A Techno-Economic Evaluation of Rice Straw-Based Power Generation in Bangladesh

Abstract

The Availability of sufficient electrical
energy is essential for a nation’s economic growth to be
steady. Bangladesh should, therefore, have enough
electricity infrastructure to maintain its economic growth.
Several kinds of agricultural waste are available in
Bangladesh as an agricultural country. Therefore,
Bangladesh may generate energy (such as electricity)
from this enormous agricultural waste. One of the
potential agricultural wastes for use as a source of energy
is rice straw, but only if it is properly and methodically
processed. This research investigates the technical
potential of using filtered rice straw to produce energy in
Bangladesh. Environmental risks are posed by the
estimated 4 million tonnes annual burn of rice straw in an
open field. Rice straws can produce a net annual
electricity output of 217.21 GWh, corresponding to an
input of 8640 tonnes of rice straw, according to simulation
and full-scale experiments. But our country’s available
rice straw is almost 119.3 million tonnes/year. Notice that
17-tonne rice straw was used in the aspen simulator. The
plant can reduce CO2 emission by 0.03%. Total cost is
$4,082,005 per year, and the per unit cost is $0.019. This
research work aims to present a concept for producing
electricity in Bangladesh’s rural areas using rice straw.
Small and medium-sized power plants based on rice straw
are beneficial for producing and distributing electricity in
rural areas. A comprehensive process model for biomass
gasification in a twin-fire fixed-bed gasifier is developed
using the ASPEN PLUS simulator. The chemical process
industries primarily use the process modeling tool Aspen
Plus for process monitoring, optimization, and conceptual
design.