Biomass "Fuel/Energy": The Emerging Transformation Path of Agricultural and Forestry Wastes

1. The "Five Utilization” of Agricultural and Forestry Wastes

The "five" utilization of agricultural and forestry wastes are fertilizer, feed, fuel/energy, base material, and raw material.

Among them, fertilizer and fuel/energy utilization have the highest emission reductions, accounting for 92.7% of the total emission reductions. Among them, although fuel/energy utilization accounts for only 8.5% of straw utilization, its greenhouse gas emission reduction accounts for as high as 30%.

With a relatively small share of resource utilization, it has achieved extremely impressive emission reduction results and has become a key force in its contribution to greenhouse gas emission reduction. This fully demonstrates the unique value and important position of energy utilization.

Since the current utilization rate of "fertilizer" and "feed" is low and the input-output ratio is not high, it is a low-value utilization. This has prompted the rapid development of fuel/energy utilization technology, and its proportion of resource utilization is increasing. Rising year by year.

2. Technological Development of Fuelization/Energy

Biomass fuel/energy utilization technologies such as straw are mainly divided into biomass blending and biomass methanol production.

1. Biomass Blending

Biomass blending is to mix biomass such as straw with traditional fossil fuels (such as coal) in a certain proportion and then put them into combustion equipment for combustion. For example: A cement kiln biomass blending project in Chongqing, China, uses waste bamboo, straw, and other agricultural and forestry wastes that are rich in local resources as raw materials.

Through the Harden RDF alternative fuel preparation system, a high-speed crusher is used for fine crushing, coupled with environmental protection equipment such as dust removal and magnetic separation, agricultural and forestry wastes are prepared into RDF alternative fuel, which is used in industrial kilns of cement kilns. Replace burning coal.

2. Methanol Production From Biomass

The production of methanol from biomass is mainly based on the thermochemical conversion or biological conversion of biomass. The biomass is usually gasified to generate synthesis gas, and then under the action of a catalyst, the synthesis gas reacts to generate methanol.

For example: a biomass gasification to methanol project in Heilongjiang uses various types of straws such as corn, wheat, and rice as raw materials. Through Srid's fine processing technologies such as crushing, magnetic separation, and drum screening, various types of straws are processed.

Biomass fragments with a particle size of less than 30 mm and a soil and impurity content of less than 5% are then produced through anaerobic fermentation to produce methanol.

3.Fuel/Energy PretreatmentTechnology

Multiple project cases show that after selecting biomass raw materials and fuelification/energyization paths, the key to the success of fuelification/energyization lies in "biomass pretreatment technology".

Since biomass raw materials come from a wide range of sources, including crop straws, forestry wastes, etc., their composition is complex and changeable. Biomass from different sources has significant differences in physical properties, moisture content, etc., which will affect the fuel/energy conversion process—final utilization.

Harden Machinery Ltd. with its advanced environmental technology, which has been deeply involved in the industry for more than ten years, has conducted a large number of detailed and in-depth tests on the characteristics of various biomass raw materials such as straw, waste bamboo, and branches under different water and humidity conditions.

Based on the advanced concept of "Just shred it, thus sort it", the equipment has been continuously improved and optimized, and a biomass resource pretreatment system that is compatible with various biomass raw materials has been successfully launched.

This system not only fully considers the diversity of different biomass raw materials, but also lays a solid foundation for the fuel/energy utilization of biomass with efficient and precise processing capabilities.

The “fuel/energy conversion” of biomass is undoubtedly an emerging transformation path for agricultural and forestry wastes such as straw to achieve a magnificent transformation. Along the way, more and more fuel-based/energy-based processing technologies have developed rapidly.

From reducing environmental pollution to alleviating energy pressure, from promoting the development of agricultural circular economy to helping achieve the "dual carbon" goal, this transformation path is of far-reaching significance.