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Many areas of South East Asia are energy resource deficient, in terms of major supplies of recoverable fossil fuels. There are however numerous examples of small to medium fossil fuel resources that could not support major plant [100 MW(e) and above] but could provide significant electrical power close to those fuel resources - and often at the peripheries of national power grids. The fossil fuel resources can often be extended by readily available bio-fuels. The fuel resource inventories of these areas can thus be extended beyond the limits set by the economic recovery of fossil fuels alone.
The fossil fuels will include poor and low rank indigenous coals, coal washery rejects, low energy natural gas and recovered and low quality fuel oil. In this paper the emphasis is given to minor coal resources that can be matched with bio-fuels found in the South East Asian region. Examples of resources of bio-fuels are discussed, along with techniques for supplementation. These resources include domestic waste, rice hulls, sugar based stillages, palm oil effluents and bagasse and field waste from sugar farming.
The expertise required in providing the hardware and management for utilising these fuels is described, in the light of some projects that are presently being developed. The role of local people in making such systems work is emphasised, as will economic opportunities arising from such projects.
Indigenous bio-fuels can be a useful and significant source of energy in the developing countries of S. E. Asia. In some situations these fuels will need to be supplemented with local or imported fossil fuels (especially local coal) to maintain an even energy output. Atmospheric fluidised bed combustors are suitable for burning the bio-fuels, allow fuel supplementation, are environmentally friendly and are a technology that is not excessively complex. Conventional grate systems offer advantages in terms of established technology and in many cases increased efficiency. Both these types of combustion should be considered in the light of fuel properties, when choosing a combustion system.
In the attached paper, 'The Potential for Small Scale Power Plants Using a Mixture of Coal and Bio-fuels. Conference: The Third Intra-Asean Coal Workshop and Conference, Cebu City, Philippines October 1992', a generic process description is presented of a major wastes to power study that was carried out in Cebu, Philippines.
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