By Ir Johan Alimin Samad

What is renewable energy? It is essentially energy that can constantly be renewed – as if it were in constant perpetual supply. But is it really possible to have a constant M.C. Escher-like non-degradable supply of energy that never runs out? Well yes, in broad terms.

Renewable energy sources are sources that naturally replenish themselves, such as water, through the cycle of evaporation into clouds, returning to rivers and lakes as rain, and then repeating the cycle again. Use of water in hydropower plants places it as a renewable energy source.

Fast Pyrolysis Pilot plant, Karlsruhe, Germany

Similarly other renewable energy sources include wind, solar, waves (tidal motion), and the many forms of biomass (biological material such as plants that go through a life cycle) which include fruits, seeds, kernels, stalks, from oil palm, coconut, sago, cassava, sugar cane, rice husk, jatropha, as well as wood waste, grass and algae.

The two main forms of useable energy for mankind’s daily use are electricity and transport fuels. Generation of electricity from renewable energy sources is regarded as clean and green, especially if the renewable energy sources used are water, wind or solar. In the same way production of fuels from biomass sources are regarded as green and sustainable.

Our current daily life is centered round two types of transport fuels – diesel and gasoline, from non-renewable fossil sources. The respective equivalent types of fuel that can be manufactured from renewable sources are biodiesel and ethanol. Bulk quantities of biodiesel are currently produced from palm oil, soy, rapeseed, and increasingly jatropha (which is less controversial as it is not a food source). Ethanol, on the other hand, is commonly manufactured from corn or sugar cane.

The commonly present conversion routes to biodiesel and bioethanol have long been established but have only recently become prominent as nations seek to reduce their reliance on crude petroleum. These renewable fuels based on technology developed up till recently are known as first generation biofuels. Second generation (2G) biofuel manufacturing processes have now emerged, exploiting non-food source biomass and biofuels with improved characteristics (e.g. cellulosic ethanol from grass).

Routes to Energy Consumers

First generation biofuels are unlikely to deliver sustainable volumes, due to the challenge of limited land resources and competition from food consumption. Long range forecasting indicates there will be a significant risk of shortfall of supply in 2020. 2G biofuels are needed to meet demand but this raises other concerns such as competition for biomass with the heat and electricity generation sectors. Furthermore 2G installations, such as BTL (biomass to liquids) and using advanced processes (pyrolysis, gasification, synthesis) are costly, and subsidies will be required to bring them to market.

The world biofuel market was worth US$20 billion in 2004, and is expected to grow to US$150 billion by 2020. There is thus a significant amount of plant capacity to be developed to meet the demand.

2G fuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, have already been manufactured on trial basis, and in Europe large 2G installations are now in the advanced stages of being developed. The EU however is still expected to import significant volumes of bioethanol and biodiesel to meet its targets, and Asia has the potential to be a major supplier. Despite the high entry costs for 2G technologies, there are many obvious reasons to move from 1G to 2G processes,such as:

• Feedstock – moving reliance from food to non-food renewable feedstock, relying on pure energy crops, agro waste and plant waste streams
• GHG reduction – to obtain substantially larger green house gas emission reductions
• Better Fuel Quality – compatibility with conventional engines and fuel distribution systems, no blending problems
• Exhaust emissions – reduced emissions In the Malaysian domestic market there remain

In the Malaysian domestic market there remain opportunities within the Renewable Energy sector to supply
electricity to the grid, within isolated communities, and for captive consumption within factory complexes. For biofuels there exist opportunities in petrol retail blends, as well as for aircraft, trains and ships.

There are also further opportunities in the export market through supply of biofuels to other countries, and in development of machinery for 2G processes, advanced catalysts, and export of professional services.

Definitions & Terminology in RE: