Energy

Biomass is considered a renewable energy resource that can be used to provide the necessary fuel for heating, steam or power applications at various commercial, governmental, institutional and industrial facilities.

For example, biopower (biomass-to-electricity power generation) is a proven electricity-generating option. The majority of capacity is produced in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) facilities in the industrial, electric utility and Independent Power Producer (IPP) sectors for power and steam production. Most of today’s capacity is based on mature, direct combustion boiler/steam turbine technology with the appropriate pollution controls. Direct combustion involves the oxidation of biomass with excess air, producing hot flue gases, which produces steam in the heat exchange section of boilers. This steam can then be used to produce:

heating (greenhouses, buildings, processes)
cooling (absorption chillers)
renewable power (electricity) in a Rankine cycle (steam turbine, electric generator, condenser, etc)
power augmentation for gas turbines (steam and humid air injection) in a Brayton cycle

The addition of drying processes like the Biodryer raises the efficiency of direct combustion systems and permits greater fuel flexibility. Waste organics and biomass that is often too wet to be used as a fuel can now be utilized to produce steam or power (refer to Biomass Fuel Section).

In addition to direct-fired combustion, the other technologies that will benefit from drier biomass will be co-firing, gasification and calcination (cement kiln).