A study on biomass in power generation

In the present scenario of energy crisis, emission reduction and carbon trading for clean environment, usage of biomass as alternate energy source for power generation have become ubiquitous. In this work an attempt is made to study the variation in performance of a bio-mass based power plant while using different biomass as fuel. The experiments have been carried out on 6 MW power plant consisting of a boiler with capacity of 28,000 kg/h and a turbine unit with 6000 kW power rating runs on Rankine cycle. The suitability of different biomass sources as fuel for the power plant has been tested. The plant performance is compared while using different bio-mass as fuel. The results show that among tested biomass sources viz., subabul wood with bark, tumma Japan wood, eucalyptus bark, subabul bark, casurina root and coal (grade-E), the tumma Japan wood is giving high overall efficiency.