Modernised biomass
To assist in providing improved energy services in rural areas,
modernised biomass utilisation shows great promise. The widespread use of
modernised biomass for cooking and combined heat and power (CHP) generation in
rural areas can address multiple social, economic and environmental bottlenecks
which now constrain local development. The availability of low-cost biomass
power in rural areas could be helpful in providing cleaner, more energy
efficient rural energy services to support local development, promote
environmental protection, and stem the use of coal as a home fuel. It can also
help improve the living conditions of rural people, especially women and
children who currently face indoor air pollution associated with open burning of
agricultural residues.
Gasification of biomass for energy uses through biomethanation
or thermochemical means is an important option that has great potential in rural
areas in developing countries. For instance, community biogas plants for power
generation using cattle dung as feedstock have been used in villages in
Karnataka, India (see Section 2.4 for detailed description of this project). The
energy provides lighting and drinking water services at costs that are
competitive with other decentralised options like household photovoltaic systems
(Shivakumar et al., 1998). Similarly, Jilin province in China has embarked on a
program to generate corn stalks producer gas using thermochemical gasification
for use as a cooking fuel in village households and for fueling engines for
electric power generation.
In Brazil, large scale generation of fuel ethanol from sugarcane
began as early in 1975 to reduce the counter-dependence on imported oil, to
stabilize sugar production in the face of a volatile international sugar market,
and to create employment in rural areas. Ethanol is made from sugarcane for use
as a neat fuel (100% ethanol-fueled cars) and for blending with gasoline (up to
22% ethanol). The Brazilian ethanol industry is based on roughly 400 facilities
drawing from areas of 5,000 to 50,000 hectares, with cane production carried out
by some 60,000
suppliers.
