Bioenergy project in Golden, Colorado 

Bioenergy project in Golden, Colorado 

Executive summary

Biopower is a form of electrical energy that is generated from large amounts of biomass, which is mainly in the way of organic materials from plants, agricultural waste, wood, and other decayable constituents. However, biomass is regarded as a chief source of renewable energy due to its vast availability across the entire United States. It has therefore been ranked as the most reliable source of electricity as compared to solar and wind energy. Besides, biomass provides a renewable energy resolution in various places where other sources of renewable energy like sun and wind are not readily available. Our project to implement an energy plant to generate biopower in Colorado is very suitable and reliable since it spurs the national goals to initiate the use of clean, renewable energy, which is ecologically friendly, in the course of endorsing economic progress. We aim to implement an efficient and maintainable biopower plant that can provide at least 50% clean, renewable power or energy.

The project targets to provide electricity in Golden, Colorado, in the United States. However, the project purposes to invigorate rural economies by providing clean electricity domestically in the entire Golden city, aiming at delivering driving power for a large number of industries in the town. Again, our project further aims at reducing the impacts of the use of fossil fuels as the driving power of industries since it has a significant effect on the environment and the climate of the city, and to some extent, the whole world (Kleinschmit et al, 2017). This is because a higher number of industries produce a lot of greenhouse gases, which are a risk to the environment and also the future climate of the entire region. Additionally, the use of organic materials in generating or producing electrical energy helps in conserving the forests since there is not the production of wastes in the process. Implementation of the project will further create numerous job opportunities relative to agribusinesses, and they include utility and power plant vendors, operators and owners or managers of the project, suppliers of the equipment required for project set-up, amongst other distinguished small businesses which may benefit from the project.

Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are legislation from the government of the United States, which requires that a portion of electrical energy in the State must be generated from renewable sources, and the suggested source is biomass. The legislation targeted that all states in America must have enacted the project by 2020. However, enactment of the RPS will automatically intensify the demand for as much renewable energy as possible, thus our project of implementing a biopower generating plant will be marketable. The chief purpose of this research is to explore the expertise or technology which is required for implementing a biopower producing plant as well as the economic and environmental benefit of the project. The results of the project include reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel-driven power plants and industries by use of organic wastes as the chief source of biopower. However, since organic waste; Biomass is readily available in Golden, Colorado, the use of coal and fossil fuels will be replaced by biopower. Our biopower plant will produce an additional value in the form of heat and will attain renewable portfolio standards since the raw material is waste biomass.

Introduction

Biopower refers to the electricity, which is primarily produced from biomass precisely from the organic material found in plants and woods. Biomass is generally the renewable source of energy henceforth having high availability as it chiefly produced from the natural materials which are readily accessible.  Consequently this makes biopower to be potentially more dependable as compared to the wind and solar power which are intermittent. The use of the biopower has been among the helpful ways aiding in meeting national goals of using renewable energy (Eksi & Karaosmanoglu, 017). The high dependability of the biopower, which has been instigated by its renewable capability, has subjected many states to enact renewable portfolio standards (RPS), which entails or suggests that some ration of the electricity and be produced from the renewable sources comprising biomass.   Some of the goals which are allied with the enactment of the biopower in Golden, Colorado embrace; establishing varied job opportunities with agribusiness and power plants vendors an equipment suppliers. Due to the increased dependability of the agricultural resources such as plans in production of the biopower, enacting biopower in Golden, Colorado will offer jobs to agriculturalist growing varieties of plants and woods. Additionally, implementing biopower will generate a necessity of equipment suppliers to provide appropriate equipment, which will expedite the incorporation of biomass with proper resources to produce electric power hence enabling suppliers and the power vendors or operators to secure jobs. Diversification of energy supply is another objective of implementing biopower in Golden, Colorado, by supplying a renewable source power. The supply of the biopower will be constructive as it will act as a substitute for the electric and solar forces, which are unreliable. Additionally, the minimization of the impacts on the environment and climate comprise the goal of implementing biopower in Golden Colorado since biopower is carbon-neutral besides its capability of emitting less sulfur dioxide compared to the coal, which is a byproduct incorporated while generating electricity.

Biopower is the largest source of renewable energy in the world other than hydroelectricity. Also, biopower generates more power as likened to the solar and wind forces.  Mostly most of the biopower is generally produced from solid biomass embracing wood, a smaller amount of biogas, and biofuels. Despite benefits which are allied with the biopower electricity, there are still existing barriers inhibiting the widespread sustainable biopower (Wei et al, 2016). Some of the significant challenges include; ensuring the availability of reliable biomass supply since it is the primary byproduct used in the production of biopower, exploring more ways of utilizing biomass which is cost-effective such as advanced pretreatment which minimizes the emission of carbon compounds and sulphur (vi) oxide to the environment leading to pollution. The increased desire of instigating biopower in Golden, Colorado has been eased by the aptitude of the biopower being environmental  friendly as compared to  other sources of electricity such as coal which emit carbon compounds and sulphur (iv) oxide to the atmosphere leading to pollution. The intimate nature of the biopower is expedited by the use of the plants and woods, which are key byproducts henceforth causing negligible harm to the environment since they emit less carbon to the atmosphere. Therefore we prefer the use of biopower as it is cost-effective since it uses biomass, which comprises organic compounds comprising plans and woods which are readily available.

Focus Technology Assessment

The focus technology for this research is the implementation of a biopower generating plant using direct-fired burning systems to combust biomass, which is the primary raw material. Biomass is burned directly to make steam which is used to drive a turbine generator to produce electricity. However, our biopower generation system comprises of, a fuel storage, furnace or combustor, boiler, pumps, Fans, Steam turbine, Generator, Condenser, Cooling tower, Emissions controls, and automated system controls. The working of our biomass power plant begins by feeding biomass waste into the combustor through the fuel storage. The biomass is combusted with an excess supply of air to produce heat, which boils the water in the boiler to generate steam. This steam is directed to the steam turbine, which spins to run a generator that produces electricity. The exhaust gases from the combustion chamber are directed to the emission controls, which vent them to the environment.

Benefits, Risks, and Barriers

• Benefits

The biomass power plant is a steady source of power for the production of baseload power. Baseload power is defined as the least quantity of electrical power needed over a certain period at a fixed proportion. This is because there is an adequate supply of biomass into the plant, and the entire system is automated in such a way that when biomass is continually fed into the storage, there is a continuous production of electricity in the required proportion.

Biopower is generated from renewable biomass, which is fed into the feedstock. It may offer ecological benefits since it is made of organic substances which are converted to electrical energy. However, biopower is preferable to fossil fuels which produce environmental pollutants. Additionally, the production of biopower is not limited to a specific amount of biomass fed. Therefore it is cost-effective.

• Risks

The method of collection or harvest of biomass may lead to soil erosion or depletion of forested land, especially when it is done in an inappropriate manner, which can deteriorate natural resources.

There is a risk of biomass diversity, which may lead to the breakdown of a biopower generating plant, primarily because cultivating, harvesting, storing, and transporting biomass composition. This is because the harvested biomass may not be decomposed enough for use in the power plant, and thus power generation may be stopped for some time.

• Barriers

The quantity of biopower generated from the biomass power plant is dependent on the cost and availability of biomass. However, some biomass like forest residues may be expensive to remove and transport to the power plant. In such cases, it may be strenuous to ensure a constant supply of biomass in the power plant, and therefore biopower production will be challenging.

Biopower infrastructure is another probable barrier to power generation, and thus it is recommendable that biopower plants be located near to the feedstock supply to evade the costs of transportation. This is because high transportation costs make biopower expensive than fossil fuels, which is an alternative.

• Routes to implementation

Implementation of our biopower project will entail an analysis of four factors which are, climate, feedstock or biomass availability and properties, plant specification, and emissions comparison. Climate analysis will help in selecting a location where weather conditions like atmospheric pressure, humidity, and temperature are favorable for plant performance.  Exploring the availability and properties of feedstock is essential since the site of the plant should be near the source and availability of Biomass (Bilgili et al, 2017). Wet biomass is preferable since it burns for a longer time. We will correctly use a grate stoker combustor since it can be fed with solid biomass, which is our superior energy mix. Emission comparison is based on the effect of the wastes released from the combustion chamber to the environment. We will thus install equipment to capture harmful emissions.

Proposed Energy Mix

The production of the biopower comprises the mixing of numerous sources of energy to form biomass, which is the anticipated energy mix. These sources include; burning, conversion of biomass to gas or liquid fuel, and anaerobic digestion (bacterial decomposition). Most of the electric power which is generated from biomass is primarily produced by direct combustion. In this case biomass is usually burnt in boiler purposely to acquire high pressure steam.  Having produced steam, it flows over the turbine blades hence causing them to rotate. Therefore the rotation of the turbine drives generator leading to the production of electricity. Anaerobic bacteria usually act on the organic waste material comprising animal dung and human sewage. These wastes are therefore collected oxygen tanks referred to as digesters. Inside the digester, the organic materials are usually decomposed by the anaerobic bacteria leading to the production of methane among other byproducts to form renewable natural gas which can then be purified to produce electricity (Barnett, 2018). Lastly, biomass can be converted to gaseous or liquid fuel through the process of gasification and pyrolysis. Gasification aids in exposing solid biomass to high temperatures with a limited supply of oxygen. They were then leading to the production of the mixture comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Consequently, this gas can be produced in a conventional boiler, generating electricity. The pyrolysis method is also integrated into this case whereby biomass is regularly heated at a lower temperature with the nonexistence of oxygen deliberately to produce crude bio-oil. Then the bio-oil is then replaced for the fuel oil to be used in the turbines, furnaces, and engines for the generation of electricity.

Benefits, barriers, risks

Benefits

There are innumerable benefits that are allied with the proposed energy mix (Biomass). Biomass aids in neutralizing carbon as its formation involves incorporation of the organic materials byproducts including plants. The environmental nature of the biomass evidenced through the plants which are used while producing biomass area usually replaced. Hence, biomass energy does not lead to the carbon iv oxide increase, which in turn causes global warming (Alas & Suleiman, 2019). Additionally, biomass facilitates the reduction of methane, which causes more greenhouse effect as compared to carbon dioxide. Methane reduction is mainly achieved through the decomposition of the organic matter hence releasing methane, which is then captured to yield energy while protecting the atmosphere.

Barriers

Various barriers have befallen biomass production as a source of energy. The increased release of carbon dioxide has been a significant barrier, which is mainly initiated by burning wood. The act of cutting down plants purposely for use in the production of the biomass energy also results in the increase in carbon dioxide as the living plant aided in controlling the existence of the carbon dioxide as used by the plant during photosynthesis.

Risks

Burning of Biomass releases carbon monoxide, which in turn leads to nausea, headache, and in its high concentration, it results in premature deaths—additionally burning biomass for electricity results into the production of nitrogen oxides such as nitrogen dioxide and nasty cancer chemicals hence exposing people to risk acquiring cancer.

Renewable portfolio standard (RPS) is a mandate which is usually regulated by the government purposely to increase the production of energy from renewable sources such as biomass. RPS aids in establishing noncompliance penalties for the power plants which do not use the renewable sources in generating electricity. Therefore we will use various byproducts of biomass that encompass plants since they are renewable in the generation of biopower to evade noncompliance penalties of using nonrenewable sources.

Economic, Political, Tech readiness and Environmental comparison of Biomass power

• Economic

The consumption of biomass energy has overwhelmed the rampant use of fossil fuels since it is very conservative. Moreover, the volatility of the prices of oil has forced most people to shift from using fossil energy to biomass energy since it meets all energy requirements like producing electricity, generating heat for use in homes, fueling vehicles, and providing processed heat for industries. Humanity is presently facing wrath caused by environmental protection and economic growth (Demırbas, 2017). The analysis shows the relationship between economic activities, the flow of natural resources, and the depletion of natural resources. The outcome of this analysis indicates that the extraction or harvesting of biomass constituents may require economic activities like lumbering, and this leads to the destruction of forests. However, biomass consumption has eliminated foreign dependency of oil since it is renewable. Therefore the ready availability of energy has led to industrialization, which thereby creates more job opportunities for citizens. Consequently, the increase in production promotes economic growth.

• Political

The federal government of the United States has progressively emphasized the use of bioenergy in industrial plants and domestic use purposely because it is eco-friendly and readily available than fossil fuels. Again, biomass energy is preferred due to its cost-effectiveness, which enables the earning of profits since electricity is cheap. The primary federal legislation governing the use of bioenergy as the chief source of energy is because it conforms to the Renewable Portfolio Standards legislation which dictates that in the next few years, nonrenewable sources of electrical power need to be replaced with renewable and environmentally friendly sources. The government has allocated a budget to fund research programs on biobased energy products. It has provided tax incentives to bioenergy generating plants to initiate massive energy for domestic and industrial use.

• Tech readiness

This is an illustration of the technologies incorporated in the generation of electricity from biomass. However, tech readiness involves the appropriateness of new technologies in biobased applications. It is significant for our project since it will help in improving the effectiveness and performance in the process of converting and distributing biomass products. Additionally, expertise helps in ensuring that the United States’ global leadership in the enhancement of conversion of biomass. Moreover, technology helps to design capable equipment that is fitted in the emission pipes to absorb harmful wastes from the combustion chamber.

• Environmental

Combusting biomass releases carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas and a pollutant to the environment. This is because the plant remains, which are the significant sources of biomass, absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, and is released when they are burned. Burning wood produces smoke, which is a harmful pollutant since it is composed of carbon monoxide and particles of matter (Sinaga et al, 2019). Again, the burning of wastes or garbage produces chemicals and other hazardous substances to air. The United government dictates that scrubbers need to be installed in exhaust pipes in biopower plants so that they remove particles of harmful air pollutants.

Feasibility Matrix summary

The project that we are planning to implement is a 20MW biomass power generating plant in Golden city, Colorado, in the United States. The primary fuel intended for our plant is manure. Historically, there has been the use of low-tech and inefficient technologies that were established primarily as waste management tools (Marseglia et al, 2019). However, our project targets to emulate a different and more improvised means to plan, design, construct, and operate biomass plants since bioenergy is very beneficial in today’s society. Furthermore, we will prompt for the installation of scrubbers to ensure that any waste released to the environment causes no harm.

Heat and Mass Balance Diagram

Conclusion and Outlook

Conclusively biopower is termed as electricity, which is mainly produced from biomass, specifically from the organic material found in plants and woods. Biomass is usually the renewable source of energy henceforth having high availability as it chiefly produced from the natural materials which are readily available (Tumuluru, 2018). From this study, we realized that among the numerous energy sources which are used, biopower is environmentally friendly as it minimizes the amount of carbon which is released to the environment From the study we have also realized that they enactment of biopower which will majorly use biomass may result into many risks. Some of the challenges which are associated with the use of biomass as a source of energy comprise the increased most real of the carbon diode tithe atmosphere leading to the global effect. Additionally, we have also realized that producing biopower involves burning organic materials to form biomass that will form compounds such as nitrogen oxide poses a danger to human life as it causes cancer.

Recommendations

Below is a description of the proposed actions to address the challenges which may occur in the biopower industry in the future.  These actions will also increase the use of biopower energy. These policy objectives include;

References

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Barnett, J. B. (2018). Addressing Policy Challenges to Woody Biopower Production: Social         Acceptance, Biomass Certification, and Limited Policy Support…            https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etdr/708/

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