“Coal-fired units mixed with biomass have significant carbon reduction potential. If all current coal-fired units could achieve a blend of 10% biomass, at least 450 million tons of straw and forestry waste would be needed.
Biomass makes the planet greener
An advanced academic seminar themed “Low-carbon Technology Pathways and Development Strategies for Coal-fired Units Blended with Biomass” took place in Xiangyang, on November 21st. Attendees believe that blending biomass into coal-fired units has significant carbon reduction potential. If all current coal-fired units could achieve a blend rate of 10%, at least 450 million tons of straw and forestry waste would step into the central stage.
In June this year, the NDRC and the NEA jointly issued an action plan. This plan is “Action Plan for Low-carbon Transformation of Coal-fired Power Generation (2024-2027)”. It states that low-carbon transformation of coal-fired power units can adopt three methods. They are biomass co-firing, green ammonia co-firing, and carbon storage. Among them, for coal-fired power units, the plan requires that they should be capable of co-firing 10% or more biomass after construction. According to the Biomass Energy Industry Branch, the number of coal-fired units in China for biomass co-firing is very small. Promoting the transformation of these units for co-firing will help further release the utilization potential of biomass energy.
It also effectively promotes the decarbonization process of coal-fired units. Experts say if the current biomass generation capacity remains unchanged and the energy utilization rate of waste goes to 20%, it will meet 15% of the demand for coal-fired units to blend. If all the units reach a blend of 10%, at least 450 million tons of waste would be needed. The waste comes from straw and forestry.
Under these circumstances, it is key to implement projects based on local conditions. They need adjust and plan the utilization and development of biomass resources accordingly. Experts believe that blending biomass into coal-fired units has significant carbon reduction potential.
Compared to green ammonia co-firing and carbon capture-utilization-storage , biomass co-firing technology is more mature and economically viable. Currently, there have been successful cases of biomass co-firing both domestically and internationally. These examples provide positive references for further exploration and promotion of this technology path. The seminar was organized by the Biomass Energy Industry Branch. It is part of China Industry Development Association. Other oganizers are the Low-carbon Technology Special Committee of the China Energy Research Society. More than 150 experts, scholars, and representatives from enterprises attended and engaged in academic exchanges on topics such as the development trends of biomass co-firing technology for coal-fired units at home and abroad, different technical paths, and the adaptive transformation and performance improvement of coal-fired power equipment after blending.
VG Biomass adheres to the principles of sustainable development. We specialize in the research of biomass energy. We manufacture Biomass Pellet Burner, baghouse dust collectors, and cyclone dust collectors.