Alternative Energy

The main fuel of our lives was once wood, using it to cook our food and to heat our homes and if we go a bit more back, to keep us safe and drive away animals. The energy from wood was always the mainstay of our energy needs. Wood was once our main fuel. We burned it to heat our homes and cook our food. It is still provides a percentage of the energy that we use so constantly, but during the course of time, we have been forced to look for another source of energy which is less polluting because of the nature and exhaustibility of wood and due to depleting forests thus causing immense global environmental problems.

Sugarcane is grown in some certain places which is perfect for fermentation and of the making of alcohol, which can be further burned to generate energy. This cane can also be used in an alternate way, i.e. by using the crushed pulp called bagasse which can be used for burning thus creating steam and that steam can further be used to drive turbines.

Various types of other wastes can be incinerated to produce heat, or be burned to produce steam which can power a power station.
The process of “Bioconversion” makes use of various animal and plant waste products for the production of various fuels like natural gas, oil and methanol. Various wastes that can be used range from rubbish, manure plant and animal, seaweed, woodchips to corn stalks and other waste products.

Working of the biomass fuel systems

When the fuel is burned, ths generates heat which is then applied to water, to convert it to steam, which turns on the turbines and subsequently generators, just as in a traditional fossil fuel power station.Sugar cane

Sugar cane is at first harvested and then in the mill it is crushed to obtain all the juice, this juice is used for the main purposes like making of sugar or of jaggery, but the left over pulp called bagasse, can be used for production of power in a power station.

This power house can easily provide enough energy for the power requirements of the mill itself as well as leaving some leftover energy to sell in the neighboring area.

Advantages of using biofuel.

• The usage of waste materials is economical and the best strategy yet to get rid of them productively.
• The waste material is rarely of use to anyone, so the fuel needed comes cheap.
• There is definitely a lot less demand on the resources of the earth, thus doing its part in solving the grave ecological problems.

Problems

• Waste tends to be in small quantities, such huge quantities of waste are slightly difficult to obtain.
• Te burning of fuel makes the greenhouses gases problem even more severe.
• Some of the water materials are season specific and cannot be available all the year round.

Also biomass production is renewable, because there will never be a dearth of organic waste. Also this waste is usually the by products of living flora and fauna which can be regenerated.