Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

BIOMASS ENERGY
Introduction
The energy obtained from organic matter, derived from biological organisms like Plants and
animals is known as Biomass energy.
• Animals feed on plants, and plants grow through the photosynthesis process using solar
energy Thus, photosynthesis process is primarily responsible for the generation of biomass
energy.
• A small portion of the solar radiation is captured and stored in the plants during
photosynthesis process. Therefore, it is an indirect form of solar energy.

• The average efficiency of photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into biomass energy
is estimated to be 0.5–1.0 percent.
• To use biomass energy, the initial biomass maybe transformed by chemical or biological
processes to produce intermediate bio-fuels such as methane, producer gas, ethanol &
charcoal etc. On combustion it reacts with oxygen to releases energy in the form of heat.
• Coal, oil and natural gas, which takes millions of years to form, but bio mass can be
considered a renewable energy source because plant life renews and adds to itself every
year.
• The dry matter of biological material cycling in biosphere is about 250 × 109 tons/Y and
associated energy bound in photosynthesis process is 2 x 1021 J/y (0.7 x 1014 W of power).

Classification of Biomass
Bio-mass resources fall into three categories
1. Solid bio-fuel – Wood, charcoal, saw dust, agricultural waste and non energy crop etc, this
things can burn directly to produce the energy.
2. Liquid bio-fuel
(a) Bio-diesel – it’s domestically produced renewable from vegetable oil, animal oil,
cooking oil and recycle grease.
 it’s Non-toxic & Biodegradable and it’s also used in Diesel Engine.
(b) Bio-ethanol – it’s produced from corn, wheat, sugarcane & starch. it can be used as
alternative fuel for petrol in order to reduce vehicle emission

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Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

3. Gaseous bio-fuel – it’s essentially methane gas produced from biodegradable waste and
energy crops.
 Bio-gas contains 55to 65% Methane, 30-40% CO2 & rest impurities i.e., H2, H2S, &
some N2).
 Synthesised gas – its basically a mixture of Co & H.
ADVANTAGES
 It is renewable source.
 It is an indigenous source requiring little or no foreign exchange.
 The forestry & agricultural industries that supply feed stocks also provide substantial
economic development opportunities in rural areas.
 The pollutant emissions from combustion of biomass are usually lower than fossil fuels.
 commercial use of biomass may avoid or reduce the problems of waste disposal in other
industries.
 Use of biogas plants apart from supplying clean gas, also leads to improved sanitation,
better hygienic conditions in rural areas.
 Its not a seasonal dependent source.
DISADVANTAGES
 It is dispersed & land intensive source.
 Low energy density.
 capacity is determined by availability of biomass and not suitable for varying loads
 not feasible to set up at all locations.

Biomass Conversion Technologies:

Biomass can be converted into different forms of energy by using various processes. Many
factors affect the choice of the process like
• Quantity of Biomass Feedstock.
• Desired energy form
• Environmental standards and
• Project specific factors.
Biomass can be converted into 3 main Products: Power or Heat generation, transportation fuels
and chemical feedstock.

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Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

Thermo-Chemical Conversion: energy is produced by applying heat and chemical Processes.

• It includes combustion, gasification, pyrolysis, and solvent liquefaction.

• Each process functions at a distinct degree of oxidation, temperature, heating rate and
reaction time to produce electric power, heat, fuels, and/or chemicals.
1. Combustion: is a Exo-thermic chemical reaction, in which biomass is burned directly in
the presence of air.
 In this process chemical energy which is stored in the biomass is converted into
mechanical and electrical energies.
 This process is suitable for dry biomass containing moisture less than 50%.
 Biomass is burned at the temperature of 800-1000 °C.
 This process is used for domestic applications as well as commercially in biomass
power plants in order to produce electricity.

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Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

 The typical efficiencies for stand-alone biomass combustion power plants (using wood
and forest residue as a fuel) range between 20-50 MWe, with related the electrical
efficiencies in the 25-30%.
 These power plants are suitable where fuels are available at low costs.
 In recent years advanced combustion technology is being used.
 The application of fluid bed system and advanced gas cleaning allows for production of
electricity from biomass, on scale of 50-80 MWe, with 30-40% electrical efficiencies.
Gasification process
• In biomass gasification, charcoal, wood chips, energy crops, forestry residues, agricultural
waste and other wastes are transformed into flammable gases at high temperature (800-
1000°C.
• In this process fuel (biomass) reacts with a gasifying medium such as oxygen enriched air,
pure oxygen, steam or a combination of both.
• The product gas composition and energy content depends upon the gasifying media's nature
and amount of it.
• Low calorific Value (CV) gas obtained by gasification about 4-6 MJ/N m3.

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Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

• The product gas can be used as a feedstock (syngas) in the production of chemicals like
methanol.
• One promising concept is the biomass integrated gasification/ combined cycle (BIG/CC),
in which gas turbines convert the gaseous fuel to electricity with a high overall
conversion efficiency.
• The integration of gasification and combustion heat recovery ensures 40-50% conversion
efficiency for a 30-60 MW.
• The syngas can be converted into hydrogen gas, and it may have a future as fuel for
transportation [15].

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Gasifiers are broadly classified into:

(i) Fixed bed gasifier and
(ii) Fluidized bed gasifier.
The fixed bed gasifiers are further classified as:
a) Downdraft,
b) Updraft and
c) Cross draft types, depending upon the direction of airflow.

Updraft Type: this type of gasifier (also called counter flow gasifier) is the simplest as well as
first type of gasifier developed.

• This type of gasifier is easy to build and operate.

• The air enters below the combustion zone and the gas is drawn off at the top.

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• The updraft gasifier achieves highest efficiency as the hot gas passes through the fuel bed
and then leaves the gasifier at low temperature.
• The gas produced has practically no ash but contains tar and water vapor because of passing
of gas through unburnt fuel.
• Hence updraft gasifier is suitable for tar free feedstock (fuels like charcoal, etc.).
• It is most unsuitable for high volatile fuels. The zones of various reactions are shown in Fig.
Downdraft Type: is best suited for a variety of biomass. Its design forces the raw products to
pass through a high temperature zone so that most of the unburnt pyrolysis products (especially
tars) can be cracked into gaseous hydrocarbons, thus producing a relatively clean gas.

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Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

• In steady state operation, heat from the combustion zone (oxidation zone), near the air
nozzle is transferred upwards by radiation, conduction and convection causing wood
chips to pyrolyze and lose 70–80 per cent of their weight.
• These pyrolyzed gases burn with air to form CO, CO2, H2 and H2O, thereby raises the
temperature to 1000–1200 °C.
• The product gases from combustion zone further undergo reduction reaction with char to
generate combustible products like CO, H2 and CH4.
• Generally, about 40–70 per cent air is drawn through open top depending on the pressure
drop conditions due to size of wood chips and gas flow rate.
• This flow of air opposite to flame front helps in maintaining homogeneous air/gas flow
across the bed.
• Combining the open top with air nozzle towards the bottom of the reactor helps in
stabilizing the combustion zone by consuming the uncovered char left and also by
preventing the movement of the flame front to the top.

Bio-Chemical conversion
• Biochemical conversion makes use of the enzymes of bacteria and other living organisms
to break down biomass and convert it into fuels.
• This conversion process includes anaerobic digestion and fermentation.
Anaerobic digestion process
• This is a process in which organic material directly converted to a gas which is termed as
biogas.
• It is mixture of methane, carbon dioxide and other gases like hydrogen sulphide in small
quantities.
• Biomass is converted in anaerobic environment by bacteria, which produces a gas having
an energy of 20-40% of lower heating value of the feedstock.
• This process is suitable for organic wastes having high moisture about 80-90%.
• This biogas can be directly used in spark ignition gas engines and gas turbines and can be
upgraded to higher quality natural gas by removing carbon dioxide.
• The overall conversion efficiency of this process is 21%.
• Waste heat from engines and turbines can be recovered by using combined heat and
power system.

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Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

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Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

BIO GAS PRODUCTION FROM ORGANIC WASTES BY ANAEROBIC FERMENTATION

Anaerobic Digestion is a biochemical degradation process that converts complex organic
material, such as biomass & animal manure, into methane and other by products.

There are four key biological and chemical stages of anaerobic digestion
1. Hydrolysis
 Biomass is normally comprised of very large organic polymers, which are unusable.
 Through hydrolysis, these large polymers, namely proteins, fats and carbohydrates, are
broken down into smaller molecules such as amino acids, fatty acids, and simple sugars.
 While some of the products of hydrolysis, including hydrogen and acetate, may be used by
methanogens later in the anaerobic digestion process, this occurs in a day at 250c in active
digester.
2. Acidogenesis
 Acidogenesis is the next step of anaerobic digestion process in which acid forming
bacteria further break down the Biomass products and produce an acidic environment
in the digestive tank while creating ammonia, H2, CO2, H2S, shorter volatile fatty acids,
carbonic acids, alcohols, as well as trace amounts of other by products.
 While organic product, it is still too large and unusable so the biomass must next
undergo the process of acetogenesis for the ultimate goal of methane production.
3. Acetogenesis

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Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

 Acetogens break down the Biomass further to a point to which Methanogens can utilize
much of the remaining material to create Methane as a Biofuel.
4. Methanogenesis
 Methanogenesis constitutes the final stage of anaerobic digestion process in which
methanogens create methane from the final products of acetogenesis as well as from
some of the intermediate products from hydrolysis and acidogenesis.
 There are two general pathways involving the use of acetic acid and carbon dioxide
i) While CO2 can be converted into methane and water through the reaction
CO2 + 4 H2 → CH4 + 2H2O
ii) the main mechanism to create methane in methanogenesis is the path involving
acetic acid
CH3COOH → CH4 + CO2

THE DOME AND THE DRUM TYPES – mainly two types are usually used:
a) Floating gas holder digester which is used in India is known as KVIC plant - This mainly
consists of a digester or pit for fermentation and a floating drum for the collection of gas.
Construction
 The digester is a deep circular pit or a well, built of bricks of 3.5-6.5 m in depth and 1.2
to 1.6 m in diameter and there is a partition wall in the center, which divides the digester
vertically and submerges in the slurry when it is full.
 In the inlet slurry mixing tank dung mixed with water (4:5) and loaded into the digester
through inlet pipe.
 The digester is connected to the outlet tank through outlet pipe for removal of spent
slurry.

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 Gas holder dome is an inverted steel drum resting above the digester, the drum can move
up and down i.e., float over the digester and it has an outlet at the top which could be
connected to the storage tank.

Working
 Initially slurry is prepared in the mixing tank and it’s fed into the inlet chamber of
the digester through the inlet pipe.
 The plant is left unused for about two months and introduction of more slurry is also
stopped.
 During this period, anaerobic fermentation of biomass takes place in the presence of
water and produces biogas in the digester.
 Biogas being lighter rises up and starts collecting in the gas holder dome and this
dome now starts moving up and starts floats freely on the surface of the slurry.
 Gas holder dome after reaching a certain level it cannot rises up as more & more gas
starts collecting, more pressure begins to be exerted on the slurry.

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b) Fixed dome digester is called Chinese plant.

Construction
 Figure represents the schematic diagram of a fixed dome type biogas plant called as
Janta model or Chinese model of biogas plant.
 It is similar to KVIC model except that both the digester and gas holder are
constructed in a fixed dome usually below the ground surface.
 In the slurry mixing tank dung mixed with water (4:5) and loaded into the digester
through inlet pipe.
 Digester is a huge tank with a dome like ceiling which has an outlet with a valve for
the supply of biogas.
 The digester is connected to the outlet tank through outlet pipe for removal of spent
slurry.

Working
 Initially slurry is prepared in the mixing tank and it’s fed into the inlet chamber of
the digester through the inlet pipe.
 When digester is partially filled with the slurry, the introduction of slurry stopped
and plant is left unused for about two months.
 During this period, anaerobic fermentation of biomass takes place in the presence of
water and produces biogas which starts collecting in the dome of the digester.
 As more and more biogas start collecting, the pressure exerted by the biogas forces

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the spent slurry into the outlet chamber.

 From the outlet chamber, the spent slurry overflows into the overflow tank which is
manually removed and used as manure for plants.
 The gas valve connected to a system of pipelines is opened when a supply of gas is
required.

Biomass Feedstock: Selection and Availability

Biomass feedstock: refers to organic materials used as raw inputs to produce bioenergy (e.g., heat,
electricity, or biofuels).
 These materials can be plant-based, animal-based, or derived from organic waste.
 The efficient and sustainable use of biomass for energy depends on the type, quality, and
availability of feedstock.
 Proper selection of biomass feedstock ensures high energy output, low emissions, and
economic viability.

Types of Biomass Feedstock

Biomass feedstocks are broadly classified into the following categories:
a) Agricultural Residues: These are the by-products of crop harvesting and processing
 Examples: Rice husk, wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, cotton stalks, corn stover.
 Characteristics: Generally abundant in rural areas and seasonal in availability.
b) Forestry Residues: Generated from forest operations and wood industries:

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 Examples: Sawdust, wood chips, bark, and branches.

 Characteristics: High energy content and relatively low ash content.
c) Dedicated Energy Crops: Specifically grown for energy production
 Examples: Switchgrass, miscanthus, jatropha, energy cane, algae.
 Characteristics: High yield, predictable quality, sustainable over time.
d) Animal Waste: Includes organic waste from livestock:
 Examples: Cattle manure, poultry litter.
 Characteristics: High moisture content, suitable for biogas production via anaerobic
digestion.
e) Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and Industrial Organic Waste: Comprises biodegradable
fractions of urban and industrial waste:
 Examples: Food waste, sewage sludge, paper waste.
 Characteristics: Readily available in urban areas but may require pre-treatment.

Criteria for Selection of Biomass Feedstock: Several factors must be considered to select
the appropriate biomass feedstock:
a) Availability
 Regional and seasonal availability determines the continuous operation of biomass
plants.
 Example: Rice husk is abundant in states like Punjab and West Bengal during harvest
season.
b) Calorific Value (Energy Content)
 Feedstock with higher calorific value yields more energy.
 Example: Wood chips (16–18 MJ/kg) are more energy-rich than wet food waste.
c) Moisture Content
 High moisture content reduces combustion efficiency.
 Ideal moisture for combustion: <20%; for anaerobic digestion: 80–90%.
d) Ash Content
 High ash content leads to frequent cleaning and maintenance.
 Example: Straw has higher ash content than wood pellets.
e) Economic Viability
 Includes costs of collection, transportation, storage, and processing.

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 Proximity to the biomass source reduces logistics cost.

f) Environmental Impact
 Should not cause deforestation, food scarcity, or excessive land use.
 Example: Energy crops must be grown on non-agricultural lands to avoid food vs.
fuel conflict.
g) Compatibility with Technology
The feedstock must be suitable for the intended conversion method:
 Combustion (e.g., wood, straw)
 Gasification (e.g., dry biomass)
 Anaerobic digestion (e.g., wet organic waste)
Availability of Biomass Feedstock in India: India has a rich potential for biomass energy, with
diverse agro-climatic zones producing a variety of feedstocks:
 Agricultural Residues: ~500 million tonnes annually (as per MNRE)
 Forestry Residues: Available in forest-rich states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
 Animal Waste: India has one of the largest cattle populations in the world
 Municipal Waste: Urban areas generate significant biodegradable waste daily

Environmental Impacts and Sustainability of Biomass Power Plants

Biomass power plants convert organic materials (agricultural residues, wood waste, energy crops,
etc.) into heat, electricity, or fuels. While biomass is a renewable resource, its environmental
impact and sustainability depend on feedstock type, conversion technology, and operational
practices.
Environmental Impacts of Biomass Power Plants
a) Positive Environmental Impacts
1. Reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
o Biomass is the displacement of fossil fuel usage and the reduction of air pollution
and acid rain.
2. Waste Reduction
o Utilizes agricultural, forestry, and municipal organic waste that might otherwise
end up in landfills or be burned in the open which leads to GHG Emission.
3. Land Restoration and Soil Quality

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o Growing energy crops can improve marginal lands and reduce erosion.
4. Reduction in Methane Emissions
o Anaerobic digestion of animal waste or food waste reduces methane release (a
potent GHG) from traditional landfilling.
b) Negative Environmental Impacts
1. Air Pollution
o Combustion of biomass emits pollutants such as:
 Particulate matter (PM)
 Carbon monoxide (CO)
 Nitrogen oxides (NOₓ)
 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
o Poorly controlled emissions can affect air quality and human health.
2. Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss
o Unsustainable harvesting of wood or conversion of forests into energy crop
plantations can lead to deforestation and habitat loss.
3. Water Consumption and Pollution
o Some biomass processes (e.g., cooling, cleaning, fermentation) require large
volumes of water.
o Improper disposal of ash or slurry can contaminate water bodies.
4. Ash Disposal
o Combustion produces ash that must be safely disposed of to avoid soil or water
contamination.

Sustainability of Biomass Power Plants

For biomass power to be sustainable, it must meet present energy needs without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet theirs. This includes:
1. Sustainable Feedstock Management
 Use of agricultural residues and organic waste over cutting forests.
 Promotion of energy crops on degraded/marginal lands.
 Ensuring replantation or regrowth in forest-based biomass systems.
2. Efficient Conversion Technologies

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 Adoption of clean combustion, gasification, and anaerobic digestion with pollution

control equipment (e.g., scrubbers, filters).
 Use of combined heat and power (CHP) systems to increase efficiency.
3. Carbon Accounting and Life Cycle Analysis
 Tracking the net carbon balance across the entire life cycle (cultivation, transport,
conversion, emissions).
 Avoiding processes with net-positive GHG emissions.
4. Social and Economic Sustainability
 Ensuring local employment, community participation, and fair pricing.
5. Policy and Regulation
 Enforcing environmental regulations, emission limits, and sustainable land use
policies.
Integration of Biomass Power Plants with Other Energy Systems

Definition: Biomass power plants can be effectively integrated with other energy systems
including (renewable and non-renewable) to improve energy reliability, efficiency, and
sustainability.
• Integration enables better load management, grid stability, and maximum utilization of
renewable resources.
Advantages
• Improve overall system efficiency and reliability
• Ensure continuous power supply
• Reduce fossil fuel consumption
• Optimize resource utilization
• Support distributed energy generation and smart grid development
Modes of Integration
1. Solar + Biomass System
2. Biomass + Wind System
3. Biomass + Biogas (Co-digestion Systems)
4. Biomass + Fossil Fuels (Co-firing)
5. Biomass + Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems

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Cogeneration plant: Biomass co-generation uses renewable resources that are usually
discarded as waste to turn them into electricity and heat.

Working of Cogeneration plant

• Biomass comes from variety of sources which includes forest residue, crop residue like
straw or even industrial by products like saw-dust, wood chips & Coffee grounds.
• Trucks/trains bring this waste to purpose fully built platforms that crust and shift into a
homogenous bio-fuel.
• This Bio-mass/bio-fuel is feeds into the pit and conveyor belts carries the biomass &
delivers it to the combustion chamber of the plant.
• The heat from the combustion warms the water in pipes lining in the combustion
chamber, these hot water travels to a boiler where it becomes high-pressure steam where
it is super heated it high temperature heat exchanger.
• This super heated steam is piped to a turbine to rotate it, this rotating turbine power a
generator which produces electricity.
• This Electricity then power the plant or feeds into high-voltage grid.
• The remaining heat flows out of the turbine and reaches a heat exchanger connected to
district heating system warming a city or industrial facility.

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Hybrid Solar-Biomass Power Plant

solar-assisted biomass steam power plant, where solar energy is used to preheat water or steam,
and biomass combustion completes the process to achieve the required steam conditions
(temperature & pressure) for power generation.

Working Principle
• Cold feed water is initially supplied to the system.
• This water is to be converted into superheated steam, which will drive a turbine in the
power block.
• Solar collectors (like parabolic troughs or linear Fresnel reflectors) capture solar radiation.
• This solar energy heats the water in a heat exchanger (solar field) to a moderate temperature
(~371°C, as shown).
• The solar-heated water or steam is passed through an intermediate heat exchanger.
• It may be reheated further or passed directly to the biomass section depending on solar
input and demand.
• Biomass fuel (such as wood chips, crop residues, etc.) is combusted in a biomass boiler.
• This combustion produces high-temperature heat, which further heats the partially heated
water/steam from the solar field.
• The water or steam exiting the biomass combustion unit reaches up to 540°C (as indicated).
• This superheated steam is suitable for driving a steam turbine efficiently.
• The superheated steam enters the power block, where it expands in a turbine.

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• The turbine drives a generator to produce electricity.

• After expansion, the steam is condensed and returned as feedwater to the cycle.

Hybrid Wind Biomass Power Plant

• working principle of a hybrid energy system that integrates Wind Power and Biomass
(Biogas) Energy, with Diesel backup, to meet the electric load demand of a critical
facility like a healthcare center.

• The wind turbine harnesses kinetic energy from the wind and converts it into electricity.
• This electricity is fed directly to the control unit, which monitors supply-demand balance.
• Organic waste (e.g., animal dung, food waste) is digested anaerobically in the biogas tank.
• Produced biogas is used to fuel a biogas generator, generating electricity.
• This electricity is also routed through the control unit.
• During low-wind conditions or insufficient biogas supply, the diesel generator acts as a
backup source.
• It starts automatically when both wind and biogas systems fail to meet demand.
• Acts as the brain of the system.
• Automatically selects the power source based on availability and priority:
• Wind > Biogas > Diesel (in order of cost and sustainability).
• Ensures uninterrupted power to the health facility, which is a critical load.
• The hybrid system ensures 24/7 power availability to essential medical equipment.
• Power fluctuations are minimized by intelligent switching between sources.

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HYDROGEN ENERGY

 Hydrogen is the simplest element. An atom of hydrogen consists of only one proton and
one electron.
 Despite its simplicity and abundance, hydrogen doesn’t occur naturally as a gas on the
Earth – it is always combined with other elements. for example, Water, is a combination
of hydrogen and oxygen (H2O).
 Hydrogen holds the potential to provide clean, reliable and affordable energy supply that
can enhance economy, environment and security and It is also flexible hence it can be used
by all sectors of economy.
 Hydrogen can be produced by using a variety of energy sources, such as solar, nuclear and
fossil fuels and can be converted to useful energy forms efficiently and without detrimental
environmental effects.
 The hydrogen can be used as a fuel directly or it might be used as a raw material to produce
methanol, ammonia or hydrocarbon by using either carbon dioxide or nitrogen from
atmosphere.
 When burned as fuel or converted to electricity it joins with oxygen to produce energy with
water as the only emission.

 When air is used for combustion instead of oxygen, some NOx is also produced, which can
be reduced by lowering the combustion temperature.
 Hydrogen has as an energy source involves 5 basic issues 1. Production 2. Storage &
transportation 3. Utilization 4. Safety management 5. Economy.

PROPERTIES OF HYDROGEN

 Hydrogen is an odourless and colourless gas. It has the simplest and lightest atom with one
proton and one electron and molecular weight of 2.016.
 Density - 1/14th of air and 1/9th that of natural gas under same conditions. (0.0837 kg/m3).
 Similarly Important properties are listed and compared with natural gas and gasoline in
Table.

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Sl Properties Gasoline Natural gas Hydrogen

No
1 Density (kg/𝑚3 ) 730 0.78 0.0837
2 Boiling point, (°C) 38 to 204 –156 –253 (20.3 K)
3 Lower heating value, (MJ/kg) 44.5 48 125
4 Higher heating value, (MJ/kg) 50.8 55 141.90
5 Flammable limit, % in air 1.4–7.6 5–16 4–75
6 Flame speed, (m/s) 0.4 0.41 3.45
7 Flame temperature, (°C) 2197 1875 2045
8 Flame luminosity High Medium Low

SOURCES AND PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN

Although hydrogen is the 3rd most abundant element on earth, it does not exist in free state,
except for small quantities in upper atmosphere, therefore it cannot be used as primary energy
source.
Hydrogen can be produced through two routes:

1. Fossil fuels, such as natural gas, coal, methanol, gasoline etc., and biomass are decomposed
by thermo-chemical methods to obtain hydrogen. This route of hydrogen production causes
CO2 emission.
 The energy content of the produced hydrogen is less than the energy content of the
original fuel, i.e., some of it being lost as excessive heat during production.
2. Hydrogen can also be produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen by using
energy from nuclear or renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, etc.,
 Electrical or thermal means (i.e., electrolysis and thermolysis respectively)
 Water splitting is also possible through bio-photolysis process using solar radiation.

DIFFERENT METHODS OF PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN

1. Electrolysis or electrolytic production of hydrogen.

2. Thermo-chemical methods.
3. Thermo-chemical cyclic processes.
4. Fossil fuel methods.
5. Production using solar energy.

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Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

ELECTROLYSIS OF WATER
The process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen by means of a direct electric
current is known as electrolysis; this is the simplest method of Hydrogen Production.
Working principle

 Electrolysis cell essentially consists of two electrodes, commonly flat metal or carbon
plates, immersed in an electrolyte (usually KOH solution), as shown in Fig.
 A source of direct current is connected to the electrode so that electric current flows
through electrolyte from positive electrode (anode) to negative electrode (cathode).
 As a result, water in the electrolyte solution is decomposed into H2 and O2 which are
released at cathode and anode respectively. Here KOH is used as main electrolyte
because water is an poor conductor of electricity.
 Ideally, a decomposition voltage of 1.23 V per cell should be sufficient at normal
temperature and pressure.

 The energy required is 3.9–4.6 kWh per m3 of hydrogen produced.

 efficiency of electrolysis process is about 60–70 per cent, which can be improved up to 80
per cent by using catalyst such as porous platinum or nickel.
 A diaphragm (usually woven asbestos) prevents electronic contact between the electrodes
and passage of gas or gas bubbles.
 Electrolysis method is most suitable when primary energy is available as electrical energy,
e.g., solar photovoltaic energy.

Prof. Krishna Prasad S, Assistant professor, Dept. of ME, MIT Mysore Page 24
Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

TYPES OF ELECTROLYSIS PROCESSES

There are two types of electrode arrangements used in industry for electrolysis of H2.
1. TANK TYPE ELECTROLYZER
 A series of electrodes, alternating anodes (+) and Cathodes (-) are suspended
vertically and parallel to each other.
 All anodes are connected to the same positive terminal and cathodes to the same
negative terminal.
 Each cathode is surrounded by porous diaphragms impermeable to gases but
permeable to the cell’s electrolyte.
 The whole assembly is hung from a series of gas collectors.
2. FILTER TYPE ELECTROLYZER
 This is similar to the tank type electrolyzer in construction and electrodes are Bipolar
in nature; i.e., one face of each electrode plate is an anode and other face is the cathode.
 As in the tank system, porous diaphragms between adjacent electrodes used to prevent
mixing of hydrogen and oxygen gases.
 The electrodes are connected in series and hence the voltage to be supplied is
approximately 2V volts, where V is the number of cells.
 Because of the cells can be made relatively thin, large gas output is achieved from a
relatively small volume.

Tank type electrolyzer Filter type electrolyzer

Prof. Krishna Prasad S, Assistant professor, Dept. of ME, MIT Mysore Page 25
Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

THERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF WATER (Thermolysis of water)

When primary energy is available in the form of heat (e.g., solar thermal), it is more logical
to produce hydrogen by splitting water directly from heat energy using thermolysis. This would
be more efficient than conversion of heat into electricity (using heat engine generator) and then
producing hydrogen through electrolysis.

 Direct thermal decomposition of water is possible but it requires a temperature of at least

2500 °C; because of temperature limitations of conversion process in an equipment, cannot
be achieved in a single-step.
 However, sequential chemical reactions substantially at lower temperature can be advised
to split water into H2 and O2.
 In the reaction series, water is taken up at one stage and H2 and O2 are produced in different
stages also energy is supplied as heat at one or more stages and partly released at some
stage in the cycle.
 Apart from decomposition of water, all other materials are recovered when the cycle is
completed, this method is known as thermo-chemical cycle.
 Several thermo-chemical cycles have been proposed and are under investigation. One such
cycle is given below:

 The efficiency of conversion from heat energy to hydrogen is better than its conversion
through electrolysis route only when the upper temperature of thermo-chemical cycle is
above 700 °C.

THERMO CHEMICAL PRODUCTION

The reactions of separating hydrogen and oxygen takes place in different stages. Heat is
supplied at different stages separately.
1. Westinghouse Electro-chemical Thermal Sulphur Cycle.
 It is a two stage thermo-chemical cyclic process, it consists of 2 chemical reactions one
for producing hydrogen and other for producing oxygen.

Prof. Krishna Prasad S, Assistant professor, Dept. of ME, MIT Mysore Page 26
Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

 The first stage is an electrochemical process wherein hydrogen is liberated.

 The second stage oxygen is liberated and is called thermolysis.
 The reactions are as given below.

Working

 The Westinghouse Sulphur Cycle is a two-step thermochemical cycle for decomposing

water into hydrogen and oxygen.
 Sulphurous acid and water are reacted electrolytically to produce hydrogen and sulphuric
acid.
 The resultant sulphuric acid is vaporised to produce steam and sulphur trioxide, with the
latter compound being subsequently reduced at higher temperatures into sulphur dioxide
and oxygen.
 Following the separation of the water and sulphur dioxide for recycle to the electrolyser,
oxygen is available as a process by product.

Prof. Krishna Prasad S, Assistant professor, Dept. of ME, MIT Mysore Page 27
Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

BIO-PHOTOLYSIS
Bio-photolysis is the process in which water dissociates into molecular hydrogen and
oxygen in biological systems(plants) in the presence of sunlight.
 In this method the ability of the plants (especially algae) to split water during
photosynthesis process is utilized.
 In normal photosynthesis in green plants chlorophyll takes energy from sunlight and after
light & dark reaction water molecule breaks up into oxygen gas and hydrogen ion
(hydrogen with positive electric charge and electron).
 Here hydrogen ion and electron are removed by interaction with CO2 to produce sugar.
 In certain single cell blue green algae are able to make the enzyme (i.e., biological catalyst)
hydrogenase i.e., second stage of photosynthesis can be done by eliminating carbon
dioxide.
Working - Solar energy and the photosynthetic system of algae converting water into chemical
energy.
Hydrogen production by direct photolysis follow these steps:
 The light absorbed by second stage photosynthesis system is used to generated electrons
from water with the liberation of oxygen.
 An electron mediator used to transport electrons to ferredoxin (ferredoxin are small
proteins These biological "capacitors" can accept or discharge electrons).
 a proton activator that will accept electrons from the ferredoxin and catalyse the reaction
hydrogenase.

Prof. Krishna Prasad S, Assistant professor, Dept. of ME, MIT Mysore Page 28
Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

HYDROGEN STORAGE
Hydrogen storage is not an easy problem when compared with gasoline and other liquid
fuels. Since energy required for ignition is very small, therefore it becomes a serious issue.
There are four methods of storage of hydrogen, namely:

1. Compressed gas storage

 This method of storage is rather expensive than and very bulky because very large
quantities of steel are needed to contain quite small quantity of hydrogen.
 This type of system is used in industries where relatively small amounts of
hydrogen are required
2. Liquid storage (cryogenic storage)
 This is a more practical way of storage of hydrogen this method is also called as
cryogenic storage.
 The hydrogen is stored as liquid at temperatures below -253° C.
 Very large facilities have been built, and large storage tanks have been
constructed for this purpose.
 The main application is as a rocket propellant.

3. Underground storage
 The cheapest means of storage.
 Hydrogen gas is stored in depleted oil and gas reservoirs and aquifers.
 The main disadvantage is leakage of gas. Some of the gas tends to leak through
porous materials.
4. Storage as metal Hydrides
 Metal hydride technology uses metals and metal alloys to adsorb hydrogen under
moderate pressure and temperature, creating hydrides.
 A metal hydride tank contains a granular metal, which adsorbs hydrogen and
releases it with the application of heat.
 Conventional high-capacity metal hydrides require high temperatures (300°-
350°C) to liberate hydrogen, but sufficient heat is not generally available in fuel
cell transportation applications.
 The metal should be fairly inexpensive.

Prof. Krishna Prasad S, Assistant professor, Dept. of ME, MIT Mysore Page 29
Module 5 Bio-mass Power Plants and Hydrogen Energy

HYDROGEN TRANSPORTATION

It is one of the major problems associated with hydrogen. Since its properties indicate that
it’s a highly vulnerable fuel for hazards.
There are three principle methods for transportation of hydrogen
1. Transportation through pipelines
 Pipeline transportation is an operation that is carried out by specific companies in
different parts of the world.
 Since heating value of hydrogen is 12.1 MJ/cu m It is very essential that the material
used for the pipes is of a very good quality.
 Since density of hydrogen is 1/9th of natural gas, it results slightly un-favorable
conditions for hydrogen transportation.
 Operating pressures of pipeline steels is about 35 kg/cm2, However behavior of
material at high pressure is uncertain
2. Transportation as liquid hydrogen
 Even bulk hydrogen in can be transported and distributed as liquid.
 Liquid hydrogen with capacities of 7000 gal to 34,000 gal can be transported in the
Double walled, insulated tanks.
 Distribution of hydrogen by pipelines, jacketed with liquid nitrogen, has been
proposed.
 The costs would be substantially greater than the gas pipelines.
3. Metal hydride transportation
 Hydrogen can be transported in the form of metal hydrides.
 This enables large quantities of hydrogen to be transported at a lower costs.
 The main disadvantage is that the weight of the metal relative to hydrogen is more.
 This means that the transportation of hydrogen becomes heavier.

Prof. Krishna Prasad S, Assistant professor, Dept. of ME, MIT Mysore Page 30