Energy from Agricultural Biomass Sources -Experiences and Success Factors

Vietnamese-German Forum on Bioenergy in Vietnamese Industries

S t 16th 2013 I t ti t l A i S i H Chi Mi h Cit (Vi t )Sept. 16th, 2013, Intercontinental Asiana Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)(Mirko Barz)

Agricultural Residues as Energy Sources

Many agricultural residues can potentially be used as bioenergy sources.y g p y gy

Examples:

crop residues such as- straw (field based residue) orstraw (field based residue) or

- husks (process based residue)

Animal manures and slurries

Byproducts from industrial processing of agricultural productsbagasse from sugar industry- bagasse from sugar industry

- EFB from palm oil industry

- wastes from food processing

industries

The most significant division is between those residues that are predominantly dry (such as straw) suitable for thermo-chemical conversion routes and those that are wet (such as animal slurry)

suitable for biological conversion routes

Examples for Agricultural Residues, Suitable as Energy Sources

EFBA i l

Coco-nut shell

Animal manure

Ri h k

Rice straw

Rice husk

Sugar can bagasses

Source: Pham Quang Ha, Nguyen Van Bo

Agricultural Residues as Bioenergy Sources

- Currently, around 5.1 billion dry tones of agricultural residues are produced globally (IEA 2010)

- This amount represents approx. 75 EJThis amount represents approx. 75 EJ or respectively 15 % of the current global primary energy demand of 500 EJ

Picture source: Ecopanel Systems Ltd.

- Depending on the location it is assumed that 25 50 % of the agricultural residues could- Depending on the location it is assumed that 25 50 % of the agricultural residues could generally be used for bioenergy production on a sustainable basis

The role of biomass within a renewable energy economy

Biomass can make a significant contribution to future energy supply !!!Biomass can make a significant contribution to future energy supply !!!(I) Residues from agriculture and forestry ~ 100 EJ,(II) Surplus forest production ~ 80EJ,(III) Energy crops ~ 120 EJ,( ) gy p(IV) Additional energy crops (areas with degraded soils

and moderate water security) ~70 EJ,(V) Additional potential when agricultural productivity

increases faster than historic trends, therebyproducing more food from the same land area

140 EJ~140 EJ

Source: IEA - MAIN REPORT 'Bioenergy - a sustainable and reliable energy source. A review of status and prospects (2009)

Agricultural Residues as Energy Sources

Source: www fao org Biomass energy in ASEAN member countriesSource: www.fao.org ... Biomass energy in ASEAN member countries

Agricultural Residues as Energy SourcesAdvantages:

Food or fuel discussion using agricultural residues no competition with food; No additional land required; Energetic use can reduce environmental problems (e.g. harmful emissions from open fieldEnergetic use can reduce environmental problems (e.g. harmful emissions from open field

burning and reduce fossil fuel based GHG emissions) Decentralized local utilization contributes to:

- income generation,rural development

Community Based Energy Systems- rural development

Disadvantages:

Energy Systems

low energy density not suitable for long distance transportation of fuels Seasonal availability Competition to other uses, e.g. animal feed or conservation of soil fertilizity (nutrient cycle)

The most significant division is between those residues that are predominantly dry (such as straw) suitable for thermo-chemical conversion routesand those that are wet (such as animal slurry) suitable for biological conversion routes

Conversion routes

Agricultural residues

Dry Wet residuesPre-conversion logisticsHarvesting / collecting Transportation Preparation - Storage

Physico-chemical conversionBio-chemical conversionThermo-chemical conversion

residues,such as straw

residuessuch as manure

Physico-chemical conversion

Gasification PyrolysisCombustion Alcohol fermentaitonBiogas

fermentation Compacting

Bio-chemical conversionThermo-chemical conversion

Solid / liquid / Gaseous fuels

Electric energy Thermal energy Combustion

The favorable conversion pathways for heat and power generation from dry agro-residues are:- A) direct combustion of straw combined with conventional steam cycle processes - B) Pyrolysis/Gasification of straw to generate (secondary) liquid or gaseous biofuelsB) Pyrolysis/Gasification of straw to generate (secondary) liquid or gaseous biofuels

to use them in IGE, gas turbines or FCs - C) combined BIGCC (Biomass Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) technologies

The favorable conversion pathway for heat and power generation from wet agro-residues are:- Biogas systems (covered lagoon and plug flow versus CSTR and UASB)

Example Straw as Energy Source

Straw applies to a wide range of crops delivering straw including all cereals such as wheat

Straw is one of the most promising agricultural

Straw applies to a wide range of crops delivering straw, including all cereals such as wheat, rice, maize, sunflower and other oil seeds (e.g. rape) etc.

Straw is one of the most promising agricultural residues, suitable for energy generation

Its estimated that approx. 2.5 3 billion ton of straw (dry matter) are produced globallyof straw (dry matter) are produced globallyeach year

Only a fraction of these amount is used for agricultural purposes or energy productiong p p gy p

The availability of excess-straw for energy generation depends on regional conditions andvaries in a wide range (0 to 60% of the produced

Photo source: Thrn, D. (DBFZ)

g ( pmass).

Example rice straw as energy source

Rice straw in AsiaCountry Rice Production

in Mio t/yearTotal amount of rice straw

in Mio t/yearChina 184.1 138.1India 139.1 104.4Vietnam 35.8 26.9Cambodia 6 3 4 7Cambodia 6.3 4.7Laos 2.7 2.0Thailand 29.3 22.0Myanmar 30 6 23 0Myanmar 30.6 23.0Malaysia 2.2 1.6Indonesia 54.5 40.8Phili i 15 3 11 5Philippines 15.3 11.5Asean total 176.6 132.4Total ammount 499.8 374.9

Example Straw as Energy Source

Aspect: Biomass can provide various forms of Energy (heat, electricity and transport fuels)

Storaged chemical Energy

Direct combustionStrawBiomass

Heat

Conversion to H tCHP cogeneration

Conversion to secondary fuels

(e.g. gasification)

HeatElectricity

Storaged chemical Energy

Combustion engine(in cars)

Mechanical/kinetic Energy

Example rice straw as energy source

Advantage of direct combustion of rice straw:

- Thermal power plants for solid fuels are state of art

- Proven and robust technology- Commercial operated systems for strawCommercial operated systems for straw

combustionin many countries since > 20 years (e.g. Denmark)

- Technology could be provided to Vietnam t !too!

Example rice straw as energy sourceGerman technology provider such as ERK are offering first-class b il d b ti t b d li tboiler and combustion systems based on license agreements

10 MW (el.) Biomass Power Plant at Banbueng (Thailand) . ERK boiler technology

Case study: Setup of a 10 MW straw fired power plant in Thailand

Source: M.K. Delivand; Assessing the feasibility of Process Chains for Energy production from

Fuel demand for a 10 MW power plant

Rice straw in Thailand, Dissertation at the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment,King Mongkuts University of Technology Thonburi

Assumptions Nominal capacity of the plant 10 MWeAnnual operation hours 6000 hrsAnnual operation hours 6000 hrs Overall efficiency of the plant based on LHV 23%Low heating value of rice straw 12.39 MJ/kgMoisture content (MC) 11%Moisture content (MC) 11% Annual rice straw demand on dry basis (db) 75,798 ton db /year Annual rice straw demand on wet basis (wb) 84,135 ton wb /year Loss of rice straw during handling and storage 10%Loss of rice straw during handling and storage 10% Actual annual rice straw demand for the projected plant

92,549 t/yr

Case study: Setup of a 10 MW straw fired power plant in Thailand

Source: M.K. Delivand; Assessing the feasibility of Process Chains for Energy production from Rice straw in Thailand Dissertation at the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment

60708090

THB

/kW

Specific Investment Cost Cost provided from Thai Boiler Manufacturer

Rice straw in Thailand , Dissertation at the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment,King Mongkuts University of Technology Thonburi

Major components% of total capital cost

5 MWe 10 MWe 20 MWeBoiler including fuel handling, fan and pumps

38.17 36.39 36.1830405060

5 10 20Capacity MWe

1000

T

pumps

Steam turbine and condenser 15.27 14.05 17.63

Heat exchanger 3.31 3.31 3.25

Civil work and building facility 10.69 9.92 9.28

Electricity transmission 8.91 9.09 8.35

Fumes treatment 3.82 5.79 6.03

Others 19.85 21.49 19.29

Total 100 100 100

Case study: Setup of a 10 MW straw fired power plant in Thailand

Source: M.K. Delivand; Assessing the feasibility of Process Chains for Energy production from Rice straw in ThailandRice straw in Thailand .

Economic parameters in Investment scenario 30% equity, 70% loanResults

(based on model of DEDE Economic and Financial Analysis of RE Power Development in Thailand)

Parameter Capacity 5 MWe Capacity 10 MWe Capacity 20 MWeNPV (MB) 18 255 733

IRR (%) 9 22 31

PB (year) 8 4 3.2

F th i i th f i t f ti i i i ! From the economic view the use of rice straw for power generation is promising! There are still a number of some barriers to be solved, as:

- high logistic efforts to collect and store the straw,- higher investment and equipment costs compared to power plants using onlywoody biomass sources, y ,

- lack of technical know-how and experiences in Thailand- ...........

Cooperation between Universities, Manufacturers and Investors can help to solve problems

History of Biogas Utilization in Vietnam

1960 75 (1st Period)- In the Northern part, the Ministry of Industry published translated documents on How to make artificial methane and collect the gas

1964- first Methane power station of Vietnam in Bac Thai province (MoI) followed by some1964 first Methane power station of Vietnam in Bac Thai province (MoI), followed by some biogas plants between 1965-1975 in the North (Hanoi, Ha Nam Ninh and Hai Hung

- In the Southern part, the Agriculture /Forestry/Animal Research Department started to study the production of methane from animal manure in the same period, but no applications were deployed.

Problem: After short time of operation many of the biogas plants were shut down due to improper management and technical problems.

1976 1980 (2nd Period)- Vietnam Institute of Energy started research work focused on design, development and testing of suitable biogas plants

Problem: Caused by a lack of technology cooperation and financial support the systems often did not work properly.

History of Biogas Utilization in Vietnam

1981 1990 (3rd Period)( )- More than 2,000 biogas units with family-scale and the size from 3qm 10qm, - Technologies, were simple style technologies, such as:

Indian Style Floating Drum Systems Chinese style fixed dome digeste Low cost plastic tube digester

Photos, Source: GIZ

History of Biogas Utilization in Vietnam

Since 1991 up to now (current Phase)

- Biogas technologies have been rapidly developed in Vietnam (strong assistance from the Government and International organizations)- Today, approx. 200,000 household scale systems (5 20 qm) are installed

simple systems gas utilization for cooking/lighting- simple systems, gas utilization for cooking/lighting- Only one industrial scale application (total capacity 2MW, consisting from 4 units x0.5MW) exist,- A number of medium scale applications (farm scale) using the plug-flow technology were deployed during the last years

Photos, Source: SNV

- For medium biogas plants no standard model has properly enforced, the development and variation is strongly influenced on the location

Th th t l d d li d i l h t f t b i k PVC

500m500m33 digester at Mr digester at Mr ChausChaus farm in farm in QuangQuang NinhNinh close to completionclose to completionOctober 2012October 2012

- Thus, there are rectangular, round and cylindrical shapes, etc. of concrete, brick, PVC or plastic film covers, each have different advantages and disadvantages and different efficiency and investment needs. - The systems are still very simple constructed, using mostly animal manure as substrate.

Status quo of Biogas Utilization in Vietnam

Although Vietnam is an agricultural country with a large volume of potential biogas feed-stocks, only two major sources are currently used for biogas production. These are: - animal manure e.g. from pig farms- wastewaters from cassava starch factories. As an agricultural country, Viet Nam has great potential to develop bio-gas from agricultural residues or special grown energy crops. Up to now, the huge potential of agricultural residues in Vietnam is widely unused. Until now, in Vietnam there are only a few research activities for the optimized production and use of medium and large scale biogas technology in terms of - efficiency, - durability and - reliability The medium and large-scale biogas sector in Vietnam is in relation to existing technologies and procedures (mainly covered lagoons or unstirred plug-flow systems) more or less in its infancy,

Germany is recognized by the Vietnamese side as the leading modern biogas technology country in a global comparison.

Success story Biogas in Thailand as Example for German development cooperation

First introduction of Biogas technologies

in Thailand started around 1950 using

the Indian floating drum Systemg y

1988 the Thai-German Biogas Program, a joint initiative of the Thai government, the German1988 the Thai German Biogas Program, a joint initiative of the Thai government, the German international development agency GTZ (GIZ) and Chiang Mai University was launched to promote the Thai biogas industry by introducing improved technologies (The program introduced new biogas recovery technology to mitigate growing environmental concerns due

to the open-air dumping of waste)

Today- Thailand has ist own biogas industry and strong R&D capabilities (e.g. at ERDI (CMU))

Between 2005 and 2010, the amount of biogas-based grid electricity went from 2 to 214 GWh.

Since the target for 2022 under the REDP (2008) has been already exceeded , a new target for biogas has been set (the new plan set the biogas target at 600 MW in 2021)

New Support for the Biogas Sector in Thailand

A new support program Distributed Green Generation for Community EnterprisesA new support program Distributed Green Generation for Community Enterprises

was passed by the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) in February 2013.

New target is to push the development of biogas power generation using energy crops as feedstock andNew target is to push the development of biogas power generation using energy crops as feedstock and

to enhance the development of distributed and community-based renewable energy systems.

political target: setup new biogas projects with a capacity of 10,000 MW within 10 years.

With th li FIT f 4 5 B ht (11 24 C t) kWh h ll b t d f th d ti f 20 With the new policy, a FIT of 4.5 Baht (11.24 Cent) per kWh shall be granted for the duration of 20

years to systems smaller than 1 MW.

Great Interest of investorsGreat Interest of investorsis expected since technolo-gies are available

Is such a policy support in Vietnam conceivable too???

Suitable substrates for biogas production (beside animal manure)In Vietnam

Use of suitable wastes from agro processing industries such asg p g- EFB from palm oil production,- Waste from cassava starch factories,- Coffee pulp,- Pineapple peel,pp p ,- Banana waste etc., Organic fraction of municipal waste Additional opportunities to use special grown energy crops or grasses as substrates.

For the efficient biogas production from agro processing residues and/or energy crops as feedstock, advanced technologies with improved mixing devices and operated under constant mesophilic (or even thermophilic) conditions are favorable.

Technological requirements to use energy crops and/oragro wastes with high solid content as substrates

Si CSTR ( ti fl ti d t k t ) bi t d l ithSince CSTR (continuous-flow stirred tank reactor) biogas systems can deal with materials with contents of high solid suspension Its expected that this technology might be used for the future deployment of the biogas sector in Vietnam too.

Alternative Options to use Biogas in Vietnam - Biomethane

A promizing option of biogas utilization is the production and feeding-in of Biomethane into the natural gas gridgas grid. The great advantage is that the Biomethane can be used in energy provision where it achieves the greatest benefit (efficiency): in combined heat and power units (CHP) with cogeneration of heat and electricity. as fuel to substitute natural gas and to run NGV (Vietnam is now starting its next stage of NGV

development recently Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is preparing to manufacture 300 buses running on compresseddevelopment, recently Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is preparing to manufacture 300 buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG) to replace the diesel- fueled buses)

Biomethane as fuel for NGV

Traveled kilometer of a car using Biometrhan produced from energycrops from 1 ha agricultural land.

German Technologies, Experiences and know how can help to develope a Biomethan Infrastructur in Vietnam

Status of biomethane production in GermanyStatus of biomethane production in Germany

- Currently 105 plants to upgrade biogas to biomethane are in operation.- Most of the plants (32) use the principle of chemical scrubbing and (31) pressurized water scrubbing,- Caused by the high efforts to regenerate the amine solution for chemical scrubbing (demand on energy),

its expected that the share of water scrubbing will increase in the future- Pressurized water scrubbing might be the favorable solution for installing biomethane

production in Vietnam.

Recommendations for joined R&D Activities in the Biogas Sector

R&D to study fundamentals of process stability using specific Vietnamese Agro-waste as Substrates

for Biogas Production in Vietnam

Techno-Economic Assessments/Evaluation of various technological concepts (including studies of

trends and innovations appropriate for Vietnam)

Appropriate Technology Transfer

Development of system safety concepts

Ecological Assessment (Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA))

Social and macroeconomic rating (Societal LCA)Social and macroeconomic rating (Societal LCA)

Development of trainings material and content for implementation packages

General Accompanying scientific research

.

contact:contact:

Prof. Dr. Mirko Barzbarz@htw-berlin.de