• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.10-22
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• 2022

Forest biomass energy is based on scientific evidence in response to carbon neutrality and the climate crisis, international consensus, and environmental-geographic characteristics of each nation. In this study, the authors aimed to analyze macroscopic forest biomass energy policies for ten major countries. They categorized them into six detailed categories (Sustainable utilization, Cascading Uutilization, Replacement of fossil fuel/Carbon intensive products, Utilization of forest by-products/residues as the source of energy, Contribution to carbon-neutral/climate change, and Biomass combined with CCS/CCUS ). In addition, the surveyed nations have developed a policy consensus on the active use of forest biomass with sustainable forest management except for the cascading utilization category. Furthermore, the authors evaluated the mid to long-term plans of the Korean government for improvements in the policy and legal aspects. As a result, the authors derived four major directions that South Korea should approach strategically in the future (1) secure financial resources for sustainable forest management and stimulating investment in the timber industry, (2) promote unified policies to establish a bio-economy, (3) enhancement of the forest biomass energy system, and (4) reorganization and promotion of strategy centered on the opinions of field experts in internal and external instability.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.352-358
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• 2018

This research paper investigates available options for implementing clean development mechanism (CDM) project in Sarawak state, Malaysia. To investigate economic feasibility, data was collected using survey and field research methods. Also, economic analysis was estimated using net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period (PBP) during the 30 years CDM: afforestation and reforestation periods. The result of economic analysis indicated that, the payback period was estimated at 9 years with 18 percent of internal rate of return (IRR). This study also highlighted that CDM biomass supply project have a lot of challenges due to the reduction and exclusion of bio-Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF), supply and demand scenario, and impact of restriction of illegal logging in Malaysia. This study results demonstrate the methodology and guideline for future CDM investment and projects.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2017

Co-firing of renewable fuel in coal fired boilers is an attractive option to mitigate $CO_2$ emissions, since it is a relatively low cost option for efficiently converting renewable fuel to electricity by adding biomass as partial substitute of coal. However, it would cause reducing plant efficiency and operational flexibility, and increasing operation and capital cost associated with handling and firing equipment of renewable fuels. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of biomass co-firing on $CO_2$ emission and capital/operating cost. Wood pellet, PKS (palm kernel shell), EFB (empty fruit bunch) and sludge are considered as renewable fuels for co-firing with coal. Several approaches by the co-firing ratio are chosen from previous plant demonstrations and commercial co-firing operation, and they are evaluated and discussed for $CO_2$ reduction and cost estimation.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.83-92
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• 2019

Spontaneous combustion propensity of various coals of carbonization grade as a pulverized fuel of coal-fired power plant has been tested from an initial temperature of $25^{\circ}C$ to $600^{\circ}C$ by heating in an oven with air to analyze the self-oxidation starting temperature. These tests produce CPT (Cross Point Temperature), IT (Ignition temperature), and CPS (Cross Point Slope) calculated as the slope of time taken for a rapid exothermic oxidation reaction at CPT base. CPS shows a carbonization rank dependence whereby wood pellet has the highest propensity to spontaneous combustion of $20.995^{\circ}C/min$. A sub-bituminous KIDECO coal shows a CPS value of $15.370^{\circ}C/min$, whereas pet coke has the highest carbonization rank at $2.950^{\circ}C/min$. The nature of this trend is most likely attributable to a concentration of volatile matter and oxygen functional groups of coal surface that governs the available component for oxidation, as well as surface area of fuel char, and constant pressure molar heat.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2019

Biomass, a carbon-neutral fuel, has great advantages because it can replace fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, due to its low density, high water content, and hydrophilicity, biomass has disadvantages for transportation and storage. To improve these properties, a pretreatment process of biomass is required. One of the various pre-treatment technologies, torrefacion, makes biomass similar to coal through low-temperature pyrolysis. In this study, torrefacion treatment was carried out at 200, 230, 250, 280, and $300^{\circ}C$ for wood pellet, empty fruit bunch (EFB) and kenaf, and the feasibility of replacing coal with fuel was examined. Hygroscopicity tests were conducted to analyze the hydrophobicity of biomass, and its chemical structure changes were investigated using Infrared spectrum analysis. It was confirmed that the hygroscopicity was decreased gradually as the torrefacion temperature increased according to the hygroscopicity tests. The hydrophilicity was reduced according to the pyrolysis of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin of biomass.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.178-187
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• 2019

Due to the increasing demand of high rank coal, the use of low rank coal, which has economically advantage, is rising in various industries using carbonaceous solid fuels. In addition, the severe disaster of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions is becoming more serious. The Republic of Korea set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by supporting the use of biomass from the Paris International Climate Change Conference and the 8th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand. In line with these worldwide trends, this paper focuses on investigating the combustibility of high rank coal Carboone, low rank coal Adaro from Indonesia, Baganuur from Mongolia and, In biomass, wood pellet and herbaceous type Kenaf were simulated as kinetic reactivity model. The accuracy of the pore development model were compared with experimental result and analyzed using carbon conversion and tau with grain model, random pore model, and flexibility-enhanced random pore model. In row lank coal and biomass, FERPM is well-matched kinetic model than GM and RPM to using numerical simulations.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.18-28
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• 2014

Renewable Portfolio Standards(RPS) is a regulation that requires a renewable energy generated from eco-friendly energy sources such as biomass, wind, solar, and geothermal. The RPS mechanism generally is an obligatory policy that places on electricity supply companies to produce a designated fraction of their electricity from renewable energies. The domestic companies to supply electricity largely rely on wood pellets in order to implement the RPS in spite of undesirable situation of lack of wood resources in Korea. This means that the electricity supply companies in Korea must explore new biomass as an alternative to wood. Palm kernel shell (PKS) and empty fruit bunch (EFB) as oil palm wastes can be used as raw materials used for making pellets after their thermochemical treatment like torrefaction. Torrefaction is a pretreatment process which serves to improve the properties including heating value and energy densification of these oil palm wastes through a mild pyrolysis at temperature typically ranging between 200 and $300^{\circ}C$ in the absence of oxygen under atmospheric pressure. Torrefaction of oil palms wastes at above $200^{\circ}C$ contributed to the increase of fixed carbon with the decrease of volatile matters, leading to the improvement of their calorific values over 20.9 MJ/kg (=5,000 kcal/kg) up to 25.1 MJ/kg (=6,000 kcal/kg). In particular, EFB sensitively responded to torrefaction because of its physical properties like fiber bundles, compared to PKS and hardwood chips. In conclusion, torrefaction treatment of PKS and EFB can greatly contribute to the implement of RPS of the electricity supply companies in Korea through the increased co-firing biomass with coal.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.24-34
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• 2015

Domestic companies supplying electricity must increase obligatory duty to use renewable energy annually. If not met with obligatory allotment, the electricity-supply companies must pay RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standards) penalty. Although the power plants using a pulverizing coal firing boiler could co-fire up to around 3 per cent with wood pellets mixed in with coal feedstock without any major equipment revamps, they recorded only about 60 per cent fulfillment of RPS. Consequently, USD 46 million of RPS penalty was imposed on the six power supplying subsidiaries of GENCOs in 2014. One of the solutions to reduce the RPS penalty is that the power supply companies adopt the co-firing of torrefied lignocellulosic biomass in coal plants, which may contribute to the use of over 30 per cent of torrefied biomass mixed with bituminous coals. Extra binder was required to form pellets using torrefied biomass such as wood chips, PKS (Palm Kernel Shell) and EFB (Empty Fruit Bunch). Instead of corn starch, 30, 50 and 70 per cent of Larix saw dusts were respectively added to the torrefied feedstocks such as Pinus densiflora chips, PKS and EFB. The addition of saw dusts led to the decrease of the calorific values of the pellets but the forming ability of the pelletizer was exceedingly improved. Another advantage from the addition of saw dusts stemmed from the reduction of ash contents of the pellets. Finally, it was confirmed that torrefied oil palm biomass such as PKS and EFB could be valuable feedstocks in making pellets through improved binding ability.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.385-389
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• 2012

In this study, torrefaction of mixed softwood chips under anoxic condition was performed to improve energy density and maintain consistent quality of biomass. Characteristics of torrefied biomass depending on reaction time (30 min) and temperature (240, 260,$280^{\circ}C$) were investigated. Torrefaction of mixed softwood chips significantly improved the heating value compared to that of untreated biomass. As the torrefaction temperature was increased, the carbon content of torrefied biomass increased from 46.55 to 55.73%, while its hydrogen and oxygen contents decreased from 6.00 to 5.87% and from 30.55 to 27.21%, respectively. Most of hemicelluloses and volatile compounds were removed during torrefaction. The highest heating value was 5132 kcal/kg when torrefaction was performed at$280^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. It implied that the heating value increased by 13% compared to that of original biomass. However, the condition of effective torrefaction was at $240^{\circ}C$ for 30 min when weight loss and energy yield was considered.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.239-250
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• 2020

Biomass is an abundant renewable energy resource that can replace fossil fuels for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG). Indonesia has a large number of cheap biomass feedstocks, such as reforestation (waste wood) and palm residues (empty fruit bunch or EFB). In general, raw biomass contains more than 20% moisture and lacks calorific value, energy density, grindability, and combustion efficiency. Those properties are not acceptable fuel attributes as the conditions currently stand. Recently, torrefaction facilities, especially in European countries, have been built to upgrade raw biomass to solid fuel with high quality. In Korea, there is no significant market for torrefied solid fuel (co-firing) made of biomass residues, and only the wood pellet market presently thrives (~ 2 million ton yr-1). However, increasing demand for an upgraded solid fuel exists. In Indonesia, torrefied woody residues as co-firing fuel are economically feasible under the governmental promotion of renewable energy such as in feed-in-tariff (FIT). EFB, one of the chief palm residues, could replace coal in cement kiln when the emission trading system (ETS) and clean development mechanism (CDM) system are implemented. However, technical issues such as slagging (alkali metal) and corrosion (chlorine) should be addressed to utilize torrefied EFB at a pulverized coal boiler.