EERC Capabilities and Pilot Facilities

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EERC Capabilities and Pilot Facilities
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Future Growth at the EERC

• Summer 2007 completion on new 15,000 ft2 National
  Center for Hydrogen Technology facility
• To house testing of technologies in hydrogen
  production, separation-purification, storage, and
  integrated fuel cells
• Special materials lab 4lb/hr high pressure
  fluidized bed gasification system pressurized
  lab-scale entrained-flow gasifier integrated 440
  lb/h biomass steam reformer and syngas processor
  for production of hydrogen, fuel liquids, and
  fine chemicals
• Other systems with clients and partners

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Research and Development

• Applied research and development on behalf of its
  clientsclient involvement ensures market focus
• Pilot-scale testing and demonstration facilities
  for solid, liquid, and gas processing
• Field sampling and testing
• Full suite of in-house analytical equipment and
  capabilities for characterization of materials
• Engineering design and fabrication of lab and
  pilot-scale systems

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Technology Demonstration

• State-of-the-art demonstration facilities
• 35,000 square feet of demonstration facilities
  with pilot-scale units that historically focus on
  combustion and gasification of solid and liquid
  fuels such as coal, oil, biomass, sewage sludge,
  and slurries.
• Fully instrumented systems.

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List of Equipment

• Biomass Processing
• Walk-in trailer for biomass storage
• Complete suite of biomass-coal handling,
  crushing, shredding, and chipping preparation
  facilities
• Surry preparation
• Hot-water drying and processing
• The EERC Environmental Chemistry Laboratory
• Process Chemistry Laboratory
• Conventional Analytical Chemistry Laboratory
• Process Development Units
• Pilot Conversion and Reactor Facilities

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List of Equipment

• The EERC Environmental Chemistry Laboratory
• Hewlett-Packard 5973 gas chromatographymass
  spectrometry (GCMS) systems
• Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)MS
• The EERC Microbiology Laboratory
• Sterilizer, water baths, shakers, incubators,
  ovens, pH meters, a conductivity meter,
  centrifuges, balances, phase-contrast microscope,
  stereoscope, Class II laminar-flow hoods,
  low-temperature incubators, anaerobic glove box
• GC with flame ionization detector, UV-Vis
  spectrophotometer, ultrasonicator, apparatus for
  macro- and micro-oxygen uptake assays, ultracold
  freezer, apparatus for enumerating airborne
  microbes, electrolytic respirometer, 24-place
  respirometer for O2 and CO2, and a fully equipped
  2-liter fermenter.

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List of Equipment

• Process Chemistry Laboratory liquid pumps, tube
  furnaces, gas-handling equipment, reactors,
  columns, centrifuges, gas analyzers, stirred
  autoclaves, ovens, high-performance liquid
  chromatographs, GCs, GCMS, infrared and
  ultraviolet (UV) spectrometers, gel permeation
  chromatography, light-scattering instruments, and
  fuel testing instrumentation.
• Conventional Analytical Chemistry Laboratory
  several different analytical laboratories with
  capillary electrophoresis, supercritical fluid
  chromatography, supercritical fluidMS,
  inductively coupled plasmaMS, thermogravimetric
  analysis, scanning electron microscopy analysis,
  x-ray diffraction, x-ray fluorescence, nuclear
  magnetic resonance and transmission electron
  microscopy available through other University of
  North Dakota academic departments, a variety of
  analyzers and equipment is available for
  particulate, gas emissions, trace metals, and
  mercury continuous emission monitoring.

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List of Equipment

• Pilot Conversion and Reactor Facilities
• 3-in.-ID 6-ft-high, pressurized 4-lb fuel/hr
  bench gasification reactor
• 3-in.-ID 6-ft-high bench fluidized-bed
  combustion reactor (150 psi)
• Two pilot combustion test units rated at 75 lb/hr
  (550,000 Btu/hr) of biomass feed
• 8-in.-ID 20-high, 100-lb fuel/hr
  carbonizer/gasifier (120 psi)
• 3½-in.-ID 57-ft-high, 250-lb fuel/hr transport
  reactor/gasifier (120 psi)
• 8-in. 8-in. 14-ft-high 400,000 Btu/hr
  bubbling fluidized-bed combustion reactor
• 18-in. 18-in. 14-ft-high 1,500,000 Btu/hr
  bubbling fluidized-bed combustion reactor
• 20-in.-ID 42-ft-high 3,000,000 Btu/hr
  circulating fluidized-bed combustion reactor
• 2.5-in.-ID 12-ft-high pressurized
  entrained-flow drop-tube furnace capable of
  60-g/hr fuel feed
• 6-in.-ID 14-ft-high, 4 lb fuel/hr downfired
  multifuels combustor process simulator
• Residential 6 lb/hr pellet fuel furnace
• 30-hp, and a 650-rpm slurry-fired diesel engine.

• Process Development Units
• 2-gallon autoclave system
• Batch autoclave that operates up to 2200 psi
• 7.5-ton/day biomass continuous process
  development unit,
• Feedstock and water supply units
• 10-gallon vegetable oil process development
  reactor unit.

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Pilot-Scale Testing

• Realistic test results, comparable to full-scale.
• Less expensive than field tests
• 20,000 to 100,000 for testing of one coal or
  one set of operating conditions.
• Operating conditions are controllable
• Generally 110 million Btu/hr or
• 10100 lb/hr fuel or reactants.
• Well controlled conditions (pressure,
  temperature, feed rates, and gas stoichiometries.

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CTF Pilot-Scale Test Unit

• EERC combustion test furnace (CTF)
• Controllable operating conditions
• Updraft combustor
• Deposition probes
• Baghouse
• ESP
• Stoker or p.c. configuration

Baghouse
Combustor
Deposition Probes
ESP
Combustion Test Furnace
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Laboratory-Scale Drop Tube Furnace Combustion
Testing

• Not as realistic as pilot or field testing
• Quick and relatively inexpensive testing
• Operating conditions
• Gas temperatures
• Combustion zone _at_ 1500EC
• Ash collection or deposition zone _at_ 1000E1200EC
• Coal feed grams/minute
• Gas velocities 520 meters/second
• Excess air 050
• Substoichiometric capabilities

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High Pressure Multi-Pollutant Test Reactor

• Used in developing novel integrated cleanup
  technology for the control of metals in warm
  syngas.
• Operating temperature of 300 to 700?F with an
  emphasis given to higher end of that range.
• Operating pressure of 400 to 1200 psig.
• Applicable to syngas from an oxygen-blown
  transport gasifier utilizing lignite or an
  oxygen-blown entrained flow gasifier with either
  slurry or dry feed systems.
• Allows for regeneration of sorbent

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Schematic of High Pressure Multi-Pollutant Test
Reactor
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Continuous Fluidized-Bed Gasification Reactor (4
lb/hr)
Being modified to achieve 800 psi
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Pilot-Scale TRDU

• Pilot-Scale Gasifier (330-lb/hr)
• Transport reactor development unit
• Scaled down version of M.W. Kellogg (now Kellogg
  Brown Root) transport gasifier
• Operating temperatures from 1500-2000ºF
  (815-1093ºC) have been achieved at operating
  pressures of 120 psig

Primary Cyclone
Disengager
Hot-Gas Filter
Vessel and
Ash Hopper
Bed Material
Charge Hopper
Dip Leg
Standpipe
Coal Feed Hopper
Quench
Systems
Steam Superheater
Air Preheaters
L-Valve Steam Manifold
EERC MS18901
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EERC PDU Carbonizer
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Biomass Microgasifier

• Good future for small-scale distributed biomass
  gasification
• Uses entire hydrocarbon structure
• Tolerant of contaminants
• Integrated energy/heat
• Low water consumption
• Multiple uses of gas

EERC design of microgasification power plant
being installed at Grand Forks Truss
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EERC Fabrication Shop

• Fully staffed machinists and operators 24-7
• Complete fabrication of all pilot- and field-
  testing equipment