Different Types of Biomass Fuels

Biomass fuels are organic materials generated by renewable means.

FREMONT, CA: Biomass fuels are organic materials generated by renewable means. There are two categories of biomass fuels, woody fuels and animal wastes, Including the vast majority of available biomass fuels. Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a source of biomass fuel. Biomass fuels have mean energy densities compared to fossil fuels. Simply put, a significantly larger volume of biomass fuel is necessary to generate the same energy as a lower volume of fossil fuel.

The low energy density indicates that the costs of fuel collection and transportation can swiftly outweigh the value of the fuel. Biomass fuels are usually consumed on-site or transported short distances only. Biomass fuels tend to have a huge moisture content, which adds weight and increases the price of transportation. The moisture content also reduces combustion performance.

There are two main factors to be considered in evaluating biomass fuels: Fuel supply, comprising the total quantities accessible, the stability of the supply or the industry producing the fuel, and competitive uses or markets for the fuel. Cost of biomass fuel gathering, processing, and transportation, and who pays these costs.

Three major biomass fuel sources are woody fuels, animal waste, and MSW.

Woody Fuels

Wood wastes make excellent biomass fuels and can be utilized in various biomass technologies. Combustion of woody fuels to produce steam or electricity is a proven technology and is the most general biomass-to-energy process. Various types of woody fuels can typically be mixed as a common fuel.

However, differing moisture content and chemical makeup can affect a biomass project's overall conversion rate or efficiency. There are leastwise six subgroups of woody fuels. The discriminators between these subgroups mostly have to do with accessibility and cost. Forestry residues in-forest woody debris & slash from logging and forest management actions. Mill residues byproducts like sawdust, hog fuel, wood chips from lumber mills, plywood manufacturing, and other wood processing facilities.

Agricultural residues are byproducts of agricultural activities comprising crop wastes, vineyard, orchard prunings or turnings, and rejected agricultural products. Urban wood and yard waste residential organics gathered by municipal programs or recycling centers and construction wood wastes.

Forestry Residues

Forestry residues are typically disposed of on-site (in-forest) by stacking and burning. This results in substantial air emissions affecting the forest lands and nearby populations and the overall regional air quality. Open burning can also reason water quality and corrosion concerns.

The Forest Service, with other public and private land management essences, would like viable alternatives for disposing of their forestry residues more environmentally benignly. From the perspective of forest managers, an ideal situation would be creating a market for forestry residues. The market they visualize would generate revenues for the forest managers, allowing much-needed expansion of the forest management programs.

Mill Residues

Mill residues are a much more economically appealing fuel than forestry residues as the in-forest collection and chipping are already included in the commercial mill operations. Biomass facilities collected with and integral to the mill operation have the advantage of eliminating transportation and achieving a no-cost fuel. Mill residues have long been utilized to produce steam and electricity.

Agricultural Residues

Agricultural residues can offer a substantial amount of biomass fuel. Like mill residues offer a significant portion of the overall biomass intake in the Pacific Northwest, agricultural remains from sugar cane harvesting and processing offer a considerable portion of the total biomass intake in other parts ofthe world. One important issue with agricultural residues is the seasonal changes in the supply.

Large residue volumes track harvests, but residues are minimal throughout the year. Biomass facilities that rely significantly on agricultural residues must either be able to adjust output to track the seasonal variation or have the capacity to stockpile a considerable amount of fuel.