Levantamiento y análisis del potencial energético aprovechable de la biomasa forestal en el cantón Riobamba y su viabilidad a través de gasificación tipo Downdraft

Abstract

The present study indicates the location and quantification of forest biomass available for energy use that is obtained from the lumber sector of the canton Riobamba to determine the energy value that they represent in the local environment and to be transformed into a gaseous fuel by means of gasification downdraft allocating its calorific value to the thermal or electric generation. The survey of biomass data is obtained through a census to all establishments that work with wood, dividing the area surveyed into 35 sectors, 24 urban and 11 rural, depending on the population density. For the energy transformation the gasification equipment at ESPOCH is used and an experimental stage reveals the actual parameters of the gasification process and characteristics of the fuel gas, whereby the technical and economic values of generation for thermal or electrical uses can be determined. The amount of forest biomass generated in the canton is 61.21 tons, which have different purposes and economic influence, the percentage that can be used for energy uses is 17.37%, which represents 39.34 MWh. The cold efficiency of the gasification equipment with the improvements implemented and the quality of the gas generated are close to the theoretical reference parameters, 72.28% and 5.198 MJ/kg correspondingly. The cost of thermal generation in substitution for LPG is favorable when compared to an international cost, while for electric purposes the value of kWh is even higher than the sales price indicated by CONELEC.