Biomassgasificationforvillageelectrification

CasestudypreparedbyBartFrederiks(FACTFoundation)
ReviewedbySeyhaRin(SMERenewableEnergyLtd.)

1.Introduction
Biomassgasificationisathermochemicalprocessinwhichsolidbiomassisconvertedintoa
combustiblegas.Thisgascanbeusedinageneratorsetfortheproductionofelectricity.Gasificationis
oneoftherenewableenergytechnologiessuitableforruralelectrification,asitcanbeappliedona
smallscale(fromseveralkWeupwards),withareasonableefficiency(typicallymorethan15%).Onthe
otherhand,gasifiersaresensitivetofuelqualityfluctuations,andoperatingagasifierrequiresmore
skillsthanoperatingadieselengineset.

AlthoughbiomassgasificationisnotanewprocessduringtheSecondWorldWar,millionsofcars
werefueledwithwoodgasithassofarnotbeencommercializedonalargescale.Particularlysmall
scalegasificationforelectricityproductionhassufferedfrompersistenttechnicalproblemsrelatedto
fuelandgasquality,andveryfewsystemshaveproventhemselvesreliableenoughtobesupplied
undercommercialconditions.

However,theIndiansupplierofbiomassgasification
systemsAnkurScientificseemstobeverysuccessful
withtheirdowndraftfixedbedgasifier.Thissystem,
whichcomesindifferentvariationsforbiomasslike
wood,ricehuskorcorncobs,producesacleangas
thatcanbeusedinadieselorgasengine.The
systemsareofferedinarangeof5to850kWe,at
modestinvestmentcosts(some15002000US$/kWe
inthesmallerscalerange).Inrecentyearshundreds
ofunitshavebeeninstalledinSouthandSoutheast
Asia.

Figure1:A22kWgasifierusedforvillage
Thiscasestudyongasificationforruralelectrification
electrificationinCambodia
isbasedoninformationgatheredduringafactfinding
missioninCambodia,November2009.Duringthismission,anumberofAnkurgasificationsystems
havebeenvisitedbyFACTandSMERenewableEnergyLtd.,thelocalsupplieroftheunits.

2.Technicaldescription
Thebasisofthiscasestudyisabiomassgasificationsystemthatsupplieselectricitytoasmallisolated
gridinaruralarea.Theselectedsystemcapacityis50kWe,whichshouldbesufficienttoserveseveral
hundredsofhouseholds1.Itoperatesfor12hoursperday,350daysperyear,so4200hoursperyear.
Theaverageloadingrateis25%,sothe(gross)electricityproductionis52,500kWh/a.Technicallosses
andownconsumptionaccountfor20%,so42,000kWhiseventuallysuppliedtotheconsumers.

Thegasificationsystemconsistsofseveralparts.Firstofallthereisthegasifieritself(seefigure1),
whichisafixedbeddowndraftsystemthatisfueledwithwoodorcorncobs.Thebiomassandairare
introducedintoahopperontopofthereactor.Thebiomasschunksareuptoseveralcminsizeand
1

Themaximumnumberofconnectionsdependsonanumberoffactors,suchasthemaximumloadper
householdandthepresenceofproductive(generallylarger)loads.InCambodiaforexample,averageper
householdloadsinsmallvillagesarearound100W,sothata50kWesystemcouldinprincipleserve500
households(notaccountingfordistributionlossesandthepowerplantsownconsumption).

haveamaximummoisturecontentof20%.Theyareconvertedtogasinthereactor,andthe
remainingcharandashareremovedfromthebottomofthegasifierandcarriedawaywithawater
system.

Figure2:Gascleaningsystem
Figure3:30kVAgeneratorset(gas)

Thegasthatexitsthegasifierneedstobecooleddownandcleanedbeforeitcanbeusedinthegas
engine.Thefirststepisawaterscrubber,whichcoolsthegasandremovespartofthetarsandash.
Afterthat,thegasisledthroughanumberoffiltersthatarepackedwithabiologicalfiltermaterial
(e.g.sawdustorricehusk),andfinallyabagfiltertoremoveanyremainingparticles.Thecleangasis
thenusedinagasenginewhichdrivesanalternator,producingelectricityfortheminigrid.

Thebiomassconsumptionofthesystemdependsonthetypeoffuelanditscharacteristics.Forwood
andcorncobs,withamoisturecontentof20%,fuelconsumptionisabout1.5kgperkWhofelectricity,
providedthatthegasisusedinagasengine.Whenthegasifierisrunningatalowload,thiswillbe
somewhathigher.Annualbiomassconsumptionisthusnearly80tonnes.Woodcanbecollectedor
growninthevicinityofthegasifierplant,aslongasitiscutdowntotherightsizeanddrieddownto
therequiredmoisturecontentbeforeuse.Corncobscanbecollectedfromvillagesinthearea.

Figure4:Fuelwoodchunk
Figure5:Corncobs

InAnlungTameyvillageinCambodia,farmershaveplantedsome10hectaresofLeucaena,afast
growingspeciesthatcanbecutseveraltimesperyear.Thewoodisharvestedwhenthestemsare
about35cmindiameter,andissoldtothecommunityenergycooperative.Leuceanaisanattractive
cropforfarmers:thetreeimprovessoilfertilitybynitrogenfixation,andapartfromtheadditional
incomefromthewood,theleavescanbeusedasanimalfodder.

Figure6:Leucaenatree
Figure7:CowsfeastingonLeucaenaleaves

Operationandmaintenanceofthegasifierplantdoesrequirecontinuousattentionandsometechnical
skills.Itisveryimportantthatthefuelissuppliedtothegasifierregularly,andattheright
specifications.Thegasfiltersystemsneedtobecheckedregularlyforsaturation,andthefilterbed
materialneedstobereplacedwhennecessary.Charandashneedtoberemovedfromthewater
system,andscrubberwaterneedstoberefreshedevery34weeks.Thegasenginerequiresregular
maintenance;thegasifierneedstobeoverhauledbythesupplieronceeveryfewyears.

Personnelrequirementsdependontheextenttowhichdifferentactivitiesareexecutedbyasingle
person,orbydifferentpersonsworkingparttime.Presumably,theplantcanberunbytwofulltime
staff,butinpractice,severalpeoplemaybeinvolvedparttime(e.g.atechnician,aplantoperator,a
fueloperator,andsomepeopleintheorganizationandadministrationofacooperative).

3.Financialassessment
Whenassessingelectricityproductioncosts,onecanbroadlydistinguishoperationalcosts(fuel,
personnel,andmaintenance)andcapitalcosts(depreciationandfinancialcosts).Inthetablebelow,
theresultsofafirstorderassessmentofthedifferentcostitemsarelisted.

Table1:Electricityproductioncostsusinga50kWgasifiersystem
Item
Units
Unitcost(US$)
Costs(US$/a)
Woodfuel(tonnes)
78.8
25
1,969
Personnel(fte)
2
1200
2,400
Maintenance

1,450
(%ofinvestmentcost)
2%
Operationalcosts

5,819
Depreciation
72,500
7,250
10%
(%ofinvestmentcost)
Financialcosts

4,549
(interestover10yearloan)
10%
Capitalcosts

11,799
Totalproductioncosts

17,618
*perkWhsold

Costs(US$/kWh*)
0.05
0.06
0.03
0.14
0.17
0.11
0.28
0.42

Remarks:
Woodfuelispurchasedatapriceof25US$/tonne(at20%moisture).Thispricelevelisbasedon
whatispaidinAnlungTameyvillageinCambodia.Ifotherbiomassresiduesareavailable,suchas
corncobs,thecostsmaybesomewhatlower.

Productioncosts(US$/kWh)

Inthisanalysis,personnelcostsarebasedontwofulltimestaffwithasalaryof100US$permonth.
Althoughinrealitymorepeoplecanbeemployed,themonthlypersonnelcostscorrespondto
thosefoundinCambodia.
Averageannualmaintenancecostsareestimatedusingapercentageoftheinvestmentcosts.
Allhardware(gasifierandgeneratorset)isdepreciatedoveraperiodof10years.
Financialcostsconcerninterestspaidovera10yearloancoveringallinvestmentcosts.
Distributioncostshavenotbeenincludedinthecalculations;theseamountto14US/kWh
(includingmaintenance,depreciationandfinancialcosts).

Theanalysisshowsproductioncostsofabout42US/kWh2,ofwhichtwothirdsconcernscapitalcosts
(particularlydepreciation).Thismeansthatproductioncostsaremostsensitivetovariationsin
investmentcostsandinterestrate(e.g.toscaleincreasesandsoftloans,investmentsupport
measures)andmuchlesstooperationalcostitemslikefuelpricesandpersonnel.

Moreover,amoreextensiveuseofthesystem(higherloadingrateormoreoperatinghours)resultsin
largecostreductions.Forexample,increasingtheloadingratefrom25%to30%resultsinacost
decreasefrom42to36US/kWh.Higherloadingratescanbeachievedbyadding(continuous)
productiveloadssuchaswaterpumps,cerealmillsorbatterychargers.

0.60

0.50

0.40

0.30

0.20
Fi na nci a l cos ts

Deprecia ti on

0.10

Opera ti ona l cos ts

0.00

ga s 25
ga s 50
ga s 100
di es el 50

Systemtype

Figure8:Electricityproductioncostsforgasificationondifferentscales

(25,50and100kWe)anddiesel(50kWe).

Figure8showsacomparisonofcostcomponentsofsystemsofdifferentscales,andofa50kWediesel
poweredelectrificationsystem.Itshowsthatatthesamescale,dieselgenerationappears
substantiallymoreexpensive(52US/kWhatafuelpriceof0.85US$/l),butthatinthiscasesome80%
ofthecostsconcernsoperationalcosts(mainlyfuelcosts).Anydieselpricechangeswillthushavea
largeeffectontheproductioncosts.

Italsoshowsthatproductionscalehasaconsiderableeffectonproductioncosts.Thisisdueto
decreasingperunitinvestmentcosts,andtosomeextenttodecreasingoperationalcosts(e.g.
personnel).
2

Forcomparison:theelectricitytariffinAnlungTameyvillageinCambodiaisabout58US/kWh,ataproduction
capacityof35kWe.TherateatBatDoengvillage,wherea200kWgasifierisoperatedincombinationwitha
dieselgenerator,is54US/kWh.Theseratesincludedistributioncosts.

4.Conclusions
Itcanbeconcludedthatgasificationisaviablerenewableenergytechnologythatcanbeappliedfor
ruralelectrification.ExamplesfromCambodiaandelsewhereshowthatdespitetheorganizational
challenges,gasifiersystemscanindeedbeoperatedinaruralvillageenvironment.Incontrasttoother
biofuelproduction(e.g.certainoilcrops),gasifierfuelproductioncanofferrealincomeopportunities
forlocalfarmers.

Withrespecttoproductioncosts,gasificationcanresultinlowerproductioncostsincomparisonto
dieselgeneratedelectricity,andislesssensitivetovariationsinoperationalcosts(e.g.fuelcosts).
Nevertheless,perunitcostsremainsubstantialsooptimizationisrecommended,forexampleby:
Lookingforcombinationswithproductiveapplicationssuchaswaterpumping,milling,battery
chargingorotheractivitieswithacontinuousload.Thiswillresultinbetterloadingratesandallow
productiononalargerscale.
Lookingforpossibleinvestmentcostreductions,forexamplebyproducingpartsofthesystem
locally.

Inaddition,possiblebenefitsfromthevalorizationofcharresiduesshouldbeassessed.Sofar,the
optionsthatarebeingconsideredareproductionofcookingfuelbriquettes,orforagriculturalsoil
improvement.Bothrequirefurtherinvestigation.

Oneimportantaspectthatrequiresadditionalattentionisthatoftheliquideffluents(i.e.spent
scrubberwater).Theeffectsofdisposingtheseeffluentsshouldbeinvestigated;ifneeded,measures
shouldbetakentoavoidthereleaseofanypotentiallyharmfulsubstancestothelocalenvironment.