Methodology for the Evaluation of the Electrical Energy Potential of Residual Biomass from the Wood Industry: A Case Study in Brazil

Abstract

This chapter presents in a consolidated manner the step-by-step methodology to estimate the electrical energy potential of industrial wood residues considering the dependency of the efficiency of the power plants with their size. A function of the overall efficiency with power was obtained from a best curve fit of real data both taken from the literature and from Brazilian biomass-fired power plants. The methodology was applied to the determination of the electrical energy potential of wood industry residues in the State of Pará (data collected in 2004). Two cases were analyzed: one where a constant electrical efficiency of 25% was considered (independently of the amount of residues generated) and another where the proposed function of efficiency with power was used. Results show that in the State of Pará, the existent 675 sawmills generated 2.95 × 106 t in dry basis. When the dependency of efficiency with plant size is not considered, the electrical energy potential and average installed power (3140.4 GWh and 2 MWe) are overestimated in comparison to the herein proposed methodology (1868.8 GWh and 1 MWe). The present methodology, considering the efficiency as a function of the power, results in an average efficiency of 12.3% (lower than 25%).