Biomass district Heating in small communities

Abstract

The urban heat networks (District Heating, DH) combined with the use of renewable energies, such as the biomass of agricultural waste, have been consolidated as an important tool for energy efficiency and the reduction of the emissions of greenhouse gases in the United States and the countries in the north and center of Europe. The objective of the networks for the thermal distribution is to offer a service of air conditioning (comfort heating and cooling) and the production of sanitary hot water for the residents of the different buildings of an area connected to the network, guaranteeing better energy efficiency and quality of service with respect to what would be obtained from individual installations. If the use of an energetic waste to produce heat, is added to the possibility of placing cogeneration plants (with a production comfort heating and cooling and electric power), the district heating business becomes even more prosperous. In the present paper, after a long review of the state of the art of heating of the Biomass District Heating, the technical implications of the equipment of a thermal power plant and the agricultural activity of Uruguay, a practical solution is proposed to be replicated in all the small communities of the country. For this solution, three particular crops residues - soybean, grape and olive residues –are used.