Energy

Biopower

The technologies used to obtain energy (biopower) from different types of biomass are different and the resulting energy products are different too. Biopower technologies convert renewable fuels of biomass into heat and electricity by using equipment, which is similar to the one used for fossil fuels. An advantageous characteristic of biomass is its availability, as it is able to keep its energy intact until it is used. Briefly, thermo-chemical conversion processes of biomass are based on the action of heat that activates the chemical reactions needed to transform the matter into energy and can be used for those cellulose and wood residues whose C/N ratio is over 30 and the humidity content is lower than 30%. The biomass that is more suitable to be subject to thermo-chemical conversion are wood and all its derivates (sawdust, wood shavings, etc), the most common wood-cellulose by-products (cereal straw, grapevine pruning residues, fruit trees pruning residues, etc) and some processing waste (husks, chaff, stones, etc). Bio-chemical processes: bio-chemical conversion processes allow to obtain energy throughout a chemical reaction that takes place thanks to the contribution of enzymes, mushrooms and micro-organisms, that form in the biomass under particular conditions, and are used for that biomass whose carbon/nitrogen ratio is lower than 30 and humidity at collection is higher than 30%. The following products are appropriate for chemical conversion: aquatic breeding, some cultivation by-products (leaves, sugar-beet stems, vegetables, potatoes, etc.), liquid residues of zoo-technical industry and some processing waste (residues of alcohol processing made of grains, vegetation water, etc.), and some types of urban and industrial waste water. The technologies that are currently used in the biopower sector are: cofiring, pyrolisis, gasification, combustion, “small modular” systems, aerobic digestion, anaerobic digestion, and carbonization.