Why Develop Biomass Boilers?
Why Develop Biomass Boilers?
The amount of biomass energy fixed through photosynthesis each year is about 10 times the world’s annual energy consumption. Currently, only 1.0% of it is utilized by people.
The estimated annual production of biomass on continental landmasses ranges from 1011 to 1012 tons of dry matter.
In China, crop straw is about 50-60 million tons per year, equivalent to approximately 20-24 million tons of standard coal. Forests can provide around 90 million tons of firewood (with an actual annual development volume of about 180 million tons). Approximately 24 million cubic meters of wood waste are produced annually during forestry processing, equivalent to 1.5 million tons of standard coal. Annual rice production is about 200 megatons, resulting in about 40 megatons of rice husks, equivalent to about 20 megatons of standard coal.
Biomass is a renewable energy source, and there is vast potential for developing and utilizing biomass energy. Biomass is also a clean fuel, containing low levels of sulfur and relatively moderate levels of nitrogen, leading to very low NOx and SO2 content when burned. Biomass ash content is generally quite low as well, so the level of smoke emissions after complete combustion is extremely low.