Non-woody biomass, having lower cellulose content than woody materials, is a common waste material found in agricultural processing plants and fields. Non-woody biomass is often bulky and has a comparatively low energy content. However, non-woody materials sourced from agricultural waste are abundant and cheap. Experimental studies into gasification of non-woody biomass have been conducted by various researchers. This paper reviews feedstock characteristics, pre-treatments, gasification methods, and future direction of this technology. Due to the heterogeneous nature of non-woody biomass, it is critical to apply suitable pre-treatments prior to gasification. Combining non-woody biomass with a small percentage of high grade carbon sourced from biochar or coal into fuel pellets for co-gasification has the potential to improve fuel quality. Synergistic effects of nonwoody biomass-charcoal co-gasification can also reduce tar formation and increase the occurrence of mineral based catalytic reactions. Factors influencing these effects are often complex and require further investigation. 15-20% of fuel pellets energy content may be needed to power the biomass pre-treatment process. The gasification of pelletised non-woody waste provides an attractive alternative fuel source to achieve agricultural energy self-sufficiency and off-grid operation.

Agriculture sector contributes highly to the GDP of Indonesia. One of the strategies to increase the agricultural production is by accelerating the application of agricultural mechanization. Due to the limitation of manpower in agriculture, the use of agricultural machinery has increased massively since 2014. The index of mechanization has been leveraged from 0.015 in 1983 to 1.68 in 2018. The use of machinery in agriculture will continue to increase, given the adequacy levels of some machinery are still low. The adequacy level of available machinery was estimated at about 49.2% for 2-wheel tractors, 11.9% for 4-wheel tractors, 39.7% for water pumps. This paper estimates the energy use in agriculture by expanding the previous studies of the mechanization index and the adequacy level of agricultural machinery in Indonesia. Currently, the energy in agriculture is under the category of ‘Other Sector’ based on National Statistical Energy Report. Employing available data, this study estimates that the consumption of diesel oil (GasoilCN48) by agricultural machinery is approximately 1.5 million kL or about 82% of particular fuel consumption at ‘Other Sector’ of 2018 Report. Simulating to exponentially increase adequacy level of on-farm machinery (mechanization index up to 4.6 by 2028), the energy consumption of machinery may also grow equal to 3.5 million kL/year. The contribution of energy consumption from agricultural sector can be targeted to intensify the renewable energy application. The renewable energy has been disseminated progressively in agriculture sector. Those are biomass as heating fuel in grain dryers, solar energy to power water pumps, dual fuel (LPG/biogas & gasoline) engines and biodiesel (B30 to B100) for fueling the agricultural machinery with diesel engine. The B100 can be efficiently and effectively used as an alternate fuel for small diesel engines.

No abstract