane emissions
from !andfi!!s.
6erhaps the most significant en%ironmenta! benefit of biomass fue!s$ ho#e%er$ is a potentia!
reduction in carbon dioide *7O3, emissions.
The reco%ery of substantia! energy from #astes is an important benefit$ these techno!ogies
can !ead to a substantia! reduction in the #aste accumu!ation re&uiring fina! disposa!$ #hich can
be better managed for safe disposa! in a contro!!ed manner #hi!e meeting the po!!ution contro!
standards.
Bib!iography)
'( <http)++###.a!tenergy.org+rene#ab!es+biomass.htm!=
)( <http)++###.a!ternati%e/energy/ne#s.info+anaerobic/digestion/biomass+=
*( <http)++###.a!ternati%e/energy/ne#s.info+#aste/rene#ab!e/energy/source+=
+( $http)++###.biomassenergycentre.org.u.+porta!+page?>pageid?1@$1'2:AB>dad?porta!%
#