SAI VIDYA INSTITUTE

OF TECHNOLOGY

US
N

Rajanakunte, Bangalore-560064
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
INTERNAL ASSESSMENT: III
VIII SEM, ME
MAX MARKS : 50

SUBJECT: BIOMASS ENERGY SYSTEMS

DATE: /05/2016

SUB CODE: 10ME843

TIME: 1.30PM 3.00PM

Note: Answer any FIVE full questions, choosing at least two questions from each part.
PART-A
1

What is Ethanol? With the help of flow chart explain the production of ethanol form sugar
cane.
With the help of neat sketches, state the modifications necessary for SI and CI Engines for
use of Bio-gas.

1
0
1
0

CO
1
CO
1

With a neat flow chart, explain the production of ethanol from wood by acid hydrolysis.

state the various effect of using bio-diesel in I.C.engines

1
0
1
0

CO
1
CO
1

SAI VIDYA INSTITUTE

OF TECHNOLOGY

US
N

Rajanakunte, Bangalore-560064
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
INTERNAL ASSESSMENT: III
VIII SEM, ME
MAX MARKS : 50

SUBJECT: BIOMASS ENERGY SYSTEMS

SUB CODE: 10ME843

DATE: /05/2016
TIME: 1.30PM 3.00PM

Note: Answer any FIVE full questions, choosing at least two questions from each part.
PART-A
1

What is Ethanol? With the help of flow chart explain the production of ethanol form sugar 1
cane.
0

CO
1

With the help of neat sketches, state the modifications necessary for SI and CI Engines for
use of Bio-gas.

1
0

CO
1

With a neat flow chart, explain the production of ethanol from wood by acid hydrolysis.

state the various effect of using bio-diesel in I.C.engines

1
0
1
0

CO
1
CO
1

1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0

CO
2
CO
2
CO
2
CO
2

1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0

CO
2
CO
2
CO
2
CO
2

PART-B
5

Explain Digester Design Considerations

How biodiesel is produced from edible and non-edible oils.

Describe briefly Brayton cycle, Sterling cycle, Rankine cyle,

With a neat sketch, describe a bio-mass based steam power plant

CO1. The fundamentals of residual biomass and energy crops.

CO2. The fundamentals of biomass conversion processes and devices

PART-B
5

Explain Digester Design Considerations

How biodiesel is produced from edible and non-edible oils.

Describe briefly Brayton cycle, Sterling cycle, Rankine cyle,

With a neat sketch, describe a bio-mass based steam power plant

CO1. The fundamentals of residual biomass and energy crops.

CO2. The fundamentals of biomass conversion processes and devices

5. Explain Digester

Design Considerations
Digester Design Considerations Digestion tanks may be of any convenient shape and provided with a cover to
retain the gas. The cover may be a fixed one or floating. A number of factors are to be taken into account to
arrive an optimum size of a biogas plant. These are
1. The volume of waste to be digested daily,
2. The type and amount of waste available for digestion consistently,
3. Period of digestion,
4. Methods of stirring, the contents if any,
5. Method of adding the raw waste and removing digested slurry,
6. Efficiency of collection of the raw waste,
7. The climate condition of the region,
8. The availability of other cellulosic fermentable waste in that area,
9. Information about sub-soil condition and water table, and
10. Type of the cover.
The capacity of the digestion tank may be formulated is as

The required capacities of digestion tanks may be calculated on the basis of destruction 2/3 of the organic
matter in slurry and the conversion of 1/4 of what is destroyed into mineral matter and the remaining to gases.
The period of digestiont is fixed by the time necessary to produce a satisfactory digested sludge. This depends
on mainly upon the temperature of digestion
It is well known fact the production of biogas through anaerobic digestion of the biomass is dependent on
the temperature. The production slows down considerably below 20C
In the mesophilic range the usual of gas production in the Indian biogas plants, methanogenic bacteria
grow best at temperatures of 330 - 40C The rate of gas production approximately doubles up for every 10C
rise in temperature between 15C and 35C and doubles between 35C and 55C (thermophilic range). Hence a
digester operating at 15C has to have a volume four times greater than the one at 35C and eight times the one
at 55C to yield the same daily production of the digester.
For sub-soil condition and high water table areas, modifications in design are needed. If the clay type soils
maximum shrinkage of soil is possible and hence at an interval of 61 cm height one concrete ring structure
around the digester might help in strengthening the digester.

 The Ganesh model of biogas plant in which 4 to 5 well rings of sufficient diameter are placed one over the
other and cemented together at the joints seems to work well in areas comprising of sandy soil.
In high water table areas, the Deenbandhu model whose entire structure goes upto 1.2 to 1.5 m below
ground level is quite suitable.
Besides this, construction of plants above ground with usual backing and soil grouting might also be
considered in such areas. A leak-proof two-wall system with aqua-proof cementing might also help in
enhancing the gas output
. For operation of the digester in the thermophilic range, the temperatures are required to he maintained at
nearly constant value because the thermophilic bacteria are highly sensitive to fluctuation in the temperature.
Retention time depends on the climatic conditions, and so size of the digester. For hot, tropical prone
climate, 30 to 40 days retention time would be sufficient. In hot regions with a period of winter, the retention
time may have to be 40 to 60 days. In temperature climate with a definite drop in temperature during the winter,
the retention time may be 60 to 90 days. According to these factors the requirement of gas will have to be
worked out and this has to be tallied with the availability of feed materials to decide the size of capsule module.
Suitability of Raw Material. If the availability of clung is less and will meet the user's fertilizers
requirements but leave Min short of gas) then he can substitute a portion of vegetable waste for an equal amount
of dung (dry)
This will enable him to get more gas for the same amount of fertilizer. In such cases it is necessary to
maintain C/N ratio. This ratio should be maintained between 30 and 35 by properly varying the quantities of
other biodegrable materials. Normally the weight of dung in a dung vegetable mixture should be maintained
above 50%. The amount of dry solids in cowdung is 18%. The nitrogen content in dry dung is 1.7%, and carbon
content is 25 times that of nitrogen.The ultimate concentration of solids in the slurry should be between 7 and
9%.
Volume of Digester for Biogas Production using Cow dung only. At 15C, 1 kg of dry dung gives 0.186
m3 of gas. The ratio of dry dung to water in wet dung is 1: 4. Normally 1 kg of wet dung is mixed with 1 kg of
water to get the slurry. The duration of each cycle depends on the temperature. Hence if the gas requirement and
duration of cycle are known, then the amount of water and dung needed can be estimated. The volume of the
digester is equivalent to the volume of slurry. A gas space of 10% of this volume could be provided in the
digester. Hence the total volume of the digester can be taken as 1.1 times the volume of the slurry.
7.Describe briefly Brayton cycle, Sterling cycle, Rankine cyle,

Stirling Cycle
stirling cycle is a thermodynamic cycle consists of two isothermal and two isochoric processes. Heat rejection
and heat addition takes place at constant temperature.

Pressure-volume and Temperature-entropy diagram

Where,
1-2: Isothermal compression
2-3: Constant volume cooling
3-4: Isothermal exoansion
4-1: Contant volume heating
From the p-V and T-s diagram of stirling cycle it is clear that the amount of heat addition and heat rejection
during constant volume is same.
Heat supplied = Work done during isothermal expansion

Heat rejected by the air during isothermal compression

Work done = heat supplied heat rejected

Thermal efficiency can be given by the equation

Brayton Cycle
The air-standard Brayton cycle is a theoretical cycle for gas turbines. This cycle consists of two reversible
adiabatic or isentropic processes and two constant pressure processes.
This thermodynamic cycle is represented on p-V and T-s coordinates, is similar to diesel cycle in compression
and heat addition. The isentropic expansion of diesel cycle is further extended followed by constant pressure
heat rejection.

p-V and T-s diagram for the air-standard Brayton cycle

Where,
1-2: Isentropic process
2-3: Isobaric process
3-4: Isentropic Process
4-1: Isobaric process
Thermal Efficiency can be calculated by the formula

Where k is the specific heat ratio Cp/Cv.

Simple Rankine Cycle

The simple Rankine cycle is also a reversible cycle.

Consider the idealized four-steady-state-process cycle in which state 1 is saturated liquid and state 3 is either
saturated vapor or superheated vapor. This system is termed the Rankine cycle and is the model for the simple
steam power plant. It is convenient to show the states and processes on a Ts diagram,
The various processes in simple Rankine cycle are:
12: Reversible adiabatic pumping process in the pump,
23: Constant-pressure transfer of heat in the boiler,
34: Reversible adiabatic expansion in the turbine (or other prime mover such as a steam engine),
41: Constant-pressure transfer of heat in the condenser.

Figure 2: Temperature vs entropy diagram of Rankine cycle

The Rankine cycle also includes the possibility of superheating the vapor, as cycle 12341.

If kinetic and potential energy changes are neglected, heat transfer and work may be represented by various
areas on the Ts diagram. The heat transferred to the working fluid is represented by area a223ba and the
heat transferred from the working fluid by area a14ba. From the first law we can conclude that the area
representing the work is the difference between these two areasarea 122341. The thermal efficiency is
defined by the relation

8. With a neat sketch, describe a bio-mass based steam power plant

BIOMASS BASED STEAM POWER PLANT
DESCRIPTION
Most biopower plants use direct-fired combustion systems. They burn biomass directly to produce highpressure steam that drives a turbine generator to make electricity. In some biomass industries, the extracted or
spent steam from the power plant is also used for manufacturing processes or to heat buildings. These combined
heat and power (CHP) systems greatly increase overall energy efficiency to approximately 80%, from the
standard biomass electricity-only systems with efficiencies of approximately 20%. Seasonal heating
requirements will impact the CHP system efficiency.
A simple biomass electric generation system is made up of several key components. For a steam cycle, this
includes some combination of the following items:

Fuel storage and handling equipment

Combustor / furnace
Boiler
Pumps

Fans
Steam turbine
Generator
Condenser
Cooling tower
Exhaust / emissions controls
System controls (automated).
Direct combustion systems feed a biomass feedstock into a combustor or furnace, where the biomass is burned
with excess air to heat water in a boiler to create steam. Boiler fuel can include wood chips, pellets, sawdust, or
bio-oil. Steam from the boiler is then expanded through a steam turbine, which spins to run a generator and
produce electricity.
In general, all biomass systems require fuel storage space and some type of fuel handling equipment and
controls. A system using wood chips, sawdust, or pellets typically use a bunker or silo for short-term storage
and an outside fuel yard for larger storage. An automated control system conveys the fuel from the outside
storage area using some combination of cranes, stackers, reclaimers, front-end loaders, belts, augers, and
pneumatic transport. Manual equipment, like front loaders, can be used to transfer biomass from the piles to the
bunkers, but this method will incur significant cost in labor and equipment operations and maintenance .
Wood chip-fired electric power systems typically use one dry ton per megawatt-hour of electricity production.
This approximation is typical of wet wood systems and is useful for a first approximation of fuel use and
storage requirements but the actual value will vary with system efficiency.
Most wood chips produced from green lumber will have a moisture content of 40% to 55%, wet basis, which
means that a ton of green fuel will contain 800 to 1,100 pounds of water. This water will reduce the recoverable
energy content of the material, and reduce the efficiency of the boiler, as the water must be evaporated in the
first stages of combustion.
The biggest problems with biomass-fired plants are in handling and pre-processing the fuel. This is the case
with both small grate-fired plants and large suspension-fired plants. Drying the biomass before combusting or
gasifying it improves the overall process efficiency, but may not be economically viable in many cases.
Exhaust systems are used to vent combustion by-products to the environment. Emission controls might include
a cyclone or multi-cyclone, a baghouse, or an electrostatic precipitator. The primary function of all of the
equipment listed is particulate matter control, and is listed in order of increasing capital cost and effectiveness.
Cyclones and multi-cyclones can be used as pre-collectors to remove larger particles upstream of a baghouse
(fabric filter) or electrostatic precipitator.
In addition, emission controls for unburned hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and sulfur might be required,
depending on fuel properties and local, state, and Federal regulations.
How Does it Work?
In a direct combustion system, biomass is burned in a combustor or furnace to generate hot gas, which is fed
into a boiler to generate steam, which is expanded through a steam turbine or steam engine to produce
mechanical or electrical energy.

In a direct combustion system, processed biomass is the boiler fuel that produces steam to operate a steam
turbine and generator to make electricity.