Biomass
WHAT IS BIOMASS AND HOW IS ENERGY FORMED FROM IT?
Biomass consists of substances of plant or animal origin that are biodegradable, derived from products, waste and residues from agricultural and forestry production, as well as from industries processing their products, as well as other biodegradable parts of waste. Due to its chemical properties, biomass is a product of the photosynthesis reaction. Under the influence of solar radiation, water decomposes:
CO2 + 2H2O O2 + H2O + CH2O + 470 kJ,
As a result, 470 kJ of chemical energy is accumulated in hydrocarbons synthesized from one mole of carbon dioxide.
CO2 emissions related to the use of biomass:
• “Zero” CO2 emissions from biomass (direct), occurs when renewable energy plantations are burned (CO2 is absorbed, then released, absorbed again, etc.).
• Indirect CO2 emissions are related to i.a. with the preparation and transport stages where fossil fuels are used – these are difficult to eliminate.
• Obtaining biomass from the vicinity of its production site has a chance to minimize the burden of indirect CO2 emissions.
Palm Karnel Shell?
PALM KERNEL SHELL AS ENERGY RAW MATERIAL
Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) is a crushed kernel of the Guinea oil palm fruit, which began its career a few years ago as a high-quality ecological fuel thanks to its high energy value (average 4,000 Kcal/kg) and extremely low ash and sulfur content. Palm Kernel Shell can be treated as natural, high-quality pellets and burned in cogeneration boilers as an addition to coal to reduce CO2 emissions, or as an independent ecological fuel. Palm Kernel Shell can also be used in various mixtures, i.e. added to other types of biomass, such as sawdust.
Energy Regulatory Office in the information of October 4, 2011. recalled the rules for qualifying biomass for energy purposes, and also defined the parameters of the fuel obtained from the Guinea oil palm. Electricity generated on the basis of this fuel may be entitled to use the support scheme provided that certain parameters are met.
The oil palm, otherwise known as the Guinea oil palm (Latin: Elaeis guineensis), is a representative of the palm tree family, found wild in West Africa. At present, it is widely cultivated in Asia and South America, more precisely it comes from Africa and Madagascar, it is also cultivated in other parts of the world with a tropical climate. The main growing areas are the native Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the countries of West and Central Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Colombia and Ecuador. It is a tall tree growing up to 20 (up to 30) meters, with a thorny stem and a dense rosette of up to 5 meters long, even-feathered leaves. The peak plume consists of about 30 live leaves. Male and female flowers and then fruits are gathered on the same plant in dense panicles. The inflorescences and then the fruits develop at the base of the leaf. The fruits are drupes the size of a pigeon’s egg to a hen’s egg, weighing 5-15 grams, gathered in huge spherical infructescences, weighing 8-50 kilograms and measuring 70 centimeters long and 50 centimeters wide. Such an infructescence can count up to two thousand individual fruits. They are yellow, orange or purple-brown in color. Their pericarp is quite thin, fibrous-parenchyma, containing oil. Inside the fruit is a large, black seed with a very thick shell, and in it there is a seed also rich in fat. The plant enters fruiting after three years. Since the thorns growing on the log make it impossible to climb the palm, the fruit is harvested with a long bamboo pole with a sickle-shaped knife attached to its end. Its cutting edge is first hooked on the stalk (petiole) of the infructescence, and then it is cut off with a strong pull down. Oil palm provides two types of fat, differing in appearance and chemical composition, which is referred to as palm oil. One of them is obtained from the pericarp, containing 50-70% fat; and the second from oil palm seeds, containing fat in the amount of 37-53%. It is one of the most important oilseed plants, from which fruits and their seeds palm oils are obtained, used in the food and cosmetic industries. Residues from oil palm processing also include fibres, leaves, empty bunches and seeds, which can be successfully burned as biomass in power boilers. The advantage of the material is that it is of non-forest origin, which is particularly important under the current legislative system, which prefers this type of material in the production of Green Energy. Oil palm is also used to produce palm wine juice, oil palm leaves are used to cover huts and to make fibers.
