About three quarters of the renewable energy produced in 2012 was derived from biomass. Renewable energy from biomass is largely derived from waste incineration plants (WIPs), co-firing in power plants, use of wood stoves and the use of biofuels in the transport sector.
Through the blending obligation and the regime Encouraging Sustainable Energy Plus (SDE +) accelerated production of renewable energy is stimulated because of the energy objectives (14% in 2020). The bioenergy status document outlines each year progress. This promotion will take care of an artificial market-pull large quantities of biomass available for these relatively low-grade application. A positive development is that this creates a logistical infrastructure around biomass. there are now also developed certification systems that can be used for alternative high-value applications.
Heat and electricity
Heat from biomass is created by burning it, it is often the raw material than wood in the form of pellets. Also combustion of biogas for heat to the way natural gas does in the boiler at home. Electricity is also made by burning biomass, and thereby, by a steam turbine, to run a generator. The heat (over 60% of the energy in old coal plants) is not used. Nowadays, biomass is also gasified directly via the so-called combined cycle principle, which has a higher yield. This last principle is a form of combined heat and power (CHP), which are produced in a single process, both heat and electricity. The heat is used or useful, therefore it is to pick up a significantly higher efficiency (up to almost 100%).
Higher in the cascade
Biogas can also be used in addition to heat and electricity for transport purposes (green gas) and chemistry. Wood course we know as a building material and raw material for the paper industry. Wood burning is currently mainly residual material used in the wood chain. Important component of wood lignin which has few applications at this time. Lignin is because it’s so tight, hard to open up, but worked well pressure here is to include by Wageningen and TNO. An interesting application of lignin in the chemistry to be bio-aromatics.
