Efficiency of Biomass Energy: An Exergy Approach to Biofuels, Power, and Biorefineries

Covering energy and exergy efficiencies of all main aspects of biomass energy

It is widely acknowledged that the existing fossil fuels should be replaced in future by renewable energy such as biomass, solar, wind, and geothermal. At present biomass is the fourth largest energy resource in the world, after oil, gas and coal. Biomass can be converted into all major energy carriers like electricity, heat, transport fuels as well as a wide diversity of chemicals and materials which are presently produced from fossil fuels.

Efficiency of Biomass Energy provides a systematic and comprehensive overview of energy and exergy efficiencies together with environmental and economic aspects of biomass energy systems. The book emphasizes the modern exergy (energy quality) approach applied to design and improve bioenergy systems.

This text is the first to discuss the efficiency of all main steps involved in biomass production and conversion. The major features of Efficiency of Biomass Energy are:

Bioenergy processes covered in separate chapters which are organized in a logical order starting from photosynthesis and cultivation of biomass feedstocks and ending with final products, like power, biofuels, and chemicals Each chapter includes historical developments, chemistry, major technologies, applications as well as energy, environmental and economic aspects, also serving as an introduction to bioenergy for students and professionals A separate chapter introduces a beginner in easy accessible way to exergy analysis and the similarities and differences between energy and exergy efficiencies are underlined Includes case studies and illustrative examples of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation biofuels production, power and heat generation (thermal plants, fuel cells, boilers), and biorefineries Traditional fossil fuels–based technologies are also described to compare with the corresponding bioenergy systems.

Split into four parts the book details the energy and exergy efficiencies of biomass energy. The first part, Background and Outline, introduces a beginner to biomass energy and exergy analysis; the second part, Biomass Production and Conversion covers energy and exergy analyses of the initial steps of bioenergy chains like photosynthesis, biomass cultivation, and gasification; Biofuels, the third part, details energy and exergy analyses of biofuels production; finally Bioenergy Systems presents analyses of integrated biomass energy systems, like power plants, fuels, and biorefineries.

The book is intended for a wide audience in the field of energy, particularly renewable energy, biomass and bioenergy, including industrial people (energy and chemical professionals, R&D, practicing engineers and technical managers); fuel and automobile engineers; agricultural professionals. The content of this book is multidisciplinary and it can be useful for advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers in Energy, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Agricultural Engineering. The book is also addressed to government employees: energetic, environmental, agricultural, and economic policy makers.

Krzysztof J. Ptasinski, Ph.D., D.Sc., has over 40 years of experience in academic teaching and research in chemical engineering and energy technology. He has held appointments at the Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of Twente (the Netherlands) as well as the Warsaw University of Technology and as visiting professor at the Silesian University of Technology (Poland). His pioneering research on application of exergy analysis to biomass and bioenergy is internationally acclaimed. He is the author and co–author of more than 200 publications, including 19 book chapters and 75 research papers. Currently he serves as an Executive Editor Biomass and Bioenergy Energy, The International Journal.