Bio-mass Energy

Energy from Biomass 1. Definitions of biomass and biogas: Biomass is a name given to the plant matter which is produced by photosynthesis. Ex: All trees, leaves, plants, grass etc Biogas is a gas mixture which is generated by anaerobic fermentation of organic waste materials. This gas mixture has a following composition: (a) Methane-CH4 50-60% by volume (b) Carbon di oxide(C02) 30-45% by volume (c) Hydrogen(H2) 2-5% by volume (d) Nitrogen(N2) 0.5-0.7% by volume (e) Other gases traces 2.

Photosynthesis: It is the most important chemical reaction which is sustaining life on this planet- Earth. During this reaction, the green plants (which contain chlorophyll) prepares food (sugar, starches, celluloses and hemi-celluloses) using CO2 from atmosphere, water and sunlight. Photosynthesis is a complex process reaction which continues in several successive stages. The overall reaction may be represented as XCO2+YH2O+sunlight+ chlorophyll ------> XO2+ CX (H2O) Y+ chlorophyll The generalized symbol CX (H2O) Y represents carbohydrates/ hydro carbons like sucrose, glucose, starch, celluloses etc. This is the primary source of mans basic needs like food (rice, wheat etc), fiber (cotton, cloths etc) and shelter (wood, bamboo etc) There is a net gain of energy (energy available in solar radiation) in this process along with release of oxygen and fixation of carbon from the atmosphere in the form of biomass. The net energy absorbed from the solar radiation is released during the combustion of biomass (chemically bound form of energy). 3.

Photosynthetic oxygen production: The process of photosynthesis is extremely complex and not fully understood by scientist. In this reaction, water and CO2 molecules are broken to form carbohydrates with the release of pure oxygen. The overall reaction may be represented as 6CO2+12H2O C6H12O6+ 6H2O+6CO2 The observed light is in the ultra violet and infrared range. Visible light having a wavelength below 700 deg A is absorbed by the green chlorophyll which becomes activated and passes its energy onto the water molecules. A hydrogen atom is then released and reacts with the carbon-dioxide molecule to produce carbohydrate and oxygen. The oxygen is liberated from H2O molecule and not from CO2 molecule. This process is called Carbon fixation. The process of photosynthesis proceeds in two major steps as follows: Step 1. Splitting of H2O molecule into H2 and O2 under the influence of chlorophyll and sunlight. This reaction is known as Photosynthetic light reaction. Due to proteolysis of H2O, the O2 escapes to atmosphere and H2 is transmitted into intermediate compound later to form carbohydrates. Step 2. The hydrogen from step1 (in the form of unknown intermediate compound) reacts with CO2 to form starch and sugar. This reaction is described as “DARK REACTION”. Thus during photosynthetic light reaction nascent oxygen is produced. 4. Energy plantation: It is the method of storing and typing of solar energy by growing plants, trees in the form of artificial forests, on waste and available land. Different fast growing plant species have been identified and used for this purposes examples are- acacia, tortilla, lebbak, Juliflora, erythrina, leocaena etc.

Under the biomass energy program of ministry of non-conventional energy sources many energy plantations projects have been taken up with a view to fulfill the needs of fuel, fodder and power generation together with good potential for rural employment.