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Tropical countries can approach their natural resources to produce low-carbon H 2 from solar, wind, hydro, and biomass resources to satisfy their domestic demand and to export it. To do so, Colombia published the National Hydrogen Roadmap, in which green H 2 was prioritized. This study estimates Colombia's potential to produce green H 2 and a timeline of scenarios displaying the required installed capacity, capital investment, and environmental analysis related to water utilization and CO 2 capture. Accordingly, Colombia can produce H 2 at a rate of 9 Mt/a by 2050 by installing 121 GW renewables while processing 303 Mt/a of residual biomass. In this scenario, Colombia's share of the H 2 international market can reach 1.2%, with a cumulative investment of over 244 billion USD by 2050. This study provides insights into potential global resources for low-carbon H 2 generation. [Display omitted] • Colombia's National Hydrogen Roadmap expects a H 2 demand of 1.9 Mt/a by 2050. • Green H 2 production potential for Colombia was assessed in 5 scenarios. • Potential of solar, wind, and biomass -based energy sources were studied. • Up to 9 Mt/a of H 2 can be produced in 2050 by combining these technologies. • Over 244 billion USD was estimated to be needed as total investment for this scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this research study is to characterize the gasification of oil-palm frond and trunk obtained as residual biomass from oil-palm crops by using air as a gasifying agent. Screening type experimentation is applied by using a downflow free-fall reactor. At 800°C and 0.24 equivalence relation (ER), the results for oil-palm frond show a yield of 1.85 Nm3 gas/kg dry biomass and a heating value of 4.08 MJ/Nm³. For oil-palm trunk, the yield is 1.30 Nm3 gas/kg dry biomass and the heating value is 4.56 MJ/Nm³. The gas obtained has the potential to generate 1.05 kW-h/kg dry biomass for oil-palm frond and 0.90 kW-h/kg of dry biomass for oil-palm trunk. In conclusion, energetic utilization of residual biomass (fronds and trunks) should be explored in Colombia to optimize oil-palm economic and environmental production processes in a circular economy scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to the development of a soft computing tool used for the integration of hybrid renewable energy systems. The tool consists of the integration of a forecasting sub-tool for assessing quantitative and qualitative data. These data are input for a fuzzy multi-objective decision model developed in GAMS, where the total present value and the CO 2 emissions of the system are minimized to obtain a set of Pareto alternatives. These alternatives are used as input for a fuzzy multi-attribute model developed in MATLAB. The CO 2 emissions and the total present value, together with social, technologic, and environmental criteria are used as inputs for choosing the most sustainable alternative. Finally, the tool is tested in Puerto Guzmán, a small village of the department of Putumayo in southern Colombia. The selected and most sustainable alternative is composed of 31.2% diesel, 47.7% gasification of biomass, 7.9% solar photovoltaic and the rest with small hydro. The total present value of the system is 0.56 million USD and CO 2 emissions are 0.4 million kg. • A soft computing tool to integrate hybrid sustainable energy systems is proposed. • Fuzzy multi-criteria decision analysis models are the core of the soft computer tool. • Fuzzy multi-objective model considers uncertain and imprecise quantitative parameters. • Fuzzy multi-attribute model considers subjective and vague qualitative parameters. • Hybrid systems are efficiently assessed through a soft computer tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Blending cotton gin trash and sesame stalks with corncob enhances CGE. • Increases in rice husk blend ratio negatively affects gasification performance. • The experimental mixture allows the gasification for non-suitable biomass. • Uses of biomass materials for gasification is possible under blend conditions. An experimental characterization of crop residue biomass blends to evaluate their energy potential was conducted using an experimental approach in a commercial scale downdraft gasifier. Corncobs, rice husks, sesame stalks and cotton gin refuse were used to study the effect of mixture proportions on equivalence ratio, gasification temperature, syngas lower heating value (LHV), and cold gas efficiency (CGE). Using an experimental mixture design, thirty-two sample blends were evaluated in an Ankur WBG-30 downdraft gasifier with 30 kg/h feed supply coupled with a syngas purification system, temperature sensors and a gas chromatograph. Syngas composition CO, H 2 , CH 4 , N 2 and CO 2 are presented for each blend. It was found that temperature, syngas composition, syngas lower heating value and cold gas efficiency were negatively affected as the proportion of rice husks in the mixture was increased. It was possible to reach CGE values up to 57.91% and LHV up to 4460 kJ/kg under certain blending conditions. A higher percentages of rice husks caused a considerable increase in the variability of the equivalence ratio resulting in suboptimal gasification conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Thermal co-processing for the final disposal of the waste reduced the mass in 45 wt.%. • Syngas of 5.0 MJ/Nm3 is a value-added alternative to sustainable management of waste. • Co-pelletizing produced a homogeneous synergistic biofuel from heterogeneous waste. The primary sludge produced by the wastewater treatment plant of a pulp and paper mill has high physicochemical heterogeneity, which limits the efficiency of thermochemical methodologies for the final disposal of this residue. As a solution, co-pelletization of the Primary Sludge (PS) with two other principal Industrial Solid Residues (ISRs) of the plant, Coal Boiler Ashes (CBA) and Wood Waste chips (WW), was proposed as a way to valorize the PS for energy use, while reducing dewatering costs. The energy potential was evaluated through a series of thermal co-processing tests of disaggregated and pelletized mixtures. Due to their differing fixed-carbon-to-volatile-material ratios, combining the ISRs resulted in a reduction of up to 45% of the mass of the ISR generated, improving the disposal conditions and achieving a minimum thermal power of 5.0 MJ/Nm3 through gasification. Finally, the environmental implications of the thermal co-processing of the wastes were assessed, finding very low impacts due to pollutant emissions, in accordance with the legal environmental regulations in force in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pinus Patula is widely distributed in Colombia and has become a useful timber specie for reforestation programs. Forest biomass can be used to produce directly hydrogen through thermochemical technologies (e.g. gasification). The aim of this work is to assess the environmental impact of hydrogen production via gasification using P. patula as raw material. The life cycle assessment was carried out considering a cradle-to-gate perspective starting at the seedlings production and finishing at the hydrogen production. Inventory data of the forest system was obtained from a plantation located in Manizales, Colombia and additional data were provided with bibliographic resources. Mass and energy balances for hydrogen were obtained from the software Aspen Plus V8.0. The seedling production and P.patula cultivation were identified as hotspots of the hydrogen production. Agrochemicals application and seedbeds materials have the highest contribution to most of the environmental impacts in the seedlings production system. In the P. patula cultivation system, the fertilizer application and the collection/transportation of wood generate the highest emissions. The rotation periods of the cutting cycles strongly influence the agrochemicals dosage depending on the wood final purpose. The use of diesel in the collection/transportation of wood has an important share of the total environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of agricultural residues for bioenergy production is gaining importance at a global scenario. There are multiple options to convert these residues into bioenergy carriers such as thermochemical processes (e.g., gasification). In this paper, a techno-economic assessment is carried-out to compare the stand-alone and biorefinery production of hydrogen through gasification as potential scenarios for bioenergy production. Experimental gasification procedures were carried out aiming to determine initial conditions and parameters for the simulation approach. The results demonstrated that the production of hydrogen based on the concept of a biorefinery can improve the profitability of the processes compared to that based on the stand-alone way. Thermochemical processes seem to be a potential technology for bioenergy production in Colombia; however, it also needs to be benchmarked with other technologies in order to provide insights on future development of bioenergy programs in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In order to contribute to the agricultural residue recovery in a sustainable way in Colombia, an atmospheric bubbling fluidized bed reactor fed with rice husk (with nominal capacity of 150kWth) was evaluated under gasification conditions. This system was assessed using a statistical design of experiments based on the response surface methodology-RSM (central composite design—CCD) in order to obtain empirical correlations for describing the performance behavior of the process in terms of the equivalence ratio (ER) and the normalized fluidization velocity (Unc). The lower heating value, the volumetric gas yield, the gas power and the cold gasification efficiency were the output variables. Optimum conditions with respect to both the lower heating value (3.78MJ/Nm3) and the gas power (73.82kW) were obtained at ER of 0.24 and Unc of 0.19m/s. However, the height of the initial fixed bed of inerts requires to be higher in order to increase the mass and energy transfer conditions and hence the carbon conversion. The statistical correlations obtained are considered acceptable taking into account the complexity of the gasification phenomena in fluidized bed. The results are considered as a base for designing small scale decentralized power generation units using rice husk as feedstock. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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The coffee sector generates vast amounts of residues along its value chain. Crop residues, like coffee stems, are burned in the field, used for domestic cooking or coffee drying in processing plants having significant environmental and health implication to rural communities. This research investigated the environmental impacts of replacing current practices with modern bioenergy applications in the Colombian coffee sector. A biomass gasification system to produce decentralised energy from coffee stems was considered, and the environmental impacts of such bioenergy implementation were evaluated. A lifecycle assessment was conducted to quantify the environmental performance of this bioenergy system and compare it to current residues uses and energy needs that feature small-to large-scale coffee farms. The results show that deploying modern bioenergy could result in reductions in 48–86% greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and up to 98% less particulate matter formation when current practices and fossil-based energy are replaced. However, negative impacts should be considered as substituting grid electricity, largely generated from hydro-electricity, could increase GHGs by 68% and fossil fuel consumption by 73%. The results also show the relevance of understanding the environmental performance of bioenergy systems compared to reference scenarios; this allowed to evaluate and identify environmental trade-offs from modern bioenergy implementations. To maximise benefits and minimise the limitations of these systems, it is important to conduct whole-system assessments that inform on the wider environmental impacts of using agri-residues for bioenergy generation in a region- and system-specific context. • Bioenergy from coffee residues can displace polluting practices in Colombian farms. • LCA evaluated the environmental impacts of coffee stems small gasification-CHP system. • Coffee stems gasification system showed GHG emissions and particulate matter reductions. • Environmental trade-offs exist when low-carbon energy systems are replaced. • Understanding environmental impacts interface maximises benefits and minimises impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]