Woody biomass as an alternative to reduce natural gas consumption in the generation of process steam in the industrial sector

In the world, the industrial sector consumes a significant portion of primary energy, knowing that the majority of energy consumption in industry is heat found, mostly at temperatures below 400 °C. The present study aims to analyze the economic potential for the generation of steam for industrial processes in several cities in Brazil in two scenarios: those using natural gas as fuel and the other using wood pellets. The analysis of process steam generation costs was obtained through a calculation that used the parameters of Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return and investment payback time. Thus, it was observed that the boiler that uses wood pellets is a viable alternative, with LCOH ranging from 20.25 US$/MWhth to 36.15 US$/MWhth. In this sense, by using renewable fuel to generate process steam in the industrial sector, there is the possibility of reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, such as natural gas, and consequently, minimizing the emission of greenhouse gases.