Study on the Potential of Rice Straws as a Supplementary Fuel in Very Small Power Plants in Thailand

Penwadee Cheewaphongphan, Agapol Junpen, Orachorn Kamnoet and Savitri Garivait
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Penwadee Cheewaphongphan: The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok 10140, Thailand
Agapol Junpen: The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok 10140, Thailand
Orachorn Kamnoet: The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok 10140, Thailand
Savitri Garivait: The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok 10140, Thailand

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 2, 1-21

Abstract: Agricultural residue is a major raw material for renewable energy production, particularly heat production, in Thailand. Meanwhile, the process-based residue, such as bagasse, rice husk, wood residue, palm fiber, palm shell, and saw dust, is used as a fuel for energy production in the agro-industry. Hence, this study is intended to assess the net potential and capacity of alternative agricultural residues, specifically rice straws, to serve as the supplementary fuel for very small power plants (VSPPs) in Thailand. According to the results obtained during the crop season of 2015/2016, approximately 26 Mt of rice straws were generated upon the harvesting process. The net potential of rice straws, including those that were burned and those that were left in the fields, was only about 15% or 3.85 Mt, which could be used for heat and electricity production at 1331 kilotons of oil equivalent (ktoe) or 457 MWe. As agro-residues vary by seasonality, the peak season of rice straws was in November, where approximately 1.64 Mt (43%) were generated, followed by December, at 1.32 Mt (34%). On the basis of the results, rice straw has the potential to serve as a fuel supply for VSPPs at 14.2%, 21.6%, 26.3%, and 29.0% for the radii of compilation at 24, 36, 48 km and 60 km, respectively.

Keywords: agricultural residues; biomass; renewable energy; biomass power plant (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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