Mixed Alcohol Production from

Biomass

Presentors

• Abdul Baseer 2011-CH-50• M. Awais Yaqoob 2011-CH-32• Nanad Lal 2011-CH-146• Tariq Basheer 2011-CH-60• Rizwan Liaquat 2011-CH-72

Contents• Bioenergy Overview• Biomass Resources• Creating Energy from Biomass• Mixed Alcohol Production• Pinch Analysis• Biomass Economics• Biomass Environmental Issues• Promise of Bioenergy

Biomass in Pakistan• Biomass/Waste to Energy has been recognized as a

clean, reliable, renewable source of energy. • Unfortunately in Pakistan this source of energy has not

been utilized. The growing urbanization has given rise to generation of increasing quantities of wastes and its now becoming another threat to our environment.

• Biomass and waste to energy plants are used not only to generate sufficient power but also used to cleanup the environment as well by conserving non-renewable fossil fuel resources and reducing the environmental impacts of trash disposal

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Global Energy Sources 2002

Boyle, Renewable Energy, Oxford University Press (2004)

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Renewable Energy Use – 2001

Boyle, Renewable Energy, Oxford University Press (2004)

Tracy Biomass Plant

Truck unloading wood chips that will fuel the Tracy Biomass Plant, Tracy, California.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/biomass/biomass.html

U.S. Energy Consumption by Source, 1998

Total primary energy supply mix in India

Renewable Energy• Hydropower• Wind Energy• Solar Energy• Geothermal Energy• Offshore Wind, Wave, and Tidal Energy• Biomass Energy and Cellulosic Ethanol

Plant materials, such as wood, corn, and soy, account for nearly half the renewable energy in Pakistan

Renewable Energy• Hydropower• Wind Energy• Solar Energy• Geothermal Energy• Offshore Wind, Wave, and Tidal Energy• Biomass Energy and Cellulosic Ethanol

Plant materials, such as wood, corn, and soy, account for nearly half the renewable energy in Pakistan

Biomass energy

• Biomass energy is another form of renewable energy source and it is derived from living or dead organisms like plants, animal residue and waste.

Why mixed alcohol fuels?

• Limited biomass disposal sights & environmental regulations

• Sources are rice straw, wheat straw, cotton waste, agricultural residues, municipal wastes

Cont…

• Pakistan can produce 3,000MW -5,000MW electricity.

• Boilers in sugar mills operates are not very efficient and operates at low pressure.

Cond…

• Increasing prices and decreasing available capacity of fossil fuels

• Environmental friendly energy• Always available in agricultural country like

Pakistan• To meet current energy crisis in Pakistan

• 21.35 million M3 biogas can be produced through biomass. In addition it will also produce 450 million tons of bio-fertilizer per day

• It is estimated that the potential production of biogas from livestock residue is 8.8 to 17.2 billion cubic meters of gas per year

Mixed Alcohol Production-Process

• Feed handling and drying • Gasification • Gas cleanup • Syngas compression• Alcohol synthesis• Acid gas removal • Alcohol separation

Feed Handling and Drying

• Biomass goes through a size-reduction step toI. make it easier to handle II.make the ethanol production process more efficient III.minimize the required size of downstream equipment• NEXT STEP is to dry the biomass feed from

available moisture content to 10 wt % moisture content at the inlet to the gasifier in order to maximize the efficiency of the gasifier

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Ethanol Production Plant

http://www.nrel.gov/biomass/photos.html

Simplified diagram of gasification area

Gasification• Heat is provided indirectly through circulation of

olivine (heat transfer media• H2:CO ratio of less than 2 is preferred for this

design• Steam is injected into the gasifier to serve as a

fluidizing medium and reactant at the high gasifier temperatures

Simplified process flow diagram of gas cleanup area

Syngas Compression for Alcohol Synthesis

Syngas Compression

• Cooled low-pressure syngas enters a six-stage centrifugal compressor system

• Pressure is increased to approximately 3,000 psi (207 bar)

Compressed Syngas

Alcohol Synthesis• The compressed fresh syngas is mixed with

recycled syngas and methanol, and pre-heated to 595°F (313°C) before entering the alcohol synthesis reactor

• The overall stoichiometric reaction for alcohol synthesis is

• Light hydrocarbons, methyl esters, and aldehydes are produced in smaller quantities

Pinch Analysis• systematic approach for optimizing energy

integration• Temperature and heat flow (Q) data were gathered

for the hot process streams (streams cooled in the process), cold process streams (streams heated in the process), and utility streams like steam, flue gas, and cooling waterion in process design

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Biodiesel Bus

http://www.nrel.gov/biomass/photos.html

Multiple benefits would accrue:

Benefits of Bioenergy

• Farmers producing these fuel crops would see increased profits per year.

• Consumers would see future pump savings of fuel costs.

• Society would see CO2 emissions transportation-related CO2 emissions in 2002.

Environmental Issues• Air Quality

– Reduce NOx and SO2 emissions• Global Climate Change

– Low/no net increase in CO2

• Biodiversity and Habitat– Positive and negative changes

Conclusion• Reduce wastes• Cleaner air• New agricultural markets• Energy security• Address global warming• Address energy shortage• More flexible international relations• Benefit for developing nations

Future work

• Research and development activities are being done to improve the performance of mixed alcoholic fuels

• Bioethanol industry in Pakistan is only starting to be developed, in future it may be the replacement of petrol

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