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Bangladesh has encountered several challenges, including issues like overpopulation, energy shortage, and global warming for the last few decades. Addressing the increasing energy demand has become a crucial concern because of rapid increase in population and lack of growth in the economic. The electricity production of a country heavily relies on fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, which makes up approximately 54% of the current installed capacity. Bangladesh is an agrarian nation and biomass stands out as a source of renewable energy having significant potential to mitigate the demand for heat and electricity. Biomass resources in the country mainly comprise animal dung, agricultural crop residuals, solid waste from municipalities and forest residues. The existing biomass resources contribute to producing a high amount of energy and content of around 1574.16 PJ of energy equivalent to 437.28 TWh of electricity in which agricultural residues, animal manure, municipal solid waste, and forest residues impart around 852.32 PJ, 399.04 PJ, 112.16 PJ, and 210.64 PJ of energy respectively. This paper explores the extent, possibilities, and technologies associated with biomass energy conversion. Additionally, the study delves into the several biomass projects that the government, as well as non-governmental groups, are working on for environmental sustainability along with plans, challenges, and methods that are being utilized to encourage biomass technologies across Bangladesh. [Display omitted] • The biomass potentiality in Bangladesh for heat and electricity generation is emphasized. • The energy scenario and necessity of alternative energy sources in Bangladesh are discussed. • The available energy conversion technologies from biomass in Bangladesh are presented. • The existing biomass resource content of around 1574.16 PJ (437.28 TWh of electricity) of energy. • The economic aspects and challenges of biomass conversion into energy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the quest for a sustainable bio-based economy, biorefineries play a central role as they involve the sustainable processing of biomass into marketable products and energy. This paper aims to provide a perspective on applications of separations that can make a great difference in biorefineries, by significantly reducing the costs and thus making the processes competitive without subsidies. A parallel is drawn between bio-refinery and petro-refinery, to highlight the specific separation challenges encountered in biorefineries and point out the impact of separations on the total costs. Existing and foreseen separations in biorefineries are reviewed, and the upcoming challenges in the bio-domain (additional to current fossil) are identified. Relevant industrial examples are provided to illustrate the tremendous eco-efficiency benefits of well-designed separation processes based on process intensification principles (e.g. reactive separations, dividing-wall column, affinity and trigger-enhanced separations). These examples also illustrate the low sustainability of several bio-separations currently practiced, in terms of high relative energy requirements, large amounts of gypsum co-production and/or excess use of caustic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]