Pyrolysis technology produces electricity from biomass

Gohomey/Rottenburg: At the beginning of February a delegation of 40 members of the ministry of energy and industry, the agency for rural electrification, as well as the national water and energy supply agency have visited the pyrolysis installation of the hospital AHP in Gohomey. The plant is the first of its kind in Benin and was planed and installed by NOVIS.

“We are very pleased about this installation of a new technology for Benin“ stated the Minister of Energy Saka Lafia. „Pyrolysis of biomass offers Benin totally new possibilities for the production of sustainable energy from domestic resources“. The chief of the region Djakotomé is convinced of the signalling effect of the project. „Installations as this pyrolysis plant here in Gohomey could create the same positive results in another 100 locations in the region“.

With the NOVIS installation it is possible to produce electricity based on locally available biomass. Instead of expansive diesel imports domestic biomass is used. By selling their harvest residua to the power plant the peasants receive a new source of income. As a result, also the domestic value added increases.

Accordingly, the interest of the Ministry of Energy in the technology is high. During the two hour visit of the installation Abel Kidjo, NOVIS representative in Benin, answers numerous questions of the delegation and the television crew that accompanied the visit. More conversations will follow. The government of Benin is now considering including the energy production from biomass in pyrolysis plants in government assisted programs. „NOVIS is deeply convinced to be able to provide an important contribution to the sustainable energy supply of the Benin“ says Kidjo. „The pyrolysis technology offers great possibilities for Benin. Now it will be essential to realise these potentials together with the government and the private sector“.

In developing countries energy is a precious, mostly unaffordable comodity. Or it is produced at the expense of the environment with long-lasting negative ecological effects. But there are possibilities for change.

In order to offer a sustainable development to rural communities in Africa, NOVIS together with it’s partners have teamed up to develop a village electrification concept based on biomass. For manageable costs an entire village can be supplied with electricity – sufficient for households and small businesses!

The initial situation frequently looks like this:
In rural areas of developing countries most people live from subsistence economy. Agriculture often supplies only a very small income. The cultivated crops from the fields nourish the family. Because of low soil fertility, surpluses in production are hardly ever generated. Financing of health care and education is extremely difficult for the families. All of the agricultural residua is burnt or left to rot on the fields without being used.
A sustainable concept ideally would improve the agricultural production chain and at the same time create an additional value.

What is the concept of NOVIS?
The concept is centred around the use of formerly unused local biomass. This biomass is mainly agricultural waste as for example peanut shells. The organic materials are collected and used for the generation of electricity. Depending on the type of available biomass two different technologies are used to generate electricity from biomass. In a pyrolysis reactor dry and woody biomass is partially burnt and transformed into a producer gas. Wet biomass with low wooden content is fermented in a biogas plant.

The utilization of biomass offers many advantages.
1. The substrate is available locally and does not need expensive import and transportation such as Diesel.
2. Compared to solar panels and wind turbines the investment costs are relatively low.
3. Since biomass can be stored, energy is available at all times.
4. A filling into gas cartridges for the use as cooking gas is possible.
5. The farmers improve their income by selling biomass to the energy supplier or exchanging it against electricity vouchers.

Since the electricity is paid by the local customers, the production of energy is not depending on continuous subsidies from development agencies or the government. On the contrary the projects achieve sustainability on their own. Assistance is only needed during the initial installation of the power plant and the micro grid.

The entire energy production is integrated in the agricultural production cycle. The residua from the energy production in pyrolysis plants is wooden charcoal which is the basis for Tera Preta and enhances soil fertility. The biogas plant delivers as fermentation residua a highly efficient fertilizer. Both residua have a positive effect on crop yields. This in turn enhances the nutrition of the villagers.
The technologies are simple to use and environmentally friendly. Only the amount of CO2 is released that had been captured by the plants beforehand.

Looking at the development perspective, the availability of energy has various positive effects on the livelihood of the village community. Availability of energy enables reading and learning after dusk, as well as the cooling of foods and medication. It also opens the possibility to run processing machines for the agricultural products, which further improves the agricultural value added.

Village electrification based on sustainable energy production is a key element to promote development in developing countries. It offers the possibility to improve the life of the village people in an environmentally friendly way.
NOVIS identifies suitable locations for village electrification. Additionally Novis conducts the project management, supplies the technical know-how and a wide contact network of local experts in West Africa and international specialists. For our projects we are looking for interested investors or dedicated partner organisations. If you would like to know more about our concept of village electrification we are looking forward to your inquiry.