Biomass Gasification for Second Generation Biofuels

Biomass gasification for second generation biofuels

Bram van der Drift

Presented at ‘Gasification, the development of gasification as a key technology contributor to future clean coal power generation’ 19-20 April 2010, London, UK

ECN-L--10-076 AUGUST 2010

2 ECN-L--10-076 BIOMASS GASIFICATION FOR SECOND GENERATION BIOFUELS Bram van der Drift

www.ecn.nl

CONTENT

• Successes and challenges in biomass gasification • Biofuel production • To methane or not to methane - Syngas production - Methane production • Final remarks

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 2 Bram van der Drift

1 TECHNOLOGY STATUS many suppliers and concepts Biomass Engineering ConocoPhillips Repotec Choren Vølund Foster Wheeler Blaue Turm Lurgi Viking Pyroforce TPS INC Heat pipe reformer AES LT-CFB Entimos Nexterra Carbona Fluidyne Novel Taylor Hitachi SilvaGas MTCI Chemrec Cutec General Electric Xylowatt TKE CCM Siemens Dasagren HoSt Enerkem Shell Relax Umwelt PRME Page MaCrea Ebara Plasco JFE Ortner Anlagebau Compact Power

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 3 Bram van der Drift

TECHNOLOGY STATUS success of indirect co-firing

CFB Metso Varo (Swe), co-firing lime kiln

35 MW th_biomass

CFB FW, Lahti (Fin), co-firing Updraft Nexterra, PF boiler Tolko (Can), boiler 12 MW th_biomass 45 MW th_biomass

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 4 Bram van der Drift

2 TECHNOLOGY STATUS success of Vølund • 1994: plant started in Harboøre (DK) • high tar “storable heat” • since 2006: 8000 hours/year of operation

3000 700 2750 650 2500 600 550 2250 500 2000 450 1750 400 1500 350 1250 300 1000 250 Fuel input [MWh] Fuelinput 200 Powersales [MWh] 750 150 500 100 250 50 0 0 jul-03 jul-02 jul-01 jul-00 jul-99 jul-98 jul-97 jul-96 jul-95 jul-94 jan-04 jan-03 jan-02 jan-01 jan-00 jan-99 jan-98 jan-97 jan-96 jan-95 jan-94 apr-04 apr-03 apr-02 apr-01 apr-00 apr-99 apr-98 apr-97 apr-96 apr-95 apr-94 okt-03 okt-02 okt-01 okt-00 okt-99 okt-98 okt-97 okt-96 okt-95 okt-94 Month/Year Oil Woodchips Power

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 5 Bram van der Drift

TECHNOLOGY STATUS success of FICFB in Güssing and Oberwart

• 2002: started • 2005: 6500 hours • several slip-stream “plants” • second one ready (Oberwart)

8000

7000 gasifier engine 6000

5000

4000

3000 hoursof operation

2000

1000

0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 6 Bram van der Drift

3 TECHNOLOGY STATUS success of Buggenum IGCC

• 2002: start co-gasification trials • 2006: biomass facilities ready for 30wt% wood • 2008: ~15wt% is normal

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 7 Bram van der Drift

TECHNOLOGY STATUS main challenges

• fuel specifications (moisture, contaminants) • producer gas cooling (tar fouling) • economics (too high expectations) • biofuels!

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 8 Bram van der Drift

4 GASIFICATION FOR BIOFUELS

biomass fuel 1st generation 2nd generation biofuels biofuels

vegetable oil PPO / VGO / VPO vegetable oil FAME (viz. RME) fermentable biomass biogas / SNG starch/sugar ethanol / ETBE lignocellulose ethanol lignocellulose FT diesel lignocellulose DME gasification lignocellulose methanol based lignocellulose MA lignocellulose SNG

PPO: pure plant oil, VGO: straight vegetable oil, VPO virgin plant oil, FAME: fatty acid methyl ester, RME: rape seed methyl ester, ETBE: ethyl tertiary butyl ester, FT: Fischer- Tropsch, DME: dimethyl ether, MA: mixed alcohols, SNG: substitute natural gas

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 9 Bram van der Drift

GASIFICATION FOR BIOFUELS

biomass fuel 1st generation 2nd generation biofuels biofuels

vegetable oil PPO / VGO / VPO vegetable oil FAME (viz. RME) fermentable biomass biogas / SNG starch/sugar ethanol / ETBE lignocellulose ethanol lignocellulose FT diesel lignocellulose DME H2 and CO lignocellulose methanol (syngas) lignocellulose MA lignocellulose SNG CH 4

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 10 Bram van der Drift

5 GASIFICATION FOR BIOFUELS the concepts

H and CO biomass pre-treatment entrained flow 2 gasifier

biomass fluidised bed catalytic H2 and CO gasifier reformer

biomass fluidised bed tar CH 4 gasifier removal

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 11 Bram van der Drift

GASIFICATION FOR BIOFUELS entrained flow for syngas

H and CO biomass pre-treatment entrained flow 2 gasifier

milling torrefaction slagging pyrolysis fouling conversion

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 12 Bram van der Drift

6 TORREFACTION convert biomass to “coal” • “roasting” at 250-300°C • biomass becomes brittle and hydrophobic like coal • ECN technology for >90% efficiency

100

80 wood torrefied wood 60

40 [kWe/MWth] 20 power consumption consumption power

0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 average particle size after pulverisation [mm]

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 13 Bram van der Drift

SLAGGING AND FOULING LCS test facility

wood with additive wood, no additive, 1400°C

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 14 Bram van der Drift

7 SLAGGING

100% Silica/fuel ash = 0.25 kg/kg 80% Silica/fuel ash = 0.75 kg/kg 60% Silica/fuel ash = 1.25 kg/kg 40% Silica/alumina/fuel gas phase) gas ash = 0.5/0.45 kg/kg

20% Original clean wood

slag as wt% of fuel ash (incl. ash excl flux, fuel of wt% as slag 0% 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 T [°C] clean wood

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 15 Bram van der Drift

SLAGGING AND FOULING

100%

80%

60% gas liquid wt% 40% solid

20%

0% Ca Si Al K Mg P Na Mn Fe Pb Zn

clean wood, 1300°C, flux added Ca/Si/Al = 1/1/1

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 16 Bram van der Drift

8 GASIFICATION FOR BIOFUELS catalytic reformer to produce syngas

biomass fluidised bed catalytic H2 and CO gasifier reformer

particles sulphur coking

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 17 Bram van der Drift

GASIFICATION FOR BIOFUELS catalytic reformer to produce syngas

biomass fluidised bed catalytic H2 and CO gasifier reformer

TARA

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 18 Bram van der Drift

9 TARA

• making complete reforming easier: - removing heavy tars - conversion of ethylene, acetylene, … - removing most particles • ECN technology under development

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 19 Bram van der Drift

GASIFICATION FOR BIOFUELS tar removal to produce methane

OLGA-scrubber RME-scrubber catalytic partial oxydation plasma

biomass fluidised bed tar CH 4 gasifier removal

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 20 Bram van der Drift

10 OLGA 25 000 m 3/h tar removal

• no methane reduction • tar recycle to gasifier

2 000 m 3/h 3 200 m 3/h 2 m /h 2 000 m 3/h

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 21 Bram van der Drift

SUBSTITUTE NATURAL GAS from BIOMASS initiatives (1)

• Göteborg Energi (Sweden) - 20 MW in 2012 - 100 MW in 2015 • E.On (Sweden) - 200 MW in 2015 - 300 MW in 2017 - 2*600 MW in 2020

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 22 Bram van der Drift

11 SUBSTITUTE NATURAL GAS from BIOMASS initiatives (2)

• E.On (Germany) - strategy in progress; possibly multiple 50-100 MW plants • Gaz de France - strategy in progress • HVC (Netherlands) - 50 MW in 2015 - subsequently: ~10 units of 50-100 MW

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 23 Bram van der Drift

SUBSTITUTE NATURAL GAS from BIOMASS ECN developments

• cheap 5 €/GJ BioSNG (ex. biomass) • efficient 70% BioSNG/biomass • large scale 100 + MW

• beyond CO 2-neutral up to 170% CO 2 reduction • no excess energy <2% power import

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 24 Bram van der Drift

12 EFFICIENCY C. M. van der Meijden et.al., Biomass and Bioenergy 34, pp 302-311, 2010. 75%

BioSNG 70% 70% BioSNG and net power 67%

65% 64%

efficiency 60% 58%

54% 55% 53%

50% Entrained Flow CFB Indirect

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 25 Bram van der Drift

raw gas MILENA indirect gasification

flue gas

• low N2 in gas • no ASU pyrolysis • high methane yield • complete conversion combustion • fuel flexible biomass

air

steam or CO 2

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 26 Bram van der Drift

13 MILENA indirect gasification

25 kW 800 kW

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 27 Bram van der Drift

FINAL REMARKS (1)

• Biomass gasification is having its renaissance • But only limited success stories so far

• Gasification process itself is usually not the problem • But gas cleaning is the real issue

• Most initiatives start with a gasification technology • But it would be wise to first select a gas clean-up

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 28 Bram van der Drift

14 FINAL REMARKS (2)

• Making syngas to produce biofuels: - Coal-technology, but biomass need to be pre-treated - Biomass-technology, but hydrocarbons need to be reformed - Challenges in both cases…

• Or you might consider methane as the biofuel: - Biomass-technology, but tars need to be removed

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 29 Bram van der Drift

BIO-MCN Delfzijl, The Netherlands

• formerly: 900 kton/y methanol from natural gas (two lines) • now: 1 line on 40% glycerin: - 200 kton/y bio-methanol (5 PJ/y, 1% of fuels in NL) - large-scale second generation biofuel plant

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 30 Bram van der Drift

15 MORE INFORMATION Bram van der Drift

e: [email protected] PO Box 1 t: +31 224 56 4515 NL 1755 ZG Petten w: www.ecn.nl the Netherlands

publications: www.ecn.nl/publications fuel composition database: www.phyllis.nl tar dew point calculator: www.thersites.nl IEA bioenergy/gasification: www.i eatask33.org Milena indirect gasifier: www.milenatechnology.com OLGA tar removal: www.olgatechnology.com SNG: www.bioSNG.com and www.bioCNG.com

GASIFICATION – SMI conference – 19/20 April 2010 31 Bram van der Drift