Progress in biofuel production from gasification

Biofuels from biomass gasification are reviewed here, and demonstrated to be an attractive option. Recent progress in gasification techniques and key generation pathways for biofuels production, process design and integration and socio-environmental impacts of biofuel generation are discussed, with the goal of investigating gasification-to-biofuels’ credentials as a sustainable and eco-friendly technology. The synthesis of important biofuels such as bio-methanol, bio-ethanol and higher alcohols, bio-dimethyl ether, Fischer Tropsch fuels, bio-methane, bio-hydrogen and algae-based fuels is reviewed, together with recent technologies, catalysts and reactors. Significant thermodynamic studies for each biofuel are also examined. Syngas cleaning is demonstrated to be a critical issue for biofuel production, and innovative pathways such as those employed by Choren Industrietechnik, Germany, and BioMCN, the Netherlands, are shown to allow efficient methanol generation. The conversion of syngas to FT transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel over Co or Fe catalysts is reviewed and demonstrated to be a promising option for the future of biofuels. Bio-methane has emerged as a lucrative alternative for conventional transportation fuel with all the advantages of natural gas including a dense distribution, trade and supply network. Routes to produce H2 are discussed, though critical issues such as storage, expensive production routes with low efficiencies remain. Algae-based fuels are in the research and development stage, but are shown to have immense potential to become commercially important because of their capability to fix large amounts of CO2, to rapidly grow in many environments and versatile end uses. However, suitable process configurations resulting in optimal plant designs are crucial, so detailed process integration is a powerful tool to optimize current and develop new processes. LCA and ethical issues are also discussed in brief. It is clear that the use of food crops, as opposed to food wastes represents an area fraught with challenges, which must be resolved on a case by case basis

Plastics chemical recovery for production of chemical intermediates at a Swedish chemical complex

The present report discusses process concepts for chemical recycling of waste streams for production of chemical intermediates at a Swedish chemical complex site.The total Swedish waste stream of plastics, automotive shredder residues (ASR) and electronic waste (WEEE) currently sent to energy recovery were considered and metal recovery was also considered for the relevant streams. Forest residues were also used as an input following a vision of feedstock flexibility and carbon-neutral production of chemicals.The layout of the envisioned waste-to-chemical plant includes a process for production of ethylene via gasification of plastics and forest residues and a process for production of syngas for OXO-synthesis applications via pyrolysis of ASR and WEEE.Mass and energy balances were established by process flowsheet simulations and process integration opportunities were identified by applying an energy targeting methodology. Finally, the GHG emission reduction potentials of such processes were quantified by keeping the energy recovery alternative as reference of comparison.Based on rather optimistic assumptions it was found that about 120 kt of ethylene per year and about 44 kt of syngas can be produced which are respectively about 15% and 26% of the site demand of ethylene and syngas to OXO synthesis.Overall, the estimated contribution to global GHG emission reduction lies in a range between 800 and 1300 kt CO2-eq per year depending on the different scenarios of marginal technologies for production of ethylene, electricity and heat. This is about the same order of magnitude of the current on-site GHG emissions at the Stenungsund chemical complex site. This result is based on the assumption that chemical recycling is alternative to energy recovery which in Sweden is done in CHP units connected to district heating networks. By diverting waste to chemical production, we assumed that biomass CHP units compensate for electricity and heat production and that this can even create a surplus of electricity in short term which in turns reduces the production of electricity in coal power plants. This results highlights that the climate consequences of the proposed recycling strategy are largely dependent, at least in Sweden, on the future development of the biomass prices and utilization.The results also show that an important reduction of GHG emissions can be obtained by recovering the large amounts of excess heat available from the thermochemical processes for production of steam which can be exported to the various chemical plants by appropriately placing the proposed processes close to or in the middle of the chemical complex site. This steam is about 70% of the steam currently produced at the site in natural gas boilers. The reduction of natural gas consumptions in steam boiler contributes to about 20 to 30% of the total GHG emission reduction potential which highlights the suitability of the Stenungsund site for large-scale implementation of biorefineries and waste-to-chemical plants

Performance Investigation of Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Power Plant for Polygeneration

Energy and environment are playing an important role in shaping the world at present and the path ahead into the future. Both affect the aspects of the economy, politics, health, and welfare. In addition, the growth of wind and photovoltaic plants has greatly increased the demand for flexible generation or storage options in the electricity market due to their fluctuation. The Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) with carbon capture for polygeneration of power and chemicals features the advantages of flexible power generation that has low CO₂ emissions, alongside essential chemicals for the industry or even production of fuels that for storage and then to be utilized during the peak time. Moreover, the ability to use biomass and Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) as feedstock for IGCC contributes to waste management and better use of the resources. In the scope of this work, a process simulation model of an IGCC using Aspen Plus was developed based on a pilot-scale 0.5 MWth HTW gasifier and gas purification plant installed at TU Darmstadt. The gasification and purification pilot plant model was scaled up and then integrated with a CCPP for power generation. For the power generation part, a process simulation model of Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) was built based on a 360 MWel General Electric (GE) STAG 109FA CCPP located at Prai in Malaysia. For chemical production, a methanol synthesis unit was also modeled and integrated with the IGCC model to enable polygeneration of electricity and methanol in an IGCC plant. To improve the performance of the IGCC, heat integration between the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and the syngas production process (gasification and purification) was applied. Additionally, an acid gas removal (AGR) process was adopted for the IGCC model. In this respect, three process simulation models for AGR were developed using three different solvents (Selexol, Rectisol, and a-MDEA) and then evaluated seeking a better performance of the IGCC. Furthermore, co-gasification of coal and refuse derived fuel in different mixing ratios were used and investigated. The evaluation of the developed IGCC power plant model for flexible polygeneration using HTW gasification technology shows a promising electrical efficiency of about 37.48% with a carbon capture rate of 90%. Also, the comparison between the three AGR processes shows that the Selexol process is the most efficient. Therefore, this process was used in the final configuration of the IGCC plant. Finally, a thermo-economic evaluation under volatile selling prices of IGCC products was executed to investigate the production regime and to make better decisions for production

ECOS 2012

The 8-volume set contains the Proceedings of the 25th ECOS 2012 International Conference, Perugia, Italy, June 26th to June 29th, 2012. ECOS is an acronym for Efficiency, Cost, Optimization and Simulation (of energy conversion systems and processes), summarizing the topics covered in ECOS: Thermodynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer, Exergy and Second Law Analysis, Process Integration and Heat Exchanger Networks, Fluid Dynamics and Power Plant Components, Fuel Cells, Simulation of Energy Conversion Systems, Renewable Energies, Thermo-Economic Analysis and Optimisation, Combustion, Chemical Reactors, Carbon Capture and Sequestration, Building/Urban/Complex Energy Systems, Water Desalination and Use of Water Resources, Energy Systems- Environmental and Sustainability Issues, System Operation/ Control/Diagnosis and Prognosis, Industrial Ecology

Energy: A continuing bibliography with indexes, issue 13

This bibliography lists 1036 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system from January 1, 1977 through March 31, 1977

Survey of hydrogen production and utilization methods. Volume 2: Discussion

For abstract, see N76-15590

Energy, Science and Technology 2015. The energy conference for scientists and researchers. Book of Abstracts, EST, Energy Science Technology, International Conference & Exhibition, 20-22 May 2015, Karlsruhe, Germany

We are pleased to present you this Book of Abstracts, which contains the submitted contributions to the "Energy, Science and Technology Conference & Exhibition EST 2015". The EST 2015 took place from May, 20th until May, 22nd 2015 in Karlsruhe, Germany, and brought together many different stakeholders, who do research or work in the broad field of "Energy". Renewable energies have to present a relevant share in a sustainable energy system and energy efficiency has to guarantee that conventional as well as renewable energy sources are transformed and used in a reasonable way. The adaption of existing infrastructure and the establishment of new systems, storages and grids are necessary to face the challenges of a changing energy sector. Those three main topics have been the fundament of the EST 2015, which served as a platform for national and international attendees to discuss and interconnect the various disciplines within energy research and energy business. We thank the authors, who summarised their high-quality and important results and experiences within one-paged abstracts and made the conference and this book possible. The abstracts of this book have been peer-reviewed by an international Scientific Programme Committee and are ordered by type of presentation (oral or poster) and topics. You can navigate by using either the table of contents (page 3) or the conference programme (starting page 4 for oral presentations and page 21 for posters respectively)

Current Status of Chemical Energy Storage Technologies

The aim of this report is to give an overview of the contribution of EU funding, specifically through Horizon 2020 (H2020), to the research, development and deployment of chemical energy storage technologies (CEST). In the context of this report, CEST is defined as energy storage through the conversion of electricity to hydrogen or other chemicals and synthetic fuels. On the basis of an analysis of the H2020 project portfolio and funding distribution, the report maps research activities on CESTs at the European level. In addition, projects funded at national and international level, occurring within the same timeframe, have been considered.JRC.C.1-Energy Storag

California Methanol Assessment; Volume II, Technical Report

A joint effort by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering has brought together sponsors from both the public and private sectors for an analysis of the prospects for methanol use as a fuel in California, primarily for the transportation and stationary application sectors. Increasing optimism in 1982 for a slower rise in oil prices and a more realistic understanding of the costs of methanol production have had a negative effect on methanol viability in the near term (before the year 2000). Methanol was determined to have some promise in the transportation sector, but is not forecasted for large-scale use until beyond the year 2000. Similarly, while alternative use of methanol can have a positive effect on air quality (reducing NOx, SOx, and other emissions), a best case estimate is for less than 4% reduction in peak ozone by 2000 at realistic neat methanol vehicle adoption rates. Methanol is not likely to be a viable fuel in the stationary application sector because it cannot compete economically with conventional fuels except in very limited cases. On the production end, it was determined that methanol produced from natural gas will continue to dominate supply options through the year 2000, and the present and planned industry capacity is somewhat in excess of all projected needs. Nonsubsidized coal-based methanol cannot compete with conventional feedstocks using current technology, but coal-based methanol has promise in the long term (after the year 2000), providing that industry is willing to take the technical and market risks and that government agencies will help facilitate the environment for methanol. Given that the prospects for viable major markets (stationary applications and neat fuel in passenger cars) are unlikely in the 1980s and early 1990s, the next steps for methanol are in further experimentation and research of production and utilization technologies, expanded use as an octane enhancer, and selected fleet implementation. In the view of the study, it is not advantageous at this time to establish policies within California that attempt to expand methanol use rapidly as a neat fuel for passenger cars or to induce electric utility use of methanol on a widespread basis