National Activities - Hungary Where does Biomass fit in Hungary?

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Agricultural Residues : Biocomposites/Boards : Biological Conversion : Biopolymers/Gums : Bulk Chemicals : Electricity : Fibre : Fine Chemicals : Liquid Biofuels and Biogas : National Activities - Hungary : Paints/Coatings/Plastics : Paper/Pulp : Pharmaceuticals/Cosmetics : Solid Biofuels : Starch : Straw : Textiles/Fabrics/Geomembranes : Thermochemical Conversion : Vegetable Oil/Fat : Wood (Lignocellulose)

1. Biomass for energy industry and environment

Biomass can be considered as a strategic resource because not only is it renewable, but it is also available everywhere and can provide products of vital interest to sectors of strong external dependance (i.e. fuel for transportation, electricity, chemicals etc.), and also because it may raise benefits for the environment and for socio-economic development, (particularly in a rural areas).

Biomass offers the opportunity to develop integrated schemes from primary production through conversion to high quality added value energy and industrial products, and subsequently to their utilization.

However, full biomass systems can present considerable complexity in terms of multidisciplinarity and integration. The complexity derives also from a combination of factors which are not only techno-economic but include the environment, the agricultural socio-economy industrial structure and policies, and rural regional development, international trade.

There are also environmental benefits from using technologies which are environmentally friendly for industrial and chemical commodities. These include a reduction in the greenhouse effect which is largely due to the use of fossil fuels and derivated products. Biomass could produce alternative products at a lower environmental cost. Indeed, modern bio-energy technologies and bio-fuels produce very little pollution if they are burnt correctly and completely. Biomass and derived bio- fuels have very low sulfur content, have a CO₂ balance near zero, and low NOx emission rate.

Other environmental benefits from biomass production can be included such as the retention of the rural landscape which could have been adversely affected by abandoned land, by forest fires, by soil erosion, etc. These problems could be alleviated by better land management using low input nonfood crops which can also grow on marginal land.

In general, energy/industrial crops need less pesticides especially during the ripening phase.

2. The opportunities

Energy crops can be classified into those providing: solid fuels for directed combustion, thermal processing (to yield solid, liquid and gaseous fuels) and electricity generation; and liquid fuels, notably bioethanol and biodiesel. Solid fuel crops include energy coppice, Miscanthus and whole-crop cereals. Bioethanol is derived from fermentation of sugar (eg. sugarbeet, sweet sorghum), starch (eg. cereals, potatoes) or, potentially, cellulosic crops. Biodiesel refers commonly to transesterified vegetable oil, derived from oilseed rape or sunflower.

Industrial crop products can be classified as follows:

• High-value, low-volume products derived from a wide range of plant species and used in pharmaceuticals ans healthcare products, crop protection and food preservation, and flavours and fragrances.
• Industrial oils derived from oilseed crops and used in the manufacture of lubricants, surfactants, printing inks, paints and coatings and polymers.
• Starch sugar, derived from, for example, cereals, potatoes or sugar beet, and used in the fermentation industry and in the manufacture of paper and board, detergents, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and healthcare products, and polymers.
• Fibres, derived from traditional or novel fibre crops (eg cotton, hemp, flax, kenaf, Miscanthus, nettle) and used in textiles, cordage and sacking, as alternatives to wood in the manufacture of pulp, paper and panel products, and as alternatives to synthetic fibres in fibre composites.

3. The biomass potential

Among the various alternative energy sources agricultural and forestry biomass should be considered as the most efficient and promising renewable energy sources for and from rural sector.

The boimass potential in Hungary is far enough for the energy-consumption of total rural areas including the needs of the sustainable development of national agriculture.

Forest residues and fuel wood	53.1 PJ/y
Agricultural wastes (straw, stem, vine-shoots, reed, corn cob etc.)	37.9 PJ/y
Biogas production	3.2 PJ/y
Municipal solid wastes	0.6 PJ/y
Short rotation forestry	69.1 PJ/y
Total	163.9 PJ/y

The 163.1 PJ/y energy-potential data is a bit higher than the expected 12 percent of the expected energy consumption of Hungary in the early 2000 years.

4. Utilization of solid biofuels

Short rotation biomass plantations to produce a renewable raw material for energy and industry using Black locust (Robinia Pseudoacatia), willow (Salix Alba) and mostly poplars (Populus Cv. Sp) have been established as being the most appropriate for Hungary. Based on a program of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development it has been postulated that up to 300000 ha is suited to short rotation biomass plantation. Biomass productivities of 12 to 24 dry tonnes/ha/yr have been achieved in existing small scale trial plantations.

Straws are by no mean free sources of fuel and the delivered costs can be relatively high in Hungary. Generally straw in the field costs around 6-8 USD/ton but by the time it is baled for on-farm use this has risen to 10-15 USD/t including transport costs for industrial use.

For farm-scale combustion system (up to 100 kW) straw at on-farm price can be competitive with gase.

The conversion of fast growing biomass via gasification into hydrogen seems to be an attractive route for energy supply (beside direct heating or cogeneration), considering boundary conditions for limited CO₂ emission. Firs economical calculation show that biomass gasification is the most economic route for the production of nonfossile hydrogen. The basis for the calculations is the use of Miscanthus Sinensis (Giganteus) as a fast growing biomass with a production rate of 30 t (minimal) dry straw per year and hectar (University of Sopron).

Most of the biomass densities produced are consumed for energy purposes.

Briquettes („bio-briquettes")are mainly utilized in the domestic sector, in small house chimneys, as a substitute of wood logs (market is increasing). They are appreciated since the storage is easier and can be bought in small pad for days consumption.

Biomass pellets find the most important energetic and chemical application in industrial sector (bakeries, furfural- factories, fine chemical industry etc.). Presently an experience to sustainable coal for the biofuel in the domestic sector is being developed by more than ten factories.

5. The liquid biofuels

Energetic efficiency of liquid energy-carriers. first of all the traditional producing technologies of vegetable oils is generally all right, but the final energy input-output factors of bio-ethanol production hardly exceeds 1.0-1.2 value. As an example, the energy input of the rape oilseed production is about 200-250 kgOE/t, while the energy requirement of traditional bio-ethanol crops is 285-300 kgOE/t. Final energy output-input factor of rape oil production is 2.1-3.9, which can be increased to 4.5-8.4 by the energetical utilization of byproducts. The primary input-output factor of bio-ethanol production can be incresaed to 1.8-2.1 with careful choose of technological orbits, and considering the biological utilization of byproducts the final energy output-input factor can go up 2.3-2.5, as well.

Production of vegetable oil base bio-fuels can be profitable in certain west-european countries, inspite of the recent moderate international crude oil prices, if the farmers either get the usual agroproduction subvention for energetical plant production, or the state waives taxes for commercial fuels for supporting agricultural sectors, or assures public support for establishment of bio-fuel refineries.

On the other hand the traditional plants based bio-ethanol production at a profit can not be assured under the circumstances of basic material production and processing costs and commercial fuel prices, even in the majority of West- European countries. If further development of biological basis and technological processes result more effective species or producing technologies than the recent ones, or the international oil-price meets the recent years level again, then biomass energy-resource production, process and putting into circulation can be profitable, too. (Technical University of Budapest)

6. Biogas: an energy source

A side product in anaerobic treatment is combustible biogas as utilizable product. This gas can be used to replace traditional energy sources that are expensive and deplete limited and unrenewable natural resources. The contemporary energy situation in Hungary and elsewhere indicates unambigously that energy-saving steps are essential and that new untraditional energy sources must be sought. One of these sources is the anaerobic fermentation of barnyard manure with the production of biogas. This method lists biogas as a side product of the fermentation process. This is because no attempt is made to attain maximal production of biogas at the example of decomposition of organic matter (as for example in sewage technology or manure treatment), but rather this is a side product of a system designated to improve manure quality. However, the production and use of biogas is decisive in evaluation of the economics of construction of these units. The annual yearly production of an average farm with 500 head of cattle is an example:

anual production of biogas	80000 m3
corresponding annually to	1100000 kWh
corresponding to energy of	4000000 MJ

Environmental improvement can be expected on the basis of replacement of other types of fossil fuel.

Within the framework of the EUREKA programme implemented IBMER - Institute for Building, Mecnanisation and Electrification of Agriculture (Poland), BOIMET (Sweden) and Biotechnology Institute (Hungary) for utilization of liquid manure through methane fermentation was developed. Biogas, electricity and compost may be produced as a result of this technology.

7. Possibilities of energetical cultivation of plants

First of all by foreign examples not food or feed purpose cultivation of plants can be introduced also on agricultural fields by cultivating plants with much higher yearly dry-material yield than in the case of traditional plants, and the crop and stalk can be used for energetical purposes, too. In these cases biomass materials with energetical purposes are rised as main products and not as by-products. recent overproduction problem of agriculture could be reduced by cultication of plants with energetical purposes.

Purpose of energetical plant cultivation can be alternative fuel production (e.g. alcohol, rape-methyl-ester), but can be fuel supply as well (biobriquet, energy forest, Miscanthus, rape oil, etc.). This production purpose has got reality within the frame of well organized program. Agriculture produces such products in vain, if there is no willingness because of the lack of equipments, different interest or human neglect. The profit of energetical aimed plant cultivation can be assured in agriculture if the total amount of cultivated plants are utilizes in complex.

Looking at rape, rape oil can be produced by pressing ripen seeds to used as gas-oil replacing fuel after being handled with methil-ester or cool mixing and additives. Rape oil can be fired directly in oil-burner as well, and can be utilized for heat supply. Rape oil scones, which is the rest of the rape oil pressing, is good for animal feeding or can be fired as solid fuel. Rape straw can be fired in bales or as briquet. There are fields where planting of flora (elephant grass, Miscanthus, etc.) is possible which have got very high dry material content and being baled or chopped after harvest can be fired in stoves.

Resultful researces go on in West-Europe with Miscanthus, first of all in Germany on traditional agricultural fields. As the result of the first three yers experiences, there is potential possibility of further spreading. Its primary purpose is the transformation of agricultural production structure for the plantation of non-food purpose plant cultivation. By the experiences Miscanthus can be usable both for energetical and industrial purposes because of its solid fibre structure (e.g. chipboard production). Experiments started at the University of Forestry and Wood Industry in Sopron. to settle down which Miscanthus species are the best for cultivation in home climate.

Energy forest can be planted on territories are not good for agricultural purposes. This is a special wood plantation, which gives within the shortest time, with the less cost, large quantity and well firing fuel. By forest section terms energy woods has mini (1-4 years) midi (5-10 years), short (11-15 years), middle (16-19 years) and long (20-25 years) lifetime. Those tree species are good for plantation, which show intenive growth in yuoth, have got good sprouting ability, have got big dry-material yield, good for firing, easy to lumber and process, and relatively quickly loose water.

Tree species in Hungary usable for these purposes are lime-, maple-, willow-, alder-, home poplar- and locust trees. Locust tree is the best from all point of view, as it grows fast in youth, sprouts well both from root and trunk, has got large volume density and low moisture content, but burn well even it is wet. This species can be found in Hungary on the largest area. A ten years old locust plantation means as many dry material, as a twenty years old traditional forest.

More lumbering than the present situation can not be expected from the traditional forests within 15-20 years in Hungary, inspite of intensive forest plantation. If there wil be bigger demand for present utilizable quantity for energetical purposes, then it can only be assured by energy forest plantation. Home energy forest researches have been gone on different regions with soil conditions and with different tree species and cultivation technologies. Yearly dry material yield per hectare varies between 3.5-20.0 t depending on cutting sections and tree species. Lumbering generally has sense only after the third year term.

Recently there are in Hungary some hundred thousand hectares agricultural field for the purposes of energetical plant cultivation and forestry is easy to get because of the recession of agricultural production. The biggest gap in starting the development program is in lack of law in force, financial conditions, which would encourange the farmers for producing.

8. Thermal-energy and electricity producting equipment based on biomass fuel

Reason for the existence of biomass fuel thermal energy and electricity supply systems has been questioned. Lets imagine that agricultural wastes utilizable as fuel rise scattered in the country, which can be really limit of establishment of new heatproducing systems from the fuel supply point of view. Further problem can be the harvest of byproducts, preparing for harvest and the energy demand of transportation, however it generally does not exceed 4-5% of the energy content.

Further task is the proper storage of biomass energy-carrier, to avoid the maximum load time of basic agricultural works, and certain fire-technical problems. Biomass waste firing equipments need not be established for less than 2000 hours/year running.

In lack of supporting and interest systems thermoenergetical utilization of biomass is not competitive even in agricultural energy supplying sector, exept some areas. We think that the above listed facts describe the way for getting new solutions. Primarely in low capacity district-heating works in provincial towns and larger settlements sorrounded by significant agricultural cultivation could be set up biomass firing boilers, mainly for discharging light sulphur-free fuel and coal.

We must pay attention for the relatively high costs of biomass harvesting machines and processors, the extra cost of biomass transportation caused by the moderate energy-concentration of biomass fuels. Utilization of biofuels seems to be reasonable at the place of production or less than 20-25 km far from it, however there are cases (chops firing), when dispite of larger distance it is economical. The small district heating works afflicted by usual fuel price increase (especially in 1-5 MW range) and smaller agricultural works may use biomass firing as a proper alternative. Keep in mind, that there are sectors in agriculture as poultry-farming, where the task is the fulfilment of very small, some 100 kW heat capacity by buildings.

Considering the fact, that the determining role of grain production in agriculture will not be changed significantly in the future, we may count on the required quantity of straw for energetical use. Over that energetical aimed cultivation of plants (Sudanese grass, Miscanthus, energy forest, etc.) can be realized because of certain production structure change. That`s why the establishment of power stations firing straw or tree chops are sensible in the mentioned regions. Straw together with tree wastes can be a good solution, but only in the case of low capacity, manually portioned equipments (below 500 kW). If storing can be solved, primary the cheapest straw ought to be choosen rising in the huge quantity. During plantation heat demand must be considered and analysed and occasionally possibility of the connected electricity production and the composition of available fuel.

It is important from environmental point of view, that soil composition is going to be improved by the left over ash after burning the wastes originating from agricultural and forestry byproducts, incinsistent with coal-fired boiler. These fuels are sulphurfree and while burning them the CO₂ content of atmosphere is not increased, so it can be redarded neutral fuel from environmental point of view. While burning the rising amount of CO₂ is as much as the CO₂ amount the plants draw in the photosynthesis.

From energetical point of view it is not negligible, that fuels rising in agriculture and forestry are yearly reproduced. During the last decades consumers, dryers, boilers big in size and heat-need dominated in home agricultural sectors. Farms, smaller farmsteads are going to be appear having far less heat-need than in the past. This tendency seems to make stronger biomass utilization for firing purposes.

Recently the biomass originated energy-carriers utilization for electricity production does not seem to be an economical alternative first of all because of the high investment costs and low year profit, where utilization of waste-heat is not solved. However it is true, that big capacity power stations are economical only if wast-heat is utilized, too.

Basic boilers for heat-energy production are available, only development would be necessary according to the type of expected biomass fuel. There are biomass boilers with smaller capacity having home references. There are available 14 types of waste or wood-chop firing hot water producing boilers (80-160kW), 13 types of steam-boilers (250MW, 15t/h, 25 bar), 5 different types of heat-blash apparatus (400-1100kW), 14 types of boiler disks (35-870 kW). Over that there are working in Hungary 6 types of 1.5-4.0 MW waste-fired boilers.

9. Agriculture for industry: the AGROREFINERY

Hungarian agriculture can increase its output in industrial feedstock in two ways, by:

1. The promotion of existing agro-feedstock, mostly by improving the quality and decreasing the costs. However, this, in general, will not lead to any breakthrough, but may only result in a slow growth of the markets.
2. The development of completely novel kinds of feedstocks, including the required infrastructure.

Usually a crop, „as is ", will not be applicable for industrial use. Industry is only interested in a certain part, or in a chemical or physical component of the crop, which therefore has to be processed in the agrorefinery. The different „fractions" produced by the agrorefinery have to be sold to various industries, or partially recycled to agriculture, as cattle feed or as organic fertiliser.

The feedstock prepared for industrial application may be chemicals (bulk chemicals like oils, carbohydrates, rubber and gums and fine chemicals like essential oils and intermediates for chemical specialities, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and special polymers) or physicals (like fibres for textile, ropes and papermaking pulp, as a major reinforcement element in „wood extenders", like fibreboard, building materials etc., or as a filter in rubber, plastics, adhesives and printing ink). Biopolymers for industry programmes have been developed by the University of Veszprém.

The agrorefinery, depending on its „function", may apply simple mechanical and physical processes and it may operate on a large scale. Occasionally the first phase of the processing may begin with mobile total harvesting units, pretreating the crop in the field, separating fractions of interest like crude juices, fibrous fractions etc., which can be efficiently transported to regional plants for further processing.

The agrorefinery has to fill the gap between agriculture and the agroindustrial production chains.

10. Important conclusions

Keeping the principles, that while elaborating developing programmes, special attention must be played for the initiation of home and foreign contractors being interested in this subject and we judge necessary to elaborate a national agro-energetical developing programme because of the importance of developing tasks. Central state support must be assured, too, for professional basement of developments containing state tasks. It is important to bring together environmental-, land-, economical-, agro-, energy-and employment political conceptions. Organizing national agro-energetical coordination is important for coordinating works of state bodies interested in realizing prospective developing tasks, research and developing institutes, industrial, agricultural enterprises and contractors.

Evaluating home results and international developing trends of agriculture originated renewing energy-carrier production, agrotechnical possibilities and technical-economical conditions, the next comprehensive conclusions have to be made:

• Looking at natural endowments, potential stocks of Hungary and evaluation of their practical use, biomass can be considered as the most important energy-resource in Hungary;
• The country`s fire-wood production is 0.32MtOE, which can be increased to 0.7MtOE with energetical use of timber industrial and forestry byproducts, with energetic forests plantation to 1.5MtOE;
• Recently 0.1MtOe agricultural byproducts are used for thermoenergetical purposes, which can be increased to 1.0- 1.5MtOE by proper technologies;
• Renewing potential energy-resource produced by anaerobic fermentation of animal water manure and other wastes is significant (0.3-0.5MtOE), complex technologies serving environmental protection and energy-generation purposes need development;
• Further potential liquid bioenergy carrier producing ability is about 0.5-1.0MtOE of agrosectors depending on the size of areas given for that purpose;
• Future potential energy generating ability of agro-sectors is 3.0-4.0MtOE without any deleterious effect on food-supply and conditions of soils;
• Energetical use of agricultural and forestry byproducts in 10-15% measure does not endanger the organic content and structure of soil;
• Energetical use of biomass, plantation of energetic forests and energetic plant production significantly repairs the energetic factors micro- and macro regions;
• Technologies for economical use of biomass firing are available, however the technical-economical effectiveness of energy producing and conversion technologies need improvement;
• Biomass based fuel production, producing and processing methods, producing technologies and their profitability need further technological development;
• Economically operating water manure and waste-water treatment technologies serving environmental protection purposes are to be developed in connection with biogas production direction;
• Biomass energy-carrier production extension is reasonable for improving environmental factors and extending application of renewing energy-resources;
• For evaluation of biomass energy-resource efficiency, considering economical effect of environmental factors new methods would be required;
• While strategic evaluation of biomass originated energy-resource production and utilization, consideration of rational leasehold and employment in the county has got special role;
• Technological and economical substantiate of biomass originated energy-carrier production representing the same order as crude oil production, requires significant central developing resources;
• Elaboration of this extremely complicated ecological - biological - technical - economical tasks can be realized only within the frame of a national agroenergetical strategic R+D programme, while certain processes, application of equipment and investments can be done only if we know the exact local endowments in detail and we have evaluation and analysis of it.FP-5 of EU seems powerful tool for the development.

Contacts

Contact

• Gyula MARTON / University of Veszprem (UV) Dept of Chemical Engineering Science / HUNGARY