Biomass-based energy potential from the oil palm agroindustry in Colombia: a path to low carbon energy transition

The energy valorization of biomass is critical to meeting the GHG mitigation goals and supporting the energy transition. The oil palm agroindustry, one of the fastest-growing sectors in Colombian agriculture, is characterized by low-efficiency technologies for bioenergy production. This study assessed four biomass-based energy generation scenarios considering the availability of biomass-based energy applications in backpressure or extraction-condensation turbines and anaerobic digestion systems in 28 palm oil mills, accounting for 68 % of Colombian crude palm oil production. Overall, the four scenarios can support 61–227 MW of electricity, coinciding with 0.4–1.5 % of the national installed capacity, while producing 44 to 222 kWh of surplus electricity per ton of fresh fruit bunch processed, with a levelized cost of electricity between 92.4 and 201.1 USD•MWh− 1 that highlights the economic feasibility. The emission of GHGs accounting for 22.2 to 55.1 gCO2eq per kWh could reduce the national GHG emissions by up to 2.1 %.

• Autores: Barrera Hernandez, Juan Camilo; Sagastume Gutierrez, Alexis; Ramírez-Contreras, Nidia Elizabeth; Cabello Eras, Juan J.; García-Nunez, Jesús Alberto; Barrera Agudelo, Osmar Ricardo; Silva Lora, Electo Eduardo
• Tipo de recurso: Article of investigation
• Fecha de publicación: 2024
• Institución: Corporación Universidad de la Costa
• Repositorio: REDICUC - Repositorio CUC
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.cuc.edu.co:11323/13435
• Acceso en línea: https://hdl.handle.net/11323/13435; https://repositorio.cuc.edu.co/
• Palabra clave: Biomass; Renewable energy; Energy scenarios
• Rights: embargoedAccess
• License: Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0 Internacional (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)