What is biomass?
Biomass is plant or animal material used for energy production (electricity or heat), or in various industrial processes as raw substance for a range of products. Biomass could be use for combustion to produce biopower.
What is bioPower?
The use of biomass to produce electric power or heat. Biopower system technologies include direct-firing, cofiring, gasification, pyrolysis, and anaerobic digestion
Question related to biopower:
What are the strongest concrete motivations for using biopower?
- Biopower is the renewable source of energy which is the alternative options for fossil fuels in future.
- Unlike solar and wind energy we don’t have to depend on our surrounding condition. We can produce at any time unless we have biomass. Therefore, they are produced continuously.
- Biopower plant has no risk of shut down compare to nuclear.
- It can be produced near the consumer so less loss during distribution.
Explain 2 reasons why electricity from a co-fired biomass power plant is less expensive than from direct-fired biopower plant?
- Co-fired biomass power plant uses coal supplemented with 2-15% biomass whereas direct-fired biomass power plant uses biomass only. Coal are less expensive than biomass feedstock therefore electricity from cofired biomass power plant are less expensive than that of direct fired biopower plant.
- Co-fired biomass power plant (>35%) are more efficient than that of direct-fired biomass power plant (<25%). So, efficiency reduce the production cost per unit of electricity which makes co-fired biomass power plant electricity less expensive.
Why does a direct-fired biomass plant have a negative global warming potential
Direct-fired biomass have a negative global warming potential. Global warming is caused by greenhouse gases like Co2, CH4, N20. When we left biomass in the field biomass decay and produce a Methane which is more potent greenhouse gas than that of CO2. However, when we use direct-fired biomass to produce electricity it only produces CO2 which is negligible in comparison to CH4 produce by decaying. Therefore, direct-fired biomass plant have a negative global warming potential.
What factors determine the distribution of products (char, condensable vapors, and gases) during a thermochemical process of biomass?
- Characteristics of biomass (size, MC, HV) determine the distribution of products.
- Type of biomass also determine distribution of products during thermochemical process of biomass. For example, switchgrass as biomass has different percentage of emission than another source of feedstock.
- Percentage of coal used during thermochemical process also determine the distribution of products.
BIGCC stands for Biomass Integrated Gasification and Combined Cycle. Explain what this means and why it leads to more efficient electrical production?
BIGCC name itself has its meaning to so some extent. Biomass gasification is performed by Combined Cycle Systems. For gasification both coal and natural gas is used. BIGCC has two cycles where gas turbine as first cycle and hot exit gas running steam turbine as second.It leads to more efficient electrical production because it has two cycles in which both cycle runs turbine to produce electricity. In first cycle gas turbine run and in second cycle hot exit gas runs steam turbine to produce electricity making it more efficient.
