Unlocking the Potential of Biomass Energy in Pakistan

Abstract

Being a developing economy, Pakistan is facing a severe energy crisis that limits its economic development. Pakistan relies heavily on energy resources like natural gas, oil, hydropower, nuclear, coal and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) which contribute as 48.3, 32.1, 11.3, 7.6, and 0.6% of the primary energy supply, respectively. Because of the rapidly growing population and economy, Pakistan's energy needs are huge; to accomplish these energy necessities, Pakistan is continually spending $7-9 billion on the import of fossil fuels. To resolve the serious issues of energy availability, the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) of Pakistan is currently exploring the development of renewable energy technologies in Pakistan that will be beneficial for the developing economy so that Pakistan might be able to minimize the growing energy crisis. Out of all the renewable energy resources, biomass is considered the best and most easily accessible source of energy with its unique environmentally friendly nature, constant supply, wider availability, and ease of integration into existing infrastructure. Despite the presence of an abundance of biomass energy resources, there is still a need for work on the use of these sources to produce energy. This literature review explores the availability of biomass resources in Pakistan and their potential for addressing rapidly growing energy demand in the country, which can assist in the stabilization of a Pakistan's energy demand for challenged economic development.

Value Increasing of Reject Coal With Biomass Adding as Bio-Coal Briquette

“…Previous researchers have used biomass as an alternative source of energy, including rice husk, cider mumps, sawdust, coconut shells, wood chips, sago pith waste, forest waste and so on (Petabang, 2012;Fretes et al, 2013;Muhammad et al, 2013;Karim et al, 2014;Oladeji, 2016;Suhartoyo and Sriyanto, 2017;Marafon et al, 2019;Vieira et al, 2019;Saghir et al, 2019). In this study, biomass used was animal waste namely cattle waste from Lembang-West Java.…”

Harnessing Electrical Power from Hybrid Biomass-Solid Waste Energy Resources for Microgrids in Underdeveloped and Developing Countries

“…Pakistan generates over 64,000tons/day of biomass and solid waste. This material is useful for power generation because it has good calorific value (6.9J/kg) [12]. In the main municipalities, the total production capacity of solid waste is around 712 million tons/year [12].…”

“…This material is useful for power generation because it has good calorific value (6.9J/kg) [12]. In the main municipalities, the total production capacity of solid waste is around 712 million tons/year [12]. However, in India, the intermediate and massive populated cities generate a large quantity of waste which is increasing at a rate of 6% every year [13].…”

Evaluation of Energy Properties of Mixed Biomass Charcoal Derived from Coconut, Palmyra Palm Nuts and Doum Palm Nuts Shells

“…Several studies were focus on the energy recovery of biodegradable residues [3][4][5][6][7]. Also for the search for alternative fuels, many researchers depend on their localization have evaluated the energy potential of certain local agricultural wastes depending on their availability in the region [7][8][9][10][11][12]. Others studies were focused on the optimal carbonization of these residues and agglomeration of biomass charcoals briquettes using organic or mineral binders [13][14][15].…”