Among the non-conventional forms of energy, Bio-Energy offers vast potential under Indian conditions, due to the wide spectrum of BIOMASS available in different agro-climatic regions of the country.
Worldwide, the energy stored in biomass through photosynthesis is approximately 3x1021Ј (90% in trees) every year, which is nearly 10 times the world’s annual energy use. Even through the total renewable biomass resource for energy far exceeds the world’s total energy requirement, its volume exploitation remains limited because of the present low cost of fossil fuels, the heterogeneous nature of biomass, and the area over which the biomass must be collected for large-scale applications.
Biomass feed, especially agro-residues, is available in different forms, such as husks, straw, and stalks of various and numerous crops. Due to this heterogeneous nature, the utility of these materials for energy becomes limited, and energy conversion processes tend to become biomass specific. Biomass briquettes are a proven way of generating energy from bio-waste. Different types of waste have been utilized in order to develop biomass briquettes. Biomass briquettes derived from Mustard, Cotton, Guar, Saw Dust and Peanut shell Agro waste could result in feasible on-site fuel production.
Biomass briquettes can typically provide between 3-15 per cent of the input energy into the power plant. The objective behind the move, is to reduce air pollution caused due to burning of surplus biomass residue in fields by creating an alternate market for its large-scale utilisation in power plants as well as reduce carbon emission from coal-fired power plants.
The global Biomass Briquette market is valued at 320 million US$ in 2017 and will reach 570 million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 7.3% during 2018-2025. The global biomass briquettes market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. Of these regions, Europe and North America are expected to be key regions for the growth of this market over the forecast tenure. The utilization of the biomass briquettes production technologies is high to convert their biomass into useful energy sources.
