What is biomass electricity and biomass power plant? Potential of this type of electricity in Vietnam

Biomass electricity is becoming one of the promising renewable energy sources in Vietnam. With the advantage of abundant raw materials such as agricultural waste, wood, straw or bagasse, this type of electricity contributes to the effective treatment of biological waste. Biomass power plants are expected to play an important role in the context of Vietnam promoting green energy conversion. Let's join Green In Learn more about biomass power and biomass power plants!

1. What is biomass electricity? Characteristics and potential of biomass electricity

Biomass power is the use of biomass to produce electricity. This is a form of renewable energy and has a large reserve, so many countries are interested in investing. - According to EVN
Biomass power is a form of renewable energy generated from organic materials. These include crops, agricultural waste, biological waste and other natural resources. The process of generating electricity from biomass includes collecting, processing raw materials and converting them into heat or electricity.
With its renewable properties, biomass electricity helps to effectively utilize readily available raw materials, contributing to reducing dependence on fossil energy and limiting greenhouse gas emissions. However, unlike solar or wind power which are freely available, biomass electricity requires the process of purchasing, producing and storing raw materials. In addition, during the exploitation process, if not well controlled, this type of energy can still generate emissions, requiring strict compliance with environmental regulations.

2. Ways to generate electricity from biomass

Currently, there are many different technologies that help convert biomass into electricity, of which the three most popular methods include:

2.1. Direct burning of biomass

This is the simplest and most common way to generate electricity from biomass. This process takes place by directly burning materials such as wood, sawdust, wood chips or agricultural waste to create high-pressure steam. This amount of steam will turn the turbine to produce electricity. In addition, biomass is also widely used in daily life such as cooking and heating.

2.2. Biomass gasification

This method uses high temperatures under anaerobic conditions to decompose biomass, creating syngas (CO + H₂) or methane (CH₄). This gas mixture is then burned in an engine or turbine to generate electricity. Common feedstocks for this process include bagasse, straw, corn cob, and other agricultural waste.

2.3. Biofuel cells

When biogas or syngas is highly purified, it can be used in fuel cells to generate electricity. Although this method has good efficiency, it has not been widely applied due to the strict requirements for the purity of the input gas. If it contains many impurities, the fuel cell may be damaged, leading to high operating costs.
Each of the above methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the conditions and available raw materials, the appropriate technology can be selected to effectively exploit biomass electricity.

3. Biomass potential in Vietnam

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam's energy demand is increasing at a rate twice as fast as GDP growth, while this figure in developed countries is only approximately 1. Domestic energy consumption is continuously increasing, with an increase of more than 4 times from 2005 to 2030. In particular, electricity consumption increased by nearly 400% during the period 1998-2008. This trend puts Vietnam at risk of becoming an energy importer.
The depletion of domestic fossil fuel resources, along with rising world oil prices and increasing dependence on imported energy, poses a significant challenge to ensuring national energy security. In this context, developing renewable energy sources has become an urgent solution. It not only contributes to reducing energy pressure but also brings economic, social and environmental benefits.
Vietnam has great potential in exploiting biomass for electricity production. With abundant raw materials from agriculture such as rice husk, bagasse, straw, firewood and industrial waste, Vietnam can utilize biomass to produce electricity or combine heat and power. If not properly handled, this huge amount of biomass will become a source of environmental pollution, affecting air, soil and water resources.
As an agricultural country, Vietnam has about 60 million tons of biomass from agricultural waste each year. Of which, about 40% has been used to serve energy needs, including electricity production. It is estimated that every 5kg of rice husk can generate 1kWh of electricity, meaning that millions of tons of rice husk each year can provide hundreds of MW of electricity. The Mekong Delta region contributes about 50% of the total agricultural waste in the country, while the Red River Delta region accounts for about 15%.
Despite its great potential, biomass power development in Vietnam still faces many limitations. The number of projects actually put into operation is still small, most of which are spontaneous and lack overall planning. 
Therefore, to effectively exploit this resource, it is necessary to have appropriate support policies, encourage investment and develop synchronous technical infrastructure. The above helps ensure that biomass electricity becomes an important part of the country's sustainable energy system.

4. What is a biomass power plant?

Biomass power plant (or biomass thermal power plant) is a type of power plant that uses biomass as fuel. Organic waste from renewable resources such as straw, crops, wood waste, grass residue, food processing, agricultural residues and some industrial wastes of biological origin.
The operation of a biomass power plant involves burning or biologically reacting biomass materials in a furnace to produce heat energy. The heat energy is used to turn water into steam and then turn a turbine to generate electricity. This electricity can be used to supply electricity to households, businesses or connected to the national grid.

5. The role of biomass power plants

Biomass power plants are important in many ways, from providing clean energy to protecting the environment and boosting the economy.

• Sustainable energy source: Biomass electricity utilizes organic materials such as agricultural waste, wood chips and biological waste to generate electricity. This helps reduce dependence on fossil fuels. At the same time, it contributes to ensuring national energy security.
• Waste management solutions: Collecting and recycling waste from agricultural and forestry production not only helps reduce waste. It also limits natural decomposition, thereby reducing methane - a greenhouse gas that has a strong impact on climate change.
• Boosting the economy and creating jobs: The construction, operation and maintenance of biomass power plants create many job opportunities for workers. In addition, purchasing raw materials from farmers also contributes to increasing income for local communities.
• Environmental protection: Using biomass as fuel helps reduce CO₂ emissions compared to burning coal or oil. In addition, biomass electricity contributes to limiting air pollution, minimizing land degradation and improving the quality of the living environment.

In short, biomass power plants not only play an important role in providing electricity from renewable sources but also help to effectively treat waste, boost the local economy and reduce negative impacts on the environment.

6. Conclusion

Biomass electricity not only contributes to solving the problem of sustainable energy but also brings many economic, environmental and social benefits. With abundant potential from agricultural waste, Vietnam has the opportunity to strongly develop the biomass energy industry. Please follow the next articles of Green In to learn more about biomass electricity!