Annex 1

Feasibility study for installation and demonstration of biomass gasifier based power generation systems 50kWin Cameroon

Supported by / Prepared for United Nations Industrial Development Organisation

FOYEMTCHA © The Energy and Resources Institute 2013

Suggested format for citation

T E R I. 2013 Feasibility study for installation and demonstration of biomass gasifier based power generation systems in Cameroon New Delhi: The Energy and Resources Institute. 20 pp. [Project Report No. 2012RT13]

For more information Project Monitoring Cell T E R I Tel. 2468 2100 or 2468 2111 Darbari Seth Block E-mail [email protected] IHC Complex, Lodhi Road Fax 2468 2144 or 2468 2145 New Delhi – 110 003 Web www.ter iin .org India India +91 • Delhi (0)11

ii Table of Contents

1. ABOUT THE PROJECT ...... 1 2. METHODOLOGY ...... 2 3. BIOMASS RESOURCE IN CAMEROON ...... 4 3.1 Forestry Biomass ...... 4 3.2 Forest Management in Cameroon ...... 4 3.2.1 Permanent Forests (PF) ...... 4 3.2.2 Non-Permanent Forests (NPF) ...... 5 3.2.3 Production Forests ...... 5 3.2.4 Council Forests ...... 6 3.2.5 Community Forests ...... 6 3.2.6 Sales of Standing Volume (SSV)...... 6 3.2.7 Petits Titres ...... 6 3.2.8 Protected Areas ...... 6 3.3 Timber Industry in Cameroon ...... 7 3.4 Production of Timber and Timber Products in Cameroon ...... 7 3.5 Agricultural Biomass in Cameroon...... 8 4. FEASIBILITY STUDY ...... 10 4.1 Feasibility report of biomass gasifier for electricity generation in Kekem district10 4.1.1 General information about Kekem district council ...... 10 4.1.2 Biomass site 1 Foyemtcha Chefferie Village Survey ...... 11 4.1.3 Size estimation of the Unit and operational details ...... 13 4.1.4 A 50 kWe Biomass gasifier based power generation systems ...... 13 5. CONCLUSION ...... 16

iii List of Tables

Table 1: Identified SHP sites ...... 2 Table 2: The list of 10 biggest logging Enterprises of Cameroon...... 7 Table 3: Estimated plant size based on load requirement ...... 13 Table 4: A detailed list of equipment’s and its function ...... 14

List of Figures

Figure 1: Forest units in Cameroon ...... 4 Figure 2: Permanent and Non - Permanent forest distribution in Cameroon ...... 5 Figure 3: Concession timber harvest and processing capacities ...... 8 Figure 4 provides the trend of agricultural output in Cameroon ...... 9 Figure 5: Discussion with Foyemtcha village representative ...... 12 Figure 6: Schematic of a 50 kWe biomass gasifier ...... 14 Figure 7: Civil layout diagram of biomass gasifier based power plant: 50 kWe ...... 15

iv 1. About the project

UNIDO is promoting the industrial and rural sector development in African countries through various renewable energy based rural electrifications as well as productive applications development. Under this initiative UNIDO identified few sites in Cameroon for the electrification through Small Hydro Power (SHP) plants as well as biomass power plants. Taking the initiative forward, UNIDO submitted the PIF (Project Identification Form) for this project titled “Promoting Integrated Biomass and Small Hydro Solutions for Productive Uses in Cameroon (GEF project id 4785) and received the GEF approval for developing a full sized project under the GEF Climate Change Focal Area Strategic Objective CCM-3, namely: "Promote investment in renewable energy technologies". UNIDO thereafter awarded a work to TERI for the preparatory project activities of a) preparation of feasibility study for biomass based power projects and b) preparation of project documents and Full project reports for GEF CEO Endorsement. This document is the feasibility study report for the installation of demonstration biomass power plants for village electrification in the identified areas of Cameroon, based on the detailed study of biomass resources, Broadly the activities undertaken under this comp onent are in-depth desk-evaluation of the primary and secondary data followed by field trips and on -site investigations. Based on this a feasibility report for the establishment of a biomass gasifier based decentralised distributed generation plant to electrify a un-electrified village which comprise of following details.  Estimation of the plant capacity based on the current consumption pattern at the household level, also accounting for an increase in load with an annual increase of 8% and electricity required for productive loads in the village.  Address issues related to the sustainability of projects, by identification of non- domestic / producing work that would help in the overall development of these villages.  Estimation of the total cost of the project which includes details of the all equipment’s required for establishment of biomass gasifier plant and a line diagram of the complete system.

1 2. M ethodology

As a preliminary exercise, UNIDO identified 4 potential SHP sites where the projects can be implemented and along with the same the possibility of biomass power plant integration was also looking out. All the project sites fall in the Littoral region of the country. The four selected sites are summarised as follows in Table1.

Table 1: Identified SHP sites

SHP Site name River District Estimated Nearest Remarks site name Council power village no. capacity

1 NKAM Nkam Kekem 3-4 MW Bonefam The NKAM river is and the boundary Melong between Kekem and Melong councils.

2 Small Nkam Bare- Approx. Ekom- This small Ekom- Ekom- Bakem 70 kW Nkam Nkam fall is near Nkam the large Ekon- Nkam fall which is a tourist place.

3 Mpoh Bare- 1 MW Ndom- The site is in the Bakem Bakem deep forest area and difficult to approach at present

4 Manjo Essoue Manjo Approx. Manjo The site is very near 700 kW to Manjo town and is also easily approachable

A feasibility study for identification of potential sites to install and demonstrate biomass gasifier based power generation systems, was carried out in the nearby villages of these SHP sites. To carry out the feasibility study for biomass power project, project team assessed the overall biomass resource availability in the country and specific to the sites being covered under the project. The information about the site specific biomass resources was gathered through secondary survey as well as during the field visit and interaction with various stakeholders. During the field visits the project team has engaged in dialogue with the various stakeholders informing them about the project. The approach adopted is participatory in nature engaging the local communities to participate in the dialogue to express their needs. The engagement with stakeholders at various levels, they are 1. At the national level with the representatives of various ministries 2. At the local level with the councillors and other implementing agencies

2 3. At the Village level interaction with the rural village dwellers and rural communities

1. At the national level with the representatives of various ministries The objective of this interaction is to inform the stakeholders about the project and to invite their participation in the participation in the project. Beyond this it has also given opportunity explain about the basics of the biomass gasification technology and its relevance to the local communities to meet their energy needs. Further the project team has also shared experience related to renewable energy decentralized distributed generation (DDG) from India and in other developing countries and necessity to need to develop linkages to enhance the livelihood opportunities to rural communities. 2. At the local level with the councillors and other implementing agencies The specific objective of these interactions to create a council profile by collecting the information related to the council such as number of villages in the council, how many of them are un-electrified and to get to know about the council's future plans etc. Further secondary information such as the household details, population, occupation, land use pattern and other relevant information such as village infrastructure, connectivity etc. are also obtained from the council office. Further the councillors are also briefed about the project and they were also invited to participate in the project in the implementation stage. Such as identification and allocation of land for the power plant construction, distribution network and monitoring the plant operation and maintenance etc. The project team interaction with the forest department to understand biomass availability and to ensure sustainable supply of woody biomass to the project site. 3. Interactions at the village community and household level These interactions precisely carried out to assess the current energy consumption pattern for the domestic/ commercial uses within the village and also focus on gathering the information regarding willingness to pay. Further these interactions were also helpful in estimating the power plant capacity and energy required to be generated. Based on these facts sizing of the biomass based power plant and other components were arriving. This information which is subsequently utilized to arrive at the cost of the equipment’s and distribution network, power generation cost and Quantification of reduction in Co2 emissions etc.

3 3. Biomass resource in Cameroon

3.1 Forestry Biomass Cameroon has vast resources of forest biomass. The total area covered by dense productive forests is estimated at 16,467,570 ha (Eba’a Atyi et al., 2009). The major phytogeographic divisions, which unquestionably correspond to the major climatic zones in both physiognomic aspect and floristic composition, form three main ecological regions: the Congo-Guinean region in the south, the Sudano-Zambesian region in the north and the Montane region which is associated with local physiography.

3.2 Forest Management in Cameroon As per the Forestry Law No. 94-01 of January 20, 1994, and its associated application texts (e.g., Decree No. 95-466-PM of July 1995) establish the political and strategic framework for forest management in Cameroon. The forest in Cameroon is divided into two different landuse types - Permanent Forest and non-Permanent Forest type. The division is made with specific use rights and management regimes. Figure 1 below shows the forest zoning system in Cameroon, as defined in the Forestry Law of 1994.

Cameroon Forest

Protected Forest Non - Protected (PF) Forest (NPF)

Unclassified State Community Council Forests State Forests Private Forests Forests Forests

Protected Areas Forest Reserves

Figure 1: Forest units in Cameroon 3.2.1 Permanent Forests (PF) The Permanent Forest consists of lands designated to remain as either forest or wildlife habitat. Lands in the PF are not necessarily forested — many protected areas and hunting zones are located outside forested areas. By law, the PF must cover at least 30% of the national territory, be representative of the nation’s ecological diversity, and be managed sustainably according to management plans approved by the relevant administrative authority.

4 3.2.2 Non-Permanent Forests (NPF) The non-Permanent Forest including community forests—consists of forested lands zoned as areas that may be converted into other land uses (e.g., for agriculture). The state holds dominion over all forests not explicitly held by private entities. As such, all forested lands that are not explicitly classified as part of either the PF or the NPF fall into the non- permanent forest type under the category of unclassified state forests. The significant areas of the NPF have not been officially classified —these areas consist largely of forested lands under customary use for swidden agriculture or agroforestry purposes. Figure 2 shows the distribution of Land Use Allocation within Cameroon’s National Forest area (2011)

Sales of Council Forests , Standing 5% Volume, 1%

Protected Areas, 42% Production Forests, 46%

Community Forests, 6%

Figure 2: Permanent and Non - Permanent forest distribution in Cameroon1 3.2.3 Production Forests Forest management units are zoned under the 1994 Forestry Law of Cameroon. The units are allocated through bidding process for 15 years. Forest concessions are defined as production forests, which may include one or more FMUs, managed by a single company and not to exceed 200,000 ha. As of June 2011, 72 FMUs operated under an approved management plan, covering an area of about 5 million ha. As part of the development of a management plan, concessionaires are required to map out the envisioned annual harvestable ar eas (AAC)2 for the entire planned logging rotation in a given FMU. Additionally, before the start of each calendar year, concessionaires are required to submit a formal AAC request (detailing area, volume, and species to be logged in the year to come) to MINFOF. Access to an FMU management plan and AAC specifications is critical to the effective monitoring of logging in forest concessions.

1 The Interactive Forest Atlas of Cameroon version 3.0

5 3.2.4 Council Forests In Cameroon, as per the Forestry Law of 1994 rural community can create their own forest area within the PF. They need to prepare a forest management plan and should get the approval by the forest administration. Once allocated, they become the property of the rural council, which must operate them in compliance with the approved management plan in order to retain title to the allocated forest area. Council forests are essentially forest concessions, but they are under the jurisdiction of the rural council instead of the national government and can be leased out for logging rights during a public bidd ing process. Since 2005, council forests’ stakeholders are represented by the Association of Council Forests of Cameroon. The association’s main objective is to promote the conservation and sustainable management of council forests in Cameroon by providing institutional and technical support to participating council members. The Program in Support of Council Forests in Cameroon has been set forth in this respect, and the Technical Center for Council Forests has been charged with its implementation. As of Ju ne 2011, there were a total of 34 areas designated council forests—collectively covering 827,285 ha. Of these, 19 were created between 2009 and 2010. The process of classification has been completed for ten council forests, covering a total area of 239,936 ha, 12 and it is in progress for the remaining. 3.2.5 Community Forests Established under the Forestry Law of 1994, community forests are areas within the Non - Permanent forest zoned for exclusive use by village communities. The area covered under community forest not exceeds 50000 hectares. The community develops a management plant with the help of local MINFOF staff and the Sub-Department of Community Forests and further gets approval by MINFOF. The income generated from sustainable harvesting of community forest is used for community development projects. In 2011, there were a total of 301 community forests at various stages of management, totaling more than 1 million hectares in total. Community forests constituted nearly 90% of total classified lands within the NPF in 2011. 3.2.6 Sales of Standing Volume (SSV) SSVs are short term, volume-based logging permits typically zoned within the NPF allocated through bidding process. The permit is valid for 3 years and covers an area of 2500 ha. No management plan is required for this category. In 2011, the allocated SSVs permits are 49 covering an area of 114,042 ha. 3.2.7 Petits Titres The category includes timber recuperation permits (ARBs), timber evacuation permits (AEBs) and personal logging permits (APCs). As a group, petits titres are attributed in the NPF to Cameroon nationals for a year. They were officially suspended in 1999, reinstated on March 2006, and partially suspended again on March 1, 2011, for permits allocated in 2009 and 2010. 3.2.8 Protected Areas Protected areas are designated for areas of biodiversity protection and wildlife management. As of June 2011, there were a total of 86 protected areas (including 52 hunting zones) covering about 45%of the PF. There is an increase of 8% in PA in last 5 years due to the creation of 10 national parks.

6 3.3 Timber Industry in Cameroon As per the data obtained for 2008-09, 105 companies involved in industrial timber harvesting and/ or log processing in Cameroon, of these 90 companies have been granted logging rights the 15 others are only involved in timber processing and/ or export. Many of these enterprises belong to a few business holdings of European or Asian Interests. A typical example is the Wickwood group (China) which owns seven logging enterprises. Most of the industrial enterprises tend to be integrated to include not only timber harvesting but also log processing. The integration sometimes takes place at the level of a group, in that case many individual logging enterprises belonging to the same business group would supply logs to one or two timber processing mills.

Table 2: The list of 10 biggest logging Enterprises of Cameroon.

Enterprises Log production in 2006 Origin of Investment GRUMCAM 105893 Vickwood (China) PALLISCO 97943 France STBK 93386 Lebanon CFC 91767 Vickwood CUF 85436 Cameroon SEFAC 84972 Itlay GWZ 71857 Netherlands CIBC 66757 Cameroon Europe SIBAF 65848 France SFID 65194 France Although there is no organized market for logs within Cameroon, there are logging and timber processing companies that sell and/ or buy log to other companies on the basis of mutual consent without any regulation from the state and no report exists on such exchanges. Most of the timber products that are exported from Cameroon come from forest concessions and sales of standing volumes. However, it is generally admitted that timber exploitation permits, community forests and municipal forest are playing a growing role in timber products exports in Cameroon. Since 2008, illegal logging activities have substantially decreased in industrial forest concessions (Cerutti and Fomete, 2008), the same can be said for other forest titles where industrial logging happens such as municipal forests and sales of standing volumes. However, in community forests there are still many concerns about illegal activities because the exploitation of these small patches of forests (average size 3572.5 ha to be exploited in 25 years) is difficult to monitor by the forestry administration and most of the sawnwood produced in community forests enters the informal sector which is the basic supply source for the local market.

3.4 Production of Timber and Timber Products in Cameroon The formal timber sector of Cameroon produces 2.3 to 2.5 million m³ , of round logs annually. In 2007 forest concessions produced 1.7 million m³, while municipal forests, sales of standing volumes, wood recovery authorizations supplied 210,000 m³, 275,000 m³, and 155,000 m³ of timber respectively. More than 90% of the total raw log production is processed within the country in 60 timber processing mills including 51 sawmills and 9 veneer/ plywood factories.

7 Timber operators are required by law to process a certain percentage of their logs in country — this has been in large part responsible for the in crease in the number of sawmills across Cameroon. The atlas V2.0 contains information on the location, operator and input capacity for these sawmills, in addition to the volume of wood logged from each forest concession annually. Figure 3 provides the forest concessions with annual timber volume logged from1998–2005, along with identified sawmills and their corresponding timber processing capacity.

Figure 3: Concession timber harvest and processing capacities

3.5 Agricultural Biomass in Cameroon Agriculture remains the backbone of Cameroon's economy, employing 70 percent of its workforce, while providing 42 percent of its GDP and 30 percent of its export revenue. Land use in Cameroon follows arable land 13%, permanent crops 2%, permanent pastures 4%, forests and woodland 78% (rainforest represents 40% of total land use), and others 3%. Arable land is estimated at 7.2 million hectares, but only 1.8 million hectares are effectively cultivated. The most important cash crops are cocoa, coffee, cotton, bananas, rubber, palm oil and kernels, tobacco, tea, pineapples and peanut. Cameroon is among the world’s largest cocoa producers with 130 000 tons of cocoa beans produced in 2004 and 200 005 tons produced in 2009. The main food crops are plantains, cassava, corn, millet, yam, cocoyam, potatoes and beans. Figure 4 provides the trend of agricultural output in Cameroon.

8 Figure 4 provides the trend of agricultural output in Cameroon

9 4. Feasibility study

The project team started the field visit from Yaounde and reached city of Bafoussam which is the capital of the western region in Cameroon. The distance between Yaounde to Bafoussam is around three hundred kilometres well connected by highway. From Bafoussam the project team travelled to Kekem and Melong districts (about 80 km from the Bafoussam and well connected through asphalt road ), Bare-Bakem district (which is around 100 km from Bafoussam and well connected through highway) and the Manjo district (about 200 km from the Bafoussam and located in the Douala Highway) . Based on the site visits and detailed discussions with the district council mayors, villagers and the local NGO it is found that there is lot of potential for biomass gasifier applications both for electricity generation and thermal application (palm oil processing units). Based on the detailed assessment it is observed that for the demonstration purpose it would be more feasible to consider 2-3 remote villages where the grid electricity is not available and install the biomass gasifier based electrification project in those villages. Based on the survey the project team recommended two individual biomass gasifier based electrification systems, one in Foyemtcha village of Kekm district and the other in Ekom -Nkam village of Bare-Bakem district. Team also looked at the feasibility of biomass thermal applications for palm oil production units. The details of survey findings and the plant feasibility are given in following sections.

4.1 Feasibility report of biomass gasifier for electricity generation in Kekem district 4.1.1 General information about Kekem district council

The project team after visiting the palm oil processing units at to the Bafoussam city to Kekem council which is approximately 80 kilometres from the Bafoussam city connected by good quality metal roads and could be reached after little more than one hour drive from Bafoussam city.

Meeting with Kekem Council Mayor Then the project team visited the Mayor’s office of Kekem and briefed him about the UNIDO’s initiative. The project team further collected information about Kekem Council through discussions. The mayor of the council has informed the project team that ther e are 7 villages in Kekem namely Foyemtcha, Kekem, Bamengue, Mboebo, Fon Kova Kkem, Foundjowoko and Tchoungou. Each un-electrified village is having about an average of 150 households (ranging from 50 to 300 households per village). All these un -electrified villages are surrounded by thick forest and have a large potential for biomass power generation. Out of seven villages Foyemtcha is partly un-electrified and another village Tchoungou is completely un-electrified. These villages remain totally cutoff and cannot be accessed during the monsoons for more than four months in a year. These villages are connected by forest roads (mud road) which get damaged due to heavy rains during monsoons. Hence the village dwellers have no option beyond walking to the next village to procure essential commodities for their survival.

10 Council mayor informed that the council can fund up to 30% of the project cost (but with some limitations depending upon the total project cost) for the projects which are related to societal development.

The responsibility for providing land for any project lies with the village committee only. The village committee can be formed with the support of the Chief of the village, and the village chief can be the head of the committee.

The village/ quarter very near to the Nkam fall site is ‘Bonefam’ which is a quarter of Kekem village, and is about 2 km from the site. This quarter has 20 households which are scattered. Households consume 2 litres of Kerosene per week for their lighting requirement thr ough kerosene lamps. Main products/ trees in the village area are palm tree, coco and coffee. (Contact person from the village- Mr. Noutadev, the Chief of village. Contact no +237- 95418079, 79565364)

Meeting with Forest delegate, Kekem (Mr. Ngam, +237-77156647)

Further the project team has moved to the forest office to collect information related to biomass resource availability and also to discuss and ensure the sustainable supply of biomass for plant operation in future. The forest officer has communicated that Currently 10 m3 of fuel wood is allowed (per family per month) to be taken by villagers from the forest, to meet their energy requirement for cooking and hot water. 10 m3 per month is equivalent to about 3 to 3.5 tonnes of fuel wood. He also informed that most of this biomass is consumed in the households for cooking. He also expresses the concerns that the cook stoves that are currently used are working with poor efficiency. Further improvement of efficiencies of the cook stoves to the tune of 10-20 % shall result in saving in fuel wood from their current consumption can easily meet the fuel wood required for gasification plant, he further added that the forest delegate officers are interested to take part in building the local capacities of the rural communities on issues related sustainable forest management. 4.1.2 Biomass site 1 Foyemtcha Chefferie Village Survey Since village Foyemtcha, which is the nearest approachable village to the SHP site after Kekem. The project team then moved on to village Foyemtcha to conduct the village level survey and also to interact with the local community. Foyemtcha village has two parts a) Foyemtcha Centre and b) Foyemtcha Chefferie. Foyemtcha Chefferie is unelectrified as it is far from the main road and not in the main line of the electricity distribution system. Village chief resides in Foyemtcha Chefferie. This also remains disconnected through road in the rainy season as the roads are not properly developed. Village chief resides in Foyemtcha Chefferie. Since Foyemtcha Chefferie was unreachable we could not go to visit the village but was able to interview one resident of Foyemtcha Chefferie. The village Foyentcha is spread over an area of 5 km diameter in deep forest which is situated on the top of the hill. In this village there are about 300 families, with an average family size of 6to 8 persons per family. Around 30% households are below the pover ty line. Households are declared as BPL families if the average income of the family is less than about 60 USD/ month. Major source of livelihood in this village is farming in their own farms and working as daily wage employers with the farm owners. Substan tial revenue is also generated from the selling farm produce such as Cocoyam, corn, plantain, coffee, palm which are the main farm produce in this region. Apart from these most of the households are engaged in palm oil production and is either having their own palm oil production units

11 or using other’s facility by paying some charges. This village also has a one primary public school and one community hall but no primary health centre. Further the project team had a focussed group discussion to get further insights regarding the electrification situation in the village, villager’s income source and monthly expenditure, source of lighting and its cost, villager’s capacity and willingness for electricity etc. Based on these discussions, it is observed that currently villagers use kerosene lantern to light their houses and traditional 3 stone cook stove is used for cooking. Some of the families are using even 2 or 3 lanterns to light their houses in the evening. Currently households use hurricane lamps which run on petrol for lighting, on an average 2-3 lamps are used per household. Consuming 3-4 litre kerosene per week per hurricane lamp, the price of the kerosene at the village in retail market is 600 FCFA/ litre. During the discussion it was observed that villagers are willing to pay for the electricity charges since they have sufficient income from the farming activities. They also indicated that there will not be any problem in land allocation for installation of the biomass gasifier system for power generation within the village. The Mayor informed that the local government representatives have the authority to provide land for the gasifier plant. The Mayor also informed that he can facilitate the process for any developmental project in his district. Further mayor also cautioned the project team that any work related to transportation of biomass gasifier power plant and commissioning need to be done during summer season only.

Figure 5: Discussion with Foyemtcha village representative

12 Proposed intervention for electrification: The electricity needs of the village can be divided into two major categories they are

 To meet the domestic and community load of village through local distribution  To meet the industrial load

4.1.3 Size estimation of the Unit and operational details The capacity of the system is estimated to meet the lighting load requirement of households. It is proposed that the plant will supply electricity to 150 households for lighting upto 200W per each household. The plant will supply electricity to 20 street light points at a common place in the village. Keeping this load into consideration, the plant size estimated is shown in table 3.

Table 3: Estimated plant size based on load requirement

Number of household: 150

Total domestic lighting load 4 Nos @ (200 W / 22.5 household) Street lighting load – 20 Nos. @ 50 W/point 1 Electricity for productive uses @ 20 kWe 15 Addition power for new connection in future 10 Total connected load 48.5 rounded to 50kWe Note: Whereas for rural enterprises loads such as cassava grinding /flour mill and one woodcutter tec.

In order to keep sufficient future capacity requirement and meet the technical and distribution losses the capacity of the proposed power plant is estimated to be 50 kWe and is planned to be meet through one biomass gasifier based power plants of capacities 50 kWe to be installed in the main village. The demand for domestic load and evolving industrial load can be shared by shift in timings and load sharing arrangements. It is estimated that to run this capacity of biomass gasifier, considering 8 hours of d aily operation about 150 tons of woody biomass will be needed annually, or if we consider 24 hours of daily operation then about 450 tons of biomass will be needed. It is observed from the surrounding forest area around the village that an area of 5kmx5km (25 km 2) can easily be approachable to collect the biomass from forest. From the Forest Reserve database (FAO 2005) it is estimated that about 21.7 tons per hectare is the growing stocks from forest. Considering a 50% factor of collection as extractable biomass from the forest area surrounding village, about 10 tons of biomass can be sustainable extracted for the biomass gasifier. So for a 50 kW biomass gasifier plant running 24 hour, an area of only about 45 hectare would be required to earmark. 4.1.4 A 50 kWe Biomass gasifier based power generation systems The line diagram of the General scheme of biomass gasifier based power system explaining the working arrangement is shown in Figure 6. A gasifier based power generation system consists of a biomass gasifer that converts the solid fuel into a combustible gas. The hot combustible gas coming out the gasifier carries impurities like dust particles and tar

13 vapours, which needs to be cleaned in the cleaning train before supplied to the IC engine for power generation. In general biomass gasifier is coupled to a series of filters such as gravity filters, heat exchangers, cyclone separators and bag house filters. A paper filter is used as a safety filter to ensure that the clean gas with permissible levels of tar a nd dust particulate supplied to the engine. The gas and air mixture is introduced at the air intake manifold of the engine. Valves are provided both for the air and the gas in order to vary the quantity of gas and air to obtain the optimum mixture.

Figure 6: Schematic of a 50 kWe biomass gasifier

Table 4: A detailed list of equipment’s and its function is elaborated in the table as given below

S.No. Equipment Description

1 Biomass gasifier Equipped with a dual fired gasification reactor; Hot air supply; Vibrating grate efficient ash removal system 2 Heat exchanger 1 Heat exchanger works at 700 °C; generates hot air from the waste heat available from the hot gas 3 Bag-house filter Hot gas filter; Works at 150 °C; eliminates gas scrubbers and problem associated with disposal of polluted water 4 Heat exchanger 2 Use ambient air to cool the gas 5 Heat exchanger 3 Indirect gas cooling system reduces the water requirement 6 Water cooling tank Works on evaporative cooling concept 7 Cartridge filter Ensures safety of the engine by providing clean gas 8 Producer gas engine Coupled with alternator to produce electricity 9 Blowers Compensates the pressure drop across the system

In order to establish a 50 kWe biomass gasifier based power generation system it is essential to build associated infrastructure which is required they are a building, distribution network, household wiring and other devices such as circuit breakers etc. A civil structure is required to house the power plant equipment’s which need to be constructed at the project site. A detailed civil layout drawing along with the arrangement of the equipment’s are

14 shown in the figure 7 enclosed herewith. Beyond the power house it is essential to establish a distribution network from the power plant to the households. This includes cabling across the street from the power plant to the last household to be electrified and street lights and electrification of common facilities like church, school community hall and hospitals in the village. The distribution network also includes some control and metering devices to enable the quantification of the energy supplies and to have a control on providing access based on the payment of electricity charges. Installation of load limiter and other metering devices enable a control on over extraction of energy by few individuals.

Figure 7: Civil layout diagram of biomass gasifier based power plant: 50 kWe

15 5. Conclusion

Based on the field visits, stakeholders interactions and detailed assessments it is found that country has very high potential for utilisation of biomass resources for electricity generation as well as for thermal application. Presently the forest biomass mainly woody biomass sis being utilized all over the country for household applications as well as industrial heat requirement but in very inefficient way, and there is lack of the biomass technology utilisation for the electricity generation purpose, which if properly utilized can become major source of electricity in rural areas. Based on the study it is recommended that for the demonstration purpose the 50 kWe biomass gasifier based electricity generation system in Foyemtcha Cheffferie village at Kekem district is installed. There also is lot of potential for utilisation of biomass gasifier for thermal applicaton in palm oil production units which can further be explored.

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