The last decade has witnessed a change in biomass power generation in Asia, where most of the plants are now designed for multi-fuel operation.

Over the last 10 years, there has been a considerable change in biomass power generation in Asia. Indeed, owing to the scarcity and cost of biomass fuel, most power plants are in fact designed for multi-fuel and unconventional fuels. This creates several challenging issues in combustion and boiler maintenance, demanding improvised combustion technologies, modern fuel preparation and handling systems, for example.

In the last decade, several new approaches to power plant implementation and technology have also been introduced. Despite these challenges, the regional potential for agricultural and wood based multi-fuel biomass power plants is very high and the market is attractive. The highest potential in Asia exists in the sugar sector, followed by palm oil, rice, and wood industries and multi-fuel biomass power plants.

The most common and predominant biomass power plant fuels used in Asia are: bagasse, palm shell, palm fibre, rice husk and wood waste. Apart from these fuels, unconventional materials such as empty fruit bunches, corn cob, cassava rhizome, coffee husk and such like are also increasingly being used.

Source: Renewable Energy World.com, 5 Aug 2010

For more information on Biomass business opportunities in Asia, attend Biomass Pellets Trade Asia on 27-29 September 2010 in Jakarta as invited speaker panel discusses;

  • Growth in co-firing & impact on wood pellets’ market dynamics
  • Rise of agro biomass & energy crops (Palm Kernel Shells (PKS), Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB), Rice Husk, Sugar Bagasse, Jatropha, Miscanthus, etc)
  • Pricing, specification & sustainability criteria for biomass
  • Investment & setting up pellets facility in Asia
  • Terminal investment, storage & handling
  • Economics of pretreatment technologies (Pelletizing, Torrefactions, etc)

Click here for Biomass Pellets Trade Asia full agenda.

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