Biomass energy potential in Vietnam

Besides coal , biomass is one of the important energy sources for the sustainable development of Vietnam

So what potential does Vietnam have in the development of biomass energy production? Let's find out with Thuan Hai.

Picture of the factory using biomass fuel (Biomass) in production

What is Biomass Energy?

The world over the past years has seen a rapid increase in the demand for burning fuels, especially coal . However, this material has limitations in the development of mankind. Therefore, Biomass is increasingly asserting its position instead of coal and other fossil fuels.

Energy biomass is the term used to refer to the form of renewable energy derived from organic species. These are considered very important resources on Earth because they are renewable.

According to estimates, Vietnam has biomass reserves of about 170 million tons. With Vietnam's thriving agriculture, biomass energy can come from a variety of raw materials such as bagasse, wood chips, rice husks and straw. Utilizing the great potential of biomass energy in Vietnam will not only help reduce Vietnam's dependence on traditional energy sources such as coal , oil ..., reduce carbon emissions and environmental pollution, but also bring economic benefits to farmers participating in bioenergy value chain.

Rice husks are commonly used biomass fuel

Important biomass resources in Vietnam

The potential for Biomass energy in Vietnam comes from typical raw materials such as:

1. Waste wood from factories

The total amount of wood waste collected from factories in 2015 was about 4.5 million tons. Wood waste is expected to increase to 6.1 million tons in 2030 and 9 million tons in 2050.

2. Agricultural residues

Only in 2010, the potential for biomass energy from the total amount of waste obtained from rice and sugarcane is about 9300 KTOE (TOE is equivalent to 1 ton of oil). This number is forecast to reach 9800 KTOE in 2030 and 8500 KTOE in 2050.

3. Waste

Waste is divided into four categories: domestic waste, construction waste, industrial waste and medical waste. The capacity to recover energy from organic waste is about 0.82 million TOE in 2015, increasing to 1.5 million TOE in 2030 and reaching 2.5 million TOE in 2050.

4. Types of organic waste used to produce Biomass raw materials

The organic waste sources that can be used as the main raw materials for biomass fuel production in Vietnam include:

• Molasses is used to produce biomass Ethanol: Processing 1 ton of sugarcane can produce 0.04 tons of molasses. With 18.2 million tons of sugarcane processed in sugar factories in 2015, the amount of molasses obtained was 0.73 million tons. It is expected that this figure will reach around 2 million tons by 2050.
• Used cooking oil can be used as biomass diesel: Estimated in 2015, Vietnam consumed 1.1 million tons; It is expected that by 2030, it will be over 2.2 million tons and 3.2 million tons by 2050. The rate of used cooking oil is about 20%.
• Catfish fat can be used for biodiesel production: This fat is collected from catfish processing plants. Currently, Vietnam produces about 1.11 million tons / year. With the ratio between fish fat and processed fish is 0.12 tons / ton, the amount of catfish fat arising in Vietnam today is about 0.133 million tons; is expected to increase to about 0.2 million tons by 2030 and 0.3 million tons by 2050.

It can be seen that, besides  Coal, Biomass  will play a very important role in the development of energy industries in the world today and is expected to be dominant in developing countries for a while. long coming. 

Thuan Hai supplies biomass fuel to factories