Sustainable Biomass Production

This study aims to estimate, identify and evaluate the biomass production options, estimate the sustainable biomass production for energy, and estimate the energy potential of biomass production in Turkey. Within the framework of sustainable development, Turkey today faces the challenge of balancing economic growth with environmental progress. Sustainable biomass production potential mainly depends on the productivity and surplus land available for biomass production. Based on the surplus land available for plantation, the plantation options and biomass productivity, the sustainable biomass potential for energy is estimated. Among the biomass energy sources, fuelwood seems to be one of the most interesting because its share of the total energy production of Turkey is high at 21%. The total biomass energy potential of Turkey is about 32 Mtoe. The amount of usable biomass potential of Turkey is approximately 17 Mtoe. The electrical production from usable biomass has a net impact of $4.4 billion in personal and corporate income and represented more than 160,000 jobs.     

Sectoral energy consumption in Turkey

Turkey expects a very large growth in energy demand, especially for electricity and natural gas. Today, Turkey’s energy production meets nearly 48% of the total primary energy demand. Total primary energy demand will reach 98 Mtoe in 2001 and 308 Mtoe in 2020. Import of primary energy will reach 226 Mtoe and production of primary energy will increase 81 Mtoe in 2020. As seen, Turkey is an importer country for primary energy. Turkey’s indigenous energy sources are limited, and the country is heavily dependent on the import of primary energy from abroad. The growth of Turkey’s industry is giving rise to a substantial increase in energy demand. In this paper, the primary energy production and sectoral consumption in Turkey is investigated. Further, a sectoral energy demand projection in Turkey is given until 2020.     

Importance of biomass energy sources for Turkey

Various agricultural residues such as grain dust, crop residues and fruit tree residues are available in Turkey as the sources of biomass energy. Among the biomass energy sources, fuelwood seems to be one of the most interesting because its share of the total energy production of Turkey is high at 21% and the techniques for converting it to useful energy are not necessarily sophisticated. Selection of a particular biomass for energy requirements is influenced by its availability, source and transportation cost, competing uses and prevalent fossil fuel prices. Utilization of biomass is a very attractive energy resource, particularly for developing countries since biomass uses local feedstocks and labor. Like many developing countries, Turkey relies on biomass to provide much of its energy requirement. More efficient use of biomass in producing energy, both electrical and thermal, may allow Turkey to reduce petroleum imports, thus affecting its balance of payments dramatically. Turkey has always been one of the major agricultural countries in the world. The importance of agriculture is increasing due to biomass energy being one of the major resources in Turkey. Biomass waste materials can be used in Turkey to provide centralized, medium- and large-scale production of process heat for electricity production. Turkey's first biomass power project is under development in Adana province, at an installed capacity of 45 MW. Two others, at a total capacity of 30 MW, are at the feasibility study stage in Mersin and Tarsus provinces. Electricity production from biomass has been found to be a promising method in the nearest future in Turkey.     

Biomass gasification opportunities in a district heating system

This paper evaluates the economic effects and the potential for reduced CO₂ emissions when biomass gasification applications are introduced in a Swedish district heating (DH) system. The gasification applications included in the study deliver heat to the DH network while producing renewable electricity or biofuels. Gasification applications included are: external superheater for steam from waste incineration (waste boost, WB), gas engine CHP (BIGGE), combined cycle CHP (BIGCC) and production of synthetic natural gas (SNG) for use as transportation fuel. Six scenarios are used, employing two time perspectives – short-term and medium-term – and differing in economic input data, investment options and technical system. To evaluate the economic performance an optimisation model is used to identify the most profitable alternatives regarding investments and plant operation while meeting the DH demand. This study shows that introducing biomass gasification in the DH system will lead to economic benefits for the DH supplier as well as reduce global CO₂ emissions. Biomass gasification significantly increases the potential for production of high value products (electricity or SNG) in the DH system. However, which form of investment that is most profitable is shown to be highly dependent on the level of policy instruments for biofuels and renewable electricity. Biomass gasification applications can thus be interesting for DH suppliers in the future, and may be a vital measure to reach the 2020 targets for greenhouse gases and renewable energy, given continued technology development and long-term policy instruments.     

Energy potential from residual biomass towards meeting the EU renewable energy and climate targets. The Italian case

The biomass sector has a strategic role in energy renewables policy, according to the National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs), elaborated in compliance with the Directive 2009/28/EC. Planning a suitable use of biomass for energy purposes call for the clear definition of the biomass potential, that has to be periodically updated by inventories for all EU countries.The aim of this paper has been the assessment of the available residual biomass, particularly lignocellulosic, in the Italian territory, to evaluate the potential for bioenergy, particularly for electricity and heat generation. The greenhouse gas savings according to the European target and indicators have been estimated on the national scale. Particularly, the total final energy which could be generated from 22,208,455 t/y of residual biomass assessed in Italy, is equal to 4.57 Mtoe, nearly 2.7% of the gross Italian energy consumption in 2013 and the total savings of GHG emissions coming from this bioenergy generation, are close to 52 Mt CO₂eq for the entire Italian territory per year. The conclusions underline that an appropriate bioenergy policy can help decarbonise the economy, enhance the reliability of the energy supply and additionally it can revitalise rural areas.     

An exposé of bioenergy and its potential and utilization in Turkey

Turkey is heavily dependent on expensive imported energy resources (oil, gas and coal) that place a big burden on the economy. Air pollution is also becoming a great environmental concern in the country. In this regard, renewable energy resources appear to be one of the most efficient and effective solutions for clean and sustainable energy development in Turkey. Turkey's renewable sources are the second largest source for energy production after coal. About two-thirds of the renewable energy produced is obtained from bioenergy, which is used to meet a variety of energy needs, including generating electricity, heating homes, fueling vehicles and providing process heat for industrial facilities. The amount of usable bioenergy potential of Turkey is approximately 17 Mtoe. This article not only presents a review of the potential and utilization of the bioenergy in Turkey but also provides some guidelines for policy makers.     

Life cycle assessment of fuels for district heating: A comparison of waste incineration,biomass- and natural gas combustion

The aim of this consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) is to compare district heating based on waste incineration with combustion of biomass or natural gas. The study comprises two options for energy recovery (combined heat and power (CHP) or heat only), two alternatives for external, marginal electricity generation (fossil lean or intense), and two alternatives for the alternative waste management (landfill disposal or material recovery). A secondary objective was to test a combination of dynamic energy system modelling and LCA by combining the concept of complex marginal electricity production in a static, environmental systems analysis. Furthermore, we wanted to increase the methodological knowledge about how waste can be environmentally compared to other fuels in district-heat production. The results indicate that combustion of biofuel in a CHP is environmentally favourable and robust with respect to the avoided type of electricity and waste management. Waste incineration is often (but not always) the preferable choice when incineration substitutes landfill disposal of waste. It is however, never the best choice (and often the worst) when incineration substitutes recycling. A natural gas fired CHP is an alternative of interest if marginal electricity has a high fossil content. However, if the marginal electricity is mainly based on non-fossil sources, natural gas is in general worse than biofuels.     

Economics and greenhouse gas balance of distributed electricity production at sawmills using hermetic turbogenerator

This article focuses on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and on the economics in renewable electricity production at sawmills. Electricity production application in this study is a hermetic turbogenerator (HTG). The HTG is a small-scale steam turbine-generator unit of compact size that achieves high efficiency. The paper studies GHG emissions and the economics of HTG use in sawmills using life cycle assessment methodologies. Small- and large-scale HTG processes are studied in three scenarios. Sawmills produce large volumes of biomass by-products which are mainly used to produce heat needed in lumber dryers. However, due to remote location of sawmills there may be no use for excess biomass. HTGs can be used to produce electricity in addition to heat (CHP), which may help to increase renewable electricity production in sparsely populated areas. It is concluded that from the economic perspective HTGs may be an attractive option but financial viability is dependent on energy prices, required investments, and by-product value. From the climate change perspective, electricity production with HTGs may be a good option if there is excess biomass sources available.     

Stockholm CHP potential—An opportunity for CO2 reductions?

The potential for combined heat and power (CHP) generation in Stockholm is large and a total heat demand of about 10 TWh/year can be met in a renewed large district heating system. This model of the Stockholm district heating system shows that CHP generation can increase from 8% in 2004 to 15.5% of the total electricity generation in Sweden. Increased electricity costs in recent years have awakened an interest to invest in new electricity generation. Since renewable alternatives are favoured by green certificates, bio-fuelled CHP is most profitable at low electricity prices. Since heat demand in the district heating network sets the limit for possible electricity generation, a CHP alternative with a high electricity to heat ratio will be more profitable at when electricity prices are high. The efficient energy use in CHP has the potential to contribute to reductions in carbon dioxide emissions in Europe, when they are required and the European electricity market is working perfectly. The potential in Stockholm exceeds Sweden's undertakings under the Kyoto protocol and national reduction goals.     

Current state and environmental impact assessment for utilizing oil palm empty fruit bunches for fuel,fiber and fertilizer – A case study of Malaysia

This paper describes the trend of utilizing oil palm residue, i.e. the empty fruit bunches (EFB) left after extraction of the palm oil, using a case study of Malaysia, which is one of the world's major palm oil producers, and discusses the environmental performance of recycling technologies being developed in Malaysia for fuel, fiber, and fertilizer. Seven technologies are analyzed: ethanol production, methane recovery, briquette production, biofuel for combined heat and power (CHP) plants, composting, medium density fiberboard (MDF) production, and pulp and paper production. The life cycle assessment (LCA) method is used to discuss the environmental impacts of these technologies for adding value to this biomass. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to determine the land use effects for the various technologies utilizing EFB and to estimate the energy generation potential of raw EFB in CHP plants and methane production. Among the technologies for energy production, CHP plants have the best performance if the electricity generated is connected to the national grid, with superior benefits in the majority of impact categories compared to briquette, methane, and ethanol production. Overall, we find that methane recovery and composting are more environmentally friendly than other technologies, as measured by reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Pulp and paper, and MDF production are favorable technologies for land use impacts; however, they have intense primary energy requirements, chemical use in the processes, and emissions from their waste treatment systems. Our results provide information for decision makers when planning for sustainable use of oil palm biomass.     

Role of a district-heating network as a user of waste-heat supply from various sources – the case of Göteborg

District-heating (DH) networks can utilise heat that would otherwise be of limited use. This study analyses a municipal DH system, which uses waste heat from industries and waste incineration as base suppliers of heat and is currently investing in a natural-gas fired combined heat-and-power (CHP) plant. An important assumption in this study is of the establishment of an integrated European electricity-market, which means higher electricity prices than are traditional in Sweden. The study shows that there is space in the DH system for all three energy carriers; heat from industries, waste incineration and CHP plants. The new CHP plant replaces mainly other heat sources, i.e., hot water boilers and heat pumps. The new CHP plant’s operating time is strongly dependent on the electricity price.     

Will Swedish biomass be sufficient for future transportation-fuel demands?

There is a potential to increase the annual use of biomass in Sweden by 125 TWh between 1994 and 2015. 125 TWh of biomass would satisfy most of the transportation-fuel demand in Sweden in 2015. Even if the biomass is primarily used for heat and electricity production, a significant fraction will be available for transportation-fuel production, if other non-fossil energy sources are utilized for electricity production and/or substantial energy-efficiency improvements are realized. Improved energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources will be required in all sectors to achieve CO₂ emission reductions greater than 50%.     

Energy efficiency analysis and impact evaluation of the application of thermoelectric power cycle to today’s CHP systems

High efficiency thermoelectric generators (TEG) can recover waste heat from both industrial and private sectors. Thus, the development and deployment of TEG may represent one of the main drives for technological change and fuel substitution. This paper will present an analysis of system efficiency related to the integration of TEG into thermal energy systems, especially Combined Heat and Power production (CHP). Representative implementations of installing TEG in CHP plants to utilize waste heat, wherein electricity can be generated in situ as a by-product, will be described to show advantageous configurations for combustion systems. The feasible deployment of TEG in various CHP plants will be examined in terms of heat source temperature range, influences on CHP power specification and thermal environment, as well as potential benefits. The overall conversion efficiency improvements and economic benefits, together with the environmental impact of this deployment, will then be estimated. By using the Danish thermal energy system as a paradigm, this paper will consider the TEG application to district heating systems and power plants through the EnergyPLAN model, which has been created to design suitable energy strategies for the integration of electricity production into the overall energy system.     

Optimisation of merged district-heating systems—benefits of co-operation in the light of externality costs

Studies have shown that separate actors can benefit from co-operation around heat supply. Such co-operation, for example, might be between an industry selling waste heat to a district-heating system or two district-heating systems interconnecting their respective systems. Co-operation could also be expected to reduce the environmental impacts of the energy systems by choosing the plants with the lowest emissions. It is widely accepted that the production of heat and electricity causes damage to the environment. This damage often imposes a cost on society, but not on company responsible. In general, using a broader system perspective when analysing local energy systems results in a lower total cost, more efficient use of plants and a greater potential for producing electricity in combined heat-and-power (CHP) plants. Internalising the externality costs in the energy system model facilitates the study of what co-operation can mean for reducing emissions. This study shows that co-operation between the two systems is on the whole cost-effective, but the benefits are greater when external costs are not included in the calculation. Considering externality costs in combination with current electricity prices would lead to a higher system cost, but the quantity of emission gases will be lower. If, on the other hand, the calculation is made taking externality costs and corresponding adjusted electricity prices (the adjustment being necessary to compensate for the additional cost due to externality costs) into consideration, the quantities of emission gases will rise because more heat-and-power will be generated by one of the CHP plants.     

Application of combined heat-and-power and absorption cooling in a supermarket

In recent years, it has become standard practice to consider Combined Heat-and-Power (CHP) systems for commercial buildings. CHP schemes are used, because they are an efficient means of power generation. Unlike conventional power stations, they produce electricity locally and thus minimise the distribution losses, however, they also utilise the waste heat from the generation process. In applications where there is a combined heating and electricity requirement, a very efficient means of energy production is achieved compared to the conventional methods of providing heating and electricity. With new initiatives from the UK government on reduced energy-use, energy-efficient systems such as CHP have been considered for new applications. This paper summarises the results of an investigation into the viability of CHP systems in supermarkets. The viability of conventional CHP has been theoretically investigated using a mathematical model of a typical supermarket. This has demonstrated that a conventional CHP system may be practically applied. It has also been shown that compared to the traditional supermarket design, the proposed CHP system will use slightly less primary energy and the running costs will be significantly reduced. An attractive payback period of approximately 4 years has been calculated. Despite these advantages a considerable quantity of heat is rejected to atmosphere with this system and this is because the configuration utilises the heat mainly for space heating which is only required for part of the year. To increase the utilisation time, a novel CHP/absorption system has been investigated. This configuration provides a continuous demand for the waste heat, which is used to drive an absorption chiller that refrigerates propylene glycol to −10°C for cooling the chilled-food cabinets. The results show this concept to be theoretically practical. The system has also been shown to be extremely efficient, with primary energy savings of approximately 20%, when compared to traditional supermarket designs and this would result in significant revenue cost savings as well as environmental benefits. Based upon these savings a payback period for this system of approximately 5 years has been demonstrated.     

Assessment of forest biomass for use as energy. GIS-based analysis of geographical availability and locations of wood-fired power plants in Portugal

Following the European Union strategy concerning renewable energy (RE), Portugal established in their national policy programmes that the production of electrical energy from RE should reach 45% of the total supply by 2010. Since Portugal has large forest biomass resources, a significant part of this energy will be obtained from this source. In addition to the two existing electric power plants, with 22 MW of power capacity, 13 new power plants having a total of 86.4 MW capacity are in construction. Together these could generate a combination of electrical and thermal energy, known as combined heat and power (CHP) production. As these power plants will significantly increase the exploitation of forests resources, this article evaluates the potential quantities of available forest biomass residue for that purpose. In addition to examining the feasibility of producing both types of energy, we also examine the potential for producing only electric energy. Results show that if only electricity is generated some regions will need to have alternative fuel sources to fulfil the demand. However, if cogeneration is implemented the wood fuel resource will be sufficient to fulfill the required capacity demand.     

Hydropower for sustainable water and energy development

Turkey has a total gross hydropower potential of 433 GWh/year, but only 125 GWh/year of the total hydroelectric potential of Turkey can be economically used. By the commissioning of new hydropower plants, which are under construction, 36% of the economically usable potential of the country would be tapped. Turkey presently has considerable renewable energy sources. The most important renewable sources are hydropower, biomass, geothermal, solar and wind. Turkey's geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of most of these renewable energy sources. Over the last two decades, global electricity production has more than doubled and electricity demand is rising rapidly around the world as economic development spreads to emerging economies. Not only has electricity demand increased significantly, it is the fastest growing end-use of energy. Therefore, technical, economic and environmental benefits of hydroelectric power make it an important contributor to the future world energy mix, particularly in the developing countries.     

Importance of Asphaltite Deposits in Southeastern Anatolia

Native energy sources of Turkey are quite limited, and the country is heavily dependent on the import of primary energy from abroad. The demand for electrical energy has increased very rapidly in Turkey due to the ongoing industrialization process and high population growth. Energy consumption in Turkey has continually increased over the past years and reached 82.2 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2000. This figure is expected to continue to grow and reach 115.2 Mtoe in 2005 and 153.9 Mtoe in 2010. In spite of the availability of all types of energy resources in Turkey, 66% of energy consumption is met with imports, as energy production is not sufficient to satisfy the demand for consumption. The primary energy sources of Turkey are hard coal, lignite, asphaltite, bituminous schist, hydropower, oil, natural gas, nuclear, geothermal, solar, wood, and animal and plant wastes. The required electrical energy of Turkey is primarily met from thermal and hydraulic sources, but, in addition to these, in recent times, asphaltite deposits in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, roughly 79.969 million tons are found in the Sirnak and Silopi areas, and are mainly consumed in the residential sectors for heating due to its high calorific value (2876–5536 kcal/kg), are becoming important for Turkey to generate electricity energy. With the aim of this, it is planned to produce electrical energy after 2006 with the asphaltite taken out from Sirnak and Silopi region.     

Total Sites Integrating Renewables With Extended Heat Transfer and Recovery

The majority of industrial, residential, service, and business customers, as well as agriculture farms, are still dominated by fossil fuels as primary energy sources. They are mostly equipped with steam and/or gas turbines, steam boilers, and water heaters (running on electricity or gas) for conversion units. The challenge to increase the share of renewables in the primary energy mix could be met by integrating solar, wind, and biomass as well as some types of waste with the fossil fuels. This work analyzes some of the most common heat transfer applications at total sites comprising users of the types just mentioned. The energy demands, the local generation capacities, and the efficient integration of renewables into the corresponding total site CHP (combined heat and power) energy systems, based on efficient heat transfer, are optimized, minimizing heat waste and carbon footprint, and maximizing economic viability.     

Renewable energy sources in Turkey for climate change mitigation and energy sustainability

In Turkey, there is a much more potential for renewables, but represent about 37% of total energy production and 10% of total energy consumption. This share is not enough for the country and the governments should be increase to this situation. Renewable energy technologies of wind, biomass, hydropower, geothermal, solar thermal and photovoltaics are finally showing maturity and the ultimate promise of cost competitiveness. With respect to global environmental issues, Turkey's carbon dioxide emissions have grown along with its energy consumption. States have played a leading role in protecting the environment by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. In this regard, renewable energy resources appear to be the one of the most efficient and effective solutions for clean and sustainable energy development in Turkey. Turkey's geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of most of these renewable energy sources. Certain policy interventions could have a dramatic impact on shaping the relationship between geological, geographic and climatic conditions and energy production. This study shows that there is enough renewable energy potential in Turkey for fuels and electricity. Especially hydropower and biomass are very well.