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Asian Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Volume 2, No 2 (2013) ISSN 2305-915X
Potentiality of Biomass Energy for Electricity

Generation in Bangladesh
M. S. Islam & T. Mondal
Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Rajshahi University of Engineering and
Technology, Rajshahi, BANGLADESH
ABSTRACT
Biomass gasification is quite new in Bangladesh and may be considered as
a promising technology for power generation. Electricity generation by
biomass gasification can solve the problems of our day-to-day life at a
great extent. Even it also serves the purpose of rural electrification which is
the crying need of Bangladesh. Besides producing electricity it is beneficial
to the agricultural and industrial production. Some small enterprises trying
to ensure energy security at countryside using biomass gasification by rice
husk. This paper includes availability, proper selection and quality of
biomass throughout the country and utilization of by-product released by
the plant. A case study is incorporated which applies biomass gasification
technology in Bangladesh, to generate power from rice husk. In addition it
includes how ash generated from the husk is processed to produce silica
and calcium carbonate through silica precipitation method in order to
minimize the production cost.
Key-words: Biomasss, Gasification, Power generation
1 INTRODUCTION
E
Energy is the basic necessity for the development of a country and electrical energy
is superior to all other forms of energy. The modern society is so much dependent
upon the use of electrical energy that it has become a part and parcel of our life.
Infect the advancement of a country is measured in terms of per capita consumption of
electrical energy. Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries with about
80% of the population living in rural areas. However, only about 38% of its total
population has
access to the electricity. Without the development of rural electrification it is impossible to
fulfill Bangladesh Governments vision of ensuring access to affordable and reliable
electricity for all by 2020. The main energy sources of Bangladesh are biomass and natural
gas. Where biomass energy is about 70% of the total energy consumption in
Bangladesh[1].In rural areas normally direct combustion is the most common method of
biomass utilization. Because of its poor efficiency and limited supply alternative
techniques of resource utilization can meet the energy demand in this case.
Copyright © 2012, Asian Business Consortium | AJASE Page 103

South and Southeast Asia account for over 90% of the world‟s rice production [2].Rice
husk is a major by-product of the rice-milling industries and is abundantly available.
However, rice husks have been considered a waste, causing disposal problems. Like most
other biomass materials, rice husk contains a high amount of organic volatiles. Thus, rice
husk is recognized as a potential source of energy. Moreover, its 20 wt. % (approximately)
ash content comprising of over 95% amorphous silica makes a rice husk utilization system
economically and environmentally attractive.
Gasification of biomass has been known as one of the effective technology options for the
utilization of this renewable energy resource. Many interesting investigations concern the
subject of biomass gasification from the points of view of fuel used, gasifier type, kinetic
and product specifications and uses. Other neighboring Asian countries especially India
and China have already undertaken gasification programs on large scale. On the other
hand, only a demonstration biomass gasification of 200 kW based on rice husk is being set
up by Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) at Dinajpur. The first
commercial rice husk based power plant is established by a private entrepreneur in
Kapasia, near Dhaka with financial assistance from Infrastructure Development Company
Limited (IDCOL).
2 Biomass Gasification Basics

Biomass gasification is the process of converting solid fuels (wood/ wood-waste,
agricultural residues etc.) into a combustible gas mixture. This is achieved by reacting the
material at high temperatures (>700 °C), without combustion, with a controlled amount of
oxygen and/or steam. The resulting gas mixture is called syngas or producer gas and is
itself a fuel. The power derived from gasification of biomass and combustion of the
resultant gas is considered to be a source of renewable energy. The calorific value of this
gas varies between 4.0 and 6.0 MJ/Nm3 or about 10 to 15percent of the heating value of
natural gas [3]
Figure1, Biomass conversion into energy [4]
The three different stages of total gasification procedure are:

 Gasification process starts as auto thermal heating of the reaction mixture.
 In the second stage, combustion gases are pyrolysis by being passed through a bed of
fuel at high temperature.

 Initial products of combustion, carbon dioxide (CO2) and (H20) are reconverted by
reduction reaction to carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4).
Figure 2, A flow diagram of BGT
3 Availability and use of Biomass in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is an agriculture-based country and the available biomass is mainly of
agricultural residues like rice husk & rice straw from rice plants, Biogases from sugarcane,
Jute stick, residues from Wheat, potato, oilseeds, spices etc. In addition to the agricultural
wastes the other sources are dry materials such as dry wood, dried leaf, charcoal, coconut
shells etc.
Over last 30 years, there has been an increasing trend of biomass fuel supply in
Bangladesh. The total supply of biomass fuel was 236.08 PJ in 1980 and has increased over
next 20 years to 356.66 PJ (1.73% growth). Traditional fuel supply usually comes from
main three sources viz. crop residues, animal dung and trees [5].
The percentages of different traditional energy were as follows: cow-dung 20.4%, jute stick
7.5%, rice straw 11.6%,rice husk 23.3%, bagasse 3.2%, fire wood 10.4%, twigs and leaves
12.5% and other wastes 11.1%. Rice husk contributes biggest share of biomass energy and
it was 83.04 PJ in 2003-2004. Energy production from rice husk is steadily increasing.
Figure 3, Trends of traditional fuel supplied during 1980 to 2004

In 1991, the production of rice husk energy was 76.35 PJ and it increased to 106.1 PJ in 2004
(Figure 3.2) [5].
Figure 4, Trends of traditional fuel supplied during 1980 to 2004[5]
4 BIOMASS CHARACTERISTICS
Gasification technology requires some important bio mass characteristics the moisture content
of biomass should be as low as possible. No of volatile matter content, ash content and
composition must be considerably low. Morphology and bulk density should be constant.
Figure 5, Rice husks & wood chips
5 ELECTRICITY GENERATION BY RICE HUSK GASIFICATION

Several types of gasifier e.g. fixed-bed updraft and downdraft gasifier, fluidized bed gasifier
and bubbling bed gasifier are available in the existing market with different sets of pros and
cons. However, the downdraft gasifier is a comparatively cheap and the gasification in this
type of gasifier can produce a product gas with very low tar content [4]. Keeping the process
in mind, fixed-bed downdraft gasifier is thus recommended for small-scale rice husk
biomass plant. Here, biomass fuel is fed at the top of the reactor/gasifier. The fuel then
slowly moves down and during this time, the fuel reacts with air (the gasification agent),
which is supplied by the suction of a blower or an engine and is converted into combustible
producer gas in a complex series of oxidation, reduction, and pyrolysis reactions [3].
Generated ash is then removed from the bottom of the reactor for silica production.
Figure 6, Electricity generation by rice husk gasification.
6 PROGRESS OF TECHNOLOGY INCLUDING CASE STUDY

Over the years a considerable number of gasification systems for demonstration purposes
have been financed worldwide. A large diversity of fuels and equipment was
experimented with.
A decade of experience with modern biomass technologies for thermal, motive power and
electricity generation applications exists in India. Gasifier technology has penetrated the
applications such as village electrification, captive power generation and process heat
generation in industries producing biomass waste. Over 1600 gasifier systems, having 16
MW total capacity, have generated 42 million Kilo Watt hour (KWh) of electricity,
replacing 8.8 million liters of oil annually (CMIE, 1996). An important aspect of small
gasifier technology in India is the development of local manufacturing base. Technology
improvement is also derived from joint ventures of Indian firms with leading international
manufacturers of turbines and electronic governors [6]. Like India in China 150 set of
gasifier used for generating electricity,160 set for cooking & 370 set for drying woods.
The only gasification plant in our country namely “Dreams Power Limited” located in
Gaspur in Kapasia, Gazipur. IDCOL provided concessionary loans and grants to Dreams
Power Private Limited (DPPL), the Project Sponsor, for setting up the plant. Ankur
Scientific Energy Technologies Pvt. Ltd, India is the equipment supplier of the project,
although some of its parts come from German and Italy.
The main parts of the plants are:
1. Two Downdraft gasifier,
2. A dual-fuel generator,
3. Four Electric motor &
4. A spray pond
A mini grid has been constructed to sell the power to the adjacent area. The plant is able to
deliver power to at least 200 households and over 100 commercial entities of that area.
At present only one unit is on running condition from two, and this unit produces 56-KW
only. The plant is no longer capable of supplying more than 50 houses.
Figure 7, Rice Husk fired 250 kW Gasifier power plant and Spray pond at Kapasia, Bangladesh.

Dreams Power Limited now supplies about 333 unit/day (56-KW * 6-hr = 336 KW-hr or
unit). It runs 6hrs a day. The sales cost of each unit is 5 TK. Therefore the monthly income
of the plant equals to 333 * 5 * 30 = 49950 i.e. about 50000 TK. But it cost pretty more than
income.
The loss of the existing plant can be minimized in two ways:
 By establishing plant at rice mill cluster areas &
 By utilizing the ash generated from rice husk.
According to the Rice Mill Owners‟ Association of Bangladesh there are over one hundred
thousand rice mills located in a scattered manner all over the country with four „cluster‟
areas. These four distinct „cluster‟ areas are distinguished as - (i) Dinajpur (North Bengal)
(ii) Sherpur (near Bogra) (iii) Inshawerdi and (iv) Kaliakoir (near Dhaka),where most of
the rice mills are located in close proximity to each other.
Figure-6.2: Districts with rice mill clusters (star marked) in Bangladesh [7]
Based on preliminary surveys (Ref.: Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, BRRI and
information from Rice Mill Owners‟ Association), typically at least over 500 rice mills are
located in these cluster areas. Taking an average (lower-mid) capacity range of about 100-
200 kW, there is a 50-100 MW power market in these cluster areas [8].
Silica generation is a separate independent process not dependent on electricity
generation, although the input ash is dependent on gasification process. Provision will be
taken in the design so that external ash is used also as input thus increase silica
production. The process along with three major steps of production is depicted in below
mentioned figure.

Figure-6.3: Flow chart of precipitated Silica [9]
(a) Digestion
This step involves the digestion of the rice husk ash with caustic to formulate sodium
silicate solution at specific condition. After the digestion stage, the solution is filtered for
residual undigested ash present in the solution. The clear filtrate is then taken for
precipitation.
Ash + NaOH (l) Na2O.xSiO2 (l) + Undigested ash (1)
(b) Precipitation
This step involves precipitation of silica from sodium silicate solution in presence of CO2.
The precipitated silica is then filtered, washed with water to remove the soluble salts and
dried to form silica powder. The filtrate containing sodium carbonate is taken for
regeneration purpose [10].
Na2O.xSiO2 (l) + CO2 (g) xSiO2 (s) + Na2CO3 (2)
(c) Regeneration
Regeneration is the step where calcium compound reacts with the sodium carbonate to
form calcium carbonate and sodium hydroxide. The resulting solution is filtered to
remove the solid calcium carbonate and the aqueous sodium hydroxide is used for
digestion again [9].
Na2CO3 (l) + Ca(OH)2 (s) CaCO3 (s) (3)
CaCO3 (l) Ca(OH)2 (s) + CO2 (4)
7 CONCLUSION & FUTURE WORK

The long-term potential contributions of modern biomass energy carriers in Bangladesh are
significant. The Biomass power plant in Kapasia is a milestone in country‟s history to
promote and develop renewable energy. New policies and programs are needed to address
institutional barriers to expanding the use of modernized bioenergy in Bangladesh, and to
ensure that biomass is used for energy in environmentally-sensitive ways.
In order to flourish this technology in near future following factors should be considered:
 Recognition,
 Attitudinal Barriers to shift,
 Available Loan facility,
 Cost of installation,
 Type of fuel to be used and its availability,
 Efficiency,
 By-product utilization.
REFERENCES
[1] M. Rofiqul Islam, M. Rabiul Islam and M. Rafiqul Alam Beg,“Renewable energy resources
and technologies practice in Bangladesh”, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
(2006), doi:10.1016/j.rser. 2006.07.003.
[2] T.B. Reed, Biomass Gasification Principles and Technology, Noyes Data, Park Ridge, NJ, 1981.
[3] S. K. Patra and P.P. Datta, Technical Digest, Insights into Biomass Gasification
Technology.
[4] J. Waewsak, M. Mani, P. Buaphet and P. Panichayunon, “A Biomass Gas Engine System
for Power Generation of OTOP Building in Southern Thailand”, Renewable Energy
System Research and Demonstration Center (RERD), Department of Physics, Faculty of
Science, Thaksin University, Thailand.
[5] M. Ahiduzzaman. “Rice Husk Energy Technologies in Bangladesh” Agricultural Engineering
International: the CIGR Ejournal. Invited Overview No. 1. Vol. IX. January, 2007.
[6] P.R. Shukla Published in The Social Engineer, “Biomass Energy in India:Transition from
Traditional to Modern”, Vol. 6, No. 2.
[7] Dasgupta, N., Baqui, M. A., Dhingra S., Raman, P., Ahiduzzaman, M. And Kishore, V.V.
N., Benefits of Improved Rice Husk Combustion,Bangladesh. NRI report no. 2764. p. 8, 21,
67, 2007.
[8] APCTT-UNESCAP, Bangladesh Renewable Energy Report.
[9] CGPL, Indian Institute of Science, “Precipitated Silica from Rice Husk Ash”, India.
Available: http://cgpl.iisc.ernet.in/site/Portals/0/Technologies/PrecipitatedSilica.pdf.
[10] D.N. Subbukrishna, K.C. Suresh, P.J. Paul, S. Dasappa, N.K.S. Rajan, Precipitated Silica
From Rice Husk Ash by IPSIT Process, 15th European Biomass Conference & Exhibition,
Berlin, Germany, 7-11 May, 2007.
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Asian Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Volume 2, No 2 (2013) ISSN 2305-915X

Potentiality of Biomass Energy for Electricity

Key-words: Biomasss, Gasification, Power generation

Copyright © 2012, Asian Business Consortium | AJASE Page 103

2 Biomass Gasification Basics

Figure1, Biomass conversion into energy [4]

The three different stages of total gasification procedure are:

Copyright © 2012, Asian Business Consortium | AJASE Page 104

Figure 2, A flow diagram of BGT

3 Availability and use of Biomass in Bangladesh

Figure 3, Trends of traditional fuel supplied during 1980 to 2004

Copyright © 2012, Asian Business Consortium | AJASE Page 105

Figure 4, Trends of traditional fuel supplied during 1980 to 2004[5]

Figure 5, Rice husks & wood chips

5 ELECTRICITY GENERATION BY RICE HUSK GASIFICATION

Figure 6, Electricity generation by rice husk gasification.

6 PROGRESS OF TECHNOLOGY INCLUDING CASE STUDY

Copyright © 2012, Asian Business Consortium | AJASE Page 107

Copyright © 2012, Asian Business Consortium | AJASE Page 108

Figure-6.3: Flow chart of precipitated Silica [9]

7 CONCLUSION & FUTURE WORK

Asian Business Consortium is an independent research house

Submit your next manuscript at- www.abcjournals.net

Copyright © 2012, Asian Business Consortium | AJASE Page 110

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