In recent years, countries around the world have been encouraged to use Sustainable Energy which at the 70th session of UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) on September 25, 2015 at New York (USA) has approved the Agenda for 2030 Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Consequently, Thailand has issued (2015-2036) AEDP 2015 to increase the energy mix for electricity energy, heat energy and bioenergy to be at 30% in the year 2036, increased from the year 2015 which was only at 12.9%. One of the increase comes from biomass Fuel.
Biomass is any organic materials that can be transformed to be energy, for example, the outcomes from the agricultural and forestry waste and by products etc. Biomass is transformed to generate heat or electricity to be used for industrial boilers and power plants. Sources of biomass fuel in Thailand include;
1. Biomass Fuel from palms. It is product from oil palm industry such as :
- - Main products such as oil palm , it is a combination of Biodiesel fuel for vehicles. Moreover, it can be used for cooking.
- - The by-products such as palm kernel shell, has quality for heating 3,800-4,100 kcal per kilogram. Moreover, Palm fruit bunch and Palm fiber can also be used to generate energy
2. Biomass fuel from rubber trees: It is the product of more than 20 million Rais of plantation. Rubber trees can be transformed to be different kinds of fuel as followed:
- - Wood Shaving: wood Shaving and Sawdust are by-products of the furniture industry and rubber tree related industries. It is suitable for producing heat energy.
- - Wood Pellets : made from pelletizing wood shavings and sawdust which is efficient for long haul logistics
- - Woodchips: wood residues from all parts of trees
Biomass energy is clean energy. It replaces fossil fuel which releases carbon dioxide affecting environment and causing global warming. It supports industrial Sustainable Development and the citizens’ clean standard of living.