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Biomass-Based Distributed Energy Systems: Opportunities and Challenges

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Sustainable Energy and Transportation

Part of the book series: Energy, Environment, and Sustainability ((ENENSU))

Abstract

Biomass is not only considered as an important energy career for transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy, this is by far the most sustainable form of energy system. Given its inherent carbon neutrality, biomass-based energy conversion systems have the potential of becoming carbon-negative systems. This feature of biomass, together with its widespread availability, propels the development and deployment of biomass-based distributed energy systems. Among the different pathways of biomass energy conversion, gasification is considered as the most versatile route which can yield multiple end products, ranging from liquid fuels, methane, hydrogen, electricity, process heat and even refrigeration. Several technology options are currently available commercially: some are under different stages of development and some are futuristic, yet seemingly viable. This chapter presents an overview of the different technology options. Their status and potentials as distributed systems are reported and analysed. Socio-economic perspectives favouring or hindering their penetration, with particular reference to Indian and Asian scenario, have also been discussed herein.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, Howrah, 711103, West Bengal, India

    Sudip Ghosh

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  1. Sudip Ghosh
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Correspondence to Sudip Ghosh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Railways, Government of India, SRESTHA, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Anirudh Gautam

  2. Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

    Sudipta De

  3. School of Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Kamand, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India

    Atul Dhar

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government Women Engineering College Ajmer, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India

    Jai Gopal Gupta

  5. CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ashok Pandey

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Ghosh, S. (2018). Biomass-Based Distributed Energy Systems: Opportunities and Challenges. In: Gautam, A., De, S., Dhar, A., Gupta, J., Pandey, A. (eds) Sustainable Energy and Transportation . Energy, Environment, and Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7509-4_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7509-4_13

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-7508-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-7509-4

  • eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)

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