Biomass fuel with focus on pellets

• Why biomass fuel?

• Biomass uses

• Biomass energy value

• Rice husk characteristics

• Husk/straw combustion challenges

• Desired wood pellet characteristics

• Biomass pellet market

• Making pellets

Alex Chou

Why biomass fuel?

http://gailtheactuary.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/natural-gas-prices-in-us-europe-japan.png

Biomass uses• Globally, 140 billion metric tons of biomass1 is generated every year from

agriculture. This volume of biomass can be converted to an enormous amount of energy and raw materials. Equivalent to approximately 50 billion tons of oil

• Biomass takes the form of residual stalks, straw, leaves, roots, husk, nut or seed shells, waste wood and animal husbandry waste.

http://www.unep.org/ietc/Portals/136/Publications/Waste%20Management/WasteAgriculturalBiomassEST_Compendium.pdf

Biomass useshttp://www.unep.org/ietc/Portals/136/Publications/Waste%20Management/WasteAgriculturalBiomassEST_Compendium.pdf

Biomass useshttp://www.jseejournal.com/JSEE%202011/Special%20Issue/9.%20Agricultural%20residues_Aj.%20Barz_p.%2021-27.pdf

Biomass energy value

MoisturekWh / kg kcal / kg Weight kg / m3 kg = 1liter fuel

Bark fir 50% 2,14 1,84 280 4,65

Briquettes 20% 4,9 4,214 660 2,03

Forest wood chip dry 40% 2,89 2,511 240 3,44

Forest wood chip fresh 55% 2 1,72 310 4,98

Miscanthus 10% 4,4 3,78 140 2,26

Rapeseed 9% 6,83 5,87 700 1,46

Sawdust 6% 4,2 3,629 160 2,36

Stover rapeseed 15% 4,17 3,58 115 2,43

Sunflower 9% 5,56 4,78 600 1,79

Wheat 15% 4,17 3,58 700 2,4

Wheat Straw 15% 4 3,44 100 2,49

Wood chip 20% 4,22 3,629 175 2,36

Wood granulate 8% 4,44 3,81 600 2,24

Woodlogs ash 45% 2,61 2,245 650 3,81

Woodlogs ash dry 20% 4,08 3,509 400 2,44

Coal 10% 7 6,02 750 1,36

Fuel gasoil 11,8 11,2 840 0,84

Natural gas 10,83 9,314 0 0

http://www.biofuelsb2b.com/useful_info.php?page=Typic

Biomass energy value

Product Moisture Approx.

Ash

content

LHV

(%, dry basis) (%) (MJ/kg)

Bagasse Sugarcane 18 4 17-18

Coconut husks 5-10 6 16,7

Coffee husks 13 8-10 16,7

Corn Stover 5-6 8 17-19

Corncobs 15 1-2 19,3

Cotton husks 5-10 3 16,7

Groundnut shells 3-10 4-14 16,7

Miscnathus 14 1-3 19-20

Oil-palm fibres 55 10 7-8

Oil-palm husks 55 5 7-8

Poplar wood 5-15 1.2 17-19

Rice hulls 9-11 15-20 13-15

Rice straw and husk 15-30 15-20 17-18

Switchgrass 8-15 6 18-20

Wheat straw and husk 7-15 8-9 17-19

Willow wood 12 1-5 17-19

http://www.biofuelsb2b.com/useful_info.php?page=Typic

Rice husk characteristicshttp://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/rkb/index.php/rice-milling/contributions-and-references-milling/further-information-byproducts/husk-and-straw-properties

Proximate analysis - Comparison of rice husk, rice straw and wood in % (d.b.)

Property Rice husk Rice Straw Wood

Volatile matter 64.7 69.7 85

Fixed carbon 15.7 11.1 13

Ash 19.6 19.2 2

Ultimate analysis - Comparison of rice husk, rice straw and wood in % (d.b.)

Property Rice husk Rice Straw WoodCarbon 38.7 37.7 48Hydrogen 5 5 6.5Oxygen 36 37.5 43Nitrogen 0.5 0.6 0.5Sulphur 0.1 NA NA

Chemical composition of carbon-free rice husk ash in % d.b.

Chemical composition % d.b.

SO2 86 - 97.3

K2O 0.58 - 2.5

Na2O 0.0 - 1.75

CO 0.2 - 1.5

MO 0.12 - 1.96

Fe2O3 trace - 0.54

P2O5 0.2 - 2.85

SO3 0.1 - 1.13

Cl trace - 0.42

Rice husk characteristicshttp://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/rkb/index.php/rice-milling/contributions-and-references-milling/further-information-byproducts/husk-and-straw-properties

Bulk density, kg/m3

Property Rice husk Rice husk ash Rice Straw WoodLoose 73-112 96-192

300-900Vibrated 122-145Bricketed or pelleted 180Ground 230-400

Equilibrium moisture content

Relative humidity

(%)

Equilibrium moisture content (% w.b.)

Rice husk Rice straw Wood

10 3.7 - 3.5

20 5.4 - 5

30 6.8 - 6

40 7.9-8.1 - 7.5

50 9.1 -9.5 5.5 9

60 10.1 -10.8 6.3 10

70 10.8 -11.8

9.5 12

80 11.6 -12.9

12.5 14.5

90 14 - 15.3 21 18

Rice husk characteristicshttp://gekgasifier.pbworks.com/f/biomass%20fuel%20properties%20Miles.pdf

Husk/straw combustion challengeshttp://www.ofa.on.ca/uploads/userfiles/files/papiya%20roy.pdf

Slagging deposits within furnace, in areas directly exposed to flame radiation such as furnace walls and some widely spaced pendant. Fouling deposits in areas NOT directly exposed to flame radiation such as the more closely spaced tubes in convection sections of boilerThe role alkali and chlorine in corrosion•Chlorine is a facilitator of alkali volatilization, important contributor to corrosion

metal wastage and pollution•Higher percentage of alkali metals [K] in biomass ash with Cl in herbaceous

biomass are main challenges•Herbaceous fuels contain silicon and potassium as their principle ash-forming

constituents•Chlorine facilitates the mobility of many inorganic compounds mainly Potassium,

Cl plays a shuttle role facilitating the transport of alkali concentration•Alkali plays a role in

•Reaction of alkali and silica to form alkali silicates that melts at low temperature

• )The reaction of alkali with sulfur to form alkali sulfates on combustor heat transfer surfaces

Husk/straw combustion challengeshttp://www.ofa.on.ca/uploads/userfiles/files/papiya%20roy.pdf

Slagging characteristics of biomass fuels•Silicon and silicates together with alkali metals results slag formation•Deposits are commonly known as the layers of ash collected on the surface of

heat transfer equipment•Corrosion is the deterioration of intrinsic properties of a material due to reaction

with its environment•Alkali metals mainly K, Na readily released to the gas phase during combustion

and formed alkali silicates that melt at low temperatures [lower than 700 oC] provides a sticky surface for enhanced deposition

•Straw, Cereals, grasses contain relatively high levels of Cl, S and alkali metals which causes corrosion and deposit formation. Their ashes contain relatively low Ca but high K, Si contents and therefore start to sinter and melt at significantly lower temperature than ashes from wood fuels.

All additives such as Kaolin, Dolomite, Limestone, Alumina, Bauxite etc reduce the slagging/fouling potential caused by the alkalis

Desired wood pellet characteristicsGlobal Wood Pellets Markets and Industry: Policy Drivers, Market Status and Raw Material PotentialNovember 2007

Biomass pellet markethttp://www.economist.com/news/business/21575771-environmental-lunacy-europe-fuel-future

•WHICH source of renewable energy is most important to the European Union? Solar power, perhaps? (Europe has three-quarters of the world’s total installed capacity of solar photovoltaic energy.) Or wind? (Germany trebled its wind-power capacity in the past decade.) The answer is neither. By far the largest so-called renewable fuel used in Europe is wood.

• Imports of wood pellets into the EU rose by 50% in 2010 alone and global trade in them (influenced by Chinese as well as EU demand) could rise five- or sixfold from 10m-12m tonnes a year to 60m tonnes by 2020, reckons the European Pellet Council. Much of that will come from a new wood-exporting business that is booming in western Canada and the American south.

•Prices are going through the roof. Wood is not a commodity and there is no single price. But an index of wood-pellet prices published by Argus Biomass Markets rose from €116 ($152) a tonne in August 2010 to €129 a tonne at the end of 2012. Prices for hardwood from western Canada have risen by about 60% since the end of 2011.

Biomass pellet markethttp://biomassmagazine.com/articles/9367/annual-eu-report-projects-increased-pellet-biogas-consumption

• the European Biomass Association expects consumption of wood pellets in the EU to rise drastically, reaching 20 to 32 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe), or approximately 50 to 80 million metric tons, by 2020. Consumption of wood pellets was only 2.5 Mtoe in 2008.

•The EU is currently the world’s largest market for wood pellets. While domestic production and imports have both grown since 2006, imports have grown at a faster rate over the past few years. In 2006 the EU produced approximately 3.52 million metric tons of wood pellets. That same year, the EU imported only 800,000 metric tons of the fuel. By 2012, production had grown to 10 million metric tons, with imports reaching 4.49 million metric tons. Domestic production is projected to reach 10.15 million metric tons in 2013 and 10.3 million metric tons in 2013. Imports, however, are expected to continue to grow at a faster pace, reaching 6 million metric tons in 2013 and 7 million metric tons in 2014.

•The U.S. was the main supplier of wood pellets in the 2012, with 1.764 million metric tons delivered. Canada supplied 1.346 million metric tons of pellets to Europe. Russia, Ukraine, Croatia and Belarus supplied a relative 637,000 metric tons, 217,000 metric tons, 136,000 metric tons and 112,000 metric tons of wood pellets to Europe.

Biomass pellet markethttp://biomassmagazine.com/articles/8837/asian-markets-for-wood-pellets

Making pelletsGlobal Wood Pellets Markets and Industry: Policy Drivers, Market Status and Raw Material PotentialNovember 2007

5t/hr

Making pellets - AKG

Making pellets - KMEC

5t/hr

Making pellets - KMEC mobile

Making pellets - Yulong

Yulong rice husk pellet buy back

• We would like to confirm you that we attend to by Rice Husk Pellet in amount of 2,150.00 Bath per ton, exc. Vat. We will provide jumbo bags. This price included delivery to 3 Thai Port which are LaemChabang Port, Klong Toey Port and Lat Krabang Port.

• Payment term is 15 days to pellet producer. Quality : at least 1,000

• Quantity : 6,000 Tons/month.• Condition : Buy Yulong Machine to do Rice

Husk Pellet• Rice husk pellet specifications:

• dia:8 mm• Moisture: <10%• length: 10-40 mm

• BREAKEVEN with 8 pellet machines in ~2 years at 2 shifts per day

• RECOMMENDATION: invest in husk pellet production first to serve Asia market and then develop EU market

quotation 5,788,700 1.4 ton per hour line 112 KWlines 8

capex 46,309,600

installation, etc. 20% 9,261,920

total 55,571,520

years 10annual maintenance % of capex 5%operating hours per day 16operating days per year 300electricity KW installed 896electricity baht per KWh 3.5staff 8 at baht per month 80,000stuffing & transfer bht per ton 15used jumbo baht per 1 ton 180barge transport per ton 65husk costs per ton 1200husk sales per ton at port 2150

hourly output tons 11.2 paddy equiv 56total daily output tons 179.2

total annual output tons 53,760

average monthly output 4,480

basic analysis baht per ton annualrevenue 2,150 115,584,000 fixed costs allocation 10 years (103) (5,557,152)maintenance (52) (2,778,576)staff (18) (960,000)husk (1,200) (64,512,000)jumbo 0 labor (15) (806,400)electricity (280) (15,052,800)barge (65) (3,494,400)total 417 22,422,672

40.3%