E-mail: editor@ijimt.org
Abstract—According to the 15-Year Renewable Energy Development Plan (REDP 2009-2022), Ministry of Energy Thailand, Thailand has promoted the establishment of the small power plant within communities to both public and private sectors. However, a crucial problem in establishing the community power plant is the lack of raw materials for the process of generating electricity. Because the raw materials are located in all regions of Thailand, and transportation costs are too high, it is not worth the investment. Therefore, this research aims to introduce alternative raw materials for generating electricity - the Gimsung bamboo and Tong bamboo. Their key specifications for providing energy are as follows: Moisture14.30% and 5.80%, Ash 3.70% and 2.70%, Volatile Matter 63.10% and 71.70%, Fixed Carbon 18.90% and 19.80%, and Higher Heating Value 15.700 kJ/kg and 17.585 kJ/kg. In addition, the results showed that the Gimsung and Tong bamboo provided higher energy than the use of current raw materials. Moreover, the growth rate was 30 cm per day, and the CO2 absorption rate was lower than the use of current raw materials. In summary, bamboo is an appropriate alternative raw material for generating the electricity of community power plants which conforms to the 15-Year Renewable Energy Development Plan (REDP 2009-2022).
Index Terms—Bamboo, biomass, innovation, power plant, raw material.
C. Sritong is with Technopreneurship and Innovation Management-Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand(charcrit_sritong@hotmail.com).
A. Kunavongkrit is with The Office of the Commission on Agricultural Resource Education-Chulalongkorn University Bangkok, Thailand.
Cite: Charcrit Sritong, Annop Kunavongkrit and Chotihirun Piumsombun, "Bamboo: An Innovative Alternative Raw Material for Biomass Power Plants," International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 759-762, 2012.