**3. Literature review**

Biomass is a term used to define all organic matter that is derived from plants as well as ani‐ mals. Biomass resources include wood and wood waste, agricultural crops and their waste products, municipal and city solid waste, and wastes from food processing, aquatic plants and algae.

Biomass is mainly composed of cellulose suitability of a particular biomass as a potential for energy generation depends on such characteristic; moisture content, calorific value, fixed carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen volatiles, as contents, and cellulose/lignin ratio. Gener‐ ally, cellulose is the largest fraction and constitutes about 38-50% of the biomass by weight. These characteristics are important to determine efficient biomass utilization and are provid‐ ed in the paper.

Biomass is considered to be one of the key renewable energy resources of the future at both small- and large-scale levels. It already supplies 14 per cent of the world's energy, and if many future projects being assessed, could be implemented, increase the role of biomass in the overall energy system. On average, biomass produces 38 per cent of the primary energy in developing countries (90 per cent in some countries), where it is the largest single energy source like Tanzania. Biomass energy is likely to remain an important global energy source in the next century

Biomass is generally and wrongly regarded as a low-status fuel, and rarely finds its way in‐ to energy statistics. Nevertheless, biomass can lay claim to being considered as a renewable equivalent to fossil fuels. It offers considerable flexibility of fuel supply due to the range and diversity of fuels which can be produced. It can be converted into liquid and gaseous fuels and to electricity via gas turbines; it can also serve as a feedstock for direct combustion in modern devices, ranging from very-small-scale domestic boilers to multi-megawatt size power plants.

Biomass-energy systems can increase the energy available for economic development with‐ out contributing to the greenhouse effect since it is not a net emitter of CO2 to the atmos‐ phere when it is produced and used sustainably. It also has other benign environmental attributes such as lower sulphur and NOx emissions and can help rehabilitate degraded lands.

**Figure 2.** Biomass heaps (bagasse) in rural areas

**4. Methodology**

There is an enormous biomass potential in the country such (Figure 2) as bagasse that can be tapped by improving the utilization of existing resources and by increasing plant productiv‐ ity. Bioenergy can be modernized through the application of advanced technology to con‐ vert raw biomass into modern, easy-to-use energy carriers (such as electricity, liquid or gaseous fuels, or processed solid fuels). Therefore, much more useful energy could be ex‐ tracted from biomass. The present lack of access to convenient energy sources limits the quality of life of millions of people, particularly in rural areas. Since biomass is a single most important energy resource in these areas its use should be enhanced to provide for increas‐ ing energy needs. Growing biomass is a rural, labour-intensive activity, and can, therefore, create jobs in rural areas and help to reduce rural-to-urban migration, whilst, at the same

Biomass Conversion to Energy in Tanzania: A Critique

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/ 52956

245

time, providing convenient energy carriers to help promote other rural industries.

fired by gasified biomass, and the production of alcohol fuels from sugarcane.

in Tanzania involved analytical approach, data collection, and analysis.

Enhanced biomass availability on a sustainable basis requires support and development of new biomass systems in which production, conversion and utilization are performed effi‐ ciently in an environmentally sustainable manner. Efforts to modernize biomass energy should concentrate on those applications for which there are favorable prospects of rapid market development, e.g., biogas, the generation of electricity from residues and biomass plantations through the gasifier/dual-fuel engines route or using advanced gas turbines

The methodology used towards accomplishing the project on biomass conversion to energy

Despite its wide use, biomass is usually used so inefficiently like firewood (Figure 1) that only a small percentage of useful energy is obtained. The overall energy efficiency in tradi‐ tional use is only about 5-15 per cent, and biomass is often less convenient to use com‐ pared with fossil fuels. It can also be a health hazard in some circumstances; for example, cooking stoves can release particulates, CO, NOx, formaldehyde, and other organic com‐ pounds in poorly-ventilated homes. Furthermore, the traditional uses of biomass energy, i.e., burning fuel wood, animal dung and crop residues, are often associated with the increas‐ ing scarcity of hand-gathered wood, nutrient depletion, and the problems of deforestation and desertification

**Figure 1.** Women carrying firewood in rural Tanzania

#### **Figure 2.** Biomass heaps (bagasse) in rural areas

in developing countries (90 per cent in some countries), where it is the largest single energy source like Tanzania. Biomass energy is likely to remain an important global energy source

Biomass is generally and wrongly regarded as a low-status fuel, and rarely finds its way in‐ to energy statistics. Nevertheless, biomass can lay claim to being considered as a renewable equivalent to fossil fuels. It offers considerable flexibility of fuel supply due to the range and diversity of fuels which can be produced. It can be converted into liquid and gaseous fuels and to electricity via gas turbines; it can also serve as a feedstock for direct combustion in modern devices, ranging from very-small-scale domestic boilers to multi-megawatt size

Biomass-energy systems can increase the energy available for economic development with‐ out contributing to the greenhouse effect since it is not a net emitter of CO2 to the atmos‐ phere when it is produced and used sustainably. It also has other benign environmental attributes such as lower sulphur and NOx emissions and can help rehabilitate degraded lands.

Despite its wide use, biomass is usually used so inefficiently like firewood (Figure 1) that only a small percentage of useful energy is obtained. The overall energy efficiency in tradi‐ tional use is only about 5-15 per cent, and biomass is often less convenient to use com‐ pared with fossil fuels. It can also be a health hazard in some circumstances; for example, cooking stoves can release particulates, CO, NOx, formaldehyde, and other organic com‐ pounds in poorly-ventilated homes. Furthermore, the traditional uses of biomass energy, i.e., burning fuel wood, animal dung and crop residues, are often associated with the increas‐ ing scarcity of hand-gathered wood, nutrient depletion, and the problems of deforestation

in the next century

244 New Developments in Renewable Energy

power plants.

and desertification

**Figure 1.** Women carrying firewood in rural Tanzania

There is an enormous biomass potential in the country such (Figure 2) as bagasse that can be tapped by improving the utilization of existing resources and by increasing plant productiv‐ ity. Bioenergy can be modernized through the application of advanced technology to con‐ vert raw biomass into modern, easy-to-use energy carriers (such as electricity, liquid or gaseous fuels, or processed solid fuels). Therefore, much more useful energy could be ex‐ tracted from biomass. The present lack of access to convenient energy sources limits the quality of life of millions of people, particularly in rural areas. Since biomass is a single most important energy resource in these areas its use should be enhanced to provide for increas‐ ing energy needs. Growing biomass is a rural, labour-intensive activity, and can, therefore, create jobs in rural areas and help to reduce rural-to-urban migration, whilst, at the same time, providing convenient energy carriers to help promote other rural industries.

Enhanced biomass availability on a sustainable basis requires support and development of new biomass systems in which production, conversion and utilization are performed effi‐ ciently in an environmentally sustainable manner. Efforts to modernize biomass energy should concentrate on those applications for which there are favorable prospects of rapid market development, e.g., biogas, the generation of electricity from residues and biomass plantations through the gasifier/dual-fuel engines route or using advanced gas turbines fired by gasified biomass, and the production of alcohol fuels from sugarcane.
