RBEE 302 – Bio-Energy Systems: Design and

Applications
Lecture - Biomass production and harvesting
Nishant Chaudhary
Assistant Prof. (Biochemical Engineering)
[email protected]
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar
 Biomass Classification

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 Biomass Classification
1. Energy Plantation:
○ Growing selected strains of tree and plant species on short rotation
system on waste or arable land
○ Following should be considered for suitability of land for energy
plantation:
■ It should have minimum 60 cm annual precipitation
■ Any arable land having slope equal to or less than 30% is suitable
for energy plantation
○ Productivity of energy plantation depends on microclimate of locality,
choice of species, planting spacing, inputs available and age of harvest
○ Suitable species include babul, shisham, eucalyptus, imali, siris

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 Biomass Production
2. Animal Waste:
○ Rich in organic material which can be used for heating directly (as dung
cakes) or as source of energy via anaerobic digestion
○ Amount and composition of waste depends on type of animal, its feed and
its confinement characteristics
○ Average dropping per animal for select animals:

Animal Avg. dropping per day (kg)

Cow 10.0

Buffalo 15.0

Camel 6.0

Horse 10.0

Sheep 1.0

Pig 2.25

Chicken (2 kg weight approx.) 0.18

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 Biomass Production
3. Forest waste/residue:
○ Examples - sawdust, wood generated in intermediate cuttings, shavings,
dead trees etc.
○ Availability can be estimated on the basis of species, forest area, soil type
and water availability
○ Better fertilisation, pest control, irrigation, species selection can improve
productivity
○ Important characteristics of forest residues are calorific value, ultimate
analysis (CHONS composition), moisture content, particle size and bulk
density
○ Calorific value of soft-wood: 4500-5300 kcal/kg
○ Calorific value of hard-wood: 4300-4800 kcal/kg

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 Biomass Production
4. Agricultural crop residue:
○ One of the chief sources of biomass for energy production - available in
abundance and easy collection, procurement and storage
○ Annually, in India, over 200 million tonnes of agri-residue is available -
most prominent are rice husk, rice straw, wheat husk, wheat straw, corn
stalk, cotton stalk etc.
○ Quantity of crop residue depends on type of crop sown, fertility of soil etc.

5. Municipal waste:
○ In India, around 2.27 kg of waste is produced per person per day
○ Composition depends upon region, season
○ Examples include, household waste, human excreta, sanitation waste,
commercial waste
○ Current disposal is via landfills or by incineration - however pollution and
lack of space make these solutions challenging

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 Biomass Production
6. Agro-Industrial waste:
○ Wastes obtained from product processing, packaging, shipping etc.
○ May be solid as well as liquid
○ Incineration can be used to deal with this kind of waste

5. Marine waste:
○ Examples include algae, water hyacinths which are seen as pests or
unwanted growth in water bodies
○ However, they have potential to be used as fuel for methane production
and as cattle feed

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 Biomass Production
● Site survey:
Site should match with the species of the trees and shrubs best suited for that
area. Information collected during site survey:
○ Climate
○ Soil
○ Topography
○ Vegetation
○ Biotic factors
○ Water table levels
○ Availability of supplementary water sources
○ Distance from nursery

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 Biomass Production
● Selection of planting sites:
Based on info from site survey. Land should be such that it is not suited for
agriculture or livestock production. Boundary fence should be established. Trees
can also line and demarcate the boundary
● Species selection:
○ Species selected should suit the site, remain healthy throughout rotation
and exhibit acceptable growth and yield.
○ If similarity observed on site to be planted and that on which species
already is successful, the particular site is recommended for large scale
planting
○ Selection of trees and shrub species through the use of analogous climates
is imp. - this can be done by evaluation of local factors (soil, slope and biotic
factors)
○ However, simply matching climate and other other factors might not be
sufficiency, species trial should still be done at the site to ensure
adaptability

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 Biomass Production
● Preparation of the Planting Site:
○ Remove competitive vegetation
○ Create conditions that will enable soil to catch and absorb as much rainfall
as possible
○ Provide good conditions for planting - sufficient volume of rootable soil
○ Preventing conditions where dangers from fire and pests are minimised
○ Give seedlings good start with rapid early growth
○ Reduce surface runoff for increasing moisture in soil and help in elimination
of hard pans of soil
● Preparation of soil mixture:
Soil mixture should have the following characteristics:
○ Should be relatively light and cohesive
○ Should have good water retention capacity
○ Should possess high organic and mineral content
○ Should contain adequate nutrients, which are usually supplied in the form
of artificial fertilisers
○ Soil used in nursery work should be sufficiently acidic in nature - pH should
not exceed 6.0

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 Biomass Production
● Preparation of the Planting Site:
○ Fungi can cause diseases like damping off in forest nurseries - it can occur in
seed beds or containers after transplanting. A watery appearance on stem is
visible evidence. High humidity, damp soil surface, heavy soil, cloudy
weather - all contribute to chances of this disease
○ Preventive measures - maintain dry soil surface through cultivation, reduce
sowing density and thin the seedling to create better aeration at the ground
line.

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 Biomass Production
● Sowing of seed:
○ Sowing of seed should match ideal sowing time
○ Time to raise high quality planting stack depends upon type of tree/shrub
species, climatic conditions and nursery conditions
○ With large amount of seeds it is better to spread out sowing dates with one
or two week intervals
○ Common method of raising seedlings - sow the seed in seedbeds or seedling
trays and then transplant into containers as soon as plants are large enough
to handle
○ Small seeds should be mixed with some kind of inert fine material to
facilitate even distribution

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 Biomass Production
● Method of sowing:
○ Seedling trays commonly used for production of seedlings are subsequently
transplanted into containers - trays made up of kerosene or diesel tins
○ Bottom of the tray should be perforated to allow drainage or irrigation by
absorption - to assist drainage, bottom of the tray can be filled with 2 cm
layer of gravel or charcoal
○ After sowing seeds in seedling trays, they should be covered with sand
which should be pressed gently to establish good contact between seeds
and soil
○ Normal depth of sowing is 1-3 times the diameter of seed - in some cases it
might be desirable to sow deeper to avoid washing of seeds from soil by
irrigation or heavy rains

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 Biomass Production
● Transplanting of seedling into containers:
○ Transplanting - moving of ‘seedling’ from tray and replanted in nursery in
another bed or container
○ Transplanting also referred to as ‘pricking’ which is done to induce better
development of the root system by increasing the number of fine absorbing
root lets
○ Transplanting should be done before seedling has acquired large, heavy
root system but after it has developed a strong stem - this stage occurs
normally after complete unfolding of cotyledons and unfolding of first
leaves.

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 Biomass Production
● Transport of seedlings to the planting site:
○ Care must be taken to avoid mishandling of plants during loading/unloading
- airflow can cause breakage of stems or drying
○ Containers should be tightly packed so that they do not move
○ To prevent dessication (drying), if possible, plants should be transported
during planting season on cool, cloudy
○ Suggestions to keep in mind when transporting seedlings to planting site:
■ Proper packing of container raised plants
■ Packed containers should be kept in trays then loaded in vehicles
■ Tins used for seedling trays can be used to transport container plants
■ Shipping schedule should be maintained to avoid any delays
■ Normally plants should arrive one day before planting
■ As soon as plants arrive at planting site, they must be watered and if
necessary kept in cool, moist, shaded place until needed for planting

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 Biomass Production
● Transport of seedlings to the planting site:
○ Care must be taken to avoid mishandling of plants during loading/unloading
- airflow can cause breakage of stems or drying
○ Containers should be tightly packed so that they do not move
○ To prevent dessication (drying), if possible, plants should be transported
during planting season on cool, cloudy
○ Suggestions to keep in mind when transporting seedlings to planting site:
■ Proper packing of container raised plants
■ Packed containers should be kept in trays then loaded in vehicles
■ Tins used for seedling trays can be used to transport container plants
■ Shipping schedule should be maintained to avoid any delays
■ Normally plants should arrive one day before planting
■ As soon as plants arrive at planting site, they must be watered and if
necessary kept in cool, moist, shaded place until needed for planting

● Transport of seedlings to the planting site: Protection against weather effects,

fire damage, pests and insects and wild animals. Cultural treatments include
weeding, thinning, pruning and maintaining desired space between trees

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 Biomass Production
● Harvesting of Biomass:
○ Trees and shrubs should not be cut until they are atleast grown to
maximum size required for product utilisation
○ Trees and shrubs should not be allowed to grow beyond the point of
maximum average annual growth, which is the age of maximum
productivity. Following factors should be considered for harvesting:
■ Biological factors: age of maximum productivity, average growth rate
■ Pathological factors: Growth in terms of mortality and the amount of
defect in living trees
■ Entomological factors: forest composition, age, structure and vigour
■ Silvicultural factors: seed production, characteristics, methods of
obtaining regeneration, competition from less desirable tree species
and maintenance of desirable soil conditions
■ Local harvesting techniques
■ Available man power
■ Existing market outlets

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 Biomass Production
● Harvesting of Biomass:
○ Factors on which harvesting system depends:
■ Species of wood
■ Size and assortment (fuel wood, poles or logs)
■ Type of forest (man made or natural)
■ Type of cut (thinning or clear cut)
■ Kind of regeneration (artificial, coppice, natural)
■ Terrain (flat, steep, swampy)
■ Accessibility (roads, waterways)
■ Means of transport (manual, animal, motorized)

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 Biomass Production
● Harvesting of Biomass:
○ Good planning and organisation of the work depends on following factors:
■ Assessment of volume to be harvested
■ Determination of the assortments to be produced
■ Determination of wood storing places, skidding lines and felling
direction
■ Clearly instructed and skilled supervision and workers
■ Availability of necessary hand tools and maintenance and other
equipment
■ Clear separation of working areas for individual work teams and
different operations (filling and transport)

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 Biomass Production
● Harvesting Methods:
○ Coppicing:
■ One of the most widely used harvesting methods
■ Tree is cut at the base, usually between 15-75 cm above ground level -
new shoot is developed from the root
■ These shoots are referred to as sucker or sprouts
■ Sprout management important - if many sprouts allowed to grow for
long period, weight of sprouts will become heavy and sprouts may tear
away from trunk
■ Several rotations of coppicing possible with many species - length of
rotation period depends on required tree products from plantation
■ Most eucalyptus species and many species for leguminous family and
most of naturally accessing shrubs can be harvested by coppiccing

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 Biomass Production
● Harvesting Methods:
○ Coppicing:

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● Harvesting Methods:
○ Pollarding:
■ Cutting done at a height of 2 m above the ground and the main trunk is
allowed standing - new shoots sprout or emerge from the main stem to
develop new crown
■ Results in increase in diameter of main stem but no change in height
■ Finally, when the tree stops growing the main stem is also cut for use
in large diameter poles
■ Advantage over coppiccing: new shoots are high enough off the ground
that they are out of reach of grazing animals
■ Eg of trees cut this way - neem

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 Biomass Production
● Harvesting Methods:
○ Pollarding:

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● Harvesting Methods:
○ Lopping:
■ Most of the branches of the tree are cut - fresh foliage starts sprouting
from bottom to top of the cut stem in spite of defoliation surprisingly
quickly
■ The crown also regrows and after a few years the tree is lopped again
■ Lopped trunk continues to grow and increase in height unless this is
deliberately prevented by pruning it at top

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 Biomass Production
● Harvesting Methods:
○ Lopping:

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● Harvesting Methods:
○ Pruning:
■ Cutting of smaller branches and stems
■ Clipped materials constitute a major source of biomass for fuel and
other purposes such as fodder mulching
■ Required for the maintenance of fruit and forage trees
■ Root pruning at a distance of 2-3 m from the hole is effective to reduce
border tree competition for water and nutrient with crops

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 Biomass Production
● Harvesting Methods:
○ Pruning:

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 Biomass Production
● Harvesting Methods:
○ Thinning:
■ Traditional practice for fuelwood plantation - primary objectives are to
enhance diametric growth of some specific trees through early removal
of poor and diseased trees to improve plantation by reducing the
competition for light and nutrients
■ Can be used for fuelwood or pole production

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 References
1. Jaya Shankar Tumuluru; Christopher T. Wright; J. Richard Hess; Kevin L. Kenney (2011). A review of biomass
densification systems to develop uniform feedstock commodities for bioenergy application., Biofuels, Bioproducts
and Biorefining, Vol. 5(6), 683–707.
2. L. Kratky; T. Jirout (2011). Biomass Size Reduction Machines for Enhancing Biogas Production, Chemical
Engineering and Technology Vol 34(3), 391–399.
3. Wade A. Amos (1998), NREL, Report on Biomass Drying Technology

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SYMBOL OF TRUST