Clean energy from sugarcane waste: feasibility study of an innovative application of bagasse and barbojo

Due to the existing difficulty of finding energy sources and reducing pollution, the use of renewable sources and highly efficient technologies for electrical energy production stands out as one of the promising solutions for the future. This paper shows the results of the combination of these two aspects, namely, a molten carbonate fuel cell system fed with biomass derived syngas. In particular, the biogas comes from bagasse and barbojo, the sugarcane residues. So far in developing countries they have been wasted or partly used with poorly efficient technology. The feasibility of such an application is studied by means of the process simulator Aspen Plus' in which a detailed Fortran model has been integrated for the electrochemical reactor simulation. The results of the predictive model are presented and discussed; in particular, the substantial economic and environmental advantages obtainable by applying the technical solution here proposed to the Peruvian energy scenario, are shown. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.