A study of biomass energy technologies for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions | |
| Author | Kumar, Amit |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. ET-00-19 |
| Subject(s) | Biomass energy--Climatic factors Greenhouse gas mitigation |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | In the recent years climate change has emerged as a major environmental threat and there is a need to take urgent actions to mitigate emission of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) This work involved the study of selected biomass energy technologies (BETs) for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; these include biomass integrated gasification combined cycle (BIGCC) based on wood and bagasse, whole tree energy (WTE) technology, direct combustion plants based on wood, rice husk and bagasse, cofiring power plants, Stirling engine based on wood, and cookstoves. Characterization of the selected technologies has been carried out in terms of GHG mitigation potential and cost. The selected BETs were assessed for abatement of GHG in Vietnam using LEAP model. The power generation by co-firing is the most cost-effective option although the GHG mitigation potential is low. The substitution of electricity generated from fossil fuel by bagasse in the sugar mills has been found to be attractive. Rice husk based power generation is also a cost-effective option. The wood based BIGCC power plants are no-regret options when substituting the power generation by coal and oil based power plants. WTE is another teclmology, which is attractive for substituting coal and oil based power plants. The electricity generation by Stirling engines is expensive but these engines can be used for decentralized power generation. Replacement of traditional LPG stoves by has been found to be is a noregret option. The study also involved estimation of GHG abatement cost of different biomass energy teclmologies in Vietnam. GHG mitigation options considered included replacement of coal stoves by biomass stoves, replacement of LPG and kerosene stoves by biogas stoves, substitution of gasoline by ethanol in cars, substitution of coal by wood in industrial boilers and the substitution of the fossil fuel power generation by biomass based power generation. Abatement cost of these options lie in the range of - 21.21 to 94.40 US Dollars (1995) I thousand kilograms of C02 abated. |
| Year | 2000 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Energy Technology (ET) |
| Chairperson(s) | Bhattacharya, S. C.;Pham, H. L |
| Examination Committee(s) | Kumar, S;Shrestha, R. M. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | H.M. King of Thailand |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2000 |