|
The main applications for biomass fuel are:
Greenhouse heating: In areas of Greece where there are large quantities of biomass available, biomass is used as a fuel in suitably modified boilers for greenhouse heating.
Heating buildings with biomass fuel in individual/central boilers: In certain areas of Greece, individual/central boilers using olive pits are used to heat buildings.
Production of energy in agricultural industries: Biomass for energy production is used by agricultural industries where biomass is produced in significant quantities as a residue or byproduct of the production process and which have large heat requirements. Ginning mills, mills producing refined olive oil from the second pressing, rice mills, as well as small canning plants burn their residues (residues from cotton ginning, olive pits, husks and seeds, respectively) to cover their heating needs and/or part of their electricity requirements.
Energy production in wood working industries: Residues from woodworking industries (sawdust, powder, shavings, etc) are used for heat in their production processes as well as for heating their buildings.
District heating: Supply of space heating as well as hot water for a complex of buildings, a residential area, a village or town from a centralized heat production plant. The heat is transported through a network of pipes from the station to the buildings to be heated.
Production of energy by sewage treatment plants and sanitary landfills:
The biogas produced by anaerobic digestion of liquid wastes in sewage treatment plants, or in sanitary landfills, is burned in internal combustion engines to produce electricity. At the same time, thermal energy from exhaust gas emissions and from the engine coolant medium can be used for the heating needs (for example, heating buildings).
Liquid biofuels
|
|
|
The term “biofuels” is usually used for liquid fuels which can be used for transportation. The most common ones on the market are biodiesel, methyl ester which is produced mainly from oil seeds (sunflower, rapeseed, etc.) and can be used either on its own or in a mixture with diesel for diesel engines and bioethanol which is produced from plant sugars, cellulose and starches (wheat, corn, sorghum, sugar beets, etc.) and is used either alone or in specially adapted gasoline engines, in a mixture with gasoline in regular gasoline engines, or it is converted into ETBE (a gasoline additive).
Benefits of bioenergy and biofuels
Biomass energy is “carbon neutral”- carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere by growing plants and this is later re- released when the biomass is combusted for energy. Life cycle studies show that biomass to energy produces very low net carbon dioxide emissions compared to fossil fuels.
Use of biomass is therefore an important way to tackle rising greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change.
Using biomass also offers job diversity, retention, and creation especially in the agriculture and forest sectors. Biomass energy offers new technology investment opportunities and the development of cleaner, more resource efficient industries. |
| |
|
|
|
|
