Title:
Sustainable Utilisation of Waste Biomass via Thermo-Chemical Route in India: Findings from Case Studies, Success Stories and Solution Approach
Author(s):
Debnath, B., Das, An., Ghosh, S., Sengupta, A., Das, Ab.
Document(s):
Paper
Poster
Abstract:
India is an agriculture-based economy that caters towards the long debatable food-energy nexus. Additionally, Indian forests cover nearly 24% of the total geographical area. As a result, there is an abundance of biomass both from the agricultural sector as well as from forests. Typical utilisation of waste biomass includes cattle feeding, partial replacement in cow-dung briquettes and sometimes as direct fuel. Most of the times they are burned to reduce the volume and the ash is utilised elsewhere. The biodiversity in India is quite rich and hence it is difficult to categorise waste biomass in a certain pattern. The segregation exercise will require basic training as well as incur extra cost. There are several technologies available for the waste biomass utilisation which is based on lignin content. Thermo-chemical technologies, namely Pyrolysis and Gasification, are two potential technologies which can handle all types of waste biomass by converting them into fuels, pyro-oil and synthesis gas respectively. Pyrolysis process yields pyro-gas and pyro-char in addition to pyro-oil. While, bio-chemical conversions are still gaining pace, thermo-chemical route of treatment is simpler and faster. Hence, we focus on the thermo-chemical routes of waste biomass utilisation in this article. The study focuses on the suitability of pyrolysis and gasification technology for waste biomass utilisation in the Indian context. Case study approach was taken along with success stories of biomass utilisation through thermo-chemical route from secondary published reports and articles. It was found that small scale gasification plants in decentralised mode could be helpful in generating electricity locally. Whereas, hybrid pyrolysis-gasification method could be a potentially sustainable solution in terms of resource recovery. Based on the findings and brainstorming sessions, we have developed a supply chain-based solution architecture that utilises Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology for inventorisation and monitoring of waste biomass. A brief discussion from the perspective of sustainability has also been presented. The architecture can be considered as prima facie towards development of an IoT inspired decision support system.
Keywords:
biomass, gasification, pyrolysis, sustainability, thermochemical conversion
Topic:
Biomass Conversion to Intermediate Bioenergy Carriers, Sustainable Biofuels and Bio-Based Products
Subtopic:
Pyrolysis
Event:
29th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
3BV.2.10
Pages:
811 - 816
ISBN:
978-88-89407-21-9
Paper DOI:
10.5071/29thEUBCE2021-3BV.2.10
Price:
FREE
