Nova Scotia Renewables Public Education Bioenergy

Biomass - Thermal Conversion

Biomass refers to energy resources derived from organic matter, including wood, wood waste, agricultural waste, and other living-cell material that can be burned to produce heat.

It also includes algae, sewage, and other organic substances that can be used to make energy through chemical processes.

Wood and wood waste is an important component of primary energy demand in Nova Scotia, particularly in rural areas.

Biomass use in Nova Scotia includes firewood in over 100,000 homes, a 22 MW biomass electrical co-generation facility in Brooklyn, pulp and paper plants, two sawmills producing electricity, two pellet manufacturing plants, numerous greenhouse operations, sawmill lumber drying kilns and wood-related industries that power their facilities with production waste.

Institutional users include the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, the South Shore Regional Hospital and the Annapolis Valley Regional Hospital.

The exact amount of wood used in the province for energy is difficult to estimate because so many individual users produce their own and there is also no data collection system in place to track consumption.

Biogas - Biological Conversion

When bacteria digest nutrients in an anaerobic environment, a combustible gas containing between 60 and 70 percent methane is produced.

Anaerobic digestion is becoming a key method for both waste reduction and recovery of a renewable fuel - biogas - and other valuable co-products.

Biogas can be used in factory boilers and engine generator sets to produce electricity and heat.

In 2004, NSPI contracted with Highland Energy Inc. to supply two megawatts of electricity to the provincial power grid from landfill gas produced at Halifax's former Sackville Regional Landfill site.

For more information about bioenergy, try visiting the Natural Resources Canada - Discover the Production and Uses of Bioenergy webpage or visit the CANBIO - Canadian Bioenergy Association website.

Biofuel

When most people refer to biofuels they are referring to first-generation biofuels which are biofuels made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology.

To produce a renewable fuel as a replacement for gasoline, sugars and starches are fermented to produce alcohols which are then distilled to produce ethanol.

To produce a renewable fuel as a replacement for diesel or home heating fuel, oils (usually from seeds or animal fats) are mixed with methanol in a process called transesterification which results in biodiesel and glycerol.

There is a win-win when the feedstock being used to produce a biofuel is not a viable food source.

Additionally, if the product is a waste that has to be treated before release to the environment, it is another win-win.

Two very good examples of this are the use of fish oil and animal rendering fat to produce biodiesel, both of which are being done in Nova Scotia today.

Many countries are now supporting the development of second-generation biofuels which are produced from non-food crops.

Materials could include forest biomass residues and agricultural residues such as corn stover and straw or hay.

Many different conversion pathways are being developed to produce both gasoline and diesel equivalents from cellulosic materials.

The advantage is that these bio feedstocks are generally abundant and in some cases even present significant waste management issues.

So there again is a win-win proposition.