Determining if Bagasse Contributes to Belize Electricity Resource

Determining if Bagasse Contributes to Belize Electricity Resource

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Boyle states that “Bioenergy is the general term for energy derived from materials such as wood, straw, or animal waste, which were once living material”(p 106). The energy stored in a living organism even when it’s dead is known as biofuel. This fuel is capable of producing energy. A biomass used for creating bioenergy in Belize is bagasse. The bagasse that is produced in Belize is created by the Belize Sugar Industries. Agriculture is the backbone of the Belizean economy, and one of the most important crops is sugar cane. “In 1994 there were 2,165 cane farmers cultivating sugar cane in Belize, most in small farms in the Orange Walk and Corozal districts. This paper provides the reader with a brief insight on the sources of Belize’s electricity.

Boyle states that “Increased recovery of wastes, combined with improved efficiency of conversion to electricity, could result in up to fifty GW of generating capacity from the sugar industry world wide” (p 119). Bagasse is the biomass remaining after sugar cane stalks are crushed to extract their juice. It is made up of fifty percent of fiber, forty-eight percent moisture, and two percent of sugar. The web encyclopedia states that “a sugar factory produces nearly thirty percent of bagasse out of its total crushing” (Wikipedia.org). Bagasse is often used as a primary fuel source for sugar mills, when burned in quantity; it produces sufficient heat energy to supply all the needs of a typical sugar mill, with energy to spare.

Boyle states “The total energy content of the annual residues of the world’s two main crops, sugar and rice, is estimated as about 18Ej- similar to the total for temperate crops” (p 119). In Belize sugar cane and rice are two of the crops that produce capital for the country. However, Belize is still having a problem supplying its residents with a steady flow of electricity. The electrical power receive goes on an off from time to time. “During the dry season Mexico supplies more than fifty percent of Belize’s electricity” (Belize Electricity Limited). The rest of the electricity is produces through diesel generators and the dams. The dam’s supplies should produce about thirty percent of the electricity needed. When Mexico is in need of electricity they cut the electricity that they sell Belize and use it.