Bamboo power: Indian state of Mizoram to produce electricity from bamboo
Recently we focused on India's bioenergy strategies, and today an interesting development comes out of the same country: a bamboo-fuelled power station is being built in Mizoram state to help meet the energy needs of India's northeast. Bamboo is used on a daily basis by 2.5 billion people in the tropics and subtropics, mainly for food, feed and fiber. But the fast growing, tall grass, is looked at more and more as a fuel to generate green and renewable electricity. Mizoram produces 3.2 million tonnes of it per year, and is now going to use the local biomass resource to counter high energy prices.
Because of its high yields, its high energy content and its good combustion behavior, bamboo makes for an interesting energy crop. Compare it to woody biomass:
"Raw material for the power project is easily available. Once the plan gets going we have plans to use the energy in some industrial units," Tlumtea said. Bamboo would be first harvested and then dried before it is processed for feedstock to produce gas, which would finally get converted to electricity. "With the help of such bamboo power projects and power generation through other non-conventional schemes, the state will surely solve its energy crisis," the official said. An estimated 9,000 sq km area is under bamboo cultivation in Mizoram. India, the world's largest producer of bamboo after China, grows about 80 million tonnes each year, more than half of it in the northeast.
Resources:
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: gasification :: bamboo :: India ::
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Because of its high yields, its high energy content and its good combustion behavior, bamboo makes for an interesting energy crop. Compare it to woody biomass:
- The physico-chemical characteristics of bamboo make it a solid biofuel similar to other woody fuels, with the exception of the mineral content which is higher for bamboo than for wood (2.5 % instead of 1.5 %), but much lower than coal.
- Bamboo is also an interesting material for the production of charcoal. Its mass yield is higher (33 % on initial anhydrous mass) than that of wood wood (29 % on initial anhydrous mass).
- The production of non-condensable gases is also higher (26.5 % vs 18-20 %), while tar production is lower (42 % vs 50 %).
- Finally, bamboo's energy content (net calorific value) is comparable to or higher than other wood species like beech, spruce, eucalypts and poplars - in the range of 18.3-19.7 MJ/kg.
"Raw material for the power project is easily available. Once the plan gets going we have plans to use the energy in some industrial units," Tlumtea said. Bamboo would be first harvested and then dried before it is processed for feedstock to produce gas, which would finally get converted to electricity. "With the help of such bamboo power projects and power generation through other non-conventional schemes, the state will surely solve its energy crisis," the official said. An estimated 9,000 sq km area is under bamboo cultivation in Mizoram. India, the world's largest producer of bamboo after China, grows about 80 million tonnes each year, more than half of it in the northeast.
Resources:
- Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore: "Bamboo based gasification system" [*.pdf]
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Bamboo: an overlooked biomass resource? [*.pdf]
- BioMatNet: Bamboo for Europe - an interesting EU project aimed at introducing large-scale bamboo production for energy in the EU.
- geniaal.be: Johan Gielis: Future possibilities for bamboo in European agriculture [*.doc]
- BambooNet: Bamboo Information Network
- Times of India: Mizoram to produce electricity from bamboo - August 20, 2006
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: gasification :: bamboo :: India ::
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Sunday, August 20, 2006
Biomass powered greenhouses for organic tomatoes
In Europe and Canada, many vegetables and fruits are grown in greenhouses during the winter. Besides labor, energy is the biggest operational cost of running such a horticultural business. It does not come as a surprise then that, given record low temperatures and record high fuel prices, this industry is looking into alternative energy systems to heat its hot houses. This is a concrete example of how bioenergy can be both eco-friendly and economic.
In Québec, the Serres Jardins-Nature de Bonaventure, which produce 300 tons of organic tomatoes, have opted for biomass for several basic reasons. First of all the wood chips that are burned are eco-friendly and locally and abundantly available; secondly, prices are projected to remain very stable making heating costs lower overall than working either with natural gas, diesel or grid-electricity; thirdly, and most importantly, the mineral-rich ash that remains after the combustion of the woody biomass makes for an excellent organic fertilizer that will be used on the certified tomatoes.
Moreover, it can be argued that so-called 'organically grown' tomatoes are really not that environmentally friendly when they are cultivated in glass houses that utilize vast amounts of fossil fuel. After all, glass house horticulture is one of the most energy intensive agricultural sectors, emitting thousands of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. A biomass heating system on the contrary is climate friendly. So in a sense, only vegetables that are grown in such a system deserve the 'eco' or 'bio' label. Organically grown, and not dependent on fossil fuels.
Contrary to its competitors, the greenhouse complex of Jardins-Nature de Bonaventure will be expanded from 8000 to 12000 square metres because it already foresees a competitive advantage over those who still heat with fossil fuels, but also because the project receives a small grant by the Québec government, which has launched a program to introduce renewable energy systems in the glass house horticultural industry. The Bonaventure tomatoes -- heated and fertilized by biomass -- will be sold in Québec, Ontario, and in the U.S.
[Entry ends here].
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: horticulture :: greenhouse :: heating ::
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posted by Biopact team at 10:25 PM 0 comments links to this post