Hydrothermal Carbonization and Gasification Technology for Electricity Production using Biomass

The concept uses agricultural residues as rice husk and rice straw as a renewable energy resource. These rice residues typically exhibit low energy density which limits an economic transportation for electrical power generation. In addition usually combustion does not make sense due to the transportation restrictions and the high contents of ash and dust. To master this challenge, the process of hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is applied to produce bio coal as a transportable value added product with high energy density and the same caloric value as lignite. The produced bio coal can be transported to gasification units in remote villages to generate electrical base load power for mini-grids in rural communities. Furthermore the usage of the bio coal for gasification has the advantage of a clean gasification process with a very low level of ash and dust pollution. This approach could be the key to a profitable generation of electricity as the HTC carbonization facility produces enough bio coal to achieve economic efficiency while supplying remote gasification units to produce electricity for mini-grids on a reliable and steady level. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.