PYROGAS

The integration of intermediate pyrolysis and vapour gasification to create and effective and efficient biomass-to-energy system for combined heat and power

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The use of biomass, and waste, as a fuel for the production of energy in the form of electrical power and heat has in recent years come to be recognised as a key element in the move to sustainable forms of energy as part of the strategy to combat climate change. Throughout Europe, challenging targets for the provision of bioenergy and reduction in carbon emissions have been identified but progress towards those targets is extremely slow.

Thus, to enable a concerted, informed, and joint development this project brings together a leading European Bioenergy Research institute (EBRI) that has new key patents in the clean and efficient thermal treatment of biomass based on the Intermediate Pyrolysis process, with two European SME companies recognised for their respective technical and engineering expertise in the provision of thermal treatment plant (WGD) and gasifier technology (WWAG) respectively. A Demonstration installation has recently been approved for funding at EBRI which not only gives significant added value (€15M) in terms of the stand alone technology installations but, more importantly, provides a unique opportunity to integrate the pyrolysis and gasification processes to produce a cost efficient flexible,optimised, linear process for power and heat production from biomass and waste.

The aim of the programme is therefore, through a programme of laboratory and demonstration scale testing, to fully integrate the intermediate pyrolysis and gasification processes to form the PYROGAS concept for power and heat from biomass, and to demonstrate its successful operation on a range of feedstocks.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

EU-funded scientists are developing innovative biomass technology to fire a combined heat and power system. Soil improvement and carbon sequestration are other beneficiaries.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Use of biomass is a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to produce electrical power and heat, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. Although bioenergy is up, progress in achieving the EU carbon dioxide targets is rather slow.

In the EU-funded project http://www.aston.ac.uk/eas/research/groups/ebri/projects/pyrogas-project/ (PYROGAS), the European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI) and a European small-to-medium-sized enterprise are joining efforts to demonstrate an innovative concept for efficient bioenergy production.

The project idea relies on integrating biomass pyrolysis and gasification processes to deliver power and heat. Through pyrolysis, scientists are converting a feedstock that can be a low- or negative-value waste into biochar that is then separated as a valuable product. The mixture of condensable vapours and gases released by pyrolysis are introduced to a fluidised bed to convert a second feedstock to a gas. The by-product gases from the gasification process of this feedstock, which is higher-quality biomass such as wood, are powering internal combustion engines to produce power and heat.

So far, scientists have characterised a number of feedstocks such as wood, miscanthus, meat and bone meal, brewers' spent grain, sewage sludge and deinking sludge. Some of these have undergone pyrolysis through an innovative bioenergy solution: Pyroformer. The task of coupling the Pyroformer with the fluid-bed gasifier is under way.

Scientists aspire to demonstrate the PYROGAS concept for a wide range of feedstock combinations at a semi-industrial scale. Given that the obtained valuable biochar can sequester carbon in the soil, such technology could also greatly contribute to zero or negative carbon energy.