BIOMASS RECOVERY:
Why grow or set up new farming enterprises for BioFuel - especially when there is UNTAPPED BioMass already being wasted or that can be tapped into?
There are many farming enterprises that are currently under-utilising BioMass that they already produce.
It is possible to capture and collect this material and redirect its consumption, for better use as a BioMass resource; from which energy can be recovered, either directly (if the material is burned - to create heat energy), or if the material is used as a feedstock, for the production of BioGas or BioEthanol, for example.
The economic challenge lies with the cost of the collection and recovery and the transport logistics vs. the value of the heat or electrical energy recovered from the Biomass.
Utilisation:
For example:
- Forestry waste; Trim waste, bark, maintenance and felling offcuts (slash), sawdust from milling operations etc. Based on the data available locally for pulp-wood forests, the quantity of Slash, bark and trim waste recoverable is approximately 27 tonne/Ha on an 8 year harvest cycle or some 3.86tonne/ha/annum average.
When applied to large, already-established commercial forests, this represents a most significant untapped resource that could be 'harvested' bundled, collected and delivered to a suitable processing facility for the recovery of the renewable energy from this waste product that is otherwise wastefully burned on-site or left as a fire-hazard in the plantation.
In addition, destumping is now carried out every second harvest (Eucalyptus saligna varieties) and could yield an additional volume of biomass that can then be utilised to offset the cost of the de-stumping operation. - Animal farming produces a considerable amount of waste from dung and litter that can be collected and used effectively, to produce Methane gas, for use as a direct/ on-farm fuel resource. On smaller installations, this could be utilised as heating fuel for example for drying and steam production for process use or where the installation is large enough to sustain a power plant, the gas can also be used to power a generator for electricity production. This technology is already well established in Europe and locally also.
- Crop farming produces considerable tonnages of stover, chaff & trash after harvest that can also be collected and utilised as a fuel resource or for other effective economic recovery as feedstock for organic compost to improve soil texture and condition and to reduce use of chemical fertilisers.
BioDiesel plantations also produce a significant quantity of press cake waste, after the extraction of the usable vegetable oil. Usually this residue is then utilised as animal feed, feedstock for organic fertiliser for example but where there is a surplus, this can then also be used as BioMass, for the substitution of other costly fuel resources, for heating and process steam or for electricity generation.
- Compost: Excess seed-cake, after expression of the vegetable oils can also be used as source for the production of organic compost.
