Biomass pyrolysis for power generation - a potential technology

A wide range of process and routes are available for power generation from biomass. PYROLYSIS is another emerging technology, wherein biomass is converted to liquids, gases and char - liquid fuels being the main target. Power generation using this technology is essentially the use of pyrolytic oils for the gas turbine integrated into a combined cycle. Using this process has an inherent advantage of potentially decoupling of the fuel-generation from the power- generation site. A comparative study of this technology for power generation, with other technologies is made to determine its economic viability. Despite the fact that this technology is relatively new in the learning curve, it is found comparable with the other routes studied. It is found that the biomass prices have a strong influence in the economics, and using pyrolysis for power generation would be a more favored route than others at higher biomass prices. The study clearly brings out power generation through pyrolysis as a potential route and deserves attention. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.