Report for ASEAN Biomass Meeting Hsien H Khoo and Reginald BH Tan

National University of Singapore

Singapore

Biomass Resources Biomass is the organic non-fossil material of biological origin. The sources of biomass

in Singapore are mainly from wastes such as food, wood and horticultural products.

The amounts, types and recycling of biomass for the years 2001 – 2003 are shown in

Table 1, Appendix 1. It can be seen that the recycling rate of biomass in Singapore

is steadily increasing.

Biomass in Singapore is being turned into useful products in two main ways. The first is

to convert wood, horticultural or food waste into wooden pallets or crates, compost

or fertilizers. The second, which is still new in terms of technological development, is

the conversion of biomass into energy. This report will give details of these two types

of biomass utilization.

Biomass Production Technologies and Biomass Utilizations Due to the unavailability of land to dispose solid waste, along with the intentions of

the Singapore Green Plan 2012 to "Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle" (National

Environmental Agency, 2004), an increasing number of companies in Singapore are

focusing on employing modern technologies to convert biomass into useful

products. The list of companies is shown in Appendix 2, and a few of them are

described below.

Recycling of wood waste

LHT Holdings Limited recycles wood wastes such as wooden pallets, cases and

crates to useful products such as tables and doors, flooring and building materials

and new wooden pallets and crates. As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce waste

and to protect the precious timber resources of the earth, LHT has established the

Singapore's first wood wastes recycling plant equipped with highly automated

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system from Germany to produce a series of wooden products which are ideal for

furniture, building material and heavy-duty industrial usage.

ecycling of horticultural waste

uction Pte Ltd processes and converts tree

tilizers.

Figure 1. Examples of Wooden Pallets from wood waste

R

Meng Guan Landscape & Constr

branches, trunks, leaves and other horticultural wastes into compost and fer

These are widely used by private nurseries as fertilizer in parks, gardens, flower-beds

and overhead bridge trenches.

Figure 2. Converting biomass into compost

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The company has been in the landscaping industry for over 20 years to help build

Singapore’s vision of a "Garden City State". With support from the government,

horticultural wastes from tree cutting and pruning activities in all parts of Singapore

have been delivered to the company’s recycling site. Meng Guan also

manufactures the following:

- Organic Compost Fertilizer, which are processed from leaves and twigs and

incorporating technology from Japan to make nutrient rich fertilizer and mulch.

- Organic Compost Mulch (Processed Biochips), which are processed from mainly

leaves and twigs into nutrient rich compost.

- Compost Biochips, which are from leaves and twigs, grind down by machine into

small particles and left to self disintegrate and decompose with the help from the

natural elements. These should only be used mainly for top mulching.

The various applications of these products are shown in Figure 3a, b and c.

(a) Use of organic compost fertilizers (b) Use of organic compost mulch

(c) Use of organic compost biochips

Figure 3. Utilization of biomass compost and fertilizers

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Recycling of biomass into charcoal

Gold Green Corporation Pte Ltd manufactures and producers an assortment of

charcoal products for international markets from wood residue, horticultural and

other forms of biomass wastes. Among them are high grade charcoal, charcoal

briquettes (Figures 4a and b), and sawdust briquettes. The company believes that

the supply of charcoal may help prevent the clearing of mangrove trees, traditional

source of charcoal, which in turn helps to retard estuarine and coastal deforestation.

Biomass is also converted into charcoal chips and wooden chips (Figures 5a and b).

(a) High Grade Charcoal (b) Charcoal Briquettes

Figure 4. Charcoal products from biomass

(a) Charcoal Chips (b) Wood chips

Figure 5. Charcoal and wooden chips from biomass

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Another company, NewEnergy Corporation (S) Pte Ltd produces a very large range

of granular, pelleted and powder activated carbon. Charcoal products are

produced from trees that have been pruned in Singapore for maintenance of our

parks and gardens.

Another company, NewEnergy Corporation (S) Pte Ltd produces a very large range

of granular, pelleted and powder activated carbon. Charcoal products are

produced from trees that have been pruned in Singapore for maintenance of our

parks and gardens.

Biomass Technology Biomass Technology

RICTEC (2004) is providing Singapore companies with consultancy and service on the

following areas:

RICTEC (2004) is providing Singapore companies with consultancy and service on the

following areas:

- Biomass energy and waste-to-energy systems - Biomass energy and waste-to-energy systems

- Complete recycling (of biomass) and waste management plant set-up - Complete recycling (of biomass) and waste management plant set-up

- Modern Charcoal Manufacturing - Modern Charcoal Manufacturing

Among the new technological equipments for processing biomass are a Bark

Grinder (Figure 6), an Automatic Wood Scrap Chip Grinder (Figure 7), and a new

robust wood waste shredder and crusher (Figure 8).

Among the new technological equipments for processing biomass are a Bark

Grinder (Figure 6), an Automatic Wood Scrap Chip Grinder (Figure 7), and a new

robust wood waste shredder and crusher (Figure 8).

Figure 6. Modern Bark Grinder

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Figure 7. Automatic Wood Scrap Chip Grinder

Figure 8. New robust wood waste shredder and crusher

Energy from Biomass Biomass energy refers to the conversion of filed residues of crops or wastes such as

coconut shells, husks, fronds, rice husks, cotton stalk, and cane trash into cheaper

and eco-friendly power supply. Although still in their early stages of developments,

biomass energy has attracted significant attention from the industry.

Recently, Singapore has taken many steps to achieve the vision for an efficient and

sustainable energy system. So far, there are two plants in Singapore that have

carried out demonstrations on producing energy from biomass. The first

demonstration plant is owned by ECO Special Waste Management Pte Ltd, which

has installed a 530 kW cogeneration plant to convert wood waste efficiently and

safely into electricity and steam. The second, Bee Joo Industries Pte Ltd is installing

another demonstration plant using waste wood as fuel to generate 1 MW of

electricity and also produce heat for their recycling operations.

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These initiatives, together with Singapore’s increased efforts in energy conservation,

will contribute significantly to meeting long-term energy demand (Singapore Ministry

of Trade and Industry, 2004).

R&D for Bio-energy

It is believed that technological advancement and new innovations will uncover

creative solutions for new forms of energy. The Singapore government has put in a

large amount of efforts to promote more R&D and test-bedding activities in cleaner

fuels and alternative energy sources.

Presently, the Clean Energy Technology department at the Institute of Environmental

Science and Engineering (2004), Singapore, is conducting research on the following:

- Membrane contactors for biogas separation

- Biohydrogen production from renewable organic wastes

- Fluidizable catalysts for hydrogen production from biomass pyrolysis

- Biomass Gasification - thermodynamic and kinetics studies.

GLOBAL BIO-ENERGY (2004), a Norwegian company whose main office is in

Singapore, is focusing on the huge potential for such technologies in Asia, such as

cost-effective and sustainable energy production from biomass and sorted waste.

GLOBAL BIO-ENERGY is offering a technology comprising a multiple fuel gasification

process that converts biomass and waste to thermal energy, notably with emissions

well within the limits set by the European Union.

The main advantage of this gasification technology is the ability to process waste

and convert it into energy at costs normally associated only with mass burn waste

incineration plants. Biomass gasification is viewed today as an alternative to

conventional fuel. In gasification process, wood, charcoal and other biomass

materials are gasified to produce so called ‘producer gas’ for power or electricity

generation.

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Further Remarks

In Singapore, energy efficiency and conservation are highly important. Singapore

has no significant energy resources, and have to import oil and gas to generate

energy. Therefore, energy made from biomass and waste represents an important

route for achieving Singapore's sustainable energy goals. While many of the

technologies for generating heat or power from biomass are well known and

established in other countries, cutting-edge research and development (R&D) is

required to improved Singapore's understanding of this resource and how it can be

used more efficiently.

Singapore has been part of the EC-ASEAN COGEN Program which started in 1991.

This Program aims to reduce ASEAN’s dependence on conventional fuels by

converting biomass residues such as wood waste and agro-industrial residues into

useful energy.

In 1996, three events marked the collaboration of several ASEAN countries for the

program (EC-ASEAN, 2004):

1996 - Indonesia, Singapore - EC - ASEAN COGEN Program. Approach of

the potential and opportunities of environmental techniques on the

biomass-energy market.

1996 - Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines - EC - ASEAN COGEN Program.

Preliminary study of Euro-ASEAN international collaborations concerning

equipments of energy generation from biomass.

1996 - Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore - EC -ASEAN COGEN Program.

Preliminary study of Euro-ASEAN international collaborations concerning

equipments of energy generation from biomass.

In order to help maximize energy efficiency, strengthen business competitiveness

and above all, contribute to environmental sustainability, the Ministry of the

Environment and the National Environment Agency (2004) is working closely with the

EC-ASEAN Cogen team to further promote COGEN technology in Singapore

(Environmental News Release, 2004).

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References

EC-ASEAN (2004), EC-ASEAN COGEN Program, http://www.cogen3.net/

Environmental News Release (2004), Speech by Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for the

Environment at the Opening Session of Cogeneration Day, York Hotel, Singapore,

23 April, 2004. rd

GLOBAL BIO-ENERGY (2004), http://www.marinergroup.com/gbe/home.htm

Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering (2004), www.iese.ntu.edu.sg/

National Environmental Agency (2004), http://app.nea.gov.sg/

RICTEC (2004), http://www.rictec.com.sg/

Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (2004), www.mti.gov.sg/

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Appendix 1 Table 1. Biomass types and amounts

Waste Statistics and Recycling Rate for 2001

Biomass Waste Type

Waste Disposed of (tonne)

Total Waste

Recycled (tonne)

Total Waste Output (tonne)

Recycling Rate (%)

Food waste 505,112 30,536 535,648 5.7

Paper/Cardboard 789,633 446,504 1,236,137 36.1

Wood/Timber 247,088 21,300 268,388 7.9

Horticultural Waste 192,077 88,793 280,870 31.6

Waste Statistics and Recycling Rate for 2002

Biomass Waste Type

Waste Disposed of (tonne)

Total Waste

Recycled (tonne)

Total Waste Output (tonne)

Recycling Rate (%)

Food waste 494,700 31,100 525,800 5.9

Paper/Cardboard 655,800 445,900 1,101,700 40.5

Wood/Timber 232,500 22,800 255,300 8.9

Horticultural Waste

299,600 117,700 417,300 28.2

Waste Statistics and Recycling Rate for 2003

Biomass Waste Type

Waste Disposed of

(tonne)

Total Waste

Recycled (tonne)

Total Waste Output (tonne)

Recycling Rate (%)

Food waste 515,100 32,900 548,000 6

Paper/Cardboard 618,500 466,200 1,084,700 43

Wood/Timber 172,600 40,800 213,400 19

Horticultural Waste

185,300 119,300 304,600 39

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Appendix 2 Table 2. Collectors/Traders For Wood/Horticultural Waste

Company Contact Person Types

Bee Joo Industries Pte Ltd No.5, Sungei Kadut St 6 Singapore 728853

Ms Eunice Sim Tel: 6365 3288 Fax: 6365 3088

Wooden pallets, crates, planks and horticultural waste

Eco Resource Recovery Centre Pte Ltd No. 40, Tuas West Road Singapore 638389

Mr Wong Tat Yen Tel: 6861 5515 Fax: 6863 4466 Web: http://www.eco.com.sg

Wooden pallets, crates, cases, planks

Gold Green Corporation Pte Ltd Lim Chu Kang Road Sarimbun Recycling Park

Mr Glen Tel: 6316 1351 Fax: 6316 1353

Wood and horticultural waste

Kiat Lee Landscape & Building Pte Ltd Lim Chu Kang Road Sarimbun Recycling Park

Mr Royston Soh Tel: 6287 3390 Fax: 6284 3233 Ms Pauline Tel: 6368 4612 Email: kllbpl98@singnet.com.sg

Horticultural waste

LHT Holdings Limited No. 27, Sungei Kadut Street 1 Singapore 729335

Mr Wan Choon Hwa Tel: 6269 7890 Fax: 6367 4907 Hp: 9793 3060 Email: chwan@iht.com.sg

Wooden pallets, crates, cases, planks

Meng Guan Landscape & Construction Pte Ltd Lim Chu Kang Road Sarimbun Recycling Park

Ms Doreen Ng Tel: 6792 4804/5 Tel: 6744 3206 Fax: 6748 7482 Email: mengguan@pacific.net.sgWeb: www.mengguan.com.sg

Horticultural waste

NewEnergy Corporation (S) Pte Ltd 60 Benoi Road Singapore 629906

Mr Tay Boon Keat Tel: 6268 2089 Fax: 6265 7559 Email: bktay@newenergy.com.sg

Wood and horticultural waste

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Company Contact Person Types Seng Hin Wooden Case Manufacturing No. 46, Defu Lane 9 Singapore 539286

Mr Chua Huat Seng Ms May Lin Tel: 6280 0756/ 6288 9983 Fax: 6285 4244

Wooden pallets, crates, planks

Sharp Win Trading Pte Ltd No. 8, Sungei Kadut Street 5 Singapore 728955

Mr Chang Zhen Ning Tel: 6367 2017 Fax: 6367 9141 Pg: 9506 2201

Wooden pallets, crates, cases, planks, skids & all industrial wood

Tiong Soon Hup Pte Ltd No. 60, Sungei Kadut St 1 Singapore 729362

Mdm Toh Kuan Whay Mr Goh Seak Choon Tel: 6367 6513 Fax: 6367 2295 Hpn: 9851 1160

Pallets (4’), crates, cases, planks (4’ long), skids & all industrial wood

Wah & Hua Pte Ltd No 23, Sungei Kadut Street 1 Singapore 729323

Mr Kenny Tan Ms Melissa Tan Tel: 6362 0078 Fax: 6362 0079

Wooden pallets, crates, cases, planks

Yat Guan Pte Ltd No. 20, Sungei Kadut St 3 Singapore 729150

Mr Lim Beng Qui Tel: 6368 5588 Fax: 6362 3702

Wooden pallets, crates, planks

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