21^st World Bioenergy Congress and Expo

Incineration, the combustion of organic material such as waste with energy recovery, is the most common implementation. All new plants in OECD countries incinerating waste must meet strict emission standards, including those on nitrogen oxides, Sulphur dioxide, heavy metals and dioxins. Hence, modern incineration plants are vastly different from old types, some of which neither recovered energy nor materials. Modern incinerators reduce the volume of the original waste by 95-96 percent, depending upon composition and degree of recovery of materials such as metals from the ash for recycling.

Green energy refers to natural energy sources that generate power with minimal pollution, including solar, wind, small-scale hydro, biomass, geothermal, wave, anaerobic digestion, and some forms of nuclear energy. Electricity from the grid may not always come from green sources, as utilities often mix fuel, nuclear, and renewable generation.

Biofuels are fuels derived from various types of biomass. First-generation biofuels are produced from sugars and vegetable oils in food crops, using conventional technologies, but they face limitations: large-scale production can impact food supply, biodiversity, and often requires subsidies. Their greenhouse gas savings are also limited, and life-cycle emissions can approach those of fossil fuels. Advanced biofuels, made from lignocellulosic biomass, woody crops, agricultural residues, or waste, overcome many of these issues. They offer the potential for sustainable, cost-effective fuel production at larger scales while providing greater environmental benefits. These biofuels also support energy security and can play a key role in reducing global dependence on fossil fuels. Continued research and innovation are essential to maximize their efficiency, sustainability, and adoption worldwide.

Biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that is reducing U.S. dependence on foreign petroleum, creating jobs and improving the environment. Made from a diverse mix of feedstocks including recycled cooking oil, soybean oil, and animal fats, it is the first and only EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel in commercial-scale production across the country and the first to reach 1 billion gallons of annual production. Meeting strict technical fuel quality and engine performance specifications, it can be used in existing diesel engines without modification and is covered by all major engine manufacturers’ warranties, most often in blends of up to 5 percent or 20 percent biodiesel. It is produced at plants in nearly every state in the country.

Bio-carbon liquid, biofuel and gas are the products of thermal decomposition of biomass. Gasification process is conducted to ordinary reactors or in reactors with a fluidal field. During hydrothermal gasification process, hydrogen energy, carbon oxide and some amount of methane and superior hydrocarbons are produced. Liquids derived from biomass resources such as ethanol and bio-oils can be reformed to produce hydrogen in a process similar to natural gas reforming. Biomass derived liquids can be transported more easily than biomass feed stocks. The bioenergy technology faces challenges in terms of technological assistance, economics and knowledge.

Energy and environment are co-related in the technological and scientific aspects including energy conservation, and the interaction of energy forms and systems with the physical environment. The levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased by 31% between 1800 and 2000, going from 280 parts per million to 367 parts per million. Scientists predict that carbon dioxide levels could be as high as 970 parts per million by the year 2100. Different factors are responsible for this development, such as progress with respect to technical parameters of energy converters, in particular, improved efficiency; emissions characteristics and increased lifetime. Various environmental policies have been implemented across the globe for reduction of GHG emissions for improvement of environment.