If you are a biomass boiler user or a boiler user who is interested in switching to biomass, BiofuelCircle Assured is for you! BiofuelCircle Assured takes care of the uncertainties associated with biomass supply chain in 6 different ways. Read on!
Steam systems are part of most industrial processesthat rely heavily on the fuelused in the boiler. Majority of these boilers use fossil fuels for producing steam. The generated steam isconsumed for power generation, heating, and sterilization.
With the depleting fossil fuel reserves, concern regarding climate change, and governmental incentives, industrial houses are looking for alternative fuelsto fire their boilers. In this regard, biomass is an excellent substitute for fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas to fire the boilers. Energy from biomass represent higher percentage (14%) of consumption as compared to coal (12%) and slightly lower as compared to gas (15%).
The advantages of using biomass as energy resource as compared to conventional boiler fuel are:
- biomass is widely available in most part of our country;
- the energy content (calorific value) of generally available biomass types are in the same band (around 3300kcal to 4000kcal);
- biomass can be easily transported after briquetting or palletisation;
- biomass is a carbon neutral fuel;
- there are governmental and social incentives to adopt such a fuel; and
- the cost of adopting biomass cofiring for an existing boiler is significantly lower than building a dedicated biomass boiler.
Such advantages of using biomass as a fuel in boilers is largely due to the characteristics of biomass. Biomass is primarily constituted of hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, ash and moisture. These characteristics, varies from one type of biomass to another.
The proximate characteristics of biomass that affect boiler performance in terms of energy and emission are: ash content; moisture content; volatile matter and fixed carbon. Based on the constituents of biomass, the energy content of biomass varies as well. For example, woody biomass may be considered as a premium fuel for boilers for its low ash content, sulphur and nitrogen content.
The major challenges of using biomass as a fuel for your boiler are operational, economic, social and regulatory. Out of these, the following operational and economic challenges are linked to the quantity, quality and supply of biomass:
Seasonal and regional availability of biomass:
The price of biomass changes with change is harvesting season and the region of availability.
Quality of Biomass
Quality of biomass changes with the origin, type and handling of biomass. Substandard quality of biomass can cause:
- carbonization problems;
- high ash deposit;
- corrosion of walls and components of the boiler system;
- reduced thermal efficiency; and
- emission of undesired odorous chemicals.
Transportation issues due to the nature of biomass: Due to its high volume, low density, and high moisture content, transportation of biomass is difficult. Moreover, logistic networks are not well developed for the producer side (rural India).
Cost of feedstock acquisition: Biomass is scattered, and the cost of acquisition is high.
Limited finance for the producers: Limited availability of finance to the farmers and small prepossessing industries results in a frequent change in price of biomass due to fluctuation of diesel prices.
All these can contribute to frequent and unpredicted downtime of the boiler, which in turn can lead to:
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Increased operational costs
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Expensive and frequent boiler maintenance
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To ensure the perfect health and functioning of your boiler, you need to
procure good and uniform quality biofuels, maintain a seamless biofuel delivery cycle and procure biofuels only from trusted sources.
6 Ways how BiofuelCircle Assured is a Game Changer for Boiler Users
BiofuelCircle is India’s first online marketplace for biomass and biofuels. We are committed to providing lab-tested, assured quality and quantity biomass and biofuels. With BiofuelCircle Assured buyer and seller verified badge, boiler users can get access to guaranteed deals and many opportunities to transact with verified businesses.
What can be done with BiofuelCircle Assured?
1. Obtain lab-tested biofuels and biomass:
BiofuelCircle has partnered with renowned labs in the country to help boiler users procure biofuels tested for calorific value, ash and moisture content, and other quality parameters. This ensured complete combustion of the biofuel, leading to savings on boiler maintenance and repair costs and avoiding unnecessary boiler downtime.
2. Get delivery assurance:
Boiler owners need to maintain a proper biofuel utilization cycle to ensure that their boiler remains working for the most time. With BiofuelCircle Assured, boiler owners get guaranteed delivery on time through reliable transporters, hence avoiding boiler downtime and operational disruptions.
3. Procure assured quality and quantity biomass & biofuel:
To properly complete the combustion process, the biofuel used must be of good and uniform quality. BiofuelCircle Assured ensures that boiler owners get access to uniform quality biofuels in the required quantity to avoid any disruptions in the boiler functioning.
4. Get online trade insights:
Through BiofuelCircle's end-to-end digitalized platform, boiler owners can get access to all their trade insight, track their biofuel purchases, and plan their future purchases accordingly.
5. Simplify your processes:
With BiofuelCircle Assured, you do not need to set up a separate quality control procedure or infrastructure at your facility, effectively saving on operational costs and overhead costs. This also helps you increase operational efficiency and save time.
6. Trade with verified businesses:
BiofuelCircle Assured allows boiler users to trade with reliable biofuel sellers for assured and transparent transactions. This guarantees reliable logistics, on-time transactions, and assured biofuel quality.
Other than these, BiofuelCircle Assured also enables buyers and sellers a rating mechanism to rate each other based on their transaction efficiency parameters.BiofuelCircle also has biomass banks that essentially simplify biofuel storage, accumulation, and processing.
Join the BiofuelCircle platform, get verified as a BiofuelCircle Assured buyer, and get many more such benefits. Click here to get started:
https://my.biofuelcircle.com/account/login
Written by Dr. Bikash C Maharaj, Ph.D., Product Specialist at Biofuelcircle
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