BioEnergy Lists: Gasifiers & Gasification

Technical Presentations from Second Semi-Annual Task Meeting - 2009
November 2-5, 2009 — Breda, Netherlands

HIGHLIGHTS OF CURRENT BIOMASS GASIFICATION ACTIVITIES IN MEMBER COUNTRIES

Sweden (pdf 3.5 MB) Lars Waldheim, TPS

Netherlands (pdf 429 KB) Bram van der Drift, ECN

Austria (pdf 353 KB) Reinhard Rauch, TUV

Germany (pdf 2.1 MB) Thomas Kolb, ITC-TAB

Canada (pdf 1.6 MB) Fernando Preto, NRC

USA (pdf 3.3 MB) Richard Bain, NREL

Finland (pdf 855 KB) IIkka Hannula, VTT

Denmark (pdf 19 MB) Henrik Christiansen, DEA

New Zealand (pdf 1.5 MB) Ian Gilmour, U. of Canterbury

Switzerland (pdf 238 KB) Ruedi Buhler, U&E

Italy (pdf 467 KB) Reinhard Rauch, TUV

Japan (pdf 1.3 MB) Tomoko Ogi, AIST

Workshop:
Operating Expereince with Biomass Gasifiers; Research & Technology Development Needs to Improve Gasification Plant Operations

Ortner Anlagenbau NA Thomas Klotz

Guissing TUV-FICFB (pdf 1.9 MB) Reinhard Rauch, TUV

ELCOGAS IGCC (pdf 1.5 MB) Pilar Coca

METSO (pdf 2.2 MB) Juhani Isaksson

Graz University of Technology (pdf 3.7 MB) Jurgen Karl

USA BMG Operations and R&D Needs (pdf 2.4 MB) Richard Bain, NREL

Carbona (pdf 2.2 MB)Andras Horvath

Canadian BMG Operations and R&D Needs (pdf 12 MB) Fernando Preto, NRC

NUON (pdf 1.1 MB) Marco Kanaar

Workshop Summary (pdf 142 KB) Lars Waldheim, TPS

Task Meeting Minute Archives

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The World Bank have launched online consultations for the World Bank Group Energy Strategy. The online consultations are part of broader effort to gather input from a wide range of perspectives on how the Bank Group can best help developing countries improve the access and reliability of energy while helping facilitate the shift to a more environmentally sustainable energy development path. In addition to collecting comments online, WBG will hold a series of meetings, videoconferences, and other events in the first phase of consultations from February 2010 to June 2010. The feedback collected will be used to inform the drafting of a new energy strategy. An approach paper has been posted online for public review in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Russian, together with background papers in English. For more information, go to http://www.worldbank.org/energyconsultations This is a good opportunity for the household energy community to express its views on the future World Bank energy strategy.

Jeff Davis, January 2010 The below text is from "Gas Engines and Producers", Marks. The apparatus shown in Fig. 39 is a recent development in gas cleaning. With this type of apparatus the standard anthracite producer is used with bituminous coal and no attempt is made to fix the resulting tar. The raw gas, on leaving the producer, is first cooled to a point where tar vapors are condensed, by being passed through a primary cooler or condenser, from which the gas is carried into a rotary gas pump or exhauster B which delivers it under pressure into the main C. It is then delivered through a porous diaphram of spun glass E into the engine main F where a sump or separator G is provided in which the tar accumulates. The diaphragm must be sufficiently porous to permit the gas and tar to pass freely and is in the form of a uniform layer of glass wool retained between two metal screens. Ordinarily, the thickness is about one-quarter of an inch and the diameter must be adjusted in accordance with the quantity of the gas to be treated ordinarily four hundred cubic feet per hour can be handled per square inch of diaphragm area. No tar is retained in the diaphragm, both tar and gas being discharged together, but in passing through, an important change in the physical state of the tar occurs. On the entering side, the tar exits in the form of a large number of minute particles, known as tar fog, while in passing the diaphragm these particles are caused to coalesce so that on the discharge side the tar particles are of relatively large dimensions so large, in fact, that they can no longer be carried forward in the gas current and immediately separate out by gravity and drain into the sump. It appears to be possible to secure any desired degree of gas cleanness simply by regulating the velocity of flow through the diaphragm, i.e., the pressure maintained across the diaphragm. In ordinary commercial operation, it is found that a difference in pressure of from 2.5 to 4 pounds per square inch will clean the gas to such an extent that no discoloration will be produced on a white filter paper through which 30 cubic feet of gas has been passed. This is not a filter process, since, for the best separation by filtration, the velocity must be low and the material separated out remains in the filter. No water is used in connection with this process except that required to cool the gas, and as a consequence there is no formation of tar emulsion therefore the tar separated is practically water free (less than 1 percent) and may easily be burned. The gas must be cooled only sufficiently to completely condense the tar vapors, since any further cooling will increase the viscosity of the tar and consequently the resistance through the diaphragm which must be a minimum. This process is not well adapted for use on gas containing large quantities of lampblack or from coals yielding a very heavy, viscous tar. It has, however, been used with great success with Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana high-volatile coals and with lignite. The theory of the operation of this extractor is not definitely known, but it is supposed that it is the result of some electrical action caused by the impact and fluid friction against the glass wool. This apparatus has also been used with marked success for cleaning gas made from anthracite coal, giving giving a much cleaner gas with a lower water consumption than can be obtained by other methods." Jeff also did some patent mining:

George Wightman Wallace Activated Carbon Reactor 1926 Jeff Davis, January 24, 2010 This patent changed the way I look at pyrolysis: Every word counts and it deserves special attention. It reminds me of the TLUD design. Some good background information: I don't know about you guys but Monday I'm hitting Lowes for some flue pipe supplies before going to work. Jeff

Gasification 2009 - Gas Cleanup and Gas Treatment Swedish Gas Centre (SGC) Stockholm, October 22-23, Stockholm, Sweden The seminar is organized by Swedish Gas Centre (SGC) and is part of SGC's technology surveillance and information activities. The main aim of the seminar is to offer a platform for exchange of information, results and experiences as well as networking. Therefore, national and international researchers, industrial representatives and representatives for national funding agencies are invited to give presentations at the seminar. CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS NOW AVAILABLE AT: http://www.sgc.se/gasification2009/programme.asp PROGRAMME OCTOBER 22, BIOMASS GASIFICATION Welcome, Jörgen Held, Director Swedish Gas Centre Ingvar Landälv, CHEMREC AB. Black Liquor Gasification Lars Otter, Lurgi GmbH. Gasification of alternative feedstocks for the production of synfuels and 2nd generation biofuels Kathrin Bienert, CHOREN Industries GmbH. Commercial Scale BTL Production on the verge of becoming reality Kasper Lundtorp, Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S. Up-draft Biomass Gasification Esteban Chornet, Enerkem. Heterogeneous biomass residues and the catalytic synthesis of alcohols Ingemar Gunnarsson, Göteborg Energi AB. Status of the GoBiGas-project Cesar Dopazo, University of Zaragoza. On-going Gasification Activities in Spain Francesco Fantozzi, University of Perugia. Biomass Gasification Research in Italy Robin Zwart, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands. RD&D needs and recommendations for the commercialization of high-efficient bioSNG OCTOBER 23, GAS CLEANING AND TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES Reinhard Rauch, Vienna University of Technology. Cleaning and Usage of Product Gas from Biomass Steam Gasification David Dayton, Research Triangle Institute. Biomass Gasification and Catalytic Tar Cracking Process Development Tim Schulzke, Fraunhofer UMSICHT. Syngas Cleaning with Catalytic Tar Reforming John Bøgild Hansen, Haldor Topsøe A/S. Biomass Gas Cleaning and Utilization-The Topsøe Perspective Jan-Willem Könemann, Dahlman. OLGA Tar Removal Technology Strategy, Policy and Vision Alexander Vogel, E.ON Ruhrgas AG. Bio-SNG - Strategy and Activities within E.ON Henrik Kusar, Swedish Energy Agency. Strategy and Gasification Activities in Sweden Michelle Ekman, Swedish Gas Association. 20 TWh/yr biomethane 2020 Summary of the conference, Staffan Karlsson, Swedish Gas Centre

Chicago Daily Herald, Naperville IL Jan, 2010

The Stalk Stoker biomass gasifier is being used in Naperville, IL to power the city's fleet vehicles.

From the Herald web site: Naperville aims to run city vehicles on 'gasified' bio-waste

A partnership of Packer Engineering, Argonne National Laboratory, Naperville and the College of DuPage, with contributions from Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois.

KSMU Ozarks Public Radio, Friday, 14 August 2009 CU Burns 'Torrefied" Wood Instead of Pure Coal in Test City Utilities of Springfield invited local journalists out Thursday to witness an experiment in burning something other than coal to produce electricity. KSMU's Jennifer Moore took them up on the invitation and headed out. CU Experiments By Burning 'Torrefied' Wood The monitors in the control room at the James River Power Station indicate whether the test burn is working. (Photo credit: Jennifer Moore) Pictures Reporter: "Right now, I'm at the James River Power Station, just southeast of the city limits, near Lake Springfield. I'm surrounded by rather large hills of black coal, and looming over my shoulder are four enormous smokestacks. This coal is obviously burned to provide energy for the city. But the reason why we're here today has to do with a much smaller pile of what looks like dark sawdust. This is torrefied wood. And City Utilities is doing a test today to see whether this torrefied wood could be blended with coal to provide an alternative source of energy." "We're gonna burn some of the torrefied wood we made in a plant in Missouri for a test," said Andrew Livingston, president of Earthcare Products Incorporated, based in Independence, Kansas. His company designs and engineers biomass energy systems, including producing torrefied wood. He arranged for this pile of wood to be here today. Torrefication is a process of

Danish Technological University Updraft Gasifier Plant DTU, Denmark, September 1, 2009 DTU Updraft Gasifier and Stirling Engine Today, operation started on Stirling DK's latest installation situated on the campus areas of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Approximately 1% of DTU's total power consumption and 2% of its heat consumption will be supplied by the installation. The plant includes a Stirling engine with an output of 35 kWe of electrical power. The surplus heat from the plant, in the form of hot water, is fed into the district heating system of the DTU campus. The plant is fuelled by wood chips originationg partly from cuttings from DTU park areas. In this way, the plant is a stand-alone facility that enables DTU to become partly self-sufficient with CO2-neutral power and heat from locally availabel fuel sources. More information about the project can be found here.

Clean Heat and Power Using Biomass Gasification for Small- to Medium-Scale Industrial and Agricultural Projects Carolyn Roos, Washington State University, Extension Energy Program, July 2009 http://www.pacificbiomass.org/documents/Clean_Heat_and_Power_Using_Biomass_Gasification_for_Industrial_and_Agricultural_Projects_Roos_July_2009.pdf Executive Summary The use of biomass to generate heat and power is crucial in achieving energy independence and increasing our use of renewable energy sources. In our transition to renewable energy, gasification promises to play a major role in large part because its products can make use of existing infrastructure and equipment associated with fossil fuel use. This guidebook is intended for use by the forest products and food processing industries. It can also be used by farmers, ranchers and others who have access to biomass materials. Gasification is a thermal conversion process in which both heat and a combustible product gas are produced. Combustion, in contrast, produces only heat, most commonly in a boiler to generate steam for production of electricity using a steam turbine. With gasification, generation of a combustible gas is key to its importance. A gaseous fuel makes the use of reciprocating engines, gas turbines and fuels cells possible in the generation of electricity, thereby increasing electrical efficiency. Gasification also makes possible a highly efficient configuration for generating electricity, referred to as an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). Further, gasification can facilitate the use of biomass for heat and power because gaseous fuels can be distributed by pipeline from a gasification plant for use in other locations, either on site or off. Gasification of biomass and the use of the product gas in boilers and furnaces have a long and proven history. However, using the product gas for efficient electricity generation with engines, turbines and fuel cells has been hampered until recently by technical difficulties in removing tars from the product gas. Tar removal technologies have advanced in recent years and have now been successfully demonstrated and proven reliable. With these advances, biomass gasification for generation of heat and power has now emerged into commercialization. In the U.S., construction will begin in 2009 on a 42 MWe commercial-scale project in Tallahassee, Florida, and another 28 MWe gasifier is planned for Forsythe, Georgia. Around the world, more than 100 biomass gasifier projects are operating or ordered. In addition to heat and power, there is a wide array of co-products possible with gasification. This can improve the cost effectiveness of a gasification project. The product gas can be used as a feedstock to produce hydrogen and liquid hydrocarbons, such as ethanol and chemical feedstocks. Biochar has several potential markets and also gives gasification the potential of a carbon neutral or carbon negative energy solution. Both combustion and gasification produce ash, which also can be marketed. This guide is a practical overview of gasification on the small (<1 MW) and medium scales appropriate for food processors, farmers, forest products industries and others with access to biomass materials. The selection and application of gasifiers, engines and turbines, feedstock preparation and handling equipment, gas clean up technologies, and other ancillary equipment are discussed. Practical strategies for avoiding slagging, fouling and corrosion in the gasifier and downstream equipment are discussed.

Market Assessment of Biomass Gasification and Combustion Technology for Small- and Medium-Scale Applications David Peterson and Scott Haase, for Natioanl renewable Energy Laboratory, July 2009 http://www.cleanenergystates.org/Publications/NREL_Biomass_Gasification_Mkt_Assessment_46190.pdf Executive Summary At the request of the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory prepared this market assessment of gasification and direct combustion technologies that utilize solid biomass to generate heat, power, or combined heat and power (CHP) for smallto medium-scale applications. Solid biomass refers to primarily wood and agricultural resources. The report contains the following: