TECH TALK
Bioenergy : A Growing Industry
Biomass is an important , if controversial , source of energy , which first rose to prominence in ethanol facilities and has been growing ever since . The industry makes perfect sense as part of the circular economy and provides plentiful opportunities for the valve industry .
By James Chater
Amid all the publicity surrounding wind and solar energy , it is easy to forget that bioenergy ( the generation of energy from biomass ) accounts for about 55 % of all renewable energy , or roughly one-tenth of the world ’ s primary energy supply . The IEA foresees a rapid increase in the use of bioenergy to displace fossil fuels , and demand is rising by about 6 % or 7 % a year ¹. This upward trend is supported by generous subsidies in the USA and many European countries .
Biomass
Biomass is organic matter used as feedstock in bioenergy facilities . The earliest form of industrial bioenergy was mostly ethanol , a corrosive alcohol used , among other things , as motor fuel . It is made from corn , yeast , sweet sorghum or sugar cane using a fermentation process .
With the passing of time , more feedstocks and more products were developed . Forest and agricultural residues , crops , straw , waste , sewage , landfill gas and algae were used to create new products such as liquid biofuels ( especially biodiesel ) and biomethane ( biogas ). Biofuels are especially important in aviation , and biomass-fired power plants fueled by organic matter
A biogas upgrading solution under construction in the Wärtsilä factory in Kalmar Sweden . Photo © Wärtsilä .
such as waste , often in combination with natural gas or coal , have become increasingly popular .
Many fossil-fuel power stations have been converted to biomass . Most biomass power plants feature cogeneration ( combined heat and power , or CHP ) for district heating , making them more efficient . A case in point is the Fortum Värtaverket KVV8 CHP plant in Stockholm , which has been operating since 2016 using advanced technology supplied by Andritz ( boilers , automation etc .) and actuators from Auma . It runs on forest residues but can switch to coal , and supplies heat to 190,000 households .
Liquid biofuels
Liquid biofuels include ethanol and biodiesel . Ethanol is used as an engine fuel and as a fuel additive such as E10 . The largest producers by far are the United States and Brazil . Biodiesel is produced from organic matter through a chemical process known as transesterification . It replaces diesel in ships , trains and automobiles . Aviation biofuel ( bio-jet fuel ; sustainable aviation fuel – SAF ) is used to fuel aircraft , either partially ( blended with conventional fuel ) or 100 %. It is made from biomass using pyrolysis processed with a Fischer-
Tropsch process ; using alcohol from waste fermentation ; or from synthetic biology through a solar reactor .
Biogas
Biogas is made by putting organic waste inside a closed container and allowing it to undergo anaerobic digestion , a process in which microbes break down organic matter to produce CO 2 and methane ; the latter can be used further to produce electricity , power vehicles ( trains , buses , automobiles ) or heat homes , or liquefied to produce bio- LNG . The residue from this process can be converted into biofertiliser . Europe is the largest producer , especially Germany , with two-thirds of Europe ’ s capacity . China and the USA are large producers , and the remaining production comes from the rest of Asia , notably Thailand and India .
Projects
Several recent and ongoing projects demonstrate the versatility of modern biorefineries ( biomass treatment plants ). In 2021 Eni began production in a refinery in Gela , Sicily , Italy . The plant recycles cooking oil and fats from fish and meat processing to produce biodiesel , bio-naphtha , bioLPG and bio-jet fuel . The company is planning to convert an industrial site near Livorno on Italy ’ s west coast into a biorefinery . It will consist of a biogenic feedstock pretreatment unit , a 500,000 tonne / year Ecofining™ plant , and a plant to produce hydrogen from methane gas . Eni is also studying a possible biorefinery in Malaysia along with Japan ’ s Euglena and Malaysia ’ s Petroliam Nasional Berhad .
In 2022 Fintoil completed its biorefinery at the port of Hamina-Kotka in south-eastern Finland . The plant makes renewable fuels using fractional distillation , in which heat energy and negative pressure are used to distil the raw material to its constituents , separating the wanted fractions .
Its main product is crude tall oil , which comes from the Finnish evergreen and is a by-product of the kraft pulping process . One of the leading biogas technology suppliers is Weltec Biopower . It has built four biogas plants in Japan , the latest being a biogas-cum-cogeneration power plant
French Régiolis Class train using 100 % biodiesel ( B100 ). By Florian Pépellin – Own work , CC BY-SA 4.0 , https :// commons . wikimedia . org / w / index . php ? curid = 81762569
34 Valve World Americas | October 2024 • www . valve-world-americas . net