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Biomass Gasification for Electricity and Fuels , Large Scale

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Renewable Energy Systems

Definition of the Subject

It is commonly agreed that gasification of biomass has a large potential for a more sustainable energy system in the future. However, a lot of research and demonstration efforts have been carried out during the last three decades but there are only a few gasification technologies which are available commercially at the market so far. In the 1980s and 1990s CHP (combined heat and power) production based on gasification has been investigated intensively and several different technologies have been demonstrated in an industrial scale. In the last decade, research and development in biomass gasification have been focused mainly on the production, cleaning, and upgrading of producer gas to synthesis gas (syngas ) quality and several synthesis reactions have been studied especially those leading to biofuels for the transportation sector.

This paper gives an overview about the state of development for large-scale biomass gasification and applications of the producer...

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Abbreviations

AER:

Adsorption enhanced reforming, dual fluidized bed gasification process for generation of producer gas with high hydrogen content.

Allothermal gasification:

Heat necessary for the gasification process is generated externally and delivered to the gasifier by a heat exchanger or a heat carrier media.

ASF:

Anderson Schultz Flory distribution, mathematical model for Fischer Tropsch product distribution.

Autothermal gasification:

Heat necessary for the gasification process is generated in the same reaction chamber where the gasification reactions take place.

Biofuel:

Solid biogeneous material used as feed for gasification or fuel for transportation with biogeneous origin.

CHP:

Technology for combined heat and power production.

CV:

Calorific value, energy content of a fuel given in MJ/kg or MJ/m3.

DME:

Dimethylether, proposed gaseous biofuels for transportation.

Fuel oriented:

Process for maximizing fuel production.

FT:

Fischer–Tropsch, synthesis reaction proposed for the production of liquid biofuels.

IGCC:

Integrated gasification combined cycle, process for maximized electricity production via gasification.

Large scale:

Large scale refers here to gasification plants with capacities larger than 10 MW fuel input and able to be up-scaled up to or above 100 MW fuel input.

ORC:

Organic Rankine Cycle, process for electricity production from heat.

Polygeneration:

Process for generation of at least three different products in one plant at the same time, e.g., heat, electricity, and biofuels.

Producer gas:

Gas produced in a gasification process.

R&D&D:

Research and development and demonstration.

SNG:

Synthetic natural gas, gas produced from solid biomass via gasification with a quality comparable with natural gas.

Syngas (synthesis gas):

Producer gas upgraded for synthesis processes.

Synthetic:

Produced by synthesis reactions.

Synthetic biofuel:

Biofuel for transportation purpose produced via gasification followed by synthesis processes.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9/166, 1060, Vienna, Austria

    Hermann Hofbauer

Authors
  1. Hermann Hofbauer
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Correspondence to Hermann Hofbauer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. German Biomass Research Centre, Leipzig, Germany

    Martin Kaltschmitt

  2. Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany

    Martin Kaltschmitt

  3. Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Nickolas J. Themelis

  4. Ormat Technologies, Inc., Reno, NV, USA

    Lucien Y. Bronicki

  5. Royal Institute of Technology, Electric Power Systems, Stockholm, Sweden

    Lennart Söder

  6. Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, School of Ocean And Earth Science And Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Luis A. Vega

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Hofbauer, H. (2013). Biomass Gasification for Electricity and Fuels , Large Scale. In: Kaltschmitt, M., Themelis, N.J., Bronicki, L.Y., Söder, L., Vega, L.A. (eds) Renewable Energy Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5820-3_253

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