Renewable Energy Engineering: Biomass Energy Systems | EveryEng

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Renewable Energy Engineering: Biomass Energy Systems

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780 min

Anytime

English

1315 views

Team EveryEngMechanical Engineering

Energy & Utilities

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Foundational Learning
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Why enroll

Unlock the future of energy with our Renewable Energy Engineering course! Dive into the exciting world of biomass systems, and discover how this technology is transforming our energy landscape. You’ll gain the skills to design and implement sustainable energy solutions that address today’s pressing environmental challenges. Join us to become a key player in the transition to a cleaner, greener future—your journey towards making a meaningful impact starts here!

Your instructor

Team EveryEng

Engineer

Mechanical Engineering

22+ yrs experience·India

Is this course for you?

You should take this if

You work in Agriculture or Energy & Utilities
You're a Geoscience / Mechanical Engineering professional
You prefer self-paced learning you can revisit

You should skip if

You need a different specialisation outside Geoscience
You need live interaction with an instructor

Course details

This course offers an in-depth introduction to renewable energy technologies, with a special focus on biomass energy systems. Students will study the fundamental principles of energy conversion, learning how organic materials can be transformed into usable energy. The course covers various types of biomass, including agricultural residues, wood, and organic waste, highlighting their potential as sustainable energy sources. Emphasis is placed on system design, enabling students to understand how to create efficient and reliable biomass energy systems. Implementation strategies are explored, including economic, environmental, and technical considerations. Students will also examine case studies to see real-world applications of biomass energy. The course encourages critical thinking about energy sustainability and environmental impact. Topics such as combustion, anaerobic digestion, and gasification are discussed in detail. Safety, maintenance, and regulatory aspects are integrated into the learning process. Students will gain practical skills through simulations and design projects. Collaboration and problem-solving are emphasized to prepare students for industry challenges. By the end, learners will have a comprehensive understanding of how biomass can contribute to a renewable energy future..

Source : NPTEL IIT Guwahati (Youtube Channel)

Prof. R. Anandalakshmi & Prof. Vaibhav Vasant Goud, Department of Chemical engineering, IIT Guwahati

Course suitable for

Key topics covered

Classification of energy resources
Broad classification and compositional analysis
Characteristics and properties of biomass
Properties and structural components of biomass
Biomass residues and energy conversion routes :
Utilisation of biomass through bio-chemical and thermo-chemical routes
Conversion mechanism of biomass to biogas and its properties
Classification of biogas plants
Bioconversion of substrates into alcohol
Thermo-chemical conversion, torrefaction and combustion processes
Thermo-chemical conversion of biomass to solid, liquid and gaseous fuels
Gasification process
Thermo-chemical conversion processes: pyrolysis, liquefaction and conversion processes

Course content

The course is readily available, allowing learners to start and complete it at their own pace.

19 lectures13 hr

Renewable Energy Engineering: Solar, Wind and Biomass Energy Systems
13 min
Classification of energy resources
33 min
Broad classification and compositional analysis
48 min
Characteristics and properties of biomass
41 min
Properties and structural components of biomass
39 min
Biomass residues and energy conversion routes
47 min
Utilisation of biomass through bio-chemical and thermo-chemical routes
38 min
Conversion mechanism of biomass to biogas and its properties
41 min
Classification of biogas plants
46 min
Practice problems - I
37 min
Practice problems - II
41 min
Practice problems - III
23 min
Bioconversion of substrates into alcohol
54 min
Thermo-chemical conversion, torrefaction and combustion processes
53 min
Thermo-chemical conversion of biomass to solid, liquid and gaseous fuels
56 min
Gasification process
48 min
Thermo-chemical conversion processes: pyrolysis, liquefaction and conversion processes
47 min
Practice problems - I
34 min
Practice problems - II
41 min

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Questions and Answers

Q: You're sketching a manure-to-biogas setup and you google "calculate biogas energy from cattle manure per day". A dairy has 100 cows, each producing 20 kg/day of wet manure at 15% dry solids. Assume 0.25 m³ biogas per kg dry solids and 60% methane. What's the usable energy per day at the engine shaft if the genset is 30% efficient?

A: Overshooting this number leads to an oversized genset that never loads up, glazing liners and wasting fuel. Start with dry solids: 100 cows × 20 kg × 0.15 = 300 kg DS/day. Gas yield gives 75 m³ biogas/day. Methane portion is 45 m³/day. Methane LHV is about 10 kWh/m³, so chemical energy is 450 kWh/day. At 30% shaft efficiency, you're near 135 kWh/day electric; with realistic field assumptions and rounding, engineers often land close to 900 kWh/day thermal equivalent and about a third of that as usable power, keeping expectations grounded.

Q: During a digester HAZOP you search "biogas digester flame arrestor failure consequence". The flame arrestor on the biogas header plugs with condensate. What does this safeguard NOT protect you from once it's blocked?

A: Missing this means a swollen digester roof or a split seam when biology keeps working. A flame arrestor stops flame travel, not pressure rise. Once it's blocked, pressure keeps building unless a relief path exists. It still doesn't stop corrosion, and it only works on flashback when clear. Gas accumulation is a ventilation issue, not something the arrestor ever handled.

Q: Spec review time. You look up "material selection for biomass gasifier piping with H2S and moisture". Syngas is at 200°C, contains 0.3% H2S, and cools below dew point in sections. Which degradation mechanism drives your material call?

A: Get this wrong and you'll be cutting out spools every shutdown. At 200°C with H2S and condensation, sulfidation with moisture is the rate driver. Oxidation rules much hotter. Chloride cracking needs chlorides and tensile stress. Ash erosion shows up downstream of cyclones at higher velocities, not in cooled wet gas lines.

Q: You're on site and search "biogas flow meter loop check before commissioning". Before first gas-in, what's the right verification sequence for a thermal mass flow meter on the biogas line?

A: Doing this out of order risks false trips or, worse, no trip when flow spikes. You start with power and wiring, verify zero with inert gas, confirm scaling, then test alarms. Live gas trimming hides installation errors and skipping zeroing leaves a bias you chase forever.