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Biomass such as firewood, agricultural residue, bagasse, sugarcane refuses, crop stalks, rice husks, coconut shells, animal dung and waste from agro-based industries can be used to produce power.
When this waste is combusted in a gasifier at low oxygen and high temperature, biomass can be converted into a gaseous fuel known as producer gas. Although this gas has a lower calorific value compared to natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas, but can be burned with high efficiency and without emitting smoke.
ü Agricultural wastes can be used to produce three types of energy. Liquid fuels such as ethanol or pyrolysis oil; gaseous fuels like biogas (methane) and electricity.
ü Ethanol fuel which can be used as transport fuel can be produced by lignocellulosic conversion of wastes into ethanol.
ü The combustion of biomass and rapid condensation of its vapors or smoke yields the oil called pyrolysis oil, which is nearly equivalent to diesel. Around 20 per cent of charcoal is also produced as a by-product, which can be used as cooking fuel for rural households.
Recently, an experiment is done in which Corn is used to produce ethanol, and the waste from the process is fed to cows for dairy production. Cow manure is utilized in the fields of corn and also run through a digester to produce biogas.
ü A fuel cell efficiently converts the biogas into electricity to run the operation. The end products are ethanol, electricity, and milk. All the waste products are used within the project to lower costs.
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