Survey of Commercial Biomass Gasifiers James T' Cobb, Jr', P'E' Associate Professor Emeritus Departm

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Survey of CommercialBiomass GasifiersJames T.
Cobb, Jr., P.E.Associate Professor
EmeritusDepartment of Chemical and Petroleum
Engineering2007 AIChE Annual MeetingNovember
4-9, 2007
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Methodology

• Surveys for two clients desiring synthesis gas
  for chemicals production from biomass
• Identification of eleven biomass gasifiers,
  ranging from developmental to commercial
• Summarized in a tutorial at the 2007 Spring AIChE
  National Meeting
• Query of NREL thermochemical staff
• Discussions with several others
• Continued exploration of the internet

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Selection Parameters

• Commercial, demonstrated or being demonstrated,
  i.e., of interest to investors
• Sized gt 100 feed tons/day ( 7 MWe)
• Feed wood chips, straw (including corn stover),
  RDF, MSW, waste plastic
• Ultimate products synthesis gas (chemicals),
  steam, electricity

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Thirteen Biomass Gasifiers

• BGL ? Lurgi Dry Ash
• Choren ? Primenergy
• Enerkem (BIOSYN) ? Repotec
• Foster Wheeler ACFB ? SilvaGas
• Foster Wheeler PCFB ? Thermoselect
• Lurgi CFB ? TPS
• ? Westinghouse Plasma
• Listed in tutorial at 2007 AIChE Spring
  Meeting

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British Gas Lurgi Gasifier

• 840 T/D commercial plant
• Site/Year Spreetal, Germany 2003
• Feed MSW, coal/biomass briquettes
• Products methanol and electricity
• Gasifier Parameters downward moving bed
  slagging bottom steam/oxygen-blown 1450oC 25
  bar

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BGL 1000 Gasifier at SVZ in Schwarze Pumpe
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Choren Carbo-V Process Gasifier

• 200 T/D beta plant (U.C.)
• Site Freiberg, Germany
• Feed 50 waste wood, 50 clean wood chips
• Product syngas converted to 16.5 M L/Yr of
  SunFuel via FT synthesis and hydrocracking
• Gasifier Parameters sequential (1) pyrolyzer
  (horizontal, stirred bed 500oC 4 bar), (2)
  gasifier of pyrolysis gas (1400oC 4 bar), and
  (3) chemical quencher of pyrolysis char and
  gasified pyrolysis gas (entrained bed 900oC 4
  bar O2-blown)

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Beta Plant under Construction at Choren
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Enerkem BIOSYN Gasifier

• 7 MWe demonstration plant
• Site/Year Ribesalbas, Spain 2003
• Feed MSW, waste biomass, RDF and plastic
• Products synthesis gas, electricity
• Gasifier Parameters bubbling fluid bed air- or
  oxygen-blown 1832oF 16 atm

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Enerkem BIOSYN Pilot Gasifier, Canada
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Foster Wheeler ACFB Gasifier

• 42 MWe commercial plant
• Site/Year Lahti, Finland 1998
• Feed biofuels, RDF, wood waste
• Product electricity
• Gasifier Parameters circulating fluid bed
  (CFB) air-blown 1000oC 1 atm

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Foster Wheeler Lahti Gasifier and Co-Fueled Boiler
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Lahti Kymijärvi Project, Finland
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Foster Wheeler PCFB Gasifier

• 6 MWe and 9 MWt (55 T/D) demonstration plant
• Site/Year Värnamo, Sweden 1999
• Feed wood, RDF and straw
• Product electricity
• Gasifier Parameters CFB air-blown 950oC 18
  bar

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Foster Wheeler IGCCPower Plant at Värnamo
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Lurgi CFB Gasifier

• 29 MWe commercial plant
• Site/Year Lahden, Netherlands 2000
• Feed demolition wood, RDF
• Product electricity
• Gasifier Parameters CFB air-blown 900oC 1
  atm

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Lurgi CFB Gasifier (during construction) at the
Amer Powerstation at Geertruidenberg in Southern
Holland
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Lurgi Dry Ash Gasifier

• 340 T/D commercial plant
• Site/Year Spreetal, Germany 1964
• Feed plastics, MSW pellets, tar-sludge pellets,
  contaminated wood, other wastes
• Products fuel gas, synthesis gas
• Gasifier Parameters grate-type fixed-bed
  down-flow dry-ash reactor oxygen/steam-blown
  1472-2372oF 25 atm

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Part of the SVZ site
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Primenergy Gasifier

• 290 T/D CHP (1 MWe) commercial plant
• Site/Year Little Falls, Minnesota 2006
• Feed waste wood
• Products electricity, steam
• Gasifier Parameters updraft gasifier
• air-blown 1 atm

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Primenergy Little Falls, MN Project Directly
Heated Gasifier with Staged Combustion
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Repotec Gasifier

• 8 MWt demonstration plant
• Site/Year Güssing, Austria 2001
• Feed wood chips
• Product 2.0 MWe and 4.5 MWt for district
  heating
• Gasifier Parameters coupled CFBs (biomass
  pyrolyzer, char combustor) steam-blown 850oC
  (pyrolyzer) air-blown (combustor)

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Repotec CHP plant, Güssing, Austria
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SilvaGas Gasifier

• 400 T/D demonstration plant (U.C.)
• Site Forsythe, Georgia
• Feed clean biomass
• Product synthesis gas
• Gasifier Parameters coupled CFBs
• (biomass pyrolyzer, char combustor)
  steam-blown 1500oF (pyrolyzer) air-blown
  1800oF (combustor) 1 atm

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FERCO (SilvaGas) Demonstration Gasification
Plant at the McNiel Power Plant Burlington,
Vermont
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Thermoselect Gasifier

• 600 T/D commercial plant
• Site/Year Kurashiki, Japan 2005
• Feed MSW plugs
• Product synthesis gas
• Gasifier Parameters sequential biomass
  pyrolyzer and oxygen-blown, entrained char
  gasifier 570oF (pyrolyzer) and 2,200oF
  (combustor)

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Resource Recycling Waste Treatment Facility -
Kurashiki City
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TPS Gasifier

• Two 110 ton/hr units in demonstration plant
• Site/Year Grève-in-Chianti, Italy 1992
• Feed RDF pellets
• Product electricity
• Gasifier Parameters CFB air-blown 850-900oC
  1 atm

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TPS/Ansaldo RDF Gasification Plant in Grève, Italy
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Westinghouse Plasma Gasifier

• 8 MWe commercial plant
• Site/Year Utashinai, Japan 2003
• Feed MSW, ASR
• Product electricity
• Gasifier Parameters downward moving bed plasma
  bottom air-blown 4500oF (plasma torch) and
  2282oF (gas exit) 1 atm

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Typical Cross-Section of Westinghouse Plasma
Cupola
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Conclusions and Recommendations

• Thirteen biomass gasifiers currently have the
  potential to be considered seriously by investors
  for large centralized commercial projects gt100
  feed tons/day ( 7 MWe).
• Each of these gasifiers is limited in the feeds
  it can utilize and the products it can generate.
• Financial parameters should be developed for
  these gasifiers to further assist investors in
  process selection.
• A similar analysis should be performed for
  biomass gasifiers that have the potential to be
  considered by investors for smaller distributed
  commercial projects.