Waste biomass availability

Several studies estimate the potential of available virgin and waste biomass as energy resources (Table 4) (10). In Table 4, the projected potential of the recoverable materials is about 25% of the theoretical maximum woody biomass is about 70% of the total recoverable potential. These estimates of biomass energy potential are based on existing, sustainable biomass production and do not iaclude new, dedicated biomass energy plantations that might be developed. 

Electric power generation using biomass as a fuel is economic in situations where the cost of the fuel is competitive with that of fossil fuels. The cost of a commercially available biomass steam—electric power plant is about 1500/kW for a wood-fired facility. If wood can be obtained at a cost of 2.00/GJ ( 2.10 X 10 /Btu), the total cost of power for base-load operation would be about 0.05/kWh. If wood or agricultural wastes are available at... 

These applications avoid the major obstacles for using biomass for electricity generation fluctuation in the supply, and the type of biomass available. Seasonal variations and differing quality of feedstock are the biggest barriers to more widespread use. This is especially true for biomass wastes. 

This review of the concept of utilizing biomass energy shows that when sufficient supplies of renewable carbon are available, virgin and waste biomass have the potential of becoming basic energy resources. Presuming that suitable conversion processes are available, and that the demand for energy and estab-... 

The market penetration of synthetic fuels from virgin and waste biomass in the United States depends on several basic factors such as demand, price, performance, competitive feedstock uses, government incentives, whether an established fuel is replaced by a chemically identical fuel or a different fuel, and the cost and availability of other fuels such as oil and natural gas. Many detailed analyses have been performed to predict the market penetration of biomass energy over the next 10 to 50 years. There seems to be a range from about 4 to 20 quads per year that characterize the growth of biomass energy consumption. All of these projections of future market penetrations for biomass energy in the United States should be viewed in the proper perspective. 

Waste Biomass Resource Abundance, Energy Potential, and Availability... 

Again, there is no question of the physical availability of biosolids. They are collected in municipal wastewater systems and are therefore available in centralized locations. But in this case, treatment is essential for health reasons and protection of the public. Unless processes exist that can be used to treat and stabilize the waste and at the same time recover energy, it does not make much sense to use untreated biosolids as a waste biomass feedstock. In fact, such processes exist and will be discussed in some detail in later chapters. The other option to consider is the utilization of treated biosolids as a waste biomass. 

The availability of animal excreta for use as waste biomass is difficult to estimate without a detailed inventory of how much is collected, dropped in the field... 

In any case, the information and data discussed here show that although the amounts of certain animal wastes are substantial and represent a large energy potential, careful assessment of availabilities is necessary to develop strategies for commercial development of animal excreta as waste biomass feedstocks. 

TABLE 5.6 Energy Potentials and Availabilities from Waste Biomass in United States... 

Waste biomass (EJ/year) (EJ/year) Remarks on availability... 

Dewatering methods are available for most high-water-content virgin and waste biomass. This suggests that the moisture content of such feedstocks can be readily adjusted before conversion. This is not the case, however, because it is often difficult to reduce moisture content to the level desired at reasonable cost. 

An economically attractive approach to commercial production of diesel fuel substitutes from natural biomass liquids in North America appears to be the direct conversion of waste biomass oils to super cetane by catalytic hydrotreatment. This technology is expected to be commercialized first in Canada where it was developed. The availability of large amounts of feedstock... 

An innovative option that should be examined further is the use of aqueous carbohydrate blends containing small amounts of alcohol as diesel fuels. These formulations are not natural oils, but if they turn out to be effective fuels, they would be available at relatively low cost from a wide range of biomass feedstocks, including waste biomass. 

Presuming the market for furfural and its derivatives ultimately grows to the point where commodity uses require the availability of large amounts of furfural, woody and waste biomass feedstocks can serve as a much more abundant and distributed source of supply than com cobs, oat hulls, and rice... 

Bagasse is a waste biomass from the sugarcane refining process. Bagasse residues represent the largest quantity industrial biomass waste available worldwide and therefore the most significant potential source of power produced from biomass. Figure 1 shows a comparison of the potential number of power plants by 2025 at 7 and 40 MW of electricity production for various biomass residues. ... 

---