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» Biomass
Biomass is the generic denomination for materials of vegetal or animal origin that are used as a source to produce heat or electricity.
technologies are gasification, pyrolysis, and developing hybrid systems to generate energy, such as using biomass complemented by natural gas.
Historically, firewood has been the biomass that has been used the most for energetic purposes in Brazil. In addition to it, other materials take the spotlight:
- Sugarcane and its byproducts: bagasse and cane straw, "vinhoto;"
- Urban garbage, sewer;
- Agro-industrial residues: log bark, slivers of wood, babassu bark, rice shells, corn cobs and straw, etc.
The advantages of biomass as an energetic input include:
- Native and renewable source;
- Compensation for a large part of the CO2 emitted during combustion by that which is absorbed in the biomass planting stage, resulting in low impact on global heating (greenhouse effect);
- Local socioeconomic and industrial development enhancement (sustainable development);
- Generation near the place of consumption;
- Transmission loss reduction.
Using garbage and sanitary waste biogas as an input to produce energy represents a huge socio-environmental benefit. This type of project produces major advantages, particularly for large urban centers, due to the reduction of the pollutant emissions, such as of methane, a gas that has an important impact on the greenhouse effect and which, on average, corresponds to 50% of the biogas volume.
Petrobras is negotiating partnerships with urban cleaning and sanitation companies in several locations in Brazil aiming at using the biogas from garbage and sanitary sewer to generate electric energy.
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