Characterisation of solid recovered fuels for direct co-firing in large-scale PF power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunnu, Gregory

2013-04-01

Solid Recovered Fuels are solid fuels prepared from high calorific fractions of non-hazardous waste materials intended to be co-fired in coal power plants and industrial furnaces (CEN/TC 343). They are composed of a variety of materials of which some, although recyclable in theory, may be in a form that makes their recycling an unsound option. The SRF with a typical size range of 3 mm through 25 mm are to be directly co-fired in an existing pulverised coal power plant. In comparison to pulverised coal, the particle size distribution of the SRF is of several magnitudes higher, resulting in a different burnout behaviour. Size reduction of the SRF to a fraction similar to coal is not economically feasible. The aim here is, therefore, the direct co-firing of the solid recovered fuels in the boilers without any further size reduction. This approach, however, bears the risk of incomplete combustion if the injection points of the solid recovered fuels are not optimally selected. Accordingly, the prediction of the burner levels, at which the solid recovered fuels should be injected and whether or not a complete combustion will be achieved under full load condition, is the primary objective of this dissertation. In this research work, laboratory experiments have been conducted to forecast the success of co-firing the SRF in a commercial pulverised coal power plant. It involves the analyses of the fuel and its intermediate chars generated at conditions comparable to boiler conditions to determine some characteristic parameters, namely the burnout time, the aerodynamic lift velocity, the drag coefficient and the apparent densities. The data gathered from the laboratory experiments are transferred to boiler conditions to determine the particle trajectories and the maximum distance likely to travel before they are completely converted in the boiler. Different scenarios are examined and based on the results the best boiler injection points are predicted. Furthermore, an on

Conceptual design and system analysis of a poly-generation system for power and olefin production from natural gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qian Yu; Liu Jingyao; Huang Zhixian; Kraslawski, Andrzej; Cui Jian; Huang Yinlun

2009-01-01

In this paper, a novel poly-generation system for olefin and power production from natural gas is proposed, which integrates hydrocarbon production and the combined cycle power generation. Economic and technological evaluation based on the internal rate of return (IRR) and exergy efficiency is performed. The energy integration results in the proposed poly-generation system for simultaneous production of chemical products (ethylene and propylene) and electricity being more thermodynamically efficient and economically viable than single purpose power generation and chemical products production plants. IRR and exergy efficiency of the proposed poly-generation system are higher than that of natural gas methanol to olefin (NGMTO) system, 18.9% and 49.9%, respectively. The biggest exergy destruction segments, their causes, and possible measures for improvement are investigated simulation and thermodynamic analysis. To analyze the effect of unreacted syngas recycle on the exergy efficiency and economic gains from the proposed poly-generation system, its thermoeconomic optimization model is built by combining economic with thermodynamic analysis. Optimization analysis shows that when 78% of the unreacted syngas is recycled back to the reactor in the methanol synthesization process, the thermoeconomic performance of the poly-generation system is at its optimum.

Technical, economic and environmental potential of co-firing of biomass in coal and natural gas fired power plants in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Ree, R.; Korbee, R.; Eenkhoorn, S.; De Lange, T.; Groenendaal, B.

2000-01-01

In this paper the technical, economic, and environmental potential of co-firing of biomass in existing Dutch coal and natural gas fired power plants, and industrial combined-cycles (CC), is addressed. Main criteria that are considered are: the availability and contractibility of biomass for energy purposes; the (technical) operation of the conventional fossil fuel based processes may not be disturbed; the gaseous and liquid plant emissions have to comply to those applicable for power plants/CCs, the commercial applicability of the solid residues may not be negatively influenced; applicable additional biomass conversion technologies must be commercially available; the necessary additional investment costs must be acceptable from an economic point of view, and the co-firing option must result in a substantial CO 2 -emission reduction. The main result of the study described in the paper is the presentation of a clear and founded indication of the total co-firing potential of biomass in existing power plants and industrial CCs in the Netherlands. This potential is determined by considering both technical, economic, and environmental criteria. In spite of the fact that the co-firing potential for the specific Dutch situation is presented, the results of the criteria considered are more generally applicable, and therefore are also very interesting for potential co-firing initiatives outside of the Netherlands

GASIFICATION BASED BIOMASS CO-FIRING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Babul Patel; Kevin McQuigg; Robert Toerne; John Bick

2003-01-01

Biomass gasification offers a practical way to use this widespread fuel source for co-firing traditional large utility boilers. The gasification process converts biomass into a low Btu producer gas that can be used as a supplemental fuel in an existing utility boiler. This strategy of co-firing is compatible with a variety of conventional boilers including natural gas and oil fired boilers, pulverized coal fired conventional and cyclone boilers. Gasification has the potential to address all problems associated with the other types of co-firing with minimum modifications to the existing boiler systems. Gasification can also utilize biomass sources that have been previously unsuitable due to size or processing requirements, facilitating a wider selection of biomass as fuel and providing opportunity in reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere through the commercialization of this technology. This study evaluated two plants: Wester Kentucky Energy Corporation's (WKE's) Reid Plant and TXU Energy's Monticello Plant for technical and economical feasibility. These plants were selected for their proximity to large supply of poultry litter in the area. The Reid plant is located in Henderson County in southwest Kentucky, with a large poultry processing facility nearby. Within a fifty-mile radius of the Reid plant, there are large-scale poultry farms that generate over 75,000 tons/year of poultry litter. The local poultry farmers are actively seeking environmentally more benign alternatives to the current use of the litter as landfill or as a farm spread as fertilizer. The Monticello plant is located in Titus County, TX near the town of Pittsburgh, TX, where again a large poultry processor and poultry farmers in the area generate over 110,000 tons/year of poultry litter. Disposal of this litter in the area is also a concern. This project offers a model opportunity to demonstrate the feasibility of biomass co-firing and at the same time eliminate

A mixed-integer nonlinear programming approach to the optimal design of heat network in a polygeneration energy system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Jianyun; Liu, Pei; Zhou, Zhe; Ma, Linwei; Li, Zheng; Ni, Weidou

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Integration of heat streams with HRSG in a polygeneration system is studied. • A mixed-integer nonlinear programming model is proposed to optimize heat network. • Operating parameters and heat network configuration are optimized simultaneously. • The optimized heat network highly depends on the HRSG type and model specification. - Abstract: A large number of heat flows at various temperature and pressure levels exist in a polygeneration plant which co-produces electricity and chemical products. Integration of these external heat flows in a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) has great potential to further enhance energy efficiency of such a plant; however, it is a challenging problem arising from the large design space of heat exchanger network. In this paper, a mixed-integer nonlinear programming model is developed for the design optimization of a HRSG with consideration of all alternative matches between the HRSG and external heat flows. This model is applied to four polygeneration cases with different HRSG types, and results indicate that the optimized heat network mainly depends on the HRSG type and the model specification

Cofiring biomass with coal: Opportunities for Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, A A; Shamsuddin, A H

2013-01-01

Malaysia generated 108,175 GWh of electricity in 2010 where 39.51 % was sourced from coal. Coal power generation is also planned to overtake natural gas as the main fuel for electricity generation within the next two decades. Malaysia also has a vast biomass resource that is currently under-utilised for electricity generation. This paper studies the option of cofiring biomass in existing Malaysian coal power plants to increase the nation's renewable energy mix as well as to reduce its power sector carbon dioxide emission. Benefits of cofiring to the nation were discussed and agricultural residues from palm oil and paddy was identified as a potential source of biomass for cofiring. It was also found that there is a willingness for cofiring by stakeholders but barriers existed in the form of technical issues and lack of clear direction and mechanism.

Cofiring biomass with coal: Opportunities for Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, A. A.; Shamsuddin, A. H.

2013-06-01

Malaysia generated 108,175 GWh of electricity in 2010 where 39.51 % was sourced from coal. Coal power generation is also planned to overtake natural gas as the main fuel for electricity generation within the next two decades. Malaysia also has a vast biomass resource that is currently under-utilised for electricity generation. This paper studies the option of cofiring biomass in existing Malaysian coal power plants to increase the nation's renewable energy mix as well as to reduce its power sector carbon dioxide emission. Benefits of cofiring to the nation were discussed and agricultural residues from palm oil and paddy was identified as a potential source of biomass for cofiring. It was also found that there is a willingness for cofiring by stakeholders but barriers existed in the form of technical issues and lack of clear direction and mechanism.

The Key Role of the Vector Optimization Algorithm and Robust Design Approach for the Design of Polygeneration Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfredo Gimelli

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In recent decades, growing concerns about global warming and climate change effects have led to specific directives, especially in Europe, promoting the use of primary energy-saving techniques and renewable energy systems. The increasingly stringent requirements for carbon dioxide reduction have led to a more widespread adoption of distributed energy systems. In particular, besides renewable energy systems for power generation, one of the most effective techniques used to face the energy-saving challenges has been the adoption of polygeneration plants for combined heating, cooling, and electricity generation. This technique offers the possibility to achieve a considerable enhancement in energy and cost savings as well as a simultaneous reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the use of small-scale polygeneration systems does not ensure the achievement of mandatory, but sometimes conflicting, aims without the proper sizing and operation of the plant. This paper is focused on a methodology based on vector optimization algorithms and developed by the authors for the identification of optimal polygeneration plant solutions. To this aim, a specific calculation algorithm for the study of cogeneration systems has also been developed. This paper provides, after a detailed description of the proposed methodology, some specific applications to the study of combined heat and power (CHP and organic Rankine cycle (ORC plants, thus highlighting the potential of the proposed techniques and the main results achieved.

Co-firing: panacea or potential monster?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grundy, M.; Lilley, P. [Mott MacDonald Ltd., Brighton (United Kingdom). Energy Division

2004-01-01

Co-firing with fossil fuels could well be the only practical and economic way to introduce a significant biomass contribution to UK renewables. But, in the hands of the large generators, co-firing is a potential monster, capable of destroying the carefully-constructed incentive structure for 'real' renewables such as wind power and dedicated biomass plants. Both views contain an element of truth, but the conflict between them could endanger the infant energy crop industry. 1 fig., 2 photos.

GIS-based biomass resource utilization for rice straw cofiring in the Taiwanese power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Ming-Che; Huang, An-Lei; Wen, Tzai-Hung

2013-01-01

Rice straw, a rich agricultural byproduct in Taiwan, can be used as biomass feedstock for cofiring systems. In this study, we analyzed the penetration of rice straw cofiring systems in the Taiwanese power market. In the power generation system, rice straw is cofired with fossil fuel in existing electricity plants. The benefits of cofiring systems include increasing the use of renewable energy, decreasing the fuel cost, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. We established a linear complementarity model to simulate the power market equilibrium with cofiring systems in Taiwan. GIS-based analysis was then used to analyze the geospatial relationships between paddy rice farms and power plants to assess potential biomass for straw-power generation. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis of the biomass feedstock supply system was conducted for various cofiring scenarios. The spatial maps and equilibrium results of rice straw cofiring in Taiwanese power market are presented in the paper. - Highlights: ► The penetration of straw cofiring systems in the power market is analyzed. ► GIS-based analysis assesses potential straw-power generation. ► The spatial maps and equilibrium results of rice straw cofiring are presented

Economic analysis of coal-based polygeneration system for methanol and power production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Hu; Jin, Hongguang; Gao, Lin; Han, Wei

Polygeneration system for chemical and power co-production has been regarded as one of promising technologies to use fossil fuel more efficiently and cleanly. In this paper the thermodynamic and economic performances of three types of coal-based polygeneration system were investigated and the influence of energy saving of oxygenation systems on system economic performance was revealed. The primary cost saving ratio (PCS) is presented as a criterion, which represents the cost saving of polygeneration system compared with the single-product systems with the same products outputs, to evaluate economic advantages of polygeneration system. As a result, the system, adopting un-reacted syngas partly recycled to the methanol synthesis reactor and without the shift process, can get the optimal PCS of 11.8%, which results from the trade-off between the installed capital cost saving and the energy saving effects on the cost saving, and represents the optimal coupling relationship among chemical conversion, energy utilization and economic performance. And both of fuel price and the level of equipment capital cost affect on PCS faintly. This paper provides an evaluation method for polygeneration systems based on both technical and economic viewpoints. (author)

Exergetic analysis of a steam power plant using coal and rice straw in a co-firing process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Restrepo, Alvaro; Miyake, Raphael Guardini; Bazzo, Edson [Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Florianopolis, SC (Brazil)], e-mails: arestrep@labcet.ufsc.br, miyake@labcet.ufsc.br, ebazzo@emc.ufsc.br; Bzuneck, Marcelo [Tractebel Energia S.A., Capivari de Baixo, SC (Brazil). U.O. Usina Termeletrica Jorge Lacerda C.], e-mail: marcelob@tractebelenergia.com.br

2010-07-01

This paper presents an exergetic analysis concerning an existing 50 M We steam power plant, which operates with pulverized coal from Santa Catarina- Brazil. In this power plant, a co-firing rice straw is proposed, replacing up to 10% of the pulverized coal in energy basis required for the boiler. Rice straw has been widely regarded as an important source for bio-ethanol, animal feedstock and organic chemicals. The use of rice straw as energy source for electricity generation in a co-firing process with low rank coal represents a new application as well as a new challenge to overcome. Considering both scenarios, the change in the second law efficiency, exergy destruction, influence of the auxiliary equipment and the greenhouse gases emissions such as CO{sub 2} and SO{sub 2} were considered for analysis. (author)

Ash transformation during co-firing coal and straw

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zheng, Yuanjing; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Jensen, Anker Degn

2007-01-01

Co-firing straw with coal in pulverized fuel boilers can cause problems related to fly ash utilization, deposit formation, corrosion and SCR catalyst deactivation due to the high contents of Cl and K in the ash. To investigate the interaction between coal and straw ash and the effect of coal...... quality on fly ash and deposit properties, straw was co-fired with three kinds of coal in an entrained flow reactor. The compositions of the produced ashes were compared to the available literature data to find suitable scaling parameters that can be used to predict the composition of ash from straw...... and coal co-firing. Reasonable agreement in fly ash compositions regarding total K and fraction of water soluble K was obtained between co-firing in an entrained flow reactor and full-scale plants. Capture of potassium and subsequent release of HCl can be achieved by sulphation with SO2 and more...

Design Optimization of a Small-Scale Polygeneration Energy System in Different Climate Zones in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Ghaem Sigarchian

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Design and performance of polygeneration energy systems are highly influenced by several variables, including the climate zone, which can affect the load profile as well as the availability of renewable energy sources. To investigate the effects, in this study, the design of a polygeneration system for identical residential buildings that are located in three different climate zones in Iran has been investigated. To perform the study, a model has previously developed by the author is used. The performance of the polygeneration system in terms of energy, economy and environment were compared to each other. The results show significant energetic and environmental benefits of the implementation of polygeneration systems in Iran, especially in the building that is located in a hot climate, with a high cooling demand and a low heating demand. Optimal polygeneration system for an identical building has achieved a 27% carbon dioxide emission reduction in the cold climate, while this value is around 41% in the hot climate. However, when considering the price of electricity and gas in the current energy market in Iran, none of the systems are feasible and financial support mechanisms or other incentives are required to promote the application of decentralized polygeneration energy systems.

Optimization of a polygeneration system for energy demands of a livestock farm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mančić Marko V.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A polygeneration system is an energy system capable of providing multiple utility outputs to meet local demands by application of process integration. This paper addresses the problem of pinpointing the optimal polygeneration energy supply system for the local energy demands of a livestock farm in terms of optimal system configuration and optimal system capacity. The optimization problem is presented and solved for a case study of a pig farm in the paper. Energy demands of the farm, as well as the super-structure of the polygeneration system were modelled using TRNSYS software. Based on the locally available resources, the following polygeneration modules were chosen for the case study analysis: a biogas fired internal combustion engine co-generation module, a gas boiler, a chiller, a ground water source heat pump, solar thermal collectors, photovoltaic collectors, and heat and cold storage. Capacities of the polygeneration modules were used as optimization variables for the TRNSYS-GenOpt optimization, whereas net present value, system primary energy consumption, and CO2 emissions were used as goal functions for optimization. A hybrid system composed of biogas fired internal combustion engine based co-generation system, adsorption chiller solar thermal and photovoltaic collectors, and heat storage is found to be the best option. Optimal heating capacity of the biogas co-generation and adsorption units was found equal to the design loads, whereas the optimal surface of the solar thermal array is equal to the south office roof area, and the optimal surface of the PV array corresponds to the south facing animal housing building rooftop area. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 42006: Research and development of energy and environmentally highly effective polygeneration systems based on using renewable energy sources

Wood and coal cofiring in Alaska—operational considerations and combustion gas effects for a grate-fired power plant

Science.gov (United States)

David Nicholls; Zackery Wright; Daisy. Huang

2018-01-01

Coal is the primary fuel source for electrical power generation in interior Alaska, with more than 600,000 tons burned annually at five different power plants. Woody biomass could be used as part of this fuel mix, offering potential environmental and economic benefits. In this research, debarked chips were cofired with locally mined coal at the Aurora Power Plant...

USDOE/EPRI BIOMASS COFIRING COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D. Tillman; E. Hughes

1999-01-01

The Eleventh Quarter of the USDOE-EPRI contract, April 1, 1999 through June 30, 1999, was characterized by extensive testing at the Seward cofiring demonstration of GPU Genco and the Bailly Unit No.7 demonstration of NIPSCO. Technical work that proceeded during the eleventh quarter of the contract included the following: Testing at up to(approx)15 percent cofiring on a mass basis ((approx)7 percent cofiring on a Btu basis) at the Seward Generating Station No.12 boiler, focusing upon the operability of the separate injection system and the combustion/emission formation characteristics of the cofiring process; and Testing at up to(approx)10 percent cofiring of waste wood on a mass basis ((approx)5 percent cofiring on a Btu basis) at the Bailly Generating Station No.7 boiler, focusing upon the impacts of urban wood waste blended with a mixture of eastern high sulfur coal and western low sulfur coal Both tests demonstrated the following general, and expected, results from cofiring at these locations: (1) Cofiring did not impact boiler capacity; (2) Cofiring did cause a modest reduction in boiler efficiency; (3) Cofiring did reduce NOx emissions; (4) Cofiring did reduce fossil CO2 emissions; and (5) Other impacts of cofiring were modest

Long term deactivation test of high dust SCR catalysts by straw co-firing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weigang Lin; Degn Jensen, A.; Bjerkvig, J.

2009-12-15

The consequences of carbon dioxide induced global warming cause major concern worldwide. The consumption of energy produced with fossil fuels is the major factor that contributes to the global warming. Biomass is a renewable energy resource and has a nature of CO{sub 2} neutrality. Co-combustion of biomass in existing coal fired power plants can maintain high efficiency and reduce the emission of CO{sub 2} at same time. However, one of the problems faced by co-firing is deactivation of the SCR catalysts. Understanding of the mechanisms of deactivation of the catalyst elements at co-firing conditions is crucial for long term runs of the power plants. Twenty six SCR catalyst elements were exposed at two units (SSV3 and SSV4) in the Studstrup Power Plant for a long period. Both units co-fire coal and straw with a typical fraction of 8-10% straw on an energy basis during co-firing. SSV4 unit operated in co-firing mode most of the time; SSV3 unit co-fired straw half of the operating time. The main objective of this PSO-project is to gain knowledge of a long term influence on catalyst activity when co-firing straw in coal-fired power plants, thus, to improve the basis for operating the SCR-plants for NO{sub x}-reduction. The exposure time of the applied catalyst elements (HTAS and BASF) varied from approximately 5000 to 19000 hours in the power plant by exchanging the element two times. The activity of all elements was measured before and after exposure in a bench scale test rig at the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark. The results show that the activity, estimated by exclusion of channel clogging of the elements, decreases gradually with the total exposure time. It appears that the exposure time under co-firing condition has little effect on the deactivation of the catalyst elements and no sharp decrease of the activity was observed. The average deactivation rate of the catalyst elements is 1.6 %/1000 hours. SEM

FETC/EPRI Biomass Cofiring Cooperative Agreement. Quarterly technical report, April 1-June 30, 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hughes, E.; Tillman, D.

1997-12-01

The FETC/EPRI Biomass Cofiring Program has accelerated the pace of cofiring development by increasing the testing activities plus the support activities for interpreting test results. Past tests conducted and analyzed include the Allen Fossil Plant and Seward Generating Station programs. On-going tests include the Colbert Fossil Plant precommercial test program, the Greenidge Station commercialization program, and the Blount St. Station switchgrass program. Tests in the formative stages included the NIPSCO cofiring test at Michigan City Generating Station. Analytical activities included modeling and related support functions required to analyze the cofiring test results, and to place those results into context. Among these activities is the fuel availability study in the Pittsburgh, PA area. This study, conducted for Duquesne Light, supports their initial investigation into reburn technology using wood waste as a fuel. This Quarterly Report, covering the third quarter of the FETC/EPRI Biomass Cofiring Program, highlights the progress made on the 16 projects funded under this cooperative agreement.

Co-firing biomass and fossil fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Junge, D.C.

1991-01-01

In June 1989, the Alaska Energy Authority and the University of Alaska Anchorage published a monograph summarizing the technology of co-firing biomass and fossil fuels. The title of the 180 page monograph is 'Use of Mixed Fuels in Direct Combustion Systems'. Highlights from the monograph are presented in this paper with emphasis on the following areas: (1) Equipment design and operational experience co-firing fuels; (2) The impact of co-firing on efficiency; (3) Environmental considerations associated with co-firing; (4) Economic considerations in co-firing; and (5) Decision making criteria for co-firing

Benefits of Allothermal Biomass Gasification for Co-Firing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van der Meijden, C.M.; Van der Drift, A.; Vreugdenhil, B.J. [ECN Biomass and Energy Efficiency, Petten (Netherlands)

2012-04-15

Many countries have set obligations to reduce the CO2 emissions from coal fired boilers. Co-firing of biomass in existing coal fired power plants is an attractive solution to reduce CO2 emissions. Co-firing can be done by direct mixing of biomass with coal (direct co-firing) or by converting the biomass into a gas or liquid which is fired in a separate burner (indirect co-firing). Direct co-firing is a rather simple solution, but requires a high quality and expensive biomass fuel (e.g. wood pellets). Indirect co-firing requires an additional installation that converts the solid biomass into a gas or liquid, but has the advantage that it can handle a wide range of cheap biomass fuels (e.g. demolition wood) and most of the biomass ash components are separated from the gas before it enters the boiler. Separation of biomass ash can prevent fouling issues in the boiler. Indirect co-firing, using biomass gasification technology, is already common practice. In Geertruidenberg (the Netherlands) a 80 MWth Lurgi CFB gasifier produces gas from demolition wood which is co-fired in the Amer PC boiler. In Ruien (Belgium) a 50 MWth Foster Wheeler fluidized bed gasifier is in operation. The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) developed a 'second generation' allothermal gasifier called the MILENA gasifier. This gasifier has some major advantages over conventional fluidized bed gasifiers. The heating value of the produced gas is approximately 2.5 times higher than of gas produced by conventional bubbling / circulating fluidized bed gasifiers. This results in smaller adaptations to the membrane wall of the boiler for the gas injection, thus lower costs. A major disadvantage of most fluidized bed gasifiers is the incomplete conversion of the fuel. Typical fuel conversions vary between 90 and 95%. The remaining combustible material, also containing most of the biomass ash components, is blown out of the gasifier and removed from the gas stream by a cyclone to

Combustion aerosols from co-firing of coal and solid recovered fuel in a 400 mw pf-fired power plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Anne Juul; Wu, Hao; Jappe Frandsen, Flemming

2010-01-01

In this work, combustion aerosols (i.e. fine particles fired power plant was sampled with a low-pressure impactor, and analysed by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The power plant was operated at both dedicated coal combustion conditions...... and under conditions with cofiring of up to 10% (thermal basis) of solid recovered fuel (SRF). The SRFs were characterized by high contents of Cl, Ca, Na and trace metals, while the coal had relatively higher S, Al, Fe and K content. The mass-based particle size distribution of the aerosols was found...... to be bi-modal, with an ultrafine (vaporization) mode centered around 0.1 μm, and a coarser (finefragmentation) mode above 2 μm. Co-firing of SRF tended to increase the formation of ultrafine particles as compared with dedicated coal combustion, while the coarse mode tended to decrease. The increased...

The feasibility of co-firing biomass for electricity in Missouri

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Zuoming; Altman, Ira; Johnson, Thomas G.

2014-01-01

Bioenergy is one of the most significant energy resources with potential to serve as a partial replacement for fossil. As an agricultural state, Missouri has great potential to use biomass for energy production. In 2008, Missouri adopted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) yet about 80% of its power supply still comes from coal. This paper describes a feasibility study of co-firing biomass in existing coal-powered plants in Missouri. Specifically, this study developed a linear programming model and simulated six scenarios to assess the economic feasibility and greenhouse gas impacts of co-firing biomass in existing qualified coal power plants in Missouri. The results of this study indicate that although co-firing can reduce the emissions of GHG and environmental pollutants, it is still not an economically feasible option for power generation without additional economic or policy incentives or regulations which could take environmental costs into account. Based on these results, strategies and policies to promote the utilization of biomass and to increase its competitiveness with fossil fuels are identified and discussed. - Highlights: • This paper reports on a study of the economic feasibility and environmental effects of co-firing biomass for electricity. • The feasibility of co-firing biomass varies by location depending on local availability of biomass and size of facility. • We apply a linear optimization model that generates economic and environmental indicators for each of several locations. • This paper will appeal to power generators, academic researchers and consultants interested in the feasibility of biopower

Process analysis of an oxygen lean oxy-fuel power plant with co-production of synthesis gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Normann, Fredrik; Thunman, Henrik; Johnsson, Filip

2009-01-01

This paper investigates new possibilities and synergy effects for an oxy-fuel fired polygeneration scheme (transportation fuel and electricity) with carbon capture and co-firing of biomass. The proposed process has the potential to make the oxy-fuel process more effective through a sub-stoichiometric combustion in-between normal combustion and gasification, which lowers the need for oxygen within the process. The sub-stoichiometric combustion yields production of synthesis gas, which is utilised in an integrated synthesis to dimethyl ether (DME). The process is kept CO 2 neutral through co-combustion of biomass in the process. The proposed scheme is simulated with a computer model with a previous study of an oxy-fuel power plant as a reference process. The degree of sub-stoichiometric combustion, or amount of synthesis gas produced, is optimised with respect to the overall efficiency. The maximal efficiency was found at a stoichiometric ratio just below 0.6 with the efficiency for the electricity producing oxy-fuel process of 0.35 and a DME process efficiency of 0.63. It can be concluded that the proposed oxygen lean combustion process constitutes a way to improve the oxy-fuel carbon capture processes with an efficient production of DME in a polygeneration process

Solution for the future smart energy system: A polygeneration plant based on reversible solid oxide cells and biomass gasification producing either electrofuel or power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sigurjonsson, Hafthor Ægir; Clausen, Lasse R.

2018-01-01

price scenario and bio-SNG price. A system that can select the production or consumption of electricity depending on the market price enables constant operation all year round. This results in a higher net present value for the system and may lead to a positive return on investment, given...... the appropriate market price of electricity and bio-SNG. However, the techno-economic analysis revealed that the district heating product may be important for the economic feasibility of the polygeneration plant. This system may offer solutions in a smart energy system connecting electrofuel, heat, and power...

COFIRING OF BIOMASS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phillip N. Hutton

2002-01-01

A project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory was completed by the Energy & Environmental Research Center to explore the potential for cofiring biomass at the University of North Dakota (UND). The results demonstrate how 25% sunflower hulls can be cofired with subbituminous coal and provide a 20% return on investment or 5-year payback for the modifications required to enable firing biomass. Significant outcomes of the study are as follows. A complete resource assessment presented all biomass options to UND within a 100-mile radius. Among the most promising options in order of preference were sunflower hulls, wood residues, and turkey manure. The firing of up to 28% sunflower hulls by weight was completed at the university's steam plant to identify plant modifications that would be necessary to enable cofiring sunflower hulls. The results indicated investments in a new equipment could be less than $408,711. Data collected from test burns, which were not optimized for biomass firing, resulted in a 15% reduction in sulfur and NO{sub x} emissions, no increase in opacity, and slightly better boiler efficiency. Fouling and clinkering potential were not evaluated; however, no noticeable detrimental effects occurred during testing. As a result of this study, UND has the potential to achieve a cost savings of approximately $100,000 per year from a $1,500,000 annual fossil fuel budget by implementing the cofiring of 25% sunflower hulls.

Biomass for electricity in the EU-27: Potential demand, CO2 abatements and breakeven prices for co-firing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertrand, Vincent; Dequiedt, Benjamin; Le Cadre, Elodie

2014-01-01

This paper analyses the potential of biomass-based electricity in the EU-27 countries, and interactions with climate policy and the EU ETS. We estimate the potential biomass demand from the existing power plants, and we match our estimates with the potential biomass supply in Europe. Furthermore, we compute the CO2 abatement associated with the co-firing opportunities in European coal plants. We find that the biomass demand from the power sector may be very high compared with potential supply. We also identify that co-firing can produce high volumes of CO 2 abatements, which may be two times larger than that of the coal-to-gas fuel switching. We also compute biomass and CO2 breakeven prices for co-firing. Results indicate that biomass-based electricity remains profitable with high biomass prices, when the carbon price is high: a Euros 16–24 (25–35, respectively) biomass price (per MWh prim ) for a Euros 20 (50, respectively) carbon price. Hence, the carbon price appears as an important driver, which can make profitable a high share of the potential biomass demand from the power sector, even with high biomass prices. This aims to gain insights on how biomass market may be impacted by the EU ETS and others climate policies. - Highlights: • Technical potential of biomass (demand and CO 2 abatement) in European electricity. • Calculation for co-firing and biomass power plants; comparison with potential biomass supply in EU-27 countries. • Calculation of biomass and CO 2 breakeven prices for co-firing. • Potential demand is 8–148% of potential supply (up to 80% of demand from co-firing). • High potential abatement from co-firing (up to 365 Mt/yr); Profitable co-firing with €16-24 (25–35) biomass price for €20 (50) CO 2 price

Development of cofired type planar SOFC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taira, Hiroaki; Sakamoto, Sadaaki; Zhou, Hua-Bing [Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Shiga (Japan)] [and others

1996-12-31

We have developed fabrication process for planar SOFC fabricated with cofired anode/electrolyte/cathode multilayers and interconnects. By cofiring technique for the multilayers, we expect to reduce the thickness of the electrolyte layers, resulting in decrease of innerimpedance, and achieve low production cost. On the other hand, the cofiring technique requires that the sintering temperature, the shrinkage profiles and the thermal expansion characteristics of all component materials should be compatible with the other. It is, therefore, difficult to cofire the multilayers with large area. Using the multilayers with surface area of 150cm{sup 2}, we fabricated the multiple cell stacks. The maximum power of 5x4 multiple cell stack (5 planes of cells in series, 4 cells in parallel in each planes 484cm{sup 2} effective electrode area of each cell planes) was 601W (0.25Wcm{sup -2}, Uf=40%). However, the terminal voltage of the multiple cell stack decreased by the cause of cell cracking, gas leakage and degradation of cofired multilayers. This paper presents the improvements of cofired multilayers, and the performance of multiple cell stacks with the improved multilayers.

Simulation of Polygeneration Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Calise

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This Special Issue aims at collecting the recent studies dealing with polygeneration systems, with a special focus on the possible integration of different technologies into a single system, able to convert one or multiple energy sources into energy services (electricity, heat and cooling and other useful products (e.g., desalinized water, hydrogen, glycerin, ammonia, etc.. Renewable sources (solar, wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal, as well as fossil fuels, feeding advanced energy systems such as fuel cells and cogeneration systems, are considered. Special attention is paid to control strategies and to the management of the systems in general. Studies including thermoeconomic analyses and system optimizations are presented.

Cofiring of rice straw and coal in a coal-fired utility boiler: thermodynamic analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyake, Raphael Guardini; Bazzo, Edson [Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianopolis, SC (Brazil). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering], Emails: miyake@labcet.ufsc.br, ebazzo@emc.ufsc.br; Bzuneck, Marcelo [Tractebel Energia, Capivari de Baixo, SC (Brazil)], E-mail: marcelob@tractebelenergia.com.br

2010-07-01

Cofiring combustion of biomass and coal is a near-term, low cost alternative for reduction fossil greenhouse gas emissions in coal fired power plants. Recent reviews identified over 288 applications in over 16 countries with promising results for different coal and biomass combinations. In Brazil, there is no previous experience of cofiring biomass and coal, resulting in new challenges to fuel handling and boiler operation. A first experience is now proposed into an existing coal power plant, using rice straw as biomass fuel. A thermodynamic model was developed in order to predict operating and emissions data, which should be used in cofiring system design. For 10% of biomass input, the total CO{sub 2} emission is expected to slightly increase. However, considering only the coal CO{sub 2} emission, it is expected to decrease in about 10%. Also, the corresponding SO{sub 2} emission decreases in about 8%. (author)

Biomass co-firing under oxy-fuel conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Álvarez, L.; Yin, Chungen; Riaza, J.

2014-01-01

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on co-firing olive waste (0, 10%, 20% on mass basis) with two coals in an entrained flow reactor under three oxy-fuel conditions (21%O2/79%CO2, 30%O2/70%CO2 and 35%O2/65%CO2) and air–fuel condition. Co-firing biomass with coal was found...... to have favourable synergy effects in all the cases: it significantly improves the burnout and remarkably lowers NOx emissions. The reduced peak temperatures during co-firing can also help to mitigate deposition formation in real furnaces. Co-firing CO2-neutral biomass with coals under oxy-fuel conditions...... the model can be used to aid in design and optimization of large-scale biomass co-firing under oxy-fuel conditions....

Application of House of Quality in evaluation of low rank coal pyrolysis polygeneration technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Qingchun; Yang, Siyu; Qian, Yu; Kraslawski, Andrzej

2015-01-01

Highlights: • House of Quality method was used for assessment of coal pyrolysis polygeneration technologies. • Low rank coal pyrolysis polygeneration processes based on solid heat carrier, moving bed and fluidized bed were evaluated. • Technical and environmental criteria for the assessment of technologies were used. • Low rank coal pyrolysis polygeneration process based on a fluidized bed is the best option. - Abstract: Increasing interest in low rank coal pyrolysis (LRCP) polygeneration has resulted in the development of a number of different technologies and approaches. Evaluation of LRCP processes should include not only conventional efficiency, economic and environmental assessments, but also take into consideration sustainability aspects. As a result of the many complex variables involved, selection of the most suitable LRCP technology becomes a challenging task. This paper applies a House of Quality method in comprehensive evaluation of LRCP. A multi-level evaluation model addressing 19 customer needs and analyzing 10 technical characteristics is developed. Using the evaluation model, the paper evaluates three LRCP technologies, which are based on solid heat carrier, moving bed and fluidized bed concepts, respectively. The results show that the three most important customer needs are level of technical maturity, wastewater emissions, and internal rate of return. The three most important technical characteristics are production costs, investment costs and waste emissions. On the basis of the conducted analysis, it is concluded that the LRCP process utilizing a fluidized bed approach is the optimal alternative studied

A unified model for energy and environmental performance assessment of natural gas-fueled poly-generation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chicco, Gianfranco; Mancarella, Pierluigi

2008-01-01

Poly-generation systems for combined production of manifold energy vectors such as electricity, heat at different enthalpy levels (for instance, in the form of hot water and steam), and cooling power from a unique source of primary energy (typically natural gas) are increasingly spreading, above all on a small-scale basis (below 1 MW e ), owing to their enhanced energy, environmental and economic characteristics. Availability of suitable tools for assessing the performance of such systems is therefore fundamental. In this paper, a unified general model is proposed for assessing the energy and CO 2 emission performance of any type of poly-generation system with natural gas as the energy input. In particular, the classical energy saving model for cogeneration systems is extended to include in the analysis further energy vectors by defining the novel PPES (Poly-generation Primary Energy Saving) indicator. In addition, equivalent efficiencies for CO 2 emission assessment are defined and used in the formulation of the new PCO2ER (Poly-generation CO 2 Emission Reduction) indicator, specifically introduced for environmental analysis. The formal analogy between the PPES and the PCO2ER indicators is highlighted. Numerical applications are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed models and to quantify the typical benefits that poly-generation systems can bring. In particular, the new indicators are of relevant interest for both energy planners and policy makers, above all in the outlook of formulating financial incentive strategies, as it already occurs for cogeneration systems, or of participating to specific energy-related markets such as the ones for trading white certificates or emission allowances

Evaluating the sustainability of co-firing in the UK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Woods, Jeremy; Tipper, Richard; Brown, Gareth; Diaz-Chavez, Rocio; Lovell, Jessica; de Groot, Peter

2006-10-09

The objectives of the study were: Assess the overall carbon balance for co-firing; Investigate the other sustainability issues relating to co-firing; Assess the scope for incentivising the most sustainable forms of co-firing. The main questions to be addressed were: Is the overall carbon balance for co-firing positive? What is the difference in carbon balance between energy crops and other biomass? Are some kinds of energy crops better than others? How big a factor is transport in the carbon balance? Under what circumstances (fuel, transport, process, etc.) are the greatest benefits of co-firing in terms of carbon balance and sustainability? Are there any circumstances (as above) that could raise serious carbon balance or sustainability issues? How does the carbon balance compare between co-firing, dedicated biomass, and biomass heat? Is there any scope for encouraging the most sustainable forms of co-firing - perhaps through using existing or currently in development accreditation schemes? The report concludes that: Co-firing could be expanded to make a significant and low risk contribution to Government and EU renewable energy policy targets; Real environmental and social benefits could arise from the expansion of co-firing markets, both in the UK and in poor developing countries, given responsible development policy; There is no clear environmental or social case, for an arbitrary cap on the amount of co-firing; Co-firing could expand and enhance clean coal Carbon and Capture and Sequestration (CCS). This report focuses solely on the carbon (GHG) and broader sustainability impacts of co-firing in the UK. It does not include an economic evaluation. It provides an overview of the existing materials being used as feedstocks for co-firing and a summary life-cycle assessment of the GHG balances and sustainability (environmental and social) impacts of the provision and use of those feedstocks. A clear distinction is made between the use of residues and dedicated

Evaluating the sustainability of co-firing in the UK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woods, Jeremy; Tipper, Richard; Brown, Gareth; Diaz-Chavez, Rocio; Lovell, Jessica; de Groot, Peter

2006-01-01

The objectives of the study were: Assess the overall carbon balance for co-firing; Investigate the other sustainability issues relating to co-firing; Assess the scope for incentivising the most sustainable forms of co-firing. The main questions to be addressed were: Is the overall carbon balance for co-firing positive? What is the difference in carbon balance between energy crops and other biomass? Are some kinds of energy crops better than others? How big a factor is transport in the carbon balance? Under what circumstances (fuel, transport, process, etc.) are the greatest benefits of co-firing in terms of carbon balance and sustainability? Are there any circumstances (as above) that could raise serious carbon balance or sustainability issues? How does the carbon balance compare between co-firing, dedicated biomass, and biomass heat? Is there any scope for encouraging the most sustainable forms of co-firing - perhaps through using existing or currently in development accreditation schemes? The report concludes that: Co-firing could be expanded to make a significant and low risk contribution to Government and EU renewable energy policy targets; Real environmental and social benefits could arise from the expansion of co-firing markets, both in the UK and in poor developing countries, given responsible development policy; There is no clear environmental or social case, for an arbitrary cap on the amount of co-firing; Co-firing could expand and enhance clean coal Carbon and Capture and Sequestration (CCS). This report focuses solely on the carbon (GHG) and broader sustainability impacts of co-firing in the UK. It does not include an economic evaluation. It provides an overview of the existing materials being used as feedstocks for co-firing and a summary life-cycle assessment of the GHG balances and sustainability (environmental and social) impacts of the provision and use of those feedstocks. A clear distinction is made between the use of residues and dedicated

Polygeneration microgrids: A viable solution in remote areas for supplying power, potable water and hydrogen as transportation fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kyriakarakos, George; Dounis, Anastasios I.; Rozakis, Stelios; Arvanitis, Konstantinos G.; Papadakis, George

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Polygeneration of power, hydrogen and potable water through desalination in remote areas. → Particle Swarm Optimization for the design of Polygeneration microgrid design with TRNSYS, GenOpt and TRNOPT. → Economic evaluation with Monte Carlo simulation for the calculation of NPV distribution. → Polygeneration microgrids are technically feasible and most likely financially profitable. -- Abstract: This paper presents the concept and the design of a hybrid renewable energy polygeneration microgrid along with its technical and economical evaluation. The energy of the sun and the wind is harvested by photovoltaics and a wind turbine. Besides that, the components of the microgrid include a battery bank, a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell, a PEM electrolyzer, a metal hydride tank, a reverse osmosis desalination unit using energy recovery and a control system. The microgrid covers the electricity, transport and water needs and thus its products are power, hydrogen as transportation fuel and potable water through desalination. Hydrogen and the desalinated water also act as medium to long term seasonal storage. A design tool based on TRNSYS 16, GenOpt 2.0 and TRNOPT was developed using Particle Swarm Optimization method. The economic evaluation of the concept was based on the discounting cash flow approach. The Monte Carlo Simulation method was used in order to take uncertainty into account. A technically feasible polygeneration microgrid adapted to a small island is financially profitable with a probability of 90% for the present and 100% at the medium term.

Emissions tradeoffs associated with cofiring forest biomass with coal: A case study in Colorado, USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loeffler, Dan; Anderson, Nathaniel

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Case study using audited fuel consumption and emissions data from a coal mine and power plant. • Model emissions tradeoffs of cofiring forest biomass with coal up to 20% by heat input value. • Substituting forest biomass with coal displaces fossil energy with an otherwise waste material. • Substantially less system emissions overall are generated when cofiring forest biomass. • Cofiring forest biomass has positive global and local greenhouse gas and human health implications. - Abstract: Cofiring forest biomass residues with coal to generate electricity is often cited for its potential to offset fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the extent to which cofiring achieves these objectives is highly dependent on case specific variables. This paper uses facility and forest specific data to examine emissions from cofiring forest biomass with coal ranging up to 20% substitution by heat value in southwest Colorado, USA. Calculations for net system emissions include five emissions sources: coal mining, power plant processes, forest biomass processes, boiler emissions, and forest biomass disposal. At the maximum displacement of 20% of heat demand using 120,717 t of forest biomass per year, total system emissions are projected to decrease by 15% for CO 2 , 95% for CH 4 , 18% for NO X , 82% for PM 10 , and 27% for SO X . PM 10 and CH 4 emissions benefits are closely tied to reducing open burning for residue disposal. At maximum displacement, 189,240 t of CO 2 emissions equivalent to the annual CO 2 emissions from 36,200 passenger vehicles, 440,000 barrels of oil, or nearly 990 railcars of coal are avoided. When forest biomass is not cofired, emissions equivalent to144,200 t of CO 2 are emitted from open burning. In addition to exploring the details of this case, we provide a methodology for assessing the emissions tradeoffs related to using forest biomass for cogeneration that incorporates the operational aspects of managing forest

USDOE/EPRI BIOMASS COFIRING COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D. Tillman; E. Hughes

1999-01-01

During the period of April 1, 1999 through June 30, 1999, wood cofiring testing at both Seward Generating Station of GPU Genco and Bailly Generating Station of Northern Indiana Public Service Company provided the focus for all activities. In both cases, the testing was directed at the impacts of cofiring on efficiency, operability, and NO(sub x) emissions. This report summarizes the activities during the second calendar quarter in 1999 of the USDOE/EPRI Biomass Cofiring Cooperative Agreement. It focuses upon reporting the results of testing activities at both generating stations

On battery-less autonomous polygeneration microgrids: Investigation of the combined hybrid capacitors/hydrogen alternative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kyriakarakos, George; Piromalis, Dimitrios D.; Arvanitis, Konstantinos G.; Dounis, Anastasios I.; Papadakis, George

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A battery-less autonomous polygeneration microgrid is technically feasible. • Laboratory testing of hybrid capacitors. • Investigation of hybrid capacitors utilization along with hydrogen subsystem. - Abstract: The autonomous polygeneration microgrid topology aims to cover holistically the needs in remote areas as far as electrical power, potable water through desalination, fuel for transportation in the form of hydrogen, heating and cooling are concerned. Deep discharge lead acid batteries are mostly used in such systems, associated with specific disadvantages, both technical and environmental. This paper investigated the possibility of replacing the battery bank from a polygeneration microgrid with a hybrid capacitor bank and more intensive utilization of a hydrogen subsystem. Initially commercial hybrid capacitors were tested under laboratory conditions and based on the respective results a case study was performed. The optimized combination of hybrid capacitors and higher hydrogen usage was then investigated through simulations and compared to a polygeneration microgrid featuring deep discharge lead acid batteries. From the results it was clear that it is technically possible to exchange the battery bank with a hybrid capacitor bank and higher hydrogen utilization. From the economic point of view, the current cost of the hybrid capacitors and the hydrogen components is high which leads to higher overall cost in comparison with deep discharge lead acid batteries. Taking into account, though, the decreasing cost prospects and trends of both the hybrid capacitors and the hydrogen components it is expected that this approach will become economically competitive in a few years

Biomass polygeneration - technology state-of-the-art, systems and policy instruments; Bioenergikombinat - tekniktrender, system och styrmedel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gode, Jenny; Hagberg, Linus; Holmgren, Kristina; Stripple, Haakan

2007-09-15

The development status of biofuel technologies and pellets has been reviewed, with focus on the possibilities for polygeneration with combined heat and power (CHP). Policy instruments important for the development of polygeneration plants have been analysed and interviews with potential stakeholders have been carried out. Fermentation of biomass for ethanol production, gasification and conversion to synthesis gas, biodiesel production from vegetable and animal oils, as well as anaerobic digestion for biogas production are examples of common biofuel technologies. Some of these are commercially available whereas others require further development. Substantial research and development is also spent to develop new technologies for biofuel production. Biofuel production can often benefit from integration with CHP resulting in increased efficiency and energy balances. The potentials for integration vary between different biofuels, but the most common options are integration with respect to the raw material, heat demand, waste heat and waste products. The integration potential for pellets is mainly associated with the raw material and the heat demand for drying of the raw material. Integration of biofuel and/or pellets production with CHP might increase the potential for power production since a new heat customer is provided the whole year around. The heat demand for some biofuels and for pellets can be covered by district heating, whereas some biofuels require steam. Policy instruments can strongly influence the development of biofuels and thereby has a potential to affect the incentives for investments in polygeneration. From a climate point of view, it can be argued that biomass is better used for emission reductions in other sectors where higher reduction of greenhouse gases can be achieved to a lower cost. However, there are other driving forces that motivate increased use of biofuels, such as security of supply, need of revised agriculture policy and reduction of

International seminar on biomass and fossil fuels co-firing in power plants and heating plants in Europe; Seminaire international sur la cocombustion de biomasse et d'energies fossiles dans les centrales electriques et les chaufferies en Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

The aim of the European commission which has fixed to 12% the share of renewable energies in the total energy consumption up to 2010, is to develop the biomass sector. Co-firing is a solution that allows to increase significantly the use of biomass because it does not require important investments. Today, about 150 power plants in Europe use co-firing. An Altener project named 'Cofiring' has ben settled in order to bring together and analyze the European experience in this domain and to sustain and rationalize the design of future projects. The conclusions of this study, coordinated by VTT Energy and which involves CARMEN (Germany), CBE (Portugal), the Danish centre for landscape and planning, ITEBE (France), KOBA (Italy), SLU (Sweden), and EVA (Austria), were presented during this international seminar. (J.S.)

Resource potential for renewable energy generation from co-firing of woody biomass with coal in the Northern U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Michael E. Goerndt; Francisco X. Aguilar; Kenneth Skog

2013-01-01

Past studies have established measures of co-firing potential at varying spatial scales to assess opportunities for renewable energy generation from woody biomass. This study estimated physical availability, within ecological and public policy constraints, and associated harvesting and delivery costs of woody biomass for co-firing in selected power plants of the...

USDOE/EPRI BIOMASS COFIRING COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D. Tillman; E. Hughes

1999-04-01

During the period of January 1, 1999 through March 31, 1999, construction was performed in support of two major demonstrations. Major progress was made on several projects including cofiring at Seward (GPU Genco), and Bailly (NIPSCO). Most of the work was focused on construction and system commissioning activities at the Seward and Bailly Generating Stations. Additionally, petroleum coke cofiring testing was completed at the Bailly Generating Station. This report summarizes the activities during the first calendar quarter in 1999--the fourth contract quarter in 1998--of the USDOE/EPRI Biomass Cofiring Cooperative Agreement. It focuses upon reporting the results of construction activities and related events.

Cofiring biomass and coal for fossil fuel reduction and other benefits–Status of North American facilities in 2010

Science.gov (United States)

David Nicholls; John. Zerbe

2012-01-01

Cofiring of biomass and coal at electrical generation facilities is gaining in importance as a means of reducing fossil fuel consumption, and more than 40 facilities in the United States have conducted test burns. Given the large size of many coal plants, cofiring at even low rates has the potential to utilize relatively large volumes of biomass. This could have...

Thermodynamic analysis of a coal-based polygeneration system with partial gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Yuanyuan; Zhang, Guoqiang; Yang, Yongping; Zhai, Dailong; Zhang, Kai; Xu, Gang

2014-01-01

This study proposed a polygeneration system based on coal partial gasification, in which methanol and power were generated. This proposed system, comprising chemical and power islands, was designed and its characteristics are analyzed. The commercial software Aspen Plus was used to perform the system analysis. In the case study, the energy and exergy efficiency values of the proposed polygeneration system were 51.16% and 50.58%, which are 2.34% and 2.10%, respectively, higher than that of the reference system. Energy-Utilization Diagram analysis showed that removing composition adjustment and recycling 72.7% of the unreacted gas could reduce the exergy destruction during methanol synthesis by 46.85% and that the char utilized to preheat the compressed air could reduce the exergy destruction during combustion by 10.28%. Sensitivity analysis was also performed. At the same capacity ratio, the energy and exergy efficiency values of the proposed system were 1.30%–2.48% and 1.21%–2.30% higher than that of the reference system, respectively. The range of chemical-to-power capacity ratio in the proposed system was 0.41–1.40, which was narrower than that in the reference system. But the range of 1.04–1.4 was not recommended for the disappearance of energy saving potential in methanol synthesis. - Highlights: • A novel polygeneration system based on coal partial gasification is proposed. • The efficient conversion method for methanol and power is explored. • The exergy destruction in chemical energy conversion processes is decreased. • Thermodynamic performance and system characteristics are analyzed

Potential high temperature corrosion problems due to co-firing of biomass and fossil fuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Montgomery, Melanie; Vilhelmsen, T.; Jensen, S.A.

2007-01-01

Over the past years, considerable high temperature corrosion problems have been encountered when firing biomass in power plants due to the high content of potassium chloride in the deposits. Therefore to combat chloride corrosion problems co-firing of biomass with a fossil fuel has been undertaken....... This results in potassium chloride being converted to potassium sulphate in the combustion chamber and it is sulphate rich deposits that are deposited on the vulnerable metallic surfaces such as high temperature superheaters. Although this removes the problem of chloride corrosion, other corrosion mechanisms...... appear such as sulphidation and hot corrosion due to sulphate deposits. At Studstrup power plant Unit 4, based on trials with exposure times of 3000 hours using 0-20% straw co-firing with coal, the plant now runs with a fuel of 10% straw + coal. After three years exposure in this environment...

The effect of Co-firing with Straw and Coal on High Temperature Corrosion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Montgomery, Melanie; Frandsen, Flemming; Larsen, OH

2001-01-01

As a part of ELSAMS development programme into alternative energy sources, various concepts of straw-firing have been investigated. This paper concerns co-firing of straw with coal to reduce the corrosion rate observed in straw-fired power plants. Co-firing with coal reduces the amount of potassium......: a) the exposure of metal rings on water/air cooled probes, and b) the exposure of a range of materials built into the existing superheaters. A range of austenitic and ferritic steels was exposed in the steam temperature region of 520-580°C. The flue gas temperature ranged from 925-1100°C....... The corrosion products for the various steel types were investigated using light optical and scanning electron microscopy. Corrosion mechanisms for the austenitic and ferritic steels are presented. These are discussed in relation to temperature and deposit composition. Co-firing with coal has removed potassium...

A Greenhouse Gas Balance of Electricity Production from Co-firing Palm Oil Products from Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wicke, B.; Dornburg, V.; Faaij, A.; Junginger, M.

2007-05-01

The Netherlands imports significant quantities of biomass for energy production, among which palm oil has been used increasingly for co-firing in existing gas-fired power plants for renewable electricity production. Imported biomass, however, can not simply be considered a sustainable energy source. The production and removal of biomass in other places in the world result in ecological, land-use and socio-economic impacts and in GHG emissions (e.g. for transportation). As a result of the sustainability discussions, the Cramer Commission in the Netherlands has formulated (draft) criteria and indicators for sustainable biomass production. This study develops a detailed methodology for determining the GHG balance of co-firing palm oil products in the Netherlands based on the Cramer Commission methodology. The methodology is applied to a specific bio-electricity chain: the production of palm oil and a palm oil derivative, palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), in Northeast Borneo in Malaysia, their transport to the Netherlands and co-firing with natural gas for electricity production at the Essent Claus power plant

Biomass Cofiring in Coal-Fired Boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2004-06-01

Cofiring biomass-for example, forestry residues such as wood chips-with coal in existing boilers is one of the easiest biomass technologies to implement in a federal facility. The current practice is to substitute biomass for up to 20% of the coal in the boiler. Cofiring has many benefits: it helps to reduce fuel costs as well as the use of landfills, and it curbs emissions of sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and the greenhouse gases associated with burning fossil fuels. This Federal Technology Alert was prepared by the Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program to give federal facility managers the information they need to decide whether they should pursue biomass cofiring at their facilities.

What's flexibility worth? The enticing case of natural gas cofiring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hobbs, B.F.; Honious, J.C.; Bluestein, J.

1992-01-01

The purpose of this article is to show how decision trees can be used to calculate the flexibility of a utility plan, and to demonstrate the method by quantifying the flexibility benefits of cofiring natural gas. Cofiring is the burning of gas in the primary combustion zone continuously or seasonally, as partial replacement for coal. The authors summarize the benefits of cofiring. There they point out that previous analyses, by ignoring uncertainty, could not evaluate cofiring's flexibility and may therefore have understated its attractiveness. They then present a simple example that illustrates how flexibility can be quantified using decision trees. The authors close by summarizing a study in which they estimate cofiring's flexibility for a midwestern utility. They conclude that cofiring gives that system significantly more flexibility than flue gas desulfurization, buying allowances, or switching to low-sulfur coal

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS FOR INSTALLING A CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BED BOILER FOR COFIRING MULTIPLE BIOFUELS AND OTHER WASTES WITH COAL AT PENN STATE UNIVERSITY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruce G. Miller; Sharon Falcone Miller; Robert Cooper; Douglas Donovan; John Gaudlip; Matthew Lapinsky; William Serencsits; Neil Raskin; Dale Lamke; Joseph J. Battista

2001-01-01

The Pennsylvania State University, under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is performing a feasibility analysis on installing a state-of-the-art circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler and ceramic filter emission control device at Penn State's University Park campus for cofiring multiple biofuels and other wastes with coal, and developing a test program to evaluate cofiring multiple biofuels and coal-based feedstocks. Penn State currently operates an aging stoker-fired steam plant at its University Park campus and has spent considerable resources over the last ten to fifteen years investigating boiler replacements and performing life extension studies. This effort, in combination with a variety of agricultural and other wastes generated at the agricultural-based university and the surrounding rural community, has led Penn State to assemble a team of fluidized bed and cofiring experts to assess the feasibility of installing a CFB boiler for cofiring biomass and other wastes along with coal-based fuels. The objective of the project is being accomplished using a team that includes personnel from Penn State's Energy Institute and the Office of Physical Plant, Foster Wheeler Energy Services, Inc., and Cofiring Alternatives

Potential high temperature corrosion problems due to co-firing of biomass and fossil fuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Montgomery, Melanie; Vilhelmsen, T.; Jensen, S.A.

2008-01-01

Over the past few years, considerable high temperature corrosion problems have been encountered when firing biomass in power plants due to the high content of potassium chloride in the deposits. Therefore, to combat chloride corrosion problems cofiring of biomass with a fossil fuel has been...... undertaken. This results in potassium chloride being converted to potassium sulphate in the combustion chamber and it is sulphate rich deposits that are deposited on the vulnerable metallic surfaces such as high temperature superheaters. Although this removes the problem of chloride corrosion, other...... corrosion mechanisms appear such as sulphidation and hot corrosion due to sulphate deposits. At Studstrup power plant Unit 4, based on trials with exposure times of 3000 h using 0–20% straw co-firing with coal, the plant now runs with a fuel mix of 10% strawþcoal. Based on results from a 3 years exposure...

Biomass co-firing in coal power plants in the Netherlands. Effects on performance and air pollutant emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smekens, K. [ECN Policy Studies, Petten (Netherlands)

2013-07-15

This note is intended for use in the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe)-EGTEI (Expert Group on Techno-Economic Issues) work related to cost of emission reduction technologies for large combustion plants (LCP). This work is coordinated by KIT (Karlsruhe) and CITEPA (Paris). As the Netherlands is considered to be a valuable country for data regarding biomass co-firing in large coal fired power plants, EGTEI expressed its interest on data ECN has available. For this purpose, based on available data from annual environmental reports of power plants, ECN has looked into the relationship between the percentage of co -firing and the plant performance. It should be noted that the evaluation has been based on annual data, not on real-time simultaneous measurements of the different parameters mentioned in this note. Cumulative annual data give no insights in e.g. the effects of the load factor, of start-ups or shut-downs, seasonal circumstances, fuel qualities, etc. Therefore, the findings in this report should be treated with due care and not be generalised.

Torrefaction of agriculture straws and its application on biomass pyrolysis poly-generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yingquan; Yang, Haiping; Yang, Qing; Hao, Hongmeng; Zhu, Bo; Chen, Hanping

2014-03-01

This study investigated the properties of corn stalk and cotton stalk after torrefaction, and the effects of torrefaction on product properties obtained under the optimal condition of biomass pyrolysis polygeneration. The color of the torrefied biomass chars darkened, and the grindability was upgraded, with finer particles formed and grinding energy consumption reduced. The moisture and oxygen content significantly decreased whereas the carbon content increased considerably. It was found that torrefaction had different effects on the char, liquid oil and biogas from biomass pyrolysis polygeneration. Compared to raw straws, the output of chars from pyrolysis of torrefied straws increased and the quality of chars as a solid fuel had no significant change, while the output of liquid oil and biogas decreased. The liquid oil contained more concentrated phenols with less water content below 40wt.%, and the biogas contained more concentrated H2 and CH4 with higher LHV up to 15MJ/nm(3). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of the co-firing on the leaching of trace pollutants from coal fly ash

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maria Izquierdo; Natalia Moreno; Oriol Font; Xavier Querol; Esther Alvarez; Diano Antenucci; Henk Nugteren; Yolanda Luna; Constantino Fernandez-Pereira [Institute of Earth Sciences ' Jaume Almera' (CSIC), Barcelona (Spain)

2008-08-15

The (co)-firing of low-cost alternative fuels is expected to increase in the forthcoming years in the EU because of the economic and environmental benefits provided by this technology. This study deals with the impact of the different coal/waste fuel ratio of the feed blend on the mineralogy, the chemical composition and especially on the leaching properties of fly ash. Different blends of coal, petroleum coke, sewage sludge, wood pellets, coal tailings and other minor biomass fuels were tested in PCC (pulverised coal combustion) and FBC (fluidized bed combustion) power plants. The co-firing of the studied blends did not drastically modify the mineralogy, bulk composition or the overall leaching of the fly ash obtained. This suggests that the co-firing process using the alternative fuels studied does not entail significant limitations in the re-use or management strategies of fly ash. 34 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.

Health and environmental effects of refuse derived fuel (RDF) production and RDF/coal co-firing technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Toole, J.J.; Wessels, T.E.; Lynch, J.F.; Fassel, V.A.; Lembke, L.L.; Kniseley, R.N.; Norton, G.A.; Junk, G.A.; Richard, J.J.; Dekalb, E.L.; Dobosy, R.J.

1981-10-01

Six facilities, representing the scope of different co-firing techniques with their associated RDF production systems were reviewed in detail for combustion equipment, firing modes, emission control systems, residue handling/disposal, and effluent wastewater treatment. These facilities encompass all currently operational or soon to be operational co-firing plants and associated RDF production systems. Occupational health and safety risks for these plants were evaluated on the basis of fatal and nonfatal accidents and disease arising from the respective fuel cycles, coal and RDF. Occupational risks include exposure to pathogenic organisms in the workplace. Unusual events that are life threatening in the RDF processing industry (e.g., explosions) are also discussed and remedial and safety measures reviewed. 80 refs., 4 figs., 30 tabs.

Input of biomass in power plants or the power generation. Calculation of the financial gap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Vries, H.J.; Van Tilburg, X.; Pfeiffer, A.E.; Cleijne, H.

2005-09-01

The project on the title subject concerns two questions: (1) Are projects in which wood-pellets are co-fired in a coalfired power plant representative for bio-oil fueled co-firing projects in a gas-fired plant?; and (2) are new projects representative for existing projects? To answer those questions the financial gaps have been calculated for five different situations: Co-firing bio-oil in a gas-fired power plant; Co-firing bio-oil in a coal-fired power plant; Co-firing wood pellets in a coal-fired power plant; Co-firing agro-residues in a coal-fired power plant; and Co-firing waste-wood (A- and B-grade) in a coal-fired power plant. The ranges and reference cases in this report show that co-firing bio-oil on average has a smaller financial gap than the solid biomass reference case. On average it can also be concluded that by using waste wood or agro-residues, the financial gaps can decrease [nl

A multi-agent decentralized energy management system based on distributed intelligence for the design and control of autonomous polygeneration microgrids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karavas, Christos-Spyridon; Kyriakarakos, George; Arvanitis, Konstantinos G.; Papadakis, George

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A decentralized energy management system based on multi agent systems theory. • A decentralized energy management system is technically feasible. • A decentralized approach utilizes the devices better than a centralized one. • A decentralized energy management system is economically competitive. - Abstract: The autonomous polygeneration microgrid topology has been developed in order to cover holistically needs in a remote area such as electrical energy, space heating and cooling, potable water through desalination and hydrogen as fuel for transportation. The existence of an advanced energy management system is essential for the operation of an autonomous polygeneration microgrid. So far, energy management systems based on a centralized management and control have been developed for the autonomous polygeneration microgrid topology based on computational intelligence approaches. A decentralized management and control energy management system can have important benefits, when taking into consideration the autonomous character of these microgrids. This paper presents the design and investigation of a decentralized energy management system for the autonomous polygeneration microgrid topology. The decentralized energy management system gives the possibility to control each unit of the microgrid independently. The most important advantage of using a decentralized architecture is that the managed microgrid has much higher chances of partial operation in cases when malfunctions occur at different parts of it, instead of a complete system breakdown. The designed system was based on a multi-agent system and employed Fuzzy Cognitive Maps for its implementation. It was then compared through a case study with an existing centralized energy management system. The technical performance of the decentralized solution performance is on par with the existing centralized one, presenting improvements in financial and operational terms for the implementation and

A polygeneration from a dual-gas partial catalytic oxidation coupling with an oxygen-permeable membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Yanhong; Huang, Yi; Gong, Minhui; Li, Wenying; Feng, Jie; Yi, Qun

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A new polygeneration system (PL-PCO-OPMR) to DME/methanol/power is proposed. • Exergeo-economic analysis is adopted to disclose the performance of systems. • Key technological conditions and parameters for PL-PCO-OPMR are optimized. • PL-PCO-OPMR shows high energy efficiency and low CO_2 emission. • PL-PCO-OPMR is an attractive way for high efficient and clean use of COG and CGG. - Abstract: Polygeneration system, typically involving chemicals/fuels and electricity co-production, is a promising technology for the sustainable development of energy and environment. In this study, a new polygeneration system based on coal and coke oven gas (COG) inputs for co-production of dimethyl ether (DME)/methanol and electricity is proposed. In the new system, an appropriate syngas for the synthesis of DME is from coal gasified gas (CGG) reforming of COG coupled with an oxygen-permeable membrane reactor, in which both COG and CGG reforming process and fuel combustion process are incorporated, which reduces exergy destruction in the whole reforming process. In order to obtain the best performance of CO_2 reduction, energy saving and economic benefit, the key operation parameters of the proposed process are analyzed and optimized. The new system is compared with the process based on CH_4/CO_2 dry reforming, in terms of exergy efficiency, exergy cost and CO_2 emissions. Through the new system, the exergy efficiency can be increased by 7.8%, the exergy cost can be reduced by 0.88 USD/GJ and the CO_2 emission can be reduced by 0.023 kg/MJ. These results suggest that the polygeneration system from CGG and COG partial catalytic oxidation coupling with an oxygen-permeable membrane reactor (PL-PCO-OPMR) would be a more attractive way for highly efficient and clean use of CGG and COG.

Design and dynamic simulation of a novel polygeneration system fed by vegetable oil and by solar energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calise, Francesco; Palombo, Adolfo; Vanoli, Laura

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A novel polygeneration system based on engines (RE) fed by rapeseed oil is investigated. ► RE are integrated with high temperature solar heating and cooling systems. ► The polygeneration system is dynamically investigated for a Mediterranean Climate. ► System performance is excellent from the energetic point of view. ► The system is economically profitable only in case of feed-in tariffs. - Abstract: In this paper the integration of vegetable oil-fed reciprocating engines with solar thermal collector is investigated, seeking to design a novel polygeneration system producing: electricity, space heating and cooling and domestic hot water, for a university building located in Naples (Italy), assumed as case study. The polygeneration system is based on the following main components: concentrating parabolic trough solar collector, double-stage LiBr–H 2 O absorption chiller and a reciprocating engine fed by vegetable oil. The engine operates at full load producing electrical energy which is in part consumed by the building lights and equipments, in part used by the system passive loads and the rest is eventually sold to the grid. In fact, the engine is grid connected in order to perform a convenient net metering. The system was designed and then simulated by means of a zero-dimensional transient simulation model, developed using the TRNSYS software. The simulation tool developed by the authors allows one to analyze the results for different time basis (minutes, days, weeks, months and years), from both energetic and economic points of view. The economic results show that the system under investigation is profitable, especially if properly funded.

GASIFICATION BASED BIOMASS CO-FIRING - PHASE I

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Babul Patel; Kevin McQuigg; Robert F. Toerne

2001-12-01

Biomass gasification offers a practical way to use this locally available fuel source for co-firing traditional large utility boilers. The gasification process converts biomass into a low Btu producer gas that can be fed directly into the boiler. This strategy of co-firing is compatible with variety of conventional boilers including natural gas fired boilers as well as pulverized coal fired and cyclone boilers. Gasification has the potential to address all problems associated with the other types of co-firing with minimum modifications to the existing boiler systems. Gasification can also utilize biomass sources that have been previously unsuitable due to size or processing requirements, facilitating a reduction in the primary fossil fuel consumption in the boiler and thereby reducing the greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

CALLA ENERGY BIOMASS COFIRING PROJECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unknown

2002-01-01

The Calla Energy Biomass Project, to be located in Estill County, Kentucky is to be conducted in two phases. The objective of Phase I is to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of cofiring biomass-based gasification fuel-gas in a power generation boiler. Waste coal fines are to be evaluated as the cofired fuel. The project is based on the use of commercially available technology for feeding and gas cleanup that would be suitable for deployment in municipal, large industrial and utility applications. Define a combustion system for the biomass gasification-based fuel-gas capable of stable, low-NOx combustion over the full range of gaseous fuel mixtures, with low carbon monoxide emissions and turndown capabilities suitable for large-scale power generation applications. The objective for Phase II is to design, install and demonstrate the combined gasification and combustion system in a large-scale, long-term cofiring operation to promote acceptance and utilization of indirect biomass cofiring technology for large-scale power generation applications. During this Performance Period work efforts focused on completion of the Topical Report, summarizing the design and techno-economic study of the project's feasibility. GTI received supplemental authorization A002 from DOE contracts for additional work to be performed under Phase I that will further extend the performance period until the end of February 2003. The additional scope of work is for GTI to develop the gasification characteristics of selected feedstock for the project. To conduct this work, GTI will assemble an existing ''mini-bench'' unit to perform the gasification tests. The results of the test will be used to confirm or if necessary update the process design completed in Phase Task 1

Oil palm biomass utilization as an energy source and its possibility use for polygeneration scenarios in Langsa City, Aceh Province, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Hani, M. R.; Mahidin, M.; Husin, H.; Hamdani, H.; Khairil, K.

2018-03-01

This article deals with the discussion on the recent status of oil palm biomass utilization as an energy source and its possibility use for polygeneration system. The discussion focused only on the energy viewpoint. At this point, many projects and research have been developed in order to utilize the oil palm biomass to meet the energy demand of industries and communities, especially in the largest producing countries: Indonesia and Malaysia; and a few in Thailand, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Through the simulation work in the case study, it is evident that the government of Langsa City can fulfill the fresh water to their community and electricity to Langsa Harbor only by using EFB and PKS from one POM with the generated power of 12 MW, while the desalination plant consumes about 7 MW of electricity. If all potency of biomass from all POMs in Aceh Timur and Aceh Tamiang, without the combination of other primary energy sources is used, Langsa City might earn surplus of energy. The use of the oil palm biomass for polygeneration scenarios is possible and feasible from the technical point of view.

Biomass co-firing for Delta Electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon

2014-01-01

Electricity generator Delta Electricity has implemented a biomass co-firing program at its Vales Point power station on the Central Coast to reduce its reliance on coal and emissions of CO 2 . The program comprises two parts: direct co-firing with coal of up to 5% biomass; and development of Continuous Biomass Converter (CBC) technology with the Crucible Group to remove technology constraints and enable much higher rates of biomass co-firing. It is talking industrial scale tests. Delta increased biomass co-firing in 2013/14 to 32,000 tonnes, up from just 3,000 tonnes the previous year, and conducted biochar co-firing trials at a rate equivalent to 400,000 tonnes per annum to demonstrate the potential of CBC technology. It reduced CO 2 emissions in 2013/14 by more than 32,000 tonnes. 'Legislation and regulations define biomass as renewable,' said Delta Electricity sustainability manager Justin Flood. 'By preferring biomass over coal, the carbon in the coal is not burnt and remains locked up.' One biomass source is wood waste that would normally go to landfill, but the primary driver of Delta's recent increase in co-firing is sawmill residues. 'Previously there was a higher value market for the residues for paper pulp. However, when that market evaporated the timber industry was left with a sizable problem in terms of what to do with its residues and the loss of revenue,' said Flood. The way greenhouse gas accounting is conducted in Australia, with carbon emissions based on site activities, makes it difficult to undertake a life cycle assessment of the program. 'However, some of the international studies looking at this issue have concluded that the net carbon emissions of the biomass system are significantly lower than the coal system because of the uptake of carbon during biomass growth,' said Flood. Delta identified two challenges, sourcing the feedstock and that biomass conversion to electricity is slightly less

Rat inhalation test with particles from biomass combustion and biomass co-firing exhaust

Science.gov (United States)

Bellmann, B.; Creutzenberg, O.; Ernst, H.; Muhle, H.

2009-02-01

The health effects of 6 different fly ash samples from biomass combustion plants (bark, wood chips, waste wood, and straw), and co-firing plants (coal, co-firing of coal and sawdust) were investigated in a 28-day nose-only inhalation study with Wistar WU rats. Respirable fractions of carbon black (Printex 90) and of titanium dioxide (Bayertitan T) were used as reference materials for positive and negative controls. The exposure was done 6 hours per day, 5 days per week at an aerosol concentration of 16 mg/m3. The MMAD of all fly ash samples and reference materials in the inhalation unit were in the range from 1.5 to 3 μm. The investigations focused predominantly on the analysis of inflammatory effects in the lungs of rats using bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and histopathology. Different parameters (percentage of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), interleukin-8 and interstitial inflammatory cell infiltration in the lung tissue) indicating inflammatory effects in the lung, showed a statistically significant increase in the groups exposed to carbon black (positive control), C1 (coal) and C1+BM4 (co-firing of coal and sawdust) fly ashes. Additionally, for the same groups a statistically significant increase of cell proliferation in the lung epithelium was detected. No significant effects were detected in the animal groups exposed to BM1 (bark), BM2 (wood chips), BM3 (waste wood), BM6 (straw) or titanium dioxide.

Rat inhalation test with particles from biomass combustion and biomass co-firing exhaust

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bellmann, B; Creutzenberg, O; Ernst, H; Muhle, H

2009-01-01

The health effects of 6 different fly ash samples from biomass combustion plants (bark, wood chips, waste wood, and straw), and co-firing plants (coal, co-firing of coal and sawdust) were investigated in a 28-day nose-only inhalation study with Wistar WU rats. Respirable fractions of carbon black (Printex 90) and of titanium dioxide (Bayertitan T) were used as reference materials for positive and negative controls. The exposure was done 6 hours per day, 5 days per week at an aerosol concentration of 16 mg/m 3 . The MMAD of all fly ash samples and reference materials in the inhalation unit were in the range from 1.5 to 3 μm. The investigations focused predominantly on the analysis of inflammatory effects in the lungs of rats using bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and histopathology. Different parameters (percentage of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), interleukin-8 and interstitial inflammatory cell infiltration in the lung tissue) indicating inflammatory effects in the lung, showed a statistically significant increase in the groups exposed to carbon black (positive control), C1 (coal) and C1+BM4 (co-firing of coal and sawdust) fly ashes. Additionally, for the same groups a statistically significant increase of cell proliferation in the lung epithelium was detected. No significant effects were detected in the animal groups exposed to BM1 (bark), BM2 (wood chips), BM3 (waste wood), BM6 (straw) or titanium dioxide.

Performance of simulated flexible integrated gasification polygeneration facilities. Part A: A technical-energetic assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meerman, J.C.; Ramírez Ramírez, C.A.; Turkenburg, W.C.; Faaij, A.P.C.

2011-01-01

This article investigates technical possibilities and performances of flexible integrated gasification polygeneration (IG-PG) facilities equipped with CO2 capture for the near future. These facilities can produce electricity during peak hours, while switching to the production of chemicals during

DESIGNING AND OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION AND COFIRING SAWDUST WITH COAL AT ALBRIGHT GENERATING STATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

K. Payette; D. Tillman

2004-06-01

During the period July 1, 2000-March 31, 2004, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) conducted an extensive demonstration of woody biomass cofiring at its Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. This demonstration, cofunded by USDOE and Allegheny, and supported by the Biomass Interest Group (BIG) of EPRI, evaluated the impacts of sawdust cofiring in both cyclone boilers and tangentially-fired pulverized coal boilers. The cofiring in the cyclone boiler--Willow Island Generating Station Unit No.2--evaluated the impacts of sawdust alone, and sawdust blended with tire-derived fuel. The biomass was blended with the coal on its way to the combustion system. The cofiring in the pulverized coal boiler--Albright Generating Station--evaluated the impact of cofiring on emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO{sub x}) when the sawdust was injected separately into the furnace. The demonstration of woody biomass cofiring involved design, construction, and testing at each site. The results addressed impacts associated with operational issues--capacity, efficiency, and operability--as well as formation and control of airborne emissions such as NO{sub x}, sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}2), opacity, and mercury. The results of this extensive program are detailed in this report.

Exergy analysis of a combined heat and power plant with integrated lignocellulosic ethanol production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lythcke-Jørgensen, Christoffer Ernst; Haglind, Fredrik; Clausen, Lasse Røngaard

2014-01-01

production. An exergy analysis is carried out for a modelled polygeneration system in which lignocellulosic ethanol production based on hydrothermal pretreatment is integrated in an existing combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The ethanol facility is driven by steam extracted from the CHP unit when feasible...... district heating production in the ethanol facility. The results suggest that the efficiency of integrating lignocellulosic ethanol production in CHP plants is highly dependent on operation, and it is therefore suggested that the expected operation pattern of such polygeneration system is taken......Lignocellulosic ethanol production is often assumed integrated in polygeneration systems because of its energy intensive nature. The objective of this study is to investigate potential irreversibilities from such integration, and what impact it has on the efficiency of the integrated ethanol...

Norwegian wood? Biomass co-firing at Drax

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Probert, T.

2009-11-15

PEi reports on a visit to the giant Drax coal fired power station in North Yorkshire, UK. The second largest coal plant in Europe is the site of a co-firing system that will allow for the displacement of ten per cent of its coal throughput in favour of biomass, thus reducing its sizeable carbon footprint by around two million tonnes a year. Tests on a pilot plant have shown that Drax can burn up to 60 types of biomass using existing coal burners. The majority of biomass will be imported - most likely wood from Scandinavia, The Baltics and North America. Drax would be eligible for one-half of a Renewable Obligation Certificate. Carbon dioxide emissions should be reduced by around 2 million tonnes per year. 3 photos.

CFD simulation of coal and straw co-firing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Junker, Helle; Hvid, Søren L.; Larsen, Ejvind

This paper presents the results of a major R&D program with the objective to develop CFD based tools to assess the impact of biomass co-firing in suspension fired pulverized coal power plants. The models have been developed through a series of Danish research projects with the overall objective...... to collect results from fundamental research and make it operational in boiler design through implementation in a Computational Fluid Dynamics based simulation tool. This paper summarizes the developments in modeling of; particle motion, particle conversion, ash deposition on heat transfer surfaces, and NOx...

Formulation, Pretreatment, and Densification Options to Improve Biomass Specifications for Co-Firing High Percentages with Coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaya Shankar Tumuluru; J Richard Hess; Richard D. Boardman; Shahab Sokhansanj; Christopher T. Wright; Tyler L. Westover

2012-06-01

There is a growing interest internationally to use more biomass for power generation, given the potential for significant environmental benefits and long-term fuel sustainability. However, the use of biomass alone for power generation is subject to serious challenges, such as feedstock supply reliability, quality, and stability, as well as comparative cost, except in situations in which biomass is locally sourced. In most countries, only a limited biomass supply infrastructure exists. Alternatively, co-firing biomass alongwith coal offers several advantages; these include reducing challenges related to biomass quality, buffering the system against insufficient feedstock quantity, and mitigating the costs of adapting existing coal power plants to feed biomass exclusively. There are some technical constraints, such as low heating values, low bulk density, and grindability or size-reduction challenges, as well as higher moisture, volatiles, and ash content, which limit the co-firing ratios in direct and indirect co-firing. To achieve successful co-firing of biomass with coal, biomass feedstock specifications must be established to direct pretreatment options in order to modify biomass materials into a format that is more compatible with coal co-firing. The impacts on particle transport systems, flame stability, pollutant formation, and boiler-tube fouling/corrosion must also be minimized by setting feedstock specifications, which may include developing new feedstock composition by formulation or blending. Some of the issues, like feeding, co-milling, and fouling, can be overcome by pretreatment methods including washing/leaching, steam explosion, hydrothermal carbonization, and torrefaction, and densification methods such as pelletizing and briquetting. Integrating formulation, pretreatment, and densification will help to overcome issues related to physical and chemical composition, storage, and logistics to successfully co-fire higher percentages of biomass ( > 40

Modelling methods for co-fired pulverised fuel furnaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

L. Ma; M. Gharebaghi; R. Porter; M. Pourkashanian; J.M. Jones; A. Williams [University of Leeds, Leeds (United Kingdom). Energy and Resources Research Institute

2009-12-15

Co-firing of biomass and coal can be beneficial in reducing the carbon footprint of energy production. Accurate modelling of co-fired furnaces is essential to discover potential problems that may occur during biomass firing and to mitigate potential negative effects of biomass fuels, including lower efficiency due to lower burnout and NOx formation issues. Existing coal combustion models should be modified to increase reliability of predictions for biomass, including factors such as increased drag due to non-spherical particle sizes and accounting for organic compounds and the effects they have on NOx emission. Detailed biomass co-firing models have been developed and tested for a range of biomass fuels and show promising results. 32 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.

Support mechanisms for cofiring secondary fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-12-15

This report discusses the enabling and supporting mechanisms for coal/biomass cofiring in selected countries that have either considerable operational experience or potential in this technology. It investigates Europe, the USA, Australia and China as case studies and discusses the main supporting incentives adopted in consideration of the specific characteristics of renewable energy markets and the government’s position in clean energy and climate change in each of these countries. As such, this report provides not only a policy overview but also a collation of the measures adopted by the policymakers in each country to promote cofiring biomass in coal-fired power stations.

GASIFICATION BASED BIOMASS CO-FIRING - PHASE I; SEMIANNUAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babul Patel; Kevin McQuigg; Robert F. Toerne

2001-01-01

Biomass gasification offers a practical way to use this locally available fuel source for co-firing traditional large utility boilers. The gasification process converts biomass into a low Btu producer gas that can be fed directly into the boiler. This strategy of co-firing is compatible with variety of conventional boilers including natural gas fired boilers as well as pulverized coal fired and cyclone boilers. Gasification has the potential to address all problems associated with the other types of co-firing with minimum modifications to the existing boiler systems. Gasification can also utilize biomass sources that have been previously unsuitable due to size or processing requirements, facilitating a reduction in the primary fossil fuel consumption in the boiler and thereby reducing the greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere

Input of biomass in power plants for power generation. Calculation of the financial gap. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Tilburg, X.; De Vries, H.J.; Pfeiffer, A.E.; Cleijne, J.W.

2005-09-01

The Ministry of Economic Affairs has requested ECN and KEMA to answer two questions. (1) Are the costs and benefits of projects in which wood-pellets are co-fired in a coal fired power plant representative for those of bio-oil fueled co-firing projects in a gas fired plant?; and (2) Are new projects representative for existing projects? To answer these questions, ECN and KEMA have calculated the financial gaps in six different situations: co-firing bio-oil in a gas fired power plant; co-firing bio-oil in a coal fired power plant; gasification of solid biomass; co-firing wood pellets in a coal fired power plant; co-firing agricultural residues in a coal fired power plant; and co-firing waste wood (A- and B-grade) in a coal fired power plant. The ranges and reference cases show that co-firing bio-oil on average has a smaller financial gap than the solid biomass reference case. On average it can also be concluded that when using waste wood or agro-residues, the financial gaps are smaller. Based on these findings it is concluded that: (1) The reference case of co-firing wood pellets in a coal fired power plant are not representative for bio-fuel options. A new category for bio-oil options seems appropriate; and (2) The financial gap of new projects as calculated in November 2004, is often higher then the ranges for existing projects indicate [nl

A review on biomass classification and composition, cofiring issues and pretreatment methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaya Shankar Tumuluru; Shahab Sokhansanj; Christopher T. Wright; Richard D. Boardman

2011-08-01

Presently around the globe there is a significant interest in using biomass for power generation as power generation from coal continues to raise environmental concerns. Biomass alone can be used for generation of power which can bring lot of environmental benefits. However the constraints of using biomass alone can include high investments costs for biomass feed systems and also uncertainty in the security of the feedstock supply due to seasonal variations and in most of the countries biomass is dispersed and the infrastructure for biomass supply is not well established. Alternatively cofiring biomass along with coal offer advantages like (a) reducing the issues related to biomass quality and buffers the system when there is insufficient feedstock quantity and (b) costs of adapting the existing coal power plants will be lower than building new systems dedicated only to biomass. However with the above said advantages there exists some technical constrains including low heating and energy density values, low bulk density, lower grindability index, higher moisture and ash content to successfully cofire biomass with coal. In order to successfully cofire biomass with coal, biomass feedstock specifications need to be established to direct pretreatment options that may include increasing the energy density, bulk density, stability during storage and grindability. Impacts on particle transport systems, flame stability, pollutant formation and boiler tube fouling/corrosion must also be minimized by setting feedstock specifications including composition and blend ratios if necessary. Some of these limitations can be overcome by using pretreatment methods. This paper discusses the impact of feedstock pretreatment methods like sizing, baling, pelletizing, briquetting, washing/leaching, torrefaction, torrefaction and pelletization and steam explosion in attainment of optimum feedstock characteristics to successfully cofire biomass with coal.

Low-Temperature Co-Fired Unipoled Multilayer Piezoelectric Transformers.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xiangyu; Yan, Yongke; Carazo, Alfredo Vazquez; Dong, Shuxiang; Priya, Shashank

2018-03-01

The reliability of piezoelectric transformers (PTs) is dependent upon the quality of fabrication technique as any heterogeneity, prestress, or misalignment can lead to spurious response. In this paper, unipoled multilayer PTs were investigated focusing on high-power composition and co-firing profile in order to provide low-temperature synthesized high-quality device measured in terms of efficiency and power density. The addition of 0.2 wt% CuO into Pb 0.98 Sr 0.02 (Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 ) 0.06 (Mn 1/3 Nb 2/3 ) 0.06 (Zr 0.48 Ti 0.52 ) 0.88 O 3 (PMMnN-PZT) reduces the co-firing temperature from 1240 °C to 930 °C, which allows the use of Ag/Pd inner electrode instead of noble Pt inner electrode. Low-temperature synthesized material was found to exhibit excellent piezoelectric properties ( , , %, pC/N, and °C). The performance of the PT co-fired with Ag/Pd electrode at 930 °C was similar to that co-fired at 1240 °C with Pt electrode (25% reduction in sintering temperature). Both high- and low-temperature synthesized PTs demonstrated 5-W output power with >90% efficiency and 11.5 W/cm 3 power density.

EPRI-USDOE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT: COFIRING BIOMASS WITH COAL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David A. Tillman

2001-09-01

The entire Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) cofiring program has been in existence of some 9 years. This report presents a summary of the major elements of that program, focusing upon the following questions: (1) In pursuit of increased use of renewable energy in the US economy, why was electricity generation considered the most promising target, and why was cofiring pursued as the most effective near-term technology to use in broadening the use of biomass within the electricity generating arena? (2) What were the unique accomplishments of EPRI before the development of the Cooperative Agreement, which made developing the partnership with EPRI a highly cost-effective approach for USDOE? (3) What were the key accomplishments of the Cooperative Agreement in the development and execution of test and demonstration programs-accomplishments which significantly furthered the process of commercializing cofiring?

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN ASSESSMENT FOR THE CO-FIRING OF BIO-REFINERY SUPPLIED LIGNIN PROJECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ted Berglund; Jeffrey T. Ranney; Carol L. Babb; Jacqueline G. Broder

2002-01-01

The major aspects of this project are proceeding toward completion. Prior to this quarter, design criteria, tentative site selection, facility layout, and preliminary facility cost estimates were completed and issued. Processing of bio-solids was completed, providing material for the pilot operations. Pilot facility hydrolysis production has been completed to produce lignin for co-fire testing and the lignin fuel was washed and dewatered. Both the lignin and bio-solids fuel materials for co-fire testing were sent to the co-fire facility (EERC) for evaluation and co-firing. EERC has received coal typical of the fuel to the TVA-Colbert boilers. This material was used at EERC as baseline material and for mixing with the bio-fuel for combustion testing. All the combustion and fuel handling tests at EERC have been completed. During fuel preparation EERC reported no difficulties in fuel blending and handling. Preliminary co-fire test results indicate that the blending of lignin and bio-solids with the Colbert coal blend generally reduces NO(sub x) emissions, increases the reactivity of the coal, and increases the ash deposition rate on superheater surfaces. Deposits produced from the fuel blends, however, are more friable and hence easier to remove from tube surfaces relative to those produced from the baseline Colbert coal blend. The final co-fire testing report is being prepared at EERC and will be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2002. The TVA-Colbert facility has neared completion of the task to evaluate co-location of the Masada facility on the operation of the power generation facility. The TVA-Colbert fossil plant is fully capable of providing a reliable steam supply. The preferred steam supply connection points and steam pipeline routing have been identified. The environmental review of the pipeline routing has been completed and no major impacts have been identified. Detailed assessment of steam export impacts on the Colbert boiler system have been

Logistics, Costs, and GHG Impacts of Utility Scale Cofiring with 20% Biomass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boardman, Richard D.; Cafferty, Kara G.; Nichol, Corrie; Searcy, Erin M.; Westover, Tyler; Wood, Richard; Bearden, Mark D.; Cabe, James E.; Drennan, Corinne; Jones, Susanne B.; Male, Jonathan L.; Muntean, George G.; Snowden-Swan, Lesley J.; Widder, Sarah H.

2014-07-22

This report presents the results of an evaluation of utility-scale biomass cofiring in large pulverized coal power plants. The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the cost and greenhouse gas reduction benefits of substituting relatively high volumes of biomass in coal. Two scenarios for cofiring up to 20% biomass with coal (on a lower heating value basis) are presented; (1) woody biomass in central Alabama where Southern Pine is currently produced for the wood products and paper industries, and (2) purpose-grown switchgrass in the Ohio River Valley. These examples are representative of regions where renewable biomass growth rates are high in correspondence with major U.S. heartland power production. While these scenarios may provide a realistic reference for comparing the relative benefits of using a high volume of biomass for power production, this evaluation is not intended to be an analysis of policies concerning renewable portfolio standards or the optimal use of biomass for energy production in the U.S.

Co-firing a pressurized fluidized-bed combustion system with coal and refuse derived fuels and/or sludges. Task 16

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeLallo, M.; Zaharchuk, R.

1994-01-01

The co-firing of waste materials with coal in utility scale power plants has emerged as an effective approach to produce energy and manage municipal waste. Leading this approach, the atmospheric fluidized-bed combustor (AFBC) has demonstrated its commercial acceptance in the utility market as a reliable source of power burning a variety of waste and alternative fuels. The fluidized bed, with its stability of combustion, reduces the amount of thermochemical transients and provides for easier process control. The application of pressurized fluidized-bed combustor (PFBC) technology, although relatively new, can provide significant enhancements to the efficient production of electricity while maintaining the waste management benefits of AFBC. A study was undertaken to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of co-firing a PFBC with coal and municipal and industrial wastes. Focus was placed on the production of electricity and the efficient disposal of wastes for application in central power station and distributed locations. Wastes considered for co-firing include municipal solid waste (MSW), tire-derived fuel (TDF), sewage sludge, and industrial de-inking sludge. Issues concerning waste material preparation and feed, PFBC operation, plant emissions, and regulations are addressed. This paper describes the results of this investigation, presents conclusions on the key issues, and provides recommendations for further evaluation.

URBAN WOOD/COAL CO-FIRING IN THE BELLEFIELD BOILERPLANT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James T. Cobb, Jr.; Gene E. Geiger; William W. Elder III

2001-01-01

During the second quarter, important preparatory work was continued so that the experimental activities can begin toward the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter. The Environmental Questionnaire was submitted to the U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), after thorough review by the Bellefield Boiler Plant (BBP). Letters were submitted to the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to seek R and D variances for permits at the BBP, the J. A. Rutter Company (JARC), and Emery Tree Service (ETS) for their portion of the project. Memoranda of understanding were executed by the University of Pittsburgh (University) with the BBP, JARC and ETS. Construction wood was collected from Thompson Properties. Discussions were held with the BBP and Energy Systems Associates (ESA), the BBP's engineering consultant. Presentations describing the University of Pittsburgh Wood/Coal Co-Firing Program were provided to the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), the Upgraded Coal Interest Group (UCIG) of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Engineering Center for Environment and Energy (ECEE) of the University of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Coal Conference (PCC), the Pennsylvania Ethanol Workshop, BioEnergy 2000 and the Kick-Off Meeting of the Biomass Cofiring Opportunities Solicitation Projects

Cofiring of biofuels in coal fired boilers: Results of case study analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tillman, D.A. [Ebasco Environmental, Sacramento, CA (United States); Hughes, E. [Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Gold, B.A. [TVA, Chattanooga, TN (United States)

1993-12-31

Ebasco Environmental and Reaction Engineering, under contract to EPRI, performed a case study analysis of cofiring biomass in coal-fired boilers of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The study was also sponsored by DOE. This analysis included evaluating wood fuel receiving, preparation, and combustion in pulverized coal (PC) boilers and cyclone furnaces and an assessment of converting wood into pyrolysis oil or low Btu gas for use in a new combined cycle combustion turbine (CCCT) installation. Cofiring wood in existing coal-fired boilers has the most immediate potential for increasing the utilization of biofuels in electricity generation. Cofiring biofuels with coal can potentially generate significant benefits for utilities including: (1) reducing emissions of SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x}; (2) reducing the net emissions of CO{sub 2}; (3) potentially reducing the fuel cost to the utility depending upon local conditions and considering biomass is potentially exempt from the proposed Btu tax and may get a 1.5 cent/kWh credit for energy generated by wood combustion; (4) supporting local industrial forest industry; and (5) providing a long term market for the development of a biofuel supply and delivery industry. Potential benefits are reviewed in the context of cofiring biofuel at a rate of 15% heat input to the boiler, and compares this cofiring strategy and others previously tested or developed by other utilities. Other issues discussed include: (1) wood fuel specifications as a function of firing method; (2) wood fuel receiving and preparation system requirements; (3) combustion system requirements for cofiring biofuels with coal; (4) combustion impacts of firing biofuels with coal; (5) system engineering issues; (6) the economics of cofiring biofuel with coal. The Allen, TN 330 MW(e) cyclone boiler and Kingston, TN 135 MW(e) Boiler {number_sign}1, a tangentially fired PC unit, case studies are then summarized in the paper, highlighting the cofiring opportunities.

Co-firing of imported wood pellets – An option to efficiently save CO2 emissions in Europe?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehrig, Rita; Behrendt, Frank

2013-01-01

In this paper the energy and carbon footprints of pellet imports from Australia, West Canada, and Russia for co-firing in Europe are investigated. Their ecologic and economic performances are proven by applying the Belgian and UK co-firing subsidy systems, which require dedicated sustainability evaluations. Based on the modelling of different subsidy schemes and price scenarios, the present paper identifies favourable conditions for the use of biomass co-firing in Germany and Austria, which currently do not have dedicated co-firing incentives. The present paper shows that under present conditions, co-firing has a narrow financial gap to coal with −3 to 4 € Cent/kWh el and has low CO 2 mitigation costs compared to other renewables. Moreover, it is shown that co-firing is one of the most cost-attractive options to reach the EU-2020 targets. For policy makers, the support of co-firing is found to be very efficient in terms of cost-benefit ratio. It is proven that the co-firing subsidy schemes might direct supply chain decisions towards options with low energy and carbon impacts. - Highlights: • Co-firing has a low financial gap and allows for advantageous CO 2 mitigation costs compared to other renewable. • Belgian and UK's co-firing subsidies are reasonable options to promote cost-effective renewable electricity generation. • Co-firing subsidy schemes can effectively direct supply chain decisions towards low energy and carbon options

TASK 3.4--IMPACTS OF COFIRING BIOMASS WITH FOSSIL FUELS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christopher J. Zygarlicke; Donald P. McCollor; Kurt E. Eylands; Melanie D. Hetland; Mark A. Musich; Charlene R. Crocker; Jonas Dahl; Stacie Laducer

2001-08-01

With a major worldwide effort now ongoing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cofiring of renewable biomass fuels at conventional coal-fired utilities is seen as one of the lower-cost options to achieve such reductions. The Energy & Environmental Research Center has undertaken a fundamental study to address the viability of cofiring biomass with coal in a pulverized coal (pc)-fired boiler for power production. Wheat straw, alfalfa stems, and hybrid poplar were selected as candidate biomass materials for blending at a 20 wt% level with an Illinois bituminous coal and an Absaloka subbituminous coal. The biomass materials were found to be easily processed by shredding and pulverizing to a size suitable for cofiring with pc in a bench-scale downfired furnace. A literature investigation was undertaken on mineral uptake and storage by plants considered for biomass cofiring in order to understand the modes of occurrence of inorganic elements in plant matter. Sixteen essential elements, C, H, O, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, B, Mo, and Cl, are found throughout plants. The predominant inorganic elements are K and Ca, which are essential to the function of all plant cells and will, therefore, be evenly distributed throughout the nonreproductive, aerial portions of herbaceous biomass. Some inorganic constituents, e.g., N, P, Ca, and Cl, are organically associated and incorporated into the structure of the plant. Cell vacuoles are the repository for excess ions in the plant. Minerals deposited in these ubiquitous organelles are expected to be most easily leached from dry material. Other elements may not have specific functions within the plant, but are nevertheless absorbed and fill a need, such as silica. Other elements, such as Na, are nonessential, but are deposited throughout the plant. Their concentration will depend entirely on extrinsic factors regulating their availability in the soil solution, i.e., moisture and soil content. Similarly, Cl content is determined

Cofiring versus biomass-fired power plants: GHG (Greenhouse Gases) emissions savings comparison by means of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sebastian, F.; Royo, J.; Gomez, M.

2011-01-01

One way of producing nearly CO 2 free electricity is by using biomass as a combustible. In many cases, removal of CO 2 in biomass grown is almost the same as the emissions for the bioelectricity production at the power plant. For this reason, bioelectricity is generally considered CO 2 neutral. For large-scale biomass electricity generation two alternatives can be considered: biomass-only fired power plants, or cofiring in an existing coal power plant. Among other factors, two important aspects should be analyzed in order to choose between the two options. Firstly, which is the most appealing alternative if their Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Emissions savings are taken into account. Secondly, which biomass resource is the best, if the highest impact reduction is sought. In order to quantify all the GHG emissions related to each system, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been performed and all the processes involved in each alternative have been assessed in a cradle-to-grave manner. Sensitivity analyses of the most dominant parameters affecting GHG emissions, and comparisons between the obtained results, have also been carried out.

EPRI-USDOE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT: COFIRING BIOMASS WITH COAL; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David A. Tillman

2001-01-01

The entire Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) cofiring program has been in existence of some 9 years. This report presents a summary of the major elements of that program, focusing upon the following questions: (1) In pursuit of increased use of renewable energy in the US economy, why was electricity generation considered the most promising target, and why was cofiring pursued as the most effective near-term technology to use in broadening the use of biomass within the electricity generating arena? (2) What were the unique accomplishments of EPRI before the development of the Cooperative Agreement, which made developing the partnership with EPRI a highly cost-effective approach for USDOE? (3) What were the key accomplishments of the Cooperative Agreement in the development and execution of test and demonstration programs-accomplishments which significantly furthered the process of commercializing cofiring?

Proposal and analysis of a polygeneration system for power and methanol based on natural gas and biomass as co-feed

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, H.Q.; Hong, H.; Jin, H.G.; Cai, R.X. [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China). Inst. of Engineering Thermophysics

2008-07-01

Biomass is getting increasing attention as a potential source of renewable energy as a result of global issues such as sustainable energy and reduction of greenhouse gases. Biomass is an abundant feedstock containing mainly carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and volatile matter. The purpose of this paper was to propose a new biomass-natural gas based polygeneration system, with partial recycling unreacted syngas and without the shift process for methanol production and power generation. The paper identified the features of the proposed system and that determine the exergy ratio of chemical production and thermodynamic performance of the system. The paper provided an introduction to individual systems such as the natural gas to methanol system and biomass to methanol system. The paper also presented the suggested polygeneration system based on biomass and natural gas as co-feed. Processes that were described included syngas preparation; distillation process; and power generation. System evaluation criteria and performance were identified. It was concluded that bio-energy made the best utilization and overcame the disadvantages of the polygeneration system, partly taking the place of natural gas which is non-renewable. Bio-energy could reduce carbon dioxide emission for it is carbon neutrality. 18 refs., 3 tabs., 9 figs.

Co-firing of biomass and other wastes in fluidised bed systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gulyurtlu, I.; Lopes, H.; Boavida, D.; Abelha, P. [INETI/DEECA, Lisboa (Portugal); Werther, J.; Hartge, E.-U.; Wischnewski, R. [TU Hamburg-Harburg (Georgia); Leckner, B.; Amand, L.-E.; Davidsson, K. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology (Sweden); Salatino, P.; Chirone, R.; Scala, F.; Urciuolo, M. [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, Universita di Napoli Frederico II and Istituto di Ricerche sulla Combustione (Italy); Oliveira, J.F.; Lapa, N.

2006-07-01

A project on co-firing in large-scale power plants burning coal is currently funded by the European Commission. It is called COPOWER. The project involves 10 organisations from 6 countries. The project involves combustion studies over the full spectrum of equipment size, ranging from small laboratory-scale reactors and pilot plants, to investigate fundamentals and operating parameters, to proving trials on a commercial power plant in Duisburg. The power plant uses a circulating fluidized bed boiler. The results to be obtained are to be compared as function of scale-up. There are two different coals, 3 types of biomass and 2 kinds of waste materials are to be used for blending with coal for co-firing tests. The baseline values are obtained during a campaign of one month at the power station and the results are used for comparison with those to be obtained in other units of various sizes. Future tests will be implemented with the objective to achieve improvement on baseline values. The fuels to be used are already characterized. There are ongoing studies to determine reactivities of fuels and chars produced from the fuels. Reactivities are determined not only for individual fuels but also for blends to be used. Presently pilot-scale combustion tests are also undertaken to study the effect of blending coal with different types of biomass and waste materials. The potential for synergy to improve combustion is investigated. Simultaneously, studies to verify the availability of biomass and waste materials in Portugal, Turkey and Italy have been undertaken. Techno-economic barriers for the future use of biomass and other waste materials are identified. The potential of using these materials in coal fired power stations has been assessed. The conclusions will also be reported.

Ash transformation in suspension fired boilers co-firing coal and straw

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zheng, Yuanjing; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Jensen, Anker Degn

In this literature report is provided a status for the present knowledge level on ash properties when co-firing coal and biomass. The fly ash formed in boilers using co-firing of coal and straw do have a large influence on ash deposit formation, boiler corrosion, fly ash utilization and operation...

Multi-objective exergy-based optimization of a polygeneration energy system using an evolutionary algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmadi, Pouria; Rosen, Marc A.; Dincer, Ibrahim

2012-01-01

A comprehensive thermodynamic modeling and optimization is reported of a polygeneration energy system for the simultaneous production of heating, cooling, electricity and hot water from a common energy source. This polygeneration system is composed of four major parts: gas turbine (GT) cycle, Rankine cycle, absorption cooling cycle and domestic hot water heater. A multi-objective optimization method based on an evolutionary algorithm is applied to determine the best design parameters for the system. The two objective functions utilized in the analysis are the total cost rate of the system, which is the cost associated with fuel, component purchasing and environmental impact, and the system exergy efficiency. The total cost rate of the system is minimized while the cycle exergy efficiency is maximized by using an evolutionary algorithm. To provide a deeper insight, the Pareto frontier is shown for multi-objective optimization. In addition, a closed form equation for the relationship between exergy efficiency and total cost rate is derived. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the effects of several design parameters on the system total exergy destruction rate, CO 2 emission and exergy efficiency.

Camber Evolution and Stress Development of Porous Ceramic Bilayers During Co-Firing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ni, De Wei; Esposito, Vincenzo; Schmidt, Cristine Grings

2013-01-01

sintering mismatch stress in co-fired CGO-LSM/CGO bilayer laminates was significantly lower than general sintering stresses expected for free sintering conditions. As a result, no co-firing defects were observed in the bilayer laminates, illustrating an acceptable sintering compatibility of the ceramic...

Emissions tradeoffs associated with cofiring forest biomass with coal: A case study in Colorado, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Dan Loeffler; Nathaniel Anderson

2014-01-01

Cofiring forest biomass residues with coal to generate electricity is often cited for its potential to offset fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the extent to which cofiring achieves these objectives is highly dependent on case specific variables. This paper uses facility and forest specific data to examine emissions from cofiring forest biomass with...

Experimental analysis of a combustion reactor under co-firing coal with biomass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pereira, Fabyo Luiz; Bazzo, Edson; Oliveira Junior, Amir Antonio Martins de [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC (Brazil). LabCET], e-mail: ebazzo@emc.ufsc.br; Bzuneck, Marcelo [Tractebel Energia S.A., Complexo Termeletrico Jorge Lacerda, Capivari de Baixo, SC (Brazil)], e-mail: marcelob@tractebelenergia.com.br

2010-07-01

Mitigation of greenhouse gases emission is one of the most important issues in energy engineering. Biomass is a potential renewable source but with limited use in large scale energy production because of the relative smaller availability as compared to fossil fuels, mainly to coal. Besides, the costs concerning transportation must be well analysed to determine its economic viability. An alternative for the use of biomass as a primary source of energy is the co-firing, that is the possibility of using two or more types of fuels combined in the combustion process. Biomass can be co-fired with coal in a fraction between 10 to 25% in mass basis (or 4 to 10% in heat-input basis) without seriously impacting the heat release characteristics of most boilers. Another advantage of cofiring, besides the significant reductions in fossil CO{sub 2} emissions, is the reduced emissions of NO{sub x} and SO{sub x}. As a result, co-firing is becoming attractive for power companies worldwide. This paper presents results of some experimental analysis on co-firing coal with rice straw in a combustion reactor. The influence of biomass thermal share in ash composition is also discussed, showing that alkali and earth alkaline compounds play the most important role on the fouling and slagging behavior when co-firing. Some fusibility correlations that can assist in the elucidation of these behavior are presented and discussed, and then applied to the present study. Results show that for a biomass thermal share up to 20%, significant changes are not expected in fouling and slagging behavior of ash. (author)

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS FOR INSTALLING A CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BED BOILER FOR COFIRING MULTIPLE BIOFUELS AND OTHER WASTES WITH COAL AT PENN STATE UNIVERSITY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruce G. Miller; Sharon Falcone Miller; Robert Cooper; John Gaudlip; Matthew Lapinsky; Rhett McLaren; William Serencsits; Neil Raskin; Tom Steitz; Joseph J. Battista

2003-03-26

The Pennsylvania State University, utilizing funds furnished by the U.S. Department of Energy's Biomass Power Program, investigated the installation of a state-of-the-art circulating fluidized bed boiler at Penn State's University Park campus for cofiring multiple biofuels and other wastes with coal, and developing a test program to evaluate cofiring biofuels and coal-based feedstocks. The study was performed using a team that included personnel from Penn State's Energy Institute, Office of Physical Plant, and College of Agricultural Sciences; Foster Wheeler Energy Services, Inc.; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Parsons Energy and Chemicals Group, Inc.; and Cofiring Alternatives. The activities included assessing potential feedstocks at the University Park campus and surrounding region with an emphasis on biomass materials, collecting and analyzing potential feedstocks, assessing agglomeration, deposition, and corrosion tendencies, identifying the optimum location for the boiler system through an internal site selection process, performing a three circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler design and a 15-year boiler plant transition plan, determining the costs associated with installing the boiler system, developing a preliminary test program, determining the associated costs for the test program, and exploring potential emissions credits when using the biomass CFB boiler.

A Game Theory Approach to Multi-Agent Decentralized Energy Management of Autonomous Polygeneration Microgrids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christos-Spyridon Karavas

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Energy management systems are essential and indispensable for the secure and optimal operation of autonomous polygeneration microgrids which include distributed energy technologies and multiple electrical loads. In this paper, a multi-agent decentralized energy management system was designed. In particular, the devices of the microgrid under study were controlled as interactive agents. The energy management problem was formulated here through the application of game theory, in order to model the set of strategies between two players/agents, as a non-cooperative power control game or a cooperative one, according to the level of the energy produced by the renewable energy sources and the energy stored in the battery bank, for the purpose of accomplishing optimal energy management and control of the microgrid operation. The Nash equilibrium was used to compromise the possible diverging goals of the agents by maximizing their preferences. The proposed energy management system was then compared with a multi-agent decentralized energy management system where all the agents were assumed to be cooperative and employed agent coordination through Fuzzy Cognitive Maps. The results obtained from this comparison, demonstrate that the application of game theory based control, in autonomous polygeneration microgrids, can ensure operational and financial benefits over known energy management approaches incorporating distributed intelligence.

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN ASSESSMENT FOR THE CO-FIRING OF BIO-REFINERY SUPPLIED LIGNIN PROJECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ted Berglund; Jeffrey T. Ranney; Carol L. Babb; Jacqueline G. Broder

2001-01-01

The major aspects of this project are proceeding toward completion. Prior to this quarter, design criteria, tentative site selection, facility layout, and preliminary facility cost estimates have been completed and issued for review. Processing of bio-solids was completed, providing material for the pilot operations. Pilot facility design, equipment selection, and modification were completed during the fourth quarter of 2000. Initial pilot facility shakedown was completed during the fourth quarter. After some unavoidable delays, a suitable representative supply of municipal solid waste (MSW) feed material was procured. During this quarter (first quarter of 2001), shredding of the feed material was completed and final feed conditioning was completed. Pilot facility hydrolysis production was completed to produce lignin for co-fire testing. Pilot facility modifications continued to improve facility operations and performance during the first quarter of 2001. Samples of the co-fire fuel material were sent to the co-fire facility for evaluation. The TVA-Colbert facility has neared completion of the task to evaluate the co-location of the Masada facility on the operation of the power generation facility. The TVA-Colbert fossil plant is fully capable of providing a reliable steam supply. The preferred steam supply connection points and steam pipeline routing have been identified. The environmental review of the pipeline routing has been completed and no major impacts have been identified. Detailed assessment of steam export impacts on the Colbert boiler system have been completed and a cost estimate for steam supply system is being developed

Effective technology of wood and gaseous fuel co-firing for clean energy production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zake, M.; Barmina, I.; Gedrovics, M.; Desnickis, A.

2007-01-01

The main aim of the study was to develop and optimise a small-scale experimental co-firing technique for the effective and clean heat energy production by replacing a proportion of fossil fuel (propane) with renewable one (wood biomass). Technical solutions of propane co-fire presenting two different ways of additional heat supply to the wood biomass are proposed and analysed. The experiments have shown that a better result can be obtained for the direct propane co-fire of the wood biomass, when the rate of wood gasification and the ignition of volatiles are controlled by additional heat energy supply to the upper portion of wood biomass. A less effective though cleaner way of heat energy production is the direct propane co-fire of volatiles when low-temperature self-sustaining burnout of the wood biomass controls the rate of the volatile formation, while additional heat energy supply to the flow of volatiles controls their burnout. The effect of propane co-fire on the heat production rate and the composition of polluting emissions is studied and analysed for different rates of the additional heat supply to the wood biomass and of the swirling air supply as well as for different charge of wood biomass above the inlet of the propane flame flow. (Authors)

COFIRING BIOMASS WITH LIGNITE COAL; F

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darren D. Schmidt

2001-01-01

As of September 28, 2001, all the major project tasks have been completed. A presentation was given to the North Dakota State Penitentiary (NDSP) and the North Dakota Division of Community Services (DCS). In general, the feasibility study has resulted in the following conclusions: (1) Municipal wood resources are sufficient to support cofiring at the NDSP. (2) Steps have been taken to address all potential fuel-handling issues with the feed system design, and the design is cost-effective. (3) Fireside issues of cofiring municipal wood with coal are not of significant concern. In general, the addition of wood will improve the baseline performance of lignite coal. (4) The energy production strategy must include cogeneration using steam turbines. (5) Environmental permitting issues are small and do not affect economics. (6) The base-case economic scenario provides for a 15-year payback of a 20-year municipal bond and does not include the broader community benefits that can be realized

Base Metal Co-Fired Multilayer Piezoelectrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisheng Gao

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectrics have been widely used in different kinds of applications, from the automobile industry to consumer electronics. The novel multilayer piezoelectrics, which are inspired by multilayer ceramic capacitors, not only minimize the size of the functional parts, but also maximize energy efficiency. Development of multilayer piezoelectric devices is at a significant crossroads on the way to achieving low costs, high efficiency, and excellent reliability. Concerning the costs of manufacturing multilayer piezoelectrics, the trend is to replace the costly noble metal internal electrodes with base metal materials. This paper discusses the materials development of metal co-firing and the progress of integrating current base metal chemistries. There are some significant considerations in metal co-firing multilayer piezoelectrics: retaining stoichiometry with volatile Pb and alkaline elements in ceramics, the selection of appropriate sintering agents to lower the sintering temperature with minimum impact on piezoelectric performance, and designing effective binder formulation for low pO2 burnout to prevent oxidation of Ni and Cu base metal.

Experimental Investigation into the Combustion Characteristics on the Co-firing of Biomass with Coal as a Function of Particle Size and Blending Ratio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lkhagvadorj, Sh; Kim, Sang In; Lim, Ho; Kim, Seung Mo; Jeon, Chung Hwan [Pusan National Univ., Busan (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Byoung Hwa [Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, Ltd., Changwon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-01-15

Co-firing of biomass with coal is a promising combustion technology in a coal-fired power plant. However, it still requires verifications to apply co-firing in an actual boiler. In this study, data from the Thermogravimetric analyzer(TGA) and Drop tube furnace(DTF) were used to obtain the combustion characteristics of biomass when co-firing with coal. The combustion characteristics were verified using experimental results including reactivity from the TGA and Unburned carbon(UBC) data from the DTF. The experiment also analyzed with the variation of the biomass blending ratio and biomass particle size. It was determined that increasing the biomass blending ratio resulted in incomplete chemical reactions due to insufficient oxygen levels because of the rapid initial combustion characteristics of the biomass. Thus, the optimum blending condition of the biomass based on the results of this study was found to be 5 while oxygen enrichment reduced the increase of UBC that occurred during combustion of blended biomass and coal.

Noise characteristics of resistors buried in low-temperature co-fired ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolek, A; Ptak, P; Dziedzic, A

2003-01-01

The comparison of noise properties of conventional thick film resistors prepared on alumina substrates and resistors embedded in low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCCs) is presented. Both types of resistors were prepared from commercially available resistive inks. Noise measurements of LTCC resistors below 1 kHz show Gaussian 1/f noise. This is concluded from the calculations of the second spectra as well as from studying the volume dependence of noise intensity. It has occurred that noise index of LTCC resistors on average is not worse than that of conventional resistors. A detailed study of co-fired surface resistors and co-fired buried resistors show that burying a resistor within LTCC substrate usually leads to (significant) enhancement of resistance but not of noise intensity. We interpret this behaviour as another argument in favour of tunnelling as the dominant conduction mechanism in LTCC resistors

Thermo-economic optimization of the impact of renewable generators on poly-generation smart-grids including hot thermal storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivarolo, M.; Greco, A.; Massardo, A.F.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We model a poly-generation grid including thermal storage and renewable generators. ► We analyze the impact of random renewable generators on the grid performance. ► We carry out the grid optimization using a time-dependent thermo-economic approach. ► We present the importance of the storage system to optimize the RES impact. - Abstract: In this paper, the impact of not controllable renewable energy generators (wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels) on the thermo-economic optimum performance of poly-generation smart grids is investigated using an original time dependent hierarchical approach. The grid used for the analysis is the one installed at the University of Genoa for research activities. It is based on different prime movers: (i) 100 kWe micro gas turbine, (ii) 20 kWe internal combustion engine powered by gases to produce both electrical and thermal (hot water) energy and (iii) a 100 kWth adsorption chiller to produce cooling (cold water) energy. The grid includes thermal storage tanks to manage the thermal demand load during the year. The plant under analysis is also equipped with two renewable non-controllable generators: a small size wind turbine and photovoltaic solar panels. The size and the management of the system studied in this work have been optimized, in order to minimize both capital and variable costs. A time-dependent thermo-economic hierarchical approach developed by the authors has been used, considering the time-dependent electrical, thermal and cooling load demands during the year as problem constraints. The results are presented and discussed in depth and show the strong interaction between fossil and renewable resources, and the importance of an appropriate storage system to optimize the RES impact taking into account the multiproduct character of the grid under investigation.

An appealing photo-powered multi-functional energy system for the poly-generation of hydrogen and electricity

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Tiantian; Li, Kan; Shen, Zhemin; Sun, Tonghua; Wang, Yalin; Jia, Jinping

2015-10-01

This paper focuses on a photo-powered poly-generation system (PPS) that is powered by the photocatalytic oxidation of organic substrate to produce hydrogen energy and electrical energy synchronously. This particular device runs entirely on light energy and chemical energy of substrate without external voltage. The performance measurements and optimization experiments are all investigated by using the low concentration of pure ethanol (EtOH) solution. Compared with the conventional submerged reactor for the photogeneration of hydrogen, the hydrogen and the electric current obtained in the constructed PPS are all relatively stable in experimental period and the numerical values detected are many times higher than that of the former by using various simulated ethanol waste liquid. When using Chinese rice wine as substrate at the same ethanol content level (i.e., 0.1 mol L-1), the production of hydrogen is close to that of the pure ethanol solution in the constructed PPS, but no hydrogen is detected in the conventional submerged reactor. These results demonstrate that the constructed PPS could effectively utilize light energy and perform good capability in poly-generation of hydrogen and electricity.

Dynamic model with experimental validation of a biogas-fed SOFC plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Andrea, G.; Gandiglio, M.; Lanzini, A.; Santarelli, M.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • 60% of DIR into the SOFC anode reduces the air blower parasitic losses by 14%. • PID-controlled cathode airflow enables fast thermal regulation of the SOFC. • Stack overheating occurs due to unexpected reductions in the cathode airflow. • Current ramp rates higher than +0.30 A/min lead to an excessive stack overheating. - Abstract: The dynamic model of a poly-generation system based on a biogas-fed solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) plant is presented in this paper. The poly-generation plant was developed in the framework of the FP7 EU-funded project SOFCOM ( (www.sofcom.eu)), which consists of a fuel-cell based polygeneration plant with CO_2 capture and re-use. CO_2 is recovered from the anode exhaust of the SOFC (after oxy-combustion, cooling and water condensation) and the Carbon is fixed in the form of micro-algae in a tubular photobioreactor. This work focuses on the dynamic operation of the SOFC module running on steam-reformed biogas. Both steady state and dynamic operation of the fuel cell stack and the related Balance-of-Plant (BoP) has been modeled in order to simulate the thermal behavior and performance of the system. The model was validated against experimental data gathered during the operation of the SOFCOM proof-of-concept showing good agreement with the experimental data. The validated model has been used to investigate further on the harsh off-design operation of the proof-of-concept. Simulation results provide guidelines for an improved design of the control system of the plant, highlighting the feasible operating region under safe conditions and means to maximize the overall system efficiency.

Field test corrosion experiments in Denmark with biomass fuels Part II Co-firing of straw and coal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Montgomery, Melanie; Larsen, OH

2002-01-01

undertaken where coal has been co-fired with 10% straw and 20% straw (% energy basis) for up to approx. 3000 hours. Two types of exposure were undertaken to investigate corrosion: a) the exposure of metal rings on water/air cooled probes, and b) the exposure of a range of materials built into the existing...... and potassium sulphate. These components give rise to varying degrees of accelerated corrosion. This paper concerns co-firing of straw with coal to reduce the corrosion rate from straw to an acceptable level. A field investigation at Midtkraft Studstrup suspension-fired power plant in Denmark has been...... for 100% straw-firing. The corrosion products and course of corrosion for the various steel types were investigated using light optical and scanning electron microscopy. Catastrophic corrosion due to potassium chloride was not observed. Instead a more modest corrosion rate due to potassium sulphate rich...

Energy utilisation of biowaste - Sunflower-seed hulls for co-firing with coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raclavska, Helena; Juchelkova, Dagmar; Roubicek, Vaclav; Matysek, Dalibor [VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 15, CZ-70833 Ostrava (Czech Republic)

2011-01-15

Sunflower-seed hulls (SSH) represent a source of combustible biomass characterised by high contents of potassium and phosphorus and a low silica content. The relatively high net calorific value of 20 MJ/kg d.m. is mainly influenced by the lignin content. Potassium and phosphorus are very important elements in biomass combustion for fuel, influencing slagging and fouling problems. Mixtures with different ratios of brown coal and sunflower-seed hulls (0-22% SSH) were co-fired in the Olomouc power plant. The behaviour of elements in the fly ash and the bottom ash (SiO{sub 2}, Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, K{sub 2}O, P{sub 2}O{sub 5}, Zn, Cu and Cd) varied in relation to the amount of SSH added to the coal. The fly ash from the co-firing of 20% SSH with coal had a high content of water-leachable sulphates and total dissolved solids. The utilisation of fly ash in civil engineering (land reclamation) should fulfil criteria established by the Council Decision 2003/33/EC for non-hazardous waste. To ensure that the required water-leachable sulphate concentrations are within regulatory limits the fuel may contain a maximum of 14% SSH. (author)

Fuel characterization requirements for cofiring biomass in coal-fired boilers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prinzing, D.E.; Tillman, D.A.; Harding, N.S.

1993-01-01

The cofiring of biofuels with coal in existing boilers, or the cofiring of biofuels in combined cycle combustion turbine (CCCT) systems presents significant potential benefits to utilities, including reductions in SO 2 and NO x emissions as a function of reducing the mass flow of sulfur and nitrogen to the boiler, reducing CO 2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels; potentially reducing fuel costs both by the availability of wood residues and by the fact that biofuels are exempt from the proposed BTU tax; and providing support to industrial customers from the forest products industry. At the same time, cofiring requires careful attention to the characterization of the wood and coal, both singly and in combination. This paper reviews characterization requirements associated with cofiring biofuels and fossil fuels in boilers and CCCT installations with particular attention not only to such concerns as sulfur, nitrogen, moisture, and Btu content, but also to such issues as total ash content, base/acid ratio of the wood ash and the coal ash, alkali metal content in the wood ash and wood fuel (including converted fuels such as low Btu gas or pyrolytic oil), slagging and fouling indices, ash fusion temperature, and trace metal contents in the wood and coal. The importance of each parameter is reviewed, along with potential consequences of a failure to adequately characterize these parameters. The consequences of these parameters are reviewed with attention to firing biofuels with coal in pulverized coal (PC) and cyclone boilers, and firing biofuels with natural gas in CCCT installations

High density microelectronics package using low temperature cofirable ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu, S.-L.; Hsi, C.-S.; Chen, L.-S.; Lin, W. K.

1997-01-01

Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics (LTCC) is a relative new thick film process and has many engineering and manufacturing advantages over both the sequential thick film process and high temperature cofired ceramic modules. Because of low firing temperature, low sheet resistance metal conductors, commercial thick film resistors, and thick film capacitors can be buried in or printed on the substrates. A 3-D multilayer ceramic substrate can be prepared via laminating and co-firing process. The packing density of the LTCC substrates can be increased by this 3-D packing technology. At Kaohsiung Polytechnic Institute (KPI), a LTCC substrate system has been developed for high density packaging applications, which had buried surface capacitors and resistors. The developed cordierite-glass ceramic substrate, which has similar thermal expansion as silicon chip, is a promising material for microelectronic packaging. When the substrates were sintered at temperatures between 850-900 degree centigrade, a relative density higher than 96 % can be obtained. The substrate had a dielectric constant between 5.5 and 6.5. Ruthenium-based resistor pastes were used for resistors purposes. The resistors fabricated in/on the LTCC substrates were strongly depended on the microstructures developed in the resistor films. Surface resistors were laser trimmed in order to obtain specific values for the resistors. Material with composition Pb(Fe 2/3 W 1/3 ) x (Fe l/2 Nb l/2 ) y Ti 2 O 3 was used as dielectric material of the capacitor in the substrate. The material can be sintered at temperatures between 850-930 degree centigrade, and has dielectric constant as high as 26000. After cofiring, good adhesion between dielectric and substrate layers was obtained. Combing the buried resistors and capacitors together with the lamination of LTCC layer, a 3-dimensional multilayered ceramic package was fabricated. (author)

High density microelectronics package using low temperature cofirable ceramics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fu, S -L; Hsi, C -S; Chen, L -S; Lin, W K [Kaoshiung Polytechnic Institute Ta-Hsu, Kaoshiung (China)

1998-12-31

Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics (LTCC) is a relative new thick film process and has many engineering and manufacturing advantages over both the sequential thick film process and high temperature cofired ceramic modules. Because of low firing temperature, low sheet resistance metal conductors, commercial thick film resistors, and thick film capacitors can be buried in or printed on the substrates. A 3-D multilayer ceramic substrate can be prepared via laminating and co-firing process. The packing density of the LTCC substrates can be increased by this 3-D packing technology. At Kaohsiung Polytechnic Institute (KPI), a LTCC substrate system has been developed for high density packaging applications, which had buried surface capacitors and resistors. The developed cordierite-glass ceramic substrate, which has similar thermal expansion as silicon chip, is a promising material for microelectronic packaging. When the substrates were sintered at temperatures between 850-900 degree centigrade, a relative density higher than 96 % can be obtained. The substrate had a dielectric constant between 5.5 and 6.5. Ruthenium-based resistor pastes were used for resistors purposes. The resistors fabricated in/on the LTCC substrates were strongly depended on the microstructures developed in the resistor films. Surface resistors were laser trimmed in order to obtain specific values for the resistors. Material with composition Pb(Fe{sub 2/3}W{sub 1/3}){sub x}(Fe{sub l/2}Nb{sub l/2}){sub y}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 3} was used as dielectric material of the capacitor in the substrate. The material can be sintered at temperatures between 850-930 degree centigrade, and has dielectric constant as high as 26000. After cofiring, good adhesion between dielectric and substrate layers was obtained. Combing the buried resistors and capacitors together with the lamination of LTCC layer, a 3-dimensional multilayered ceramic package was fabricated. (author)

COFIRING BIOMASS WITH LIGNITE COAL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Darren D. Schmidt

2002-01-01

The University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center, in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) biomass cofiring program, completed a Phase 1 feasibility study investigating aspects of cofiring lignite coal with biomass relative to utility-scale systems, specifically focusing on a small stoker system located at the North Dakota State Penitentiary (NDSP) in Bismarck, North Dakota. A complete biomass resource assessment was completed, the stoker was redesigned to accept biomass, fuel characterization and fireside modeling tests were performed, and an engineering economic analysis was completed. In general, municipal wood residue was found to be the most viable fuel choice, and the modeling showed that fireside problems would be minimal. Experimental ash deposits from firing 50% biomass were found to be weaker and more friable compared to baseline lignite coal. Experimental sulfur and NO{sub x} emissions were reduced by up to 46%. The direct costs savings to NDSP, from cogeneration and fuel saving, results in a 15- to 20-year payback on a $1,680,000 investment, while the total benefits to the greater community would include reduced landfill burden, alleviation of fees for disposal by local businesses, and additional jobs created both for the stoker system as well as from the savings spread throughout the community.

Availability of Biomass Residues for Co-Firing in Peninsular Malaysia: Implications for Cost and GHG Emissions in the Electricity Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Michael Griffin

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Fossil fuels comprise 93% of Malaysia’s electricity generation and account for 36% of the country’s 2010 Greenhouse Gas (GHG emissions. The government has targeted the installation of 330 MW of biomass electricity generation capacity by 2015 to avoid 1.3 Mt of CO2 emissions annually and offset some emissions due to increased coal use. One biomass option is to co-fire with coal, which can result in reduced GHG emissions, coal use, and costs of electricity. A linear optimization cost model was developed using seven types of biomass residues for Peninsular Malaysia. Results suggest that about 12 Mt/year of residues are available annually, of which oil-palm residues contribute 77%, and rice and logging residues comprise 17%. While minimizing the cost of biomass and biomass residue transport, co-firing at four existing coal plants in Peninsular Malaysia could meet the 330 MW biomass electricity target and reduce costs by about $24 million per year compared to coal use alone and reduces GHG emissions by 1.9 Mt of CO2. Maximizing emissions reduction for biomass co-firing results in 17 Mt of CO2 reductions at a cost of $23/t of CO2 reduced.

Poly-generation planning: useful lessons from models and decision support tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rong, Aiying; Lahdelma, Risto; Grunow, Martin

2009-01-01

Increasing environmental concerns and the trends towards deregulation of energy markets have become an integral part of energy policy planning. Consequently, the requirement for environmentally sound energy production technologies has gained much ground in the energy business. The development...... of energy-efficient production technologies has experienced cogeneration and tri-generation and now is moving towards poly-generation. All these aspects have added new dimension in energy planning. The liberalized energy market requires techniques for planning under uncertainty. The growing environmental...... awareness calls for explicit handling of the impacts of energy generation on environment. Advanced production technologies require more sophisticated models for planning. The energy sector is one of the core application areas for operations research, decision sciences and intelligent techniques...

Poly-generation planning: useful lessons from models and decision support tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rong, Aiying; Lahdelma, Risto; Grunow, Martin

2009-01-01

of energy-efficient production technologies has experienced cogeneration and tri-generation and now is moving towards poly-generation. All these aspects have added new dimension in energy planning. The liberalized energy market requires techniques for planning under uncertainty. The growing environmental...... awareness calls for explicit handling of the impacts of energy generation on environment. Advanced production technologies require more sophisticated models for planning. The energy sector is one of the core application areas for operations research, decision sciences and intelligent techniques......Increasing environmental concerns and the trends towards deregulation of energy markets have become an integral part of energy policy planning. Consequently, the requirement for environmentally sound energy production technologies has gained much ground in the energy business. The development...

Assessment of the economics of basic natural gas cofiring in coal-fired stoker boilers. Topical report, June 1991-June 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bluestein, J.

1992-06-01

The report analyzes the possible benefits of basic gas cofiring in coal-fired stoker boilers. It presents data on the population of stoker boilers, the potential benefits of basic cofiring in stoker boilers and their value to the boiler operator. In particular, it quantifies the economic value of environmental and operational benefits known or thought to arise from cofiring

COFIRING BIOMASS WITH LIGNITE COAL; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darren D. Schmidt

2002-01-01

The University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center, in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) biomass cofiring program, completed a Phase 1 feasibility study investigating aspects of cofiring lignite coal with biomass relative to utility-scale systems, specifically focusing on a small stoker system located at the North Dakota State Penitentiary (NDSP) in Bismarck, North Dakota. A complete biomass resource assessment was completed, the stoker was redesigned to accept biomass, fuel characterization and fireside modeling tests were performed, and an engineering economic analysis was completed. In general, municipal wood residue was found to be the most viable fuel choice, and the modeling showed that fireside problems would be minimal. Experimental ash deposits from firing 50% biomass were found to be weaker and more friable compared to baseline lignite coal. Experimental sulfur and NO(sub x) emissions were reduced by up to 46%. The direct costs savings to NDSP, from cogeneration and fuel saving, results in a 15- to 20-year payback on a$1,680,000 investment, while the total benefits to the greater community would include reduced landfill burden, alleviation of fees for disposal by local businesses, and additional jobs created both for the stoker system as well as from the savings spread throughout the community

Increased electricity production from straw by co-firing with woody biomass; Oekad elproduktion med halm genom sameldning med traedbraenslen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hedman, Henry; Nordgren, Daniel; Bostroem, Dan; Oehman, Marcus; Padban, Nader

2011-01-15

). In addition, the bottom ash hopper and ash conveying from the electrostatic precipitator may need to be modified to cope with when a high slagging propensity fuel such as is co-firing. For Swedish power plants owners interested in introducing straw in the fuel mix, it is recommended to start with lower straw co-firing than those presented in this project. Based on the characteristics of the bottom ash and deposits on air-cooled probes (550 oC) a co-firing ration of 15-25 wt-% straw is initially recommended

Potassium Sodium Niobate-Based Lead-Free Piezoelectric Multilayer Ceramics Co-Fired with Nickel Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shinichiro Kawada

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Although lead-free piezoelectric ceramics have been extensively studied, many problems must still be overcome before they are suitable for practical use. One of the main problems is fabricating a multilayer structure, and one solution attracting growing interest is the use of lead-free multilayer piezoelectric ceramics. The paper reviews work that has been done by the authors on lead-free alkali niobate-based multilayer piezoelectric ceramics co-fired with nickel inner electrodes. Nickel inner electrodes have many advantages, such as high electromigration resistance, high interfacial strength with ceramics, and greater cost effectiveness than silver palladium inner electrodes. However, widely used lead zirconate titanate-based ceramics cannot be co-fired with nickel inner electrodes, and silver palladium inner electrodes are usually used for lead zirconate titanate-based piezoelectric ceramics. A possible alternative is lead-free ceramics co-fired with nickel inner electrodes. We have thus been developing lead-free alkali niobate-based multilayer ceramics co-fired with nickel inner electrodes. The normalized electric-field-induced thickness strain (Smax/Emax of a representative alkali niobate-based multilayer ceramic structure with nickel inner electrodes was 360 pm/V, where Smax denotes the maximum strain and Emax denotes the maximum electric field. This value is about half that for the lead zirconate titanate-based ceramics that are widely used. However, a comparable value can be obtained by stacking more ceramic layers with smaller thicknesses. In the paper, the compositional design and process used to co-fire lead-free ceramics with nickel inner electrodes are introduced, and their piezoelectric properties and reliabilities are shown. Recent advances are introduced, and future development is discussed.

Co-firing behavior of ZnTiO3-TiO2 dielectrics/hexagonal ferrite composites for multi-layer LC filters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Mao; Zhou Ji; Yue Zhenxing; Li Longtu; Gui Zhilun

2003-01-01

The low-temperature co-firing compatibility between ferrite and dielectric materials is the key issue in the production process of multi-layer chip LC filters. This paper presents the co-firing behavior and interfacial diffusion of ZnTiO 3 -TiO 2 dielectric/Co 2 Z hexagonal ferrite multi-layer composites. It has been testified that proper constitutional modification is feasible to diminish co-firing mismatch and enhance co-firing compatibility. Interfacial reactions occur at the interface, which can strengthen combinations between ferrite layers and dielectric layers. Titanium and barium tend to concentrate at the interface; iron and zinc have a wide diffusion range

BENEFIT COST FOR BIOMASS CO-FIRING IN ELECTRICITY GENERATION: CASE OF UTAH, U.S.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Man-Keun Kim

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Policy making regarding biomass co-firing is difficult. The article provides a benefit-cost analysis for decision makers to facilitate policy making process to implement efficient biomass co-firing policy. The additional cost is the sum of cost of the biomass procurement and biomass transportation. Co-benefits are sales of greenhouse gas emission credits and health benefit from reducing harmful air pollutants, especially particulate matter. The benefit-cost analysis is constructed for semi-arid U.S. region, Utah, where biomass supply is limited. Results show that biomass co-firing is not economically feasible in Utah but would be feasible when co-benefits are considered. Benefit-cost ratio is critically dependent upon biomass and carbon credit prices. The procedure to build the benefit-cost ratio can be applied for any region with other scenarios suggested in this study.

Biomass fuel characterization for NOx emissions in cofiring applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Di Nola, G.

2007-01-01

This dissertation investigates the impact of various biomass fuels and combustion conditions on the NOx emissions during biomass co-firing. Fossil fuels dominated the energy scenario since the industrial revolution. However, in the last decades, increasing concerns about their availability and

Polygeneration system based on PEMFC, CPVT and electrolyzer: Dynamic simulation and energetic and economic analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calise, Francesco; Figaj, Rafal Damian; Massarotti, Nicola; Mauro, Alessandro; Vanoli, Laura

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A novel polygeneration system is presented. • System includes CPVT collectors, PEM fuel cell, absorption chiller and electrolyzer. • The system provides heating/cooling, domestic hot water, electricity, hydrogen and oxygen. • The system simple payback period is 12.5 years, 5.8 years in case of incentive. • The optimal fuel cell nominal power results 100 kW. - Abstract: This paper presents a dynamic simulation model and an energetic and economic analysis of novel polygeneration system. The system integrates: cogenerative Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), Concentrated PhotoVoltaic-Thermal (CPVT) collectors, alkaline electrolyzer and single-stage LiBr/H_2O absorption chiller. The plant is designed to supply electrical energy, space heating or cooling and domestic hot water for a small university building. The system produces hydrogen and oxygen, the first one is stored and then it is supplied to the fuel cell, while the second one is sold. The electrolyzer system is powered only by the CPVT collectors, only a small amount of the solar electrical energy is available to the user. Such electric energy along with the one produced by the PEM fuel cell are used by the user and/or supplied to the grid. The system is designed and dynamically simulated using TRNSYS software package. This study is based on a model previously developed by the authors. In particular, the system was modified in order to implement the new components (CPVT, alkaline electrolyzer, hydrogen and oxygen system) in this work. Special attention is paid to the control strategy of the proposed system in order to achieve the optimal system configuration. Daily, weekly and yearly results carried out with the dynamic simulation are presented. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed in order to determine the system performance as a function of the main design parameters. The energetic and economic analysis shows that the system can ensure significant energy savings and it

Numerical simulation of the gasification based biomass cofiring on a 600 MW pulverized coal boiler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, R.; Dong, C.Q.; Yang, Y.P.; Zhang, J.J. [Key Laboratory of Condition Monitoring and Control for Power Plant Equipment, Ministry of Education, Beijing (China); North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). Key Laboratory of Security and Clean Energy Technology

2008-07-01

Biomass cofiring is the practice of supplementing a base fuel with biomass fuels such as wood waste, short rotation woody crops, short rotation herbaceous crops, alfalfa stems, various types of manure, landfill gas and wastewater treatment gas. The practice began in the 1980s and is becoming commonplace in Europe and the United States. The benefits include reduced carbon dioxide emissions and other airborne emissions such as nitrous oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide and trace metals; potential for reduced fuel cost; and supporting economic development among wood products and agricultural industries in a given service area. However, technical challenges remain when biomass is directly cofired with coal. These include limited percentage of biomass for cofiring; fuel preparation, storage, and delivery; ash deposition and corrosion associated with the high alkali metal and chlorine content in biomass; fly ash utilization; and impacts on the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system. This study involved a numerical simulation of cofiring coal and biomass gas in a 600 MWe tangential PC boiler using Fluent software. Combustion behaviour and pollutant formation in the conventional combustion and cofiring cases were compared. The study revealed that reduced NOx emissions can be achieved when producer gas is injected from the lowest layer burner. The nitrogen monoxide (NO) removal rate was between 56.64 and 70.37 per cent. In addition, slagging can be reduced because of the lower temperature. It was concluded that the convection heat transfer area should be increased or the proportion of biomass gas should be decreased to achieve higher boiler efficiency. 8 refs., 4 tabs., 8 figs.

Co-firing Bosnian coals with woody biomass: Experimental studies on a laboratory-scale furnace and 110 MWe power unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smajevic Izet

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the findings of research into cofiring two Bosnian cola types, brown coal and lignite, with woody biomass, in this case spruce sawdust. The aim of the research was to find the optimal blend of coal and sawdust that may be substituted for 100% coal in large coal-fired power stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two groups of experimental tests were performed in this study: laboratory testing of co-firing and trial runs on a large-scale plant based on the laboratory research results. A laboratory experiment was carried out in an electrically heated and entrained pulverized-fuel flow furnace. Coal-sawdust blends of 93:7% by weight and 80:20% by weight were tested. Co-firing trials were conducted over a range of the following process variables: process temperature, excess air ratio and air distribution. Neither of the two coal-sawdust blends used produced any significant ash-related problems provided the blend volume was 7% by weight sawdust and the process temperature did not exceed 1250ºC. It was observed that in addition to the nitrogen content in the co-fired blend, the volatile content and particle size distribution of the mixture also influenced the level of NOx emissions. The brown coal-sawdust blend generated a further reduction of SO2 due to the higher sulphur capture rate than for coal alone. Based on and following the laboratory research findings, a trial run was carried out in a large-scale utility - the Kakanj power station, Unit 5 (110 MWe, using two mixtures; one in which 5%/wt and one in which 7%/wt of brown coal was replaced with sawdust. Compared to a reference firing process with 100% coal, these co-firing trials produced a more intensive redistribution of the alkaline components in the slag in the melting chamber, with a consequential beneficial effect on the deposition of ash on the superheater surfaces of the boiler. The outcome of the tests confirms the feasibility of using 7%wt of sawdust in combination

Investigation of pre-drying lignite in an existing Greek power plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agraniotis Michalis

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The application of lignite pre-drying technologies in next generation of lignite power plants by utilizing low pressure steam as a drying medium instead of hot recirculated flue gas - combined with thermal utilization of the vaporized coal moisture - is expected to bring efficiency increase of 2-4 percentage points in future lignite power plants compared with today’s state of the art. The pre-drying concept is of particular importance in Greek boilers firing lignite with a high water and ash content. The combustion of Greek predried lignite has been investigated experimentally and via numerical simulations in our previous research. This study focuses on the potential integration of a lignite pre-drying system in an existing Greek power plant with dry lignite co-firing thermal share of up to 30%. The radiative and convective heat fluxes to the boiler and the overall boiler heat balance is calculated for reference and dry lignite co-firing conditions by an in-house calculation code. The overall plant’s thermal cycle is then simulated using commercial thermal cycle calculation software. The net plant efficiency is in this way determined for reference and dry coal co-firing conditions. According to the simulation results the integration of a pre-drying system and the implementation of dry lignite co-firing may bring an efficiency increase of about 1.5 percentage points in existing Greek boilers. It is therefore considered as an important measure towards improving plant efficiency and reducing specific CO2 emissions in existing plants.

Potential to cofire high-sulfur coal and MSW/RDF in Illinois utility boilers: A survey and analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

South, D.W.

1993-01-01

The disposal of refuse is of ever-increasing concern for municipalities and other organizations and agencies throughout the United States. Disposal in landfills is becoming more costly, and new landfills are more difficult to site because of stricter environmental regulations. Mass burning incinerators for municipal solid wastes (MSW) have also met with increased public resistance due to excessive emissions. Nevertheless, increased awareness of the need for alternative disposal techniques has led to a new interest in cofiring MSW with coal. In addition to solid waste concerns, the requirements to reduce SO 2 and NO x emissions from coal-fired utility boilers in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, present an opportunity to cofire MSW/RDF with coal as an emission control measure. These issues were the impetus for a 1992 study (conducted by ANL for the Illinois Clean Coal Institute) to examine the potential to cofire coal with MSW/RDF in Illinois utility boilers. This paper will provide a synopsis of the ANL/ICCI report. It will summarize (1) the combustibility and emission characteristics of high-sulfur coal and MSW/RDF; (2) the facilities firing RDF and/or producing/selling RDF, together with their combustion and emissions experience; (3) the applicable emissions regulations in Illinois; and (4) the analysis of candidate utility boilers in Illinois capable of cofiring, together with the effect on coal consumption and SO 2 and NO x emissions that would result from 20% cofiring with RDF/MSW

A novel polygeneration process to co-produce ethylene and electricity from shale gas with zero CO2 emissions via methane oxidative coupling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khojasteh Salkuyeh, Yaser; Adams, Thomas A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Development of an ethylene plant from shale gases with zero CO 2 emissions. • Oxidative coupling of methane is used for the conversion of gas to ethylene. • Polygeneration strategy is used to improve the profitability of plant. - Abstract: A techno-economic analysis of a novel process to co-produce ethylene and electricity using a recently developed methane oxidative coupling catalyst is presented. Several design variants are considered, featuring the use of traditional gas turbines, chemical looping combustion, and 100% carbon dioxide capture. Mass and energy balance simulations were carried out using Aspen Plus simulations, and particle swarm optimization was used to determine the optimal process design under a variety of market scenarios. A custom model for the gas turbine section was used to ensure that the negative impacts of various cooling strategies were factored into the analysis. The results show that by synergistically co-producing power and ethylene using this catalyst, ethylene can be produced at costs close to traditional steam cracking methods with nearly zero carbon dioxide emissions, even when factoring in the relatively poor conversion and selectivity of the chosen catalyst

URBAN WOOD/COAL CO-FIRING IN THE NIOSH BOILER PLANT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James T. Cobb Jr.

2005-02-10

Phase I of this project began by obtaining R&D variances for permits at the NIOSH boilerplant (NBP), Emery Tree Service (ETS) and the J. A. Rutter Company (JARC) for their portions of the project. Wood for the test burn was obtained from the JARC inventory (pallets), Thompson Properties and Seven D Corporation (construction wood), and the Arlington Heights Housing Project (demolition wood). The wood was ground at ETS and JARC, delivered to the Three Rivers Terminal and blended with coal. Three one-day tests using wood/coal blends of 33% wood by volume (both construction wood and demolition wood) were conducted at the NBP. Blends using hammermilled wood were operationally successful. Emissions of SO{sub 2} and NOx decreased and that of CO increased when compared with combusting coal alone. Mercury emissions were measured and evaluated. During the first year of Phase II the principal work focused upon searching for a replacement boilerplant and developing a commercial supply of demolition wood. The NBP withdrew from the project and a search began for another stoker boilerplant in Pennsylvania to replace it on the project. Three potential commercial demolition wood providers were contacted. Two were not be able to supply wood. At the end of the first year of Phase II, discussions were continuing with the third one, a commercial demolition wood provider from northern New Jersey. During the two-and-a-third years of the contract extension it was determined that the demolition wood from northern New Jersey was impractical for use in Pittsburgh, in another power plant in central New Jersey, and in a new wood gasifier being planned in Philadelphia. However, the project team did identify sufficient wood from other sources for the gasifier project. The Principal Investigator of this project assisted a feasibility study of wood gasification in Clarion County, Pennsylvania. As a result of the study, an independent power producer in the county has initiated a small wood

Evaluating the impact of three incentive programs on the economics of cofiring willow biomass with coal in New York State

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tharakan, P.J.; Volk, T.A.; Lindsey, C.A.; Abrahamson, L.P.; White, E.H.

2005-01-01

Plantations of fast-growing willow shrubs are being promoted as a source quality biomass feedstock for bioenergy and bioproducts in New York State (NY). In the near-term, cofiring of the feedstock--in combination with other woody biomass--with coal in existing utility power boilers is considered to be the most promising conversion method for energy generation. Despite the clear technological viability and associated environmental benefits, cofiring of willow has not been widely adopted. The relatively high production cost of the willow feedstock, which is over twice that of coal, is the primary reason for this lack of interest. Taxes that account for some of the social costs of using coal and/or incentives that appropriate value for some of the social benefits of using willow are essential for eliminating most or the entire current price differential. This paper presents an integrated analysis of the economics of power generation from cofiring willow biomass feedstock with coal, from the perspective of the grower, aggregator and the power plant. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the relative impact of a green premium price, a closed-loop biomass tax credit, and payments to growers under the proposed Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) harvesting exemption policy. The CRP payments reduced the delivered cost of willow by 36-35%, to $1.90 GJ -1 and $1.70 GJ -1 , under current and increased yield conditions, respectively. These prices are still high, relative to coal. Other incentives are required to ensure commercial viability. The required levels of green premium price (0.4-1.0 cents kWh -1 ) and biomass tax credit (0.75-2.4 cents kWh -1 ) vary depending on whether the incentives were being applied by themselves or in combination, and whether current yield or potential increased yields were being considered. In the near term, cofiring willow biomass and coal can be an economically viable option for power generation in NY if the expected overall beneficial effects

A low temperature co-fired ceramic power inductor manufactured using a glass-free ternary composite material system

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuanxun; Xie, Yunsong; Xie, Ru; Chen, Daming; Han, Likun; Su, Hua

2018-03-01

A glass-free ternary composite material system (CMS) manufactured employing the low temperature ( 890 ° C ) co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technique is reported. This ternary CMS consists of silver, NiCuZn ferrite, and Zn2SiO4 ceramic. The reported device fabricated from this ternary CMS is a power inductor with a nominal inductance of 1.0 μH. Three major highlights were achieved from the device and the material study. First, unlike most other LTCC methods, no glass is required to be added in either of the dielectric materials in order to co-fire the NiCuZn ferrite, Zn2SiO4 ceramic, and silver. Second, a successfully co-fired silver, NiCuZn, and Zn2SiO4 device can be achieved by optimizing the thermal shrinkage properties of both NiCuZn and Zn2SiO4, so that they have a very similar temperature shrinkage profile. We have also found that strong non-magnetic elemental diffusion occurs during the densification process, which further enhances the success rate of manufacturing co-fired devices. Last but not least, elemental mapping suggests that strong magnetic elemental diffusion between NiCuZn and Zn2SiO4 has been suppressed during the co-firing process. The investigation of electrical performance illustrates that while the ordinary binary CMS based power inductor can deal with 400 mA DC, the ternary CMS based power inductor is able to handle higher DC currents, 700 mA and 620 mA DC, according to both simulation and experiment demonstrations, respectively.

How polygeneration schemes may develop under an advanced clean fossil fuel strategy under a joint sino-European initiative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hetland, Jens; Zheng, Li; Shisen, Xu

2009-01-01

In this article the prospect of emerging co-production and polygeneration schemes based on pre-combustion decarbonisation and options for geological storage of the CO 2 are discussed in a European and Chinese setting. Reference is made to European and Chinese undertakings - especially the COACH project that is being conducted under the auspices of the European Commission. COACH is based on principles lined up by the EU-based DYNAMIS project with reference to options for decarbonising fossil fuels within a more sustainable framework. (author)

From biomass to biocarbon : trends and tradeoffs when CO-firing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McLaughlin, H. [Alterna Energy Inc., Prince George, BC (Canada)

2009-07-01

This study examined current market dynamics for biomass-based fuels produced in British Columbia (BC) and consumed by utilities in Sweden. The aim of the study was to compare and develop the properties of 3 biofuels suitable for co-firing: (1) dry wood pellets; (2) torrefied wood pellets; and (3) biocarbon pellets. Biocarbon fuels are processed at higher temperatures to produce a higher energy density fuel per unit weight at a lower overall mass yield. The processing mass balances and physical properties of the pellets were investigated as well as the production and transportation costs of biofuels. Market value, profit, and maximum production costs of the pellets were examined. The study showed that the biofuel supply chain includes significant transportation costs relative to the cost of the raw biomass and biofuel conversion processes. It was concluded that higher energy density biocarbon pellets represent the most cost-effective biofuel option for co-firing with coal. 10 refs., 3 tabs., 4 figs.

From biomass to biocarbon : trends and tradeoffs when CO-firing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McLaughlin, H.

2009-01-01

This study examined current market dynamics for biomass-based fuels produced in British Columbia (BC) and consumed by utilities in Sweden. The aim of the study was to compare and develop the properties of 3 biofuels suitable for co-firing: (1) dry wood pellets; (2) torrefied wood pellets; and (3) biocarbon pellets. Biocarbon fuels are processed at higher temperatures to produce a higher energy density fuel per unit weight at a lower overall mass yield. The processing mass balances and physical properties of the pellets were investigated as well as the production and transportation costs of biofuels. Market value, profit, and maximum production costs of the pellets were examined. The study showed that the biofuel supply chain includes significant transportation costs relative to the cost of the raw biomass and biofuel conversion processes. It was concluded that higher energy density biocarbon pellets represent the most cost-effective biofuel option for co-firing with coal. 10 refs., 3 tabs., 4 figs.

Heat integration of an ethanol polygeneration plant based on lignocellulose: Comparing weak acid hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis; Energiintegrerat etanolkombinat baserat paa lignocellulosa - Jaemfoerelse mellan svagsyrahydrolys och enzymhydrolys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olsson, Marcus; Nordman, Roger; Taherzadeh, Mohammad

2011-07-01

. - Energy ratios for the reported cases show that ethanol production from cellulosic raw material ranges from 1.27 to 3.24 for the weak acid process, depending on the choice of process integration alternative, and between 3.51 to 9.56 for the enzymatic process. - The choice of process greatly affects the need for raw materials since the yields differ. The lower yield of the weak acid process means that 60% more material is needed compared with the enzymatic process. - For a future polygeneration plant it is important to consider local conditions, such as the external integration capabilities and the raw materials available. - To ensure that the process also works in a real plant, research and validation of experiments are needed in full scale facilities

Co-firing coal and biomass blends and their influence on the post-combustion CO2 capture installation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Więckol-Ryk Angelika

2017-01-01

Research proved that co-firing of biomass in fossil fuel power plants is beneficial for PCC process. It may also reduce the corrosion of CO2 capture installation. The oxygen concentration in the flue gases from hard coal combustion was comparable with the respective value for a fuel blend of biomass content of 20% w/w. It was also noted that an increase in biomass content in a sample from 20 to 40 % w/w increased the concentration of oxygen in the flue gas streams. However, this concentration should not have a significant impact on the rate of amine oxidative degradation.

Feedlot biomass co-firing: a renewable energy alternative for coal-fired utilities. Paper no. IGEC-1-128

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arumugam, S.; Thien, B.; Annamalai, K.; Sweeten, J.

2005-01-01

The swiftly growing feedlot industry in the United States upshots in the production of manure from one or more animal species in excess of what can safely be applied to farmland in accordance with nutrient management plans. Disposal of the vast quantity of manure produced as a by-product of the cattle feeding industry is one of the major operating tasks of the industry. Aside from the traditional means of disposal as fertilizer, an alternative and attractive way of overcoming this threat is to develop processes that make use of manure as an energy resource. In the present study, the feasibility of using of manure as a fuel in existing coal fired power plants is considered and appropriately termed Feedlot Biomass (FB). The technology of co-firing coal: feedlot biomass facilitates an environment friendly utilization of animal waste for the production of valuable power/steam concurrently addressing the renewable energy, groundwater contamination, and greenhouse gas concerns. Co-firing tests were performed at the Texas AandM University 30 kW t (100,000 Btu/h) laboratory-scale facility. The trials revealed the enhanced combustion of the blends. The NO emissions were less for the blend even with higher nitrogen content of FB as compared to coal. (author)

Optimal planning of co-firing alternative fuels with coal in a power plant by grey nonlinear mixed integer programming model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koa, A.S.; Chang, N.B. [University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States). Dept. for Civil & Environmental Engineering

2008-07-15

Energy supply and use is of fundamental importance to society. Although the interactions between energy and environment were originally local in character, they have now widened to cover regional and global issues, such as acid rain and the greenhouse effect. It is for this reason that there is a need for covering the direct and indirect economic and environmental impacts of energy acquisition, transport, production and use. In this paper, particular attention is directed to ways of resolving conflict between economic and environmental goals by encouraging a power plant to consider co-firing biomass and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) with coal simultaneously. It aims at reducing the emission level of sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) in an uncertain environment, using the power plant in Michigan City, Indiana as an example. To assess the uncertainty by a comparative way both deterministic and grey nonlinear mixed integer programming (MIP) models were developed to minimize the net operating cost with respect to possible fuel combinations. It aims at generating the optimal portfolio of alternative fuels while maintaining the same electricity generation simultaneously. To case the solution procedure stepwise relaxation algorithm was developed for solving the grey nonlinear MIP model. Breakeven alternative fuel value can be identified in the post-optimization stage for decision-making. Research findings show that the inclusion of RDF does not exhibit comparative advantage in terms of the net cost, albeit relatively lower air pollution impact. Yet it can be sustained by a charge system, subsidy program, or emission credit as the price of coal increases over time.

Optimal planning of co-firing alternative fuels with coal in a power plant by grey nonlinear mixed integer programming model.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Andi Setiady; Chang, Ni-Bin

2008-07-01

Energy supply and use is of fundamental importance to society. Although the interactions between energy and environment were originally local in character, they have now widened to cover regional and global issues, such as acid rain and the greenhouse effect. It is for this reason that there is a need for covering the direct and indirect economic and environmental impacts of energy acquisition, transport, production and use. In this paper, particular attention is directed to ways of resolving conflict between economic and environmental goals by encouraging a power plant to consider co-firing biomass and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) with coal simultaneously. It aims at reducing the emission level of sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) in an uncertain environment, using the power plant in Michigan City, Indiana as an example. To assess the uncertainty by a comparative way both deterministic and grey nonlinear mixed integer programming (MIP) models were developed to minimize the net operating cost with respect to possible fuel combinations. It aims at generating the optimal portfolio of alternative fuels while maintaining the same electricity generation simultaneously. To ease the solution procedure stepwise relaxation algorithm was developed for solving the grey nonlinear MIP model. Breakeven alternative fuel value can be identified in the post-optimization stage for decision-making. Research findings show that the inclusion of RDF does not exhibit comparative advantage in terms of the net cost, albeit relatively lower air pollution impact. Yet it can be sustained by a charge system, subsidy program, or emission credit as the price of coal increases over time.

X-Ray Characterization of Resistor/Dielectric Material for Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic Packages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DIMOS, DUANE B.; KOTULA, PAUL G.; RODRIGUEZ, MARK A.; YANG, PIN

1999-01-01

High temperature XRD has been employed to monitor the devitrification of Dupont 951 low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) and Dupont E84005 resistor ink. The LTCC underwent devitrification to an anorthite phase in the range of 835-875 C with activation energy of 180 kJ/mol as calculated from kinetic data. The resistor paste underwent devitrification in the 835-875 C range forming monoclinic and hexagonal celcian phases plus a phase believed to be a zinc-silicate. RuO(sub 2) appeared to be stable within this devitrified resistor matrix. X-ray radiography of a co-fired circuit indicated good structural/chemical compatibility between the resistor and LTCC

Combustion, cofiring and emissions characteristics of torrefied biomass in a drop tube reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ndibe, Collins; Maier, Jörg; Scheffknecht, Günter

2015-01-01

The study investigates cofiring characteristics of torrefied biomass fuels at 50% thermal shares with coals and 100% combustion cases. Experiments were carried out in a 20 kW, electrically heated, drop-tube reactor. Fuels used include a range of torrefied biomass fuels, non-thermally treated white wood pellets, a high volatile bituminous coal and a lignite coal. The reactor was maintained at 1200 °C while the overall stoichiometric ratio was kept constant at 1.15 for all combustion cases. Measurements were performed to evaluate combustion reactivity, emissions and burn-out. Torrefied biomass fuels in comparison to non-thermally treated wood contain a lower amount of volatiles. For the tests performed at a similar particle size distribution, the reduced volatile content did not impact combustion reactivity significantly. Delay in combustion was only observed for test fuel with a lower amount of fine particles. The particle size distribution of the pulverised grinds therefore impacts combustion reactivity more. Sulphur and nitrogen contents of woody biomass fuels are low. Blending woody biomass with coal lowers the emissions of SO 2 mainly as a result of dilution. NO X emissions have a more complex dependency on the nitrogen content. Factors such as volatile content of the fuels, fuel type, furnace and burner configurations also impact the final NO X emissions. In comparison to unstaged combustion, the nitrogen conversion to NO X declined from 34% to 9% for air-staged co-combustion of torrefied biomass and hard coal. For the air-staged mono-combustion cases, nitrogen conversion to NO X declined from between 42% and 48% to about 10%–14%. - Highlights: • Impact of torrefaction on cofiring was studied at high heating rates in a drop tube. • Cofiring of torrefied biomasses at high thermal shares (50% and higher) is feasible. • Particle size impacts biomass combustion reactivity more than torrefaction. • In a drop tube reactor, torrefaction has no negative

Ash transformation in suspension fired boilers co-firing coal and straw

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zheng, Yuanjing; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Jensen, Anker Degn

The properties of the ash from co-firing of coal and straw have a large influence on boiler operation, flue gas cleaning equipment and appropriate utilization of the fly ash. A study on the fuel composition and local conditions influence on fly ash properties has been done by making entrained flo...

Reduction of CO{sub 2} emission and oil dependency with biomass-based polygeneration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joelsson, Jonas M; Gustavsson, Leif [Ecotechnology and Environmental Science, Department of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Mid Sweden University, SE-831 25 Oestersund (Sweden)

2010-07-15

We compare different options for the use of lignocellulosic biomass to reduce CO{sub 2} emission and oil use, focusing on polygeneration of biomass-based motor fuels and electricity, and discuss methodological issues related to such comparisons. The use of biomass can significantly reduce CO{sub 2} emission and oil use, but there is a trade-off between the reductions in CO{sub 2} emission and oil use. Bioelectricity from stand-alone plants replacing coal-based electricity reduced CO{sub 2} emission by 99 kg per GJ biomass input but gave no oil use reduction. Stand-alone produced methanol replacing diesel reduced the CO{sub 2} emission with 38 kg and the oil use with 0.67 GJ per GJ biomass, indicating that a potential CO{sub 2} emission reduction of 90 kg is lost per GJ oil reduced. CO{sub 2} emission and oil use reduction for alternatives co-producing fuel and electricity fall between the stand-alone alternatives. Plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles using bioelectricity reduced CO{sub 2} emission by 75-88 kg and oil use by 0.99-1.2 GJ, per GJ biomass input. Biomass can also reduce CO{sub 2} emission and/or oil use more efficiently if fossil-fuel-fired boilers or electric heating is replaced by district heating from biomass-based combined heat and power generation. This is also true if electricity or motor fuel is produced from black liquor gasification in pulp mills or if wood is used instead of concrete in building construction. Biomass gasification is an important technology to achieve large reductions, irrespective of whether CO{sub 2} emission or oil use reduction is prioritised. (author)

THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN ASSESSMENT FOR THE CO-FIRING OF BIO-REFINERY SUPPLIED LIGNIN PROJECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ted Berglund; Jeffrey T. Ranney; Carol L. Babb; Jacqueline G. Broder

2001-01-01

The major aspects of this project are proceeding toward completion. Prior to this quarter, design criteria, tentative site selection, facility layout, and preliminary facility cost estimates were completed and issued. Processing of bio-solids was completed, providing material for the pilot operations. Pilot facility design, equipment selection, and modification were completed during the fourth quarter of 2000. Initial pilot facility shakedown was completed during the fourth quarter. After some unavoidable delays, a suitable representative supply of MSW feed material was procured. During this first quarter of 2001, shredding of the feed material and final feed conditioning were completed. Pilot facility hydrolysis production was completed to produce lignin for co-fire testing. During this quarter, TVA completed the washing and dewatering of the lignin material produced from the MSW hydrolysis. Seven drums of lignin material were washed to recover the acid and sugar from the lignin and provide an improved fuel for steam generation. Samples of both the lignin and bio-solids fuel materials for co-fire testing were sent to the co-fire facility (EERC) for evaluation. After sample evaluation, EERC approved sending the material and all of the necessary fuel for testing was shipped to EERC. EERC has requested and will receive coal typical of the fuel to the TVA-Colbert boilers. This material will be used at EERC as baseline material and for mixing with the bio-fuel for combustion testing. EERC combustion testing of the bio based fuels is scheduled to begin in August of 2001. The TVA-Colbert facility has neared completion of the task to evaluate the co-location of the Masada facility on the operation of the power generation facility. The TVA-Colbert fossil plant is fully capable of providing a reliable steam supply. The preferred steam supply connection points and steam pipeline routing have been identified. The environmental review of the pipeline routing has been completed

DEVELOPMENT OF A VALIDATED MODEL FOR USE IN MINIMIZING NOx EMISSIONS AND MAXIMIZING CARBON UTILIZATION WHEN CO-FIRING BIOMASS WITH COAL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larry G. Felix; P. Vann Bush; Stephen Niksa

2003-04-30

In full-scale boilers, the effect of biomass cofiring on NO{sub x} and unburned carbon (UBC) emissions has been found to be site-specific. Few sets of field data are comparable and no consistent database of information exists upon which cofiring fuel choice or injection system design can be based to assure that NOX emissions will be minimized and UBC be reduced. This report presents the results of a comprehensive project that generated an extensive set of pilot-scale test data that were used to validate a new predictive model for the cofiring of biomass and coal. All testing was performed at the 3.6 MMBtu/hr (1.75 MW{sub t}) Southern Company Services/Southern Research Institute Combustion Research Facility where a variety of burner configurations, coals, biomasses, and biomass injection schemes were utilized to generate a database of consistent, scalable, experimental results (422 separate test conditions). This database was then used to validate a new model for predicting NO{sub x} and UBC emissions from the cofiring of biomass and coal. This model is based on an Advanced Post-Processing (APP) technique that generates an equivalent network of idealized reactor elements from a conventional CFD simulation. The APP reactor network is a computational environment that allows for the incorporation of all relevant chemical reaction mechanisms and provides a new tool to quantify NOx and UBC emissions for any cofired combination of coal and biomass.

Exergy analysis of a combined heat and power plant with integrated lignocellulosic ethanol production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lythcke-Jørgensen, Christoffer; Haglind, Fredrik; Clausen, Lasse R.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We model a system where lignocellulosic ethanol production is integrated with a combined heat and power (CHP) plant. • We conduct an exergy analysis for the ethanol production in six different system operation points. • Integrated operation, district heating (DH) production and low CHP loads all increase the exergy efficiency. • Separate operation has the largest negative impact on the exergy efficiency. • Operation is found to have a significant impact on the exergy efficiency of the ethanol production. - Abstract: Lignocellulosic ethanol production is often assumed integrated in polygeneration systems because of its energy intensive nature. The objective of this study is to investigate potential irreversibilities from such integration, and what impact it has on the efficiency of the integrated ethanol production. An exergy analysis is carried out for a modelled polygeneration system in which lignocellulosic ethanol production based on hydrothermal pretreatment is integrated in an existing combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The ethanol facility is driven by steam extracted from the CHP unit when feasible, and a gas boiler is used as back-up when integration is not possible. The system was evaluated according to six operation points that alternate on the following three different operation parameters: Load in the CHP unit, integrated versus separate operation, and inclusion of district heating production in the ethanol facility. The calculated standard exergy efficiency of the ethanol facility varied from 0.564 to 0.855, of which the highest was obtained for integrated operation at reduced CHP load and full district heating production in the ethanol facility, and the lowest for separate operation with zero district heating production in the ethanol facility. The results suggest that the efficiency of integrating lignocellulosic ethanol production in CHP plants is highly dependent on operation, and it is therefore suggested that the

Exploring evaluation to influence the quality of pulverized coal fly ash. Co-firing of biomass in a pulverized coal plant or mixing of biomass ashes with pulverized coal fly ash; Verkennende evaluatie kwaliteitsbeinvloeding poederkoolvliegas. Bijstoken van biomassa in een poederkoolcentrale of bijmenging van biomassa-assen met poederkoolvliegas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van der Sloot, H.A.; Cnubben, P.A.J.P [ECN Schoon Fossiel, Petten (Netherlands)

2000-08-01

(refuse derived fuels), will most likely lead to increased leaching. This will be more prominent for oxyanions than for metals. In the evaluation of the application of coal fly ash in cement production or in partial cement replacement, it is important to assess the materials behaviour in recycling stages in unbound form besides its leaching behaviour of the intact product in its service life. This aspect has not been addressed before. If a material performs poorly from an environmental point of view in its recycling stages, one should be more critical in allowing (too) high levels of co-firing or too high mixing ratios of biomass. In general, the oxyanions will be more critical than most metals. The variability in several types of biomass is rather high. This holds limitations for plant operation and availability. Premixing of biomass during size reduction leads to more consistent input and thus to more constant ash quality. Co-firing may lead to increased Cr-VI levels in the fly ash due to oxidation of Cr, which is more prominently present in flue gas upon biomass co-firing than in case of regular coal firing. Elevated Cr-VI levels are more leachable. The following recommendations have been made: measurement of leaching behaviour of coal fly ash from co-firing of different biomass streams with a special emphasis on Cr-VI leachability; measurement of flue gas quality relative to pure coal combustion during co-firing of contaminated biomass streams; verification of durability of cement-based products containing coal fly ash with ash from biomass; evaluation of the leaching behaviour of recycling products from the primary uses of biomass ash or fly ash. 35 refs.

DESIGNING AN OPPORTUNITY FUEL WITH BIOMASS AND TIRE-DERIVED FUEL FOR COFIRING AT WILLOW ISLAND GENERATING STATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

K. Payette; D. Tillman

2001-01-01

During the period October 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000, Allegheny Energy Supply Co., LLC (Allegheny) executed a Cooperative Agreement with the National Energy Technology Laboratory to implement a major cofiring demonstration at the Willow Island Generating Station Boiler No.2. Willow Island Boiler No.2 is a cyclone boiler. Allegheny also will demonstrate separate injection cofiring at the Albright Generating Station Boiler No.3, a tangentially fired boiler. The Allegheny team includes Foster Wheeler as its primary subcontractor. Additional subcontractors are Cofiring Alternatives and N.S. Harding and Associates. This report summarizes the activities associated with the Designer Opportunity Fuel program, and demonstrations at Willow Island and Albright Generating Stations. The second quarter of the project involved completing the designs for each location. Further, geotechnical investigations proceeded at each site. Preparations were made to perform demolition on two small buildings at the Willow Island site. Fuels strategies were initiated for each site. Test planning commenced for each site. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Willow Island site on October 18, with Governor C. Underwood being the featured speaker

CO-FIRING COAL: FEEDLOT AND LITTER BIOMASS (CFB AND CLB) FUELS IN PULVERIZED FUEL AND FIXED BED BURNERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalyan Annamalai; John Sweeten; Saqib Mukhtar; Ben Thein; Gengsheng Wei; Soyuz Priyadarsan; Senthil Arumugam; Kevin Heflin

2003-08-28

Intensive animal feeding operations create large amounts of animal waste that must be safely disposed of in order to avoid environmental degradation. Cattle feedlots and chicken houses are two examples. In feedlots, cattle are confined to small pens and fed a high calorie grain-diet diet in preparation for slaughter. In chicken houses, thousands of chickens are kept in close proximity. In both of these operations, millions of tons of manure are produced every year. The manure could be used as a fuel by mixing it with coal in a 90:10 blend and firing it in an existing coal suspension fired combustion systems. This technique is known as co-firing, and the high temperatures produced by the coal will allow the biomass to be completely combusted. Reburn is a process where a small percentage of fuel called reburn fuel is injected above the NO{sub x} producing, conventional coal fired burners in order to reduce NO{sub x}. The manure could also be used as reburn fuel for reducing NO{sub x} in coal fired plants. An alternate approach of using animal waste is to adopt the gasification process using a fixed bed gasifier and then use the gases for firing in gas turbine combustors. In this report, the cattle manure is referred to as feedlot biomass (FB) and chicken manure as litter biomass (LB). The report generates data on FB and LB fuel characteristics. Co-firing, reburn, and gasification tests of coal, FB, LB, coal: FB blends, and coal: LB blends and modeling on cofiring, reburn systems and economics of use of FB and LB have also been conducted. The biomass fuels are higher in ash, lower in heat content, higher in moisture, and higher in nitrogen and sulfur (which can cause air pollution) compared to coal. Small-scale cofiring experiments revealed that the biomass blends can be successfully fired, and NO{sub x} emissions will be similar to or lower than pollutant emissions when firing coal. Further experiments showed that biomass is twice or more effective than coal when

Sulphur capture by co-firing sulphur containing fuels with biomass fuels - optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nordin, A.

1992-12-01

Previous results concerning co-firing of high sulphur fuels with biomass fuels have shown that a significant part of the sulphur can be absorbed in the ash by formation of harmless sulphates. The aim of this work has been to (i) determine the maximum reduction that can be obtained in a bench scaled fluidized bed (5 kW); (ii) determine which operating conditions will give maximum reduction; (iii) point out the importance and applicability of experimental designs and multivariate methods when optimizing combustion processes; (iv) determine if the degree of sulphur capture can be correlated to the degree of slagging, fouling or bed sintering; and (v) determine if further studies are desired. The following are some of the more important results obtained: - By co-firing peat with biomass, a total sulphur retention of 70 % can be obtained. By co-firing coal with energy-grass, the total SO 2 emissions can be reduced by 90 %. - Fuel feeding rate, amount of combustion air and the primary air ratio were the most important operating parameters for the reduction. Bed temperature and oxygen level seem to be the crucial physical parameters. - The NO emissions also decreased by the sulphur reducing measures. The CO emissions were relatively high (130 mg/MJ) compared to large scale facilities due to the small reactor and the small fluctuations in the fuel feeding rate. The SO 2 emissions could however be reduced without any increase in CO emissions. - When the reactor was fired with a grass, the bed sintered at a low temperature ( 2 SO 4 and KCl are formed no sintering problems were observed. (27 refs., 41 figs., 9 tabs., 3 appendices)

Microalgae Production from Power Plant Flue Gas: Environmental Implications on a Life Cycle Basis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kadam, K. L.

2001-06-22

Power-plant flue gas can serve as a source of CO{sub 2} for microalgae cultivation, and the algae can be cofired with coal. This life cycle assessment (LCA) compared the environmental impacts of electricity production via coal firing versus coal/algae cofiring. The LCA results demonstrated lower net values for the algae cofiring scenario for the following using the direct injection process (in which the flue gas is directly transported to the algae ponds): SOx, NOx, particulates, carbon dioxide, methane, and fossil energy consumption. Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons emissions were statistically unchanged. Lower values for the algae cofiring scenario, when compared to the burning scenario, were observed for greenhouse potential and air acidification potential. However, impact assessment for depletion of natural resources and eutrophication potential showed much higher values. This LCA gives us an overall picture of impacts across different environmental boundaries, and hence, can help in the decision-making process for implementation of the algae scenario.

Modeling and performance analysis of CCHP (combined cooling, heating and power) system based on co-firing of natural gas and biomass gasification gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Jiangjiang; Mao, Tianzhi; Sui, Jun; Jin, Hongguang

2015-01-01

Co-firing biomass and fossil energy is a cost-effective and reliable way to use renewable energy and offer advantages in flexibility, conversion efficiency and commercial possibility. This study proposes a co-fired CCHP (combined cooling, heating and power) system based on natural gas and biomass gasification gas that contains a down-draft gasifier, ICE (internal combustion engine), absorption chiller and heat exchangers. Thermodynamic models are constructed based on a modifying gasification thermochemical equilibrium model and co-fired ICE model for electricity and heat recovery. The performance analysis for the volumetric mixture ratio of natural gas and product gas indicates that the energy and exergy efficiencies are improved by 9.5% and 13.7%, respectively, for an increasing mixture ratio of 0–1.0. Furthermore, the costs of multi-products, including electricity, chilled water and hot water, based on exergoeconomic analysis are analyzed and discussed based on the influences of the mixture ratio of the two gas fuels, investment cost and biomass cost. - Highlights: • Propose a co-fired CCHP system by natural gas and biomass gasification gas. • Modify biomass gasification and co-fired ICE models. • Present the thermodynamic analysis of the volumetric mixture ratios of two gas fuels. • Energy and exergy efficiencies are improved 9.5% and 13.7%. • Discuss multi-products’ costs influenced by investment and fuel costs.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION: BIOMASS CO-FIRING IN INDUSTRIAL BOILERS--UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

Science.gov (United States)

The U.S. EPA operates the Environmental and Sustainable Technology Evaluation (ESTE) program to facilitate the deployment of innovative technologies through performance verification and information dissemination. This ESTE project involved evaluation of co-firing common woody bio...

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of coal/biomass co-firing in pulverised fuel boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moghtaderi, B.; Meesri, C. [University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW (Australia). CRC for Coal in Sustainable Development, Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2002-07-01

The present study is concerned with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of coal/biomass blends co-fired under conditions pertinent to pulverised fuel (PF) boilers. The attention is particularly focused on the near burner zone to examine the impact of biomass on the flame geometry and temperature. The predictions are obtained by numerical solution of the conservation equations for the gas and particle phases. The gas phase is solved in the Eulerian domain using steady-state time-averaged Navier-Stokes equations while the solution of the particle phase is obtained from a series of Lagrangian particle tracking equations. Turbulence is modelled using the {kappa}-{epsilon} and Reynolds Stress models. The comparison between the predictions and experimental measurement reported in the literature resulted in a good agreement. Other influences of biomass co-firing are observed for fuel devolatilisation and burnout. 19 refs., 6 figs.

Effects on NOx and SO2 Emissions during Co-Firing of Coal With Woody Biomass in Air Staging and Reburning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nihad Hodžić

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Co-firing coal with different types of biomass is increasingly being applied in thermal power plants in Europe. The main motive for the use of biomass as the second fuel in coal-fired power plants is the reduction of CO2 emissions, and related financial benefits in accordance with the relevant international regulations and agreements. Likewise, the application of primary measures in the combustion chamber, which also includes air staging and/or reburning, results in a significant reduction in emission of polluting components of flue gases, in particular NOx emissions. In addition to being efficient and their application to new and future thermoblocks is practically unavoidable, their application and existing conventional combustion chamber does not require significant constructional interventions and is therefore relatively inexpensive. In this work results of experimental research of co-firing coals from Middle Bosnian basin with waste woody biomass are presented. Previously formed fuel test matrix is subjected to pulverized combustion under various temperatures and various technical and technological conditions. First of all it refers to the different mass ratio of fuel components in the mixture, the overall coefficient of excess air and to the application of air staging and/or reburning. Analysis of the emissions of components of the flue gases are presented and discussed. The impact of fuel composition and process temperature on the values of the emissions of components of the flue gas is determined. Additionally, it is shown that other primary measures in the combustion chamber are resulting in more or less positive effects in terms of reducing emissions of certain components of the flue gases into the environment. Thus, for example, the emission of NOx of 989 mg/ measured in conventional combustion, with the simultaneous application of air staging and reburning is reduced to 782 mg/, or by about 21%. The effects of the primary measures

Use of numerical modeling in design for co-firing biomass in wall-fired burners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yin, Chungen; Rosendahl, Lasse Aistrup; Kær, Søren Knudsen

2004-01-01

modification to the motion and reaction due to their non-sphericity. The simulation results show a big difference between the two cases and indicate it is very significant to take into account the non-sphericity of biomass particles in order to model biomass combustion more accurately. Methods to improve...... of numerical modeling. The models currently used to predict solid fuel combustion rely on a spherical particle shape assumption, which may deviate a lot from reality for big biomass particles. A sphere gives a minimum in terms of the surface-area-to-volume ratio, which impacts significantly both motion...... and reaction of a particle. To better understand biomass combustion and thus improve the design for co-firing biomass in wall-fired burners, non-sphericity of biomass particles is considered. To ease comparison, two cases are numerically studied in a 10m long gas/biomass co-fired burner model. (1) The biomass...

Co-firing straw and coal in a 150-MWe utility boiler: in situ measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, P. F.B.; Andersen, Karin Hedebo; Wieck-Hansen, K.

1998-01-01

A 2-year demonstration program is carried out by the Danish utility I/S Midtkraft at a 150-MWe PF-boiler unit reconstructed for co-firing straw and coal. As a part of the demonstration program, a comprehensive in situ measurement campaign was conducted during the spring of 1996 in collaboration...... with the Technical University of Denmark. Six sample positions have been established between the upper part of the furnace and the economizer. The campaign included in situ sampling of deposits on water/air-cooled probes, sampling of fly ash, flue gas and gas phase alkali metal compounds, and aerosols as well...... deposition propensities and high temperature corrosion during co-combustion of straw and coal in PF-boilers. Danish full scale results from co-firing straw and coal, the test facility and test program, and the potential theoretical support from the Technical University of Denmark are presented in this paper...

Pilot-scale fluidized-bed combustor testing cofiring animal-tissue biomass with coal as a carcass disposal option

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruce G. Miller; Sharon Falcone Miller; Elizabeth M. Fedorowicz; David W. Harlan; Linda A. Detwiler; Michelle L. Rossman [Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (United States). Energy Institute

2006-10-15

This study was performed to demonstrate the technical viability of cofiring animal-tissue biomass (ATB) in a coal-fired fluidized-bed combustor (FBC) as an option for disposing of specified risk materials (SRMs) and carcasses. The purpose of this study was to assess the technical issues of feeding/combusting ATB and not to investigate prion deactivation/pathogen destruction. Overall, the project successfully demonstrated that carcasses and SRMs can be cofired with coal in a bubbling FBC. Feeding ATB into the FBC did, however, present several challenges. Specifically, handling/feeding issues resulting from the small scale of the equipment and the extremely heterogeneous nature of the ATB were encountered during the testing. Feeder modifications and an overbed firing system were necessary. Through statistical analysis, it was shown that the ATB feed location had a greater effect on CO emissions, which were used as an indication of combustion performance, than the fuel type due to the feeding difficulties. Baseline coal tests and tests cofiring ATB into the bed were statistically indistinguishable. Fuel feeding issues would not be expected at the full scale since full-scale units routinely handle low-quality fuels. In a full-scale unit, the disproportionate ratio of feed line size to unit diameter would be eliminated thereby eliminating feed slugging. Also, the ATB would either be injected into the bed, thereby ensuring uniform mixing and complete combustion, or be injected directly above the bed with overfire air ports used to ensure complete combustion. Therefore, it is anticipated that a demonstration at the full scale, which is the next activity in demonstrating this concept, should be successful. As the statistical analysis shows, emissions cofiring ATB with coal would be expected to be similar to that when firing coal only. 14 refs., 5 figs., 6 tabs.

Efficient production of automotive biofuels; Effektiv produktion av biodrivmedel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gode, Jenny; Hagberg, Linus; Rydberg, Tomas; Raadberg, Henrik; Saernholm, Erik

2008-07-01

The report describes opportunities and consequences associated with biomass polygeneration plants, in particular the role that heat plants (HP) or combined heat and power plants (CHP) in district heating systems can play in the production of automotive biofuels. The aim of the report is to provide a knowledge base to stakeholders to help assess energy and environmental benefits associated with collaborative approaches in planning, constructing and operating energy plants. Several configurations are possible for an energy polygeneration plant, but this report focuses on configurations in which a plant for automotive biofuel production and a district heating system with HPs or CHPs have been integrated in some way in order to achieve added value. The modes of integration are several, e.g.: - Supply of process steam from the CHP to the fuel plant, by which the time of operation for the CHP can be extended; Supply of surplus heat from the fuel plant to the district heating system; Material exchange between the systems, by use of residue streams from the fuel plant as fuel in the HP/CHP; Surplus heat from the fuel plant used for drying of the solid fuel to the HP/CHP or for drying of raw material for pellets production; Co-location providing opportunities for shared infrastructure for raw material handling, service systems, utilities and/or logistics. The report principally addresses integration options of the first three types, but describes briefly also pellets production. The starting point for the analysis of integration options is the description of technologies of interest for the production of automotive biofuels. Commercially available technologies are of prime interest, but also a couple of technologies under development are included in this part of the study. In addition to outlining the process characteristics for these processes, surrounding conditions and system requirements are briefly outlined. The results are summarized in Table S1. Ethanol fermentation

Evaluation of ash deposits during experimental investigation of co-firing of Bosnian coal with wooden biomass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smajevic, Izet; Kazagic, Anes [JP Elektroprivreda BiH d.d., Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Sarajevo Univ. (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

2008-07-01

The paper is addressed to the development and use different criteria for evaluation of ash deposits collected during experimental co-firing of Bosnian coals with wooden biomass. Spruce saw dust was used for the co-firing tests with the Kakanj brown coal and with a lignite blend consisted of the Dubrave lignite and the Sikulje lignite. The coal/biomass mixtures at 93:7 %w and at 80:20 %w were tested. Experimental lab-scale facility PF entrained flow reactor is used for the co-firing tests. The reactor allows examination of fouling/slagging behaviors and emissions at various and infinitely variable process temperature which can be set at will in the range from ambient to 1560 C. Ash deposits are collected on two non-cooled ceramic probes and one water-cooled metal surface. Six different criteria are developed and used to evaluate behavior of the ash deposits on the probes: ash deposit shape, state and structure, which are analyzed visually - photographically and optically by a microscope, rate of adhesion and ash deposit strength, analyzed by physic acting to the ash deposits, and finally deposition rate, determined as a mass of the deposit divided by the collecting area and the time of collecting. Furthermore, chemical composition analysis and AFT of the ash deposits were also done to provide additional information on the deposits. (orig.)

Evaluation of BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.2O3-δ-based proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells fabricated by a one-step co-firing process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Wenping; Wang Yanfei; Fang Shumin; Zhu Zhiwen; Yan Litao; Liu Wei

2011-01-01

Proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells, incorporating BaZr 0.1 Ce 0.7 Y 0.2 O 3-δ (BZCY) electrolyte, NiO-BZCY anode, and Sm 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3-δ -Ce 0.8 Sm 0.2 O 2-δ (SSC-SDC) cathode, were successfully fabricated by a combined co-pressing and printing technique after a one-step co-firing process at 1100, 1150, or 1200 o C. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) results revealed that the co-firing temperature significantly affected not only the density of the electrolyte membrane but the grain size and porosity of the electrodes. Influences of the co-firing temperature on the electrochemical performances of the single cells were also studied in detail. Using wet hydrogen (2% H 2 O) as the fuel and static air as the oxidant, the cell co-fired at 1150 o C showed the highest maximum power density (PD max ) of 552 and 370 mW cm -2 at 700 and 650 o C, respectively, while the one co-fired at 1100 o C showed the highest PD max of 276 and 170 mWcm -2 at 600 and 550 o C, respectively. The Arrhenius equation was proposed to analyze the dependence of the PD max on the operating temperature, and revealed that PD max of the cell co-fired at a lower temperature was less dependent on operating temperature. The influences of the co-firing temperature on the resistances of the single cells, which were estimated from the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measured under open circuit conditions, were also investigated.

Cofiring behavior and interfacial structure of NiCuZn ferrite/PMN ferroelectrics composites for multilayer LC filters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miao Chunlin; Zhou Ji; Cui Xuemin; Wang Xiaohui; Yue Zhenxing; Li Longtu

2006-01-01

The cofiring behavior, interfacial structure and cofiring migration between NiCuZn ferrite and lead magnesium niobate (PMN)-based relaxor ferroelectric materials were investigated via thermomechanical analyzer (TMA), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Mismatched sintering shrinkage between NiCuZn ferrite and PMN was modified by adding an appropriate amount of sintering aids, Bi 2 O 3 , into NiCuZn ferrite. Pyrochlore phase appeared in the mixture of NiCuZn ferrite and PMN, which is detrimental to the final electric properties of LC filters. EDS results indicated that the interdiffusion at the heterogeneous interfaces in the composites, such as Fe, Pb, Zn, existed which can strengthen combinations between ferrite layers and ferroelectrics layers

Sustainability of biomass for cofiring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2014-02-01

There are many items to include when considering the sustainability of biomass for cofiring, and some of them are hard to quantify. The focus of this report is on the greenhouse gas emission aspects of sustainability. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions achieved by substituting biomass for coal depends on a number of factors such as the nature of the fossil fuel reference system, the source of the biomass, and how it is produced. Relevant issues in biomass production include the energy balance, the greenhouse gas balance, land use change, non-CO2 greenhouse gas emission from soils, changes to soil organic carbon, and the timing of emissions and removal of CO2 which relates to the scale of biomass production. Certification of sustainable biomass is slow to emerge at the national and international level, so various organisations are developing and using their own standards for sustainable production. The EU does not yet have sustainability standards for solid biomass, but the UK and Belgium have developed their own.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION: BIOMASS CO-FIRING IN INDUSTRIAL BOILERS--MINNESOTA POWER'S RAPIDS ENERGY CENTER

Science.gov (United States)

The U.S. EPA operates the Environmental and Sustainable Technology Evaluation (ESTE) program to facilitate the deployment of innovative technologies through performance verification and information dissemination. This ESTE project involved evaluation of co-firing common woody bio...

A dynamic optimization-based architecture for polygeneration microgrids with tri-generation, renewables, storage systems and electrical vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bracco, Stefano; Delfino, Federico; Pampararo, Fabio; Robba, Michela; Rossi, Mansueto

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We describe two national special projects on smart grid. • We developed dynamic decision model based on a MPC architecture. • We developed an optimization model for microgrids, for a specific case study. - Abstract: An overall architecture, or Energy Management System (EMS), based on a dynamic optimization model to minimize operating costs and CO 2 emissions is formalized and applied to the University of Genova Savona Campus test-bed facilities consisting of a Smart Polygeneration Microgrid (SPM) and a Sustainable Energy Building (SEB) connected to such microgrid. The electric grid is a three phase low voltage distribution system, connecting many different technologies: three cogeneration micro gas turbines fed by natural gas, a photovoltaic field, three cogeneration Concentrating Solar Powered (CSP) systems (equipped with Stirling engines), an absorption chiller equipped with a storage tank, two types of electrical storage based on batteries technology (long term Na–Ni and short term Li-Ion ion), two electric vehicles charging stations, other electrical devices (inverters and smart metering systems), etc. The EMS can be used both for microgrids approximated as single bus bar (or one node) and for microgrids in which all buses are taken into account. The optimal operation of the microgrid is based on a central controller that receives forecasts and data from a SCADA system and that can schedule all dispatchable plants in the day ahead or in real time through an approach based on Model Predictive Control (MPC). The architecture is tested and applied to the case study of the Savona Campus

CO-FIRING COAL: FEEDLOT AND LITTER BIOMASS FUELS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unknown

2002-03-31

Proposed activities for quarter 7 (12/15/01-3/14/2002): (1) Incorporation of moisture model into PCGC2 code. Parametric study of moisture effects on flame structure and pollutants emissions in cofiring of coal and Liter Biomass (LB) (Task 4); (2) Use the ash tracer method to determine the combustion efficiency and comparison it to results from gas analysis (Task 2); (3) Effect of swirl on combustion performance (Task 2); (4) Completion of the proposed modifications to the gasifier setup (Task 3); (5) Calibration of the Gas Chromatograph (GC) used for measuring the product gas species (Task 3); and (6) To obtain temperature profiles for different fuels under different operating conditions in the fixed bed gasifier (Task 3).

Biomass low-temperature gasification in a rotary reactor prior to cofiring of syngas in power boilers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ostrowski, Piotr; Maj, Izabella; Kalisz, Sylwester; Polok, Michał

2017-01-01

Highlights: • An innovative method of gasification with use of flue gas was investigated. • Gasification temperature ranging from 350 °C was considered. • Discussed gasification unit is connected to a power boiler. • Syngas with combustible components is recirculated to the boiler. • Wide range of biomass and waste fuels can be used as a feedstock. - Abstract: The paper presents results of the investigation of an innovative biomass and alternative fuel low-temperature gasification method before co-firing in industrial or power plant boilers. Before running industrial-size installation, laboratory tests were carried out to determine usability of alternative fuels to low-temperature gasification process. Tests were conducted in a laboratory reactor designed and constructed specifically for this purpose. The experimental stand enables recording of the weight loss of a sample and syngas composition. The process occurs for a fuel sample of a constant weight and known granulation and with a flue gas of known composition used as a gasifying agent. The aim of the laboratory research was to determine the usability of selected biomass fuel for indirect co-firing in power boilers and to build a knowledge base for industrial-size process by defining the process kinetics (time for fuel to remain in the reactor), recommended fuel granulation and process temperature. Presented industrial-size gasification unit has been successfully built in Marcel power plant in Radlin town, Poland. It consist an innovative rotary gasification reactor. Gasification process takes place with use of flue gas from coal and coke-oven fired boiler as a gasifying agent with recirculation of resulting gas (syngas) with combustible components: CO, H 2 , CH 4 . C n H m to the boiler’s combustion chamber. The construction of the reactor allows the use of a wide range of fuels (biomass, industrial waste and municipal waste). This paper presents the results of the reactor tests using coniferous

Thermal Spray Coatings for High-Temperature Corrosion Protection in Biomass Co-Fired Boilers

Science.gov (United States)

Oksa, M.; Metsäjoki, J.; Kärki, J.

2015-01-01

There are over 1000 biomass boilers and about 500 plants using waste as fuel in Europe, and the numbers are increasing. Many of them encounter serious problems with high-temperature corrosion due to detrimental elements such as chlorides, alkali metals, and heavy metals. By HVOF spraying, it is possible to produce very dense and well-adhered coatings, which can be applied for corrosion protection of heat exchanger surfaces in biomass and waste-to-energy power plant boilers. Four HVOF coatings and one arc sprayed coating were exposed to actual biomass co-fired boiler conditions in superheater area with a probe measurement installation for 5900 h at 550 and 750 °C. The coating materials were Ni-Cr, IN625, Fe-Cr-W-Nb-Mo, and Ni-Cr-Ti. CJS and DJ Hybrid spray guns were used for HVOF spraying to compare the corrosion resistance of Ni-Cr coating structures. Reference materials were ferritic steel T92 and nickel super alloy A263. The circulating fluidized bed boiler burnt a mixture of wood, peat and coal. The coatings showed excellent corrosion resistance at 550 °C compared to the ferritic steel. At higher temperature, NiCr sprayed with CJS had the best corrosion resistance. IN625 was consumed almost completely during the exposure at 750 °C.

Fireside corrosion of superheaters/reheaters in advanced power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Syed, A.U.; Simms, N.J.; Oakey, J.E. [Cranfield Univ. (United Kingdom). Energy Technology Centre

2010-07-01

The generation of increasing amounts of electricity while simultaneously reducing environmental emissions (CO{sub 2}, SO{sub 2}, NO{sub x} particles, etc) has become a goal for the power industry worldwide. Co-firing biomass and coal in new advanced pulverised fuel power plants is one route to address this issue, since biomass is regarded as a CO{sub 2} neutral fuel (i.e. CO{sub 2} uptake during its growth equals the CO{sub 2} emissions produced during its combustion) and such new advanced power plants operate at higher efficiencies than current plants as a result of using steam systems with high temperatures and pressures. However, co-firing has the potential to cause significant operational challenges for such power plants as amongst other issues, it will significantly change the chemistry of the deposits on the heat exchanger surfaces and the surrounding gas compositions. As a result these critical components can experience higher corrosion rates, and so shorter lives, causing increased operational costs, unless the most appropriate materials are selected for their construction. This paper reports the results of a series of 1000 hour laboratory corrosion tests that have been carried out in controlled atmosphere furnaces, to assess the effect of biomass/coal co-firing on the fireside corrosion of superheaters/reheaters. The materials used for the tests were one ferritic alloy (T92), two austenitic alloys (347HFG and HR3C) and one nickel based alloy (alloy 625). Temperatures of 600 and 650 C were used to represent the metal temperatures in advanced power plants. During these exposures, traditional mass change data were recorded as the samples were recoated with the simulated deposits. After these exposures, cross-sections through samples were prepared using standard metallographic techniques and then analysed using SEM/EDX. Pre-exposure micrometer and post-exposure image analyser measurements were used so that the metal wastage could be calculated. These data are

URBAN WOOD/COAL CO-FIRING IN THE BELLEFIELD BOILERPLANT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James T. Cobb, Jr.; Gene E. Geiger; William W. Elder III; William P. Barry; Jun Wang; Hongming Li

2001-01-01

During the third quarter, important preparatory work was continued so that the experimental activities can begin early in the fourth quarter. Authorization was awaited in response to the letter that was submitted to the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) seeking an R and D variance for the air permit at the Bellefield Boiler Plant (BBP). Verbal authorizations were received from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) for R and D variances for solid waste permits at the J. A. Rutter Company (JARC), and Emery Tree Service (ETS). Construction wood was acquired from Thompson Properties and Seven D Corporation. Forty tons of pallet and construction wood were ground to produce BioGrind Wood Chips at JARC and delivered to Mon Valley Transportation Company (MVTC). Five tons of construction wood were milled at ETS and half of the product delivered to MVTC. Discussions were held with BBP and Energy Systems Associates (ESA) about the test program. Material and energy balances on Boiler No.1 and a plan for data collection were prepared. Presentations describing the University of Pittsburgh Wood/Coal Co-Firing Program were provided to the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers, and the Upgraded Coal Interest Group and the Biomass Interest Group (BIG) of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). An article describing the program appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. An application was submitted for authorization for a Pennsylvania Switchgrass Energy and Conservation Program

CO-FIRING COAL, FEEDLOT, AND LITTER BIOMASS (CFB AND LFB) FUELS IN PULVERIZED FUEL AND FIXED BED BURNERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalyan Annamalai; John Sweeten; Saqib Mukhtar; Ben Thien; Gengsheng Wei; Soyuz Priyadarsan

2002-01-01

Intensive animal feeding operations create large amounts of animal waste that must be safely disposed of in order to avoid environmental degradation. Cattle feedlots and chicken houses are two examples. In feedlots, cattle are confined to small pens and fed a high calorie grain diet in preparation for slaughter. In chicken houses, thousands of chickens are kept in close proximity. In both of these operations, millions of tons of manure are produced every year. In this project a co-firing technology is proposed which would use manure that cannot be used for fertilizer, for power generation. Since the animal manure has economic uses as both a fertilizer and as a fuel, it is properly referred to as feedlot biomass (FB) for cow manure, or litter biomass (LB) for chicken manure. The biomass will be used a as a fuel by mixing it with coal in a 90:10 blend and firing it in existing coal fired combustion devices. This technique is known as co-firing, and the high temperatures produced by the coal will allow the biomass to be completely combusted. Therefore, it is the goal of the current research to develop an animal biomass cofiring technology. A cofiring technology is being developed by performing: (1) studies on fundamental fuel characteristics, (2) small scale boiler burner experiments, (3) gasifier experiments, (4) computer simulations, and (5) an economic analysis. The fundamental fuel studies reveal that biomass is not as high a quality fuel as coal. The biomass fuels are higher in ash, higher in moisture, higher in nitrogen and sulfur (which can cause air pollution), and lower in heat content than coal. Additionally, experiments indicate that the biomass fuels have higher gas content, release gases more readily than coal, and less homogeneous. Small-scale boiler experiments revealed that the biomass blends can be successfully fired, and NO(sub x) pollutant emissions produced will be similar to or lower than pollutant emissions when firing coal. This is a surprising

CO-FIRING COAL, FEEDLOT, AND LITTER BIOMASS (CFB AND LFB) FUELS IN PULVERIZED FUEL AND FIXED BED BURNERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalyan Annamalai; John Sweeten; Saqib Mukhtar; Ben Thien; Gengsheng Wei; Soyuz Priyadarsan

2002-01-15

Intensive animal feeding operations create large amounts of animal waste that must be safely disposed of in order to avoid environmental degradation. Cattle feedlots and chicken houses are two examples. In feedlots, cattle are confined to small pens and fed a high calorie grain diet in preparation for slaughter. In chicken houses, thousands of chickens are kept in close proximity. In both of these operations, millions of tons of manure are produced every year. In this project a co-firing technology is proposed which would use manure that cannot be used for fertilizer, for power generation. Since the animal manure has economic uses as both a fertilizer and as a fuel, it is properly referred to as feedlot biomass (FB) for cow manure, or litter biomass (LB) for chicken manure. The biomass will be used a as a fuel by mixing it with coal in a 90:10 blend and firing it in existing coal fired combustion devices. This technique is known as co-firing, and the high temperatures produced by the coal will allow the biomass to be completely combusted. Therefore, it is the goal of the current research to develop an animal biomass cofiring technology. A cofiring technology is being developed by performing: (1) studies on fundamental fuel characteristics, (2) small scale boiler burner experiments, (3) gasifier experiments, (4) computer simulations, and (5) an economic analysis. The fundamental fuel studies reveal that biomass is not as high a quality fuel as coal. The biomass fuels are higher in ash, higher in moisture, higher in nitrogen and sulfur (which can cause air pollution), and lower in heat content than coal. Additionally, experiments indicate that the biomass fuels have higher gas content, release gases more readily than coal, and less homogeneous. Small-scale boiler experiments revealed that the biomass blends can be successfully fired, and NO{sub x} pollutant emissions produced will be similar to or lower than pollutant emissions when firing coal. This is a surprising

Recycling of Sustainable Co-Firing Fly Ashes as an Alkali Activator for GGBS in Blended Cements.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yann-Hwang; Huang, Ran; Tsai, Chia-Jung; Lin, Wei-Ting

2015-02-16

This study investigates the feasibility of co-firing fly ashes from different boilers, circulating fluidized beds (CFB) or stokers as a sustainable material in alkali activators for ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS). The mixture ratio of GGBS and co-firing fly ashes is 1:1 by weight. The results indicate that only CF fly ash of CFB boilers can effectively stimulate the potential characteristics of GGBS and provide strength as an alkali activator. CF fly ash consists of CaO₃ (48.5%), SiO₂ (21.1%), Al₂O₃ (13.8%), SO₃ (10.06%), Fe₂O₃ (2.25%) and others (4.29%). SA fly ash consists of Al₂O₃ (19.7%), SiO₂ (36.3%), Fe2O3 (28.4%) and others (15.6%). SB fly ash consists of Al₂O₃ (15%), SiO₂ (25.4%), Zn (20.6%), SO₃ (10.9%), Fe₂O₃ (8.78%) and others (19.32%). The mixtures of SA fly ash and SB fly ash with GGBS, respectively, were damaged in the compressive strength test during seven days of curing. However, the built up strength of the CF fly ash and GGBS mixture can only be maintained for 7-14 days, and the compressive strength achieves 70% of that of a controlled group (cement in hardening cement paste). The strength of blended CF fly ash and GGBS started to decrease after 28 days, and the phenomenon of ettrigite was investigated due to the high levels of sulfur content. The CaO content in sustainable co-firing fly ashes must be higher than a certain percentage in reacting GGBS to ensure the strength of blended cements.

Economic evaluation of biogas and natural gas co-firing in gas turbine combined heat and power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Jun Young; Kang, Do Won; Kim, Tong Seop; Hur, Kwang Beom

2014-01-01

This study investigated the economics of co-firing biogas and natural gas within a small gas turbine combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The thermodynamic performance of the CHP plant was calculated with varying gas mixing ratios, forming the basis for the economic analysis. A cost balance equation was used to calculate the costs of electricity and heat. The methodology was validated, and parametric analyses were used to investigate the influence of gas mixing ratio and heat sales ratio on the costs of electricity and heat. The cost of electricity generation from the CHP plant was compared to that of a central combined cycle power plant, and an economical gas mixing ratio range were suggested for various heat sales ratios. It was revealed that the effect of the heat sales ratio on the cost of electricity becomes greater as the proportion of natural gas is increased. It was also demonstrated that the economic return from the installation of CHP systems is substantially affected by the gas mixing ratio and heat sales ratio. Sensitivity analysis showed that influence of economic factors on the CHP plant is greater when a higher proportion of natural gas is used. - Highlights: • An appropriate method to calculate the costs of electricity (COE) and heat (COH) was established. • Both COE and COH increase with increasing natural gas mixing ratio and decreasing heat sales ratio. • The effect of the heat sales ratio on the COE becomes greater as the mixing ratio increases. • The payback period is considerably dependent on the mixing ratio and heat sales ratio

Comparative study of wet and dry torrefaction of corn stalk and the effect on biomass pyrolysis polygeneration.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xianhua; Wu, Jing; Chen, Yingquan; Pattiya, Adisak; Yang, Haiping; Chen, Hanping

2018-06-01

Wet torrefaction (WT) possesses some advantages over dry torrefaction (DT). In this study, a comparative analysis of torrefied corn stalk from WT and DT was conducted along with an investigation of their pyrolysis properties under optimal conditions for biomass pyrolysis polygeneration. Compared with DT, WT removed 98% of the ash and retained twice the amount of hydrogen. The impacts of DT and WT on the biomass macromolecular structure was also found to be different using two-dimensional perturbation correlation infrared spectroscopy (2D-PCIS). WT preserved the active hydroxyl groups and rearranged the macromolecule structure to allow cellulose to be more ordered, while DT removed these active hydroxyl groups and formed inter-crosslinking structures in macromolecules. Correspondingly, the bio-char yield after WT was lower than DT but the bio-char quality was upgraded due to high ash removal. Furthermore, higher bio-oil yield, higher sugar content, and higher H 2 generation, were obtained after WT. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cleaning of biomass derived product gas for engine applications and for co-firing in PC-boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurkela, E; Staahlberg, P; Laatikainen-Luntama, J [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland). Energy Production Technologies; and others

1997-10-01

The conventional fluidized-bed combustion has become commercially available also to relatively small scale (5 MWe), but this technology has rather low power-to-heat ratio and consequently it`s potential is limited to applications where district or process heat is the main product. Thus, there seems to be a real need to develop more efficient methods for small-scale power production from biomass. Gasification diesel power plant is one alternative for the small-scale power production, which has clearly higher power-to-heat ratio than can be reached in conventional steam cycles. The main technical problem in this process is the gas cleaning from condensable tars. In addition to the diesel-power plants, there are several other interesting applications for atmospheric-pressure clean gas technology. One alternative for cost-effective biomass utilization is co-firing of biomass derived product gas in existing pulverized coal fired boilers (or other types of boilers and furnaces). The aim of the project is to develop dry gas cleaning methods for gasification-diesel power plants and for other atmospheric-pressure applications of biomass and waste gasification. The technical objectives of the project are as follows: To develop and test catalytic gas cleaning methods for engine. To study the removal of problematic ash species of (CFE) gasification with regard to co-combustion of the product gas in PC boilers. To evaluate the technical and economical feasibility of different small-scale power plant concepts based on fixed-bed updraft and circulating fluidized- bed gasification of biomass and waste. (orig.)

Co-firing of oil sludge with coal-water slurry in an industrial internal circulating fluidized bed boiler.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jianguo; Jiang, Xiumin; Zhou, Lingsheng; Wang, Hui; Han, Xiangxin

2009-08-15

Incineration has been proven to be an alternative for disposal of sludge with its unique characteristics to minimize the volume and recover energy. In this paper, a new fluidized bed (FB) incineration system for treating oil sludge is presented. Co-firing of oil sludge with coal-water slurry (CWS) was investigated in the new incineration system to study combustion characteristics, gaseous pollutant emissions and ash management. The study results show the co-firing of oil sludge with CWS in FB has good operating characteristic. CWS as an auxiliary fuel can flexibly control the dense bed temperatures by adjusting its feeding rate. All emissions met the local environmental requirements. The CO emission was less than 1 ppm or essentially zero; the emissions of SO(2) and NO(x) were 120-220 and 120-160 mg/Nm(3), respectively. The heavy metal analyses of the bottom ash and the fly ash by ICP/AES show that the combustion ashes could be recycled as soil for farming.

Co-firing of coal with biomass and waste in full-scale suspension-fired boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dam-Johansen, Kim; Frandsen, Flemming J.; Jensen, Peter A.; Jensen, Anker D. [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark). Dept. of chemical and Biochemical Engineering

2013-07-01

The energy policy in Denmark has for many years focused on lowering the net CO{sub 2} emission from heat and power production by replacing fossil fuels by renewable resources. This has been done by developing dedicated grate-fired boilers for biomass and waste fuels but also by developing coal-based suspension-fired boilers to accept still higher fractions of biomass or waste material as fuels. This last development has been challenging of many reasons, including pre-treatment of fuels, and solving potential emission and operational problems during the simultaneous development of supercritical steam cycles with steam temperatures close to 600 C, providing power efficiencies close to 50% (Hein KRG, Sustainable energy supply and environment protection - strategies, resources and technologies. In: Gupta R, Wall T, Hupa M, Wigley F, Tillman D, Frandsen FJ (eds) Proceedings of international conference on impact of fuel quality on power production and the environment, Banff Conference Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada, 29 Sept-4 Oct, 2008). For 25 years the CHEC (Combustion and Harmful Emission Control) Research Centre at DTU Chemical Engineering, has attained a leading role in research, supporting power producing industry, plant owners and boiler manufacturers to optimize design and operation and minimize cost and environmental impact using alternative fuels in suspension fired boilers. Our contribution has been made via a combination of full-scale measuring campaigns, pilot-scale studies, lab-scale measurements and modeling tools. The research conducted has addressed many issues important for co-firing, i.e. fuel processing, ash induced boiler deposit formation and corrosion, boiler chamber fuel conversion and emission formation, influence on flue gas cleaning equipment and the utilization of residual products. This chapter provides an overview of research activities, aiming at increasing biomass shares during co-firing in suspension, conducted in close collaboration with

Critical factors for profitable combined production of heat, power and biofuels; Kritiska faktorer foer loensam produktion i bioenergikombinat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nohlgren, Ingrid; Gunnarsson, Emma; Lundqvist, Per; Stigander, Haakan; Widmark, Annika (AaF, Stockholm (Sweden))

2012-02-15

During the last 5-10 years, research and development efforts have been made in the field of polygeneration of heat and power with production of 'other green' products such as transport fuels or wood pellets. The driving force for heat and power producers is the potential of increased profitability through additional sales of heat. The driving force for wood pellet and some transport fuel producers is the potential of low cost process steam or heat. However, in the case of gasification based transport fuel production processes the situation is different. The process generates a surplus of heat, which can benefit from the proximity of a district heating net. In addition, some polygeneration combinations could provide other advantages such as more efficient raw material handling. Together with these driving forces, the EU renewable energy directive (which targets 10 % renewable energy use in the transport sector by 2020), shows that the market for production of renewable transport fuel is expanding. To refine Swedish biomass resources to more highly valuable products such as wood pellets or renewable transport fuels would maintain industry and employment opportunities within Sweden and at the same time fulfils the international and national climate targets. The overall aim with this project is to describe the factors which are crucial for the opportunity for profitable polygeneration of heat, power and wood pellets or renewable transport fuels and how these factors influence the location of such a plant within Sweden. The important factors can be categorized as: (1) Supply of raw material, (2) distribution of raw material and products, (3) Demand of products and (4) Integration between the different plants. In this project, only general aspects are described and should be seen as guidance for the industry (both energy and forest industry) which has an interest in polygeneration. The project gives an overview of different possibilities, opportunities and

A Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics Manufactured Power Inductor Based on A Ternary Hybrid Material System

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Yunsong; Chen, Ru

Low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) is one of the most important techniques to produce circuits with high working frequency, multi-functionality and high integration. We have developed a methodology to enable a ternary hybrid material system being implemented into the LTCC manufacturing process. The co-firing sintering process can be divided into a densification and cooling process. In this method, a successful ternary hybrid material densification process is achieved by tuning the sintering profile of each material to match each other. The system integrity is maintained in the cooling process is obtained by develop a strong bonding at the interfaces of each materials. As a demonstration, we have construct a power inductor device made of the ternary material system including Ag, NiCuZn ferrite and non-magnetic ceramic. The power inductors well maintains its physical integrity after sintering. The microscopic images show no obvious sign of cracks or structural deformation. More importantly, despite the bonding between the ferrite and ceramic is enhanced by non-magnetic element diffusion, the undesired magnetic elements diffusion is effectively suppressed. The electric performance shows that the power handling capability is comparable to the current state of art device.

Special emission measurements on Riley Stoker's advanced CFB pilot facility co-firing non-recyclable de-inking paper fiber and high sulfur eastern bituminous coal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixit, V.B.; Mongeon, R.K.; Reicker, E.L.

1993-01-01

Riley Stoker has developed advanced industrial CFB designs that utilize eastern bituminous coals as fuel, and have the potential to use coal in combination with other fuels. Various fiber waste streams in paper recycling processes have sufficient carbonaceous content to be considered as possible sources of such fuels that could fire FBC combustors. The American Paper Institute estimates that by the mid-1990's more than 40% of the waste paper will be recycled, reaching much higher numbers by the year 2000. To evaluate the effectiveness of co-firing such fuels, a test program was conducted on Riley's pilot-scale circulating fluidized bed test facility. A de-inked newsprint derived fiber waste was successfully co-fired with high sulfur coal. The waste fiber material containing approximately 50% moisture had a heating value of 3500 Btu/lb. The coal was strip-mined and contained a lot of clay and excessive quantities of fines making it difficult to burn in conventional boilers. Tests were also conducted with a combination fuel consisting of coal, fiber waste and a high carbon fly ash. In addition to obtaining performance data on combustion efficiency, sulfur capture, and NO x emissions, special emission measurements were also made to quantify the organics, trace metals and hydrochloric acid levels in the flue gas. The co-firing tests achieved a maximum combustion efficiency of 98% and sulfur capture of 90%. The effect of Ca/S mole ratio and temperature is discussed. Although there are no formal regulations in place for FBC systems regarding special emissions, the levels measured were far below the allowable limits for waste incinerators. Materials handling experience on the pilot facility relating to co-firing is also discussed. This is done to identify special considerations for designing commercial facilities. A brief overview of the de-inking waste fiber combustion market is also presented

Internal, external and location factors influencing cofiring of biomass with coal in the U.S. northern region

Science.gov (United States)

Francisco X. Aguilar; Michael E. Goerndt; Nianfu Song; Stephen R. Shifley

2012-01-01

The use of biomass as a source of energy has been identified as a viable option to diminish reliance on fossil fuels. We parameterized the effect of selected internal (e.g. coal-fire presence), external (e.g. price and renewable energy mandates) and location (e.g. biomass availability, infrastructure) variables on the likelihood of using biomass in cofiring with coal...

Low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology: general processing aspects and fabrication of 3-D structures for micro-fluidic devices

OpenAIRE

Birol, Hansu; Maeder, Thomas; Ryser, Peter

2005-01-01

LTCC technology is based on sintering of multi-layered thick-film sheets (50-250 µm) or so-called green tapes, which are screen-printed with thick-film pastes such as conductors, resistors, etc. The terms low temperature and co-fired originate from the relatively low sintering temperatures (

Development of low cost systems for co-utilisation of biomass in large power plant. Mid term review report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Livingston, W.R.

2003-07-01

Interest in the cofiring of biomass materials with coal in large coal-fired power stations in the UK has increased significantly in recent years in response to the potential additional income from Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs). It is anticipated that most coal-fired power stations in the UK will have the capability to cofire biomass materials by the end of 2003. This mid-term review report examines the various stages in the route to fully commercial operation of biomass cofiring at coal-fired power stations, the availability of suitable biomass materials in the UK and the technical options for cofiring. The factors affecting the economics of biomass cofiring in large coal-fired boilers are discussed including the delivered price of biofuels, the future value of ROCs, the development costs of cofiring projects, the 25% ceiling on cofiring imposed by the Renewables Obligation Order 2002 and the use of preblending. An overview of the current status of cofiring in the UK is presented, which includes a summary of the results of trials already carried out by operators of coal-fired power stations and a discussion of the future prospects for biomass cofiring in the UK.

Logistics, Costs, and GHG Impacts of Utility-Scale Co-Firing with 20% Biomass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nichol, Corrie Ian [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2013-06-01

This study analyzes the possibility that biopower in the U.S. is a cost-competitive option to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, net greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted in the United States was equivalent to 5,618 million metric tons CO₂, up 5.6% from 1990 (EPA 2011). Coal-fired power generation accounted for 1,748 million metric tons of this total. Intuitively, life-cycle CO₂ emissions in the power sector could be reduced by substituting renewable biomass for coal. If just 20% of the coal combusted in 2009 had been replaced with biomass, CO₂ emissions would have been reduced by 350 million metric tons, or about 6% of net annual GHG emission. This would have required approximately 225 million tons of dry biomass. Such an ambitious fuel substitution would require development of a biomass feedstock production and supply system tantamount to coal. This material would need to meet stringent specifications to ensure reliable conveyance to boiler burners, efficient combustion, and no adverse impact on heat transfer surfaces and flue gas cleanup operations. Therefore, this report addresses the potential cost/benefit tradeoffs of co-firing 20% specification-qualified biomass (on an energy content basis) in large U.S. coal-fired power plants. The dependence and sensitivity of feedstock cost on source of material, location, supply distance, and demand pressure was established. Subsequently, the dependence of levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) on feedstock costs, power plant feed system retrofit, and impact on boiler performance was determined. Overall life-cycle assessment (LCA) of greenhouse gas emissions saving were next evaluated and compared to wind and solar energy to benchmark the leading alternatives for meeting renewable portfolio standards (or RPS).

Environmental and economic gains of the conversion of the Zvolen (Slovakia) district CHP plant from low quality brown coal combustion to co-firing of biomass and low-sulphur brown coal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ilavsky, Jan; Jankovsky, Julius

2006-01-01

Zvolen CHP plant was originally commissioned in 1954. Overall installed output is 311 MW in heat production and 44,3 MW in power. Annual supply to the consumers was 788,910 GJ of heat and 102,459 GJ of electricity in 2004. Some 60 % of the heat production was used for heat and hot water supply to more than 9,000 houses and apartments and 40 % to industrial consumers. It uses pulverized lignite with up to 1 % of sulphur content as fuel. The content of sulphur in emitted flue gas is as high as 3,500-4,000 mg SO 2 /m 3 . It causes serious environmental problems in the region. New national limits for greenhouse gases emissions are 1.700 mg SO 2 /m 3 and 600 mg NO x /m 3 with effect from 1 January 2007. CHP is not able to achieve them without substantial improvement of technology with very high investment costs. Several alternatives of technical changes have been analysed in a study. Shift from lignite to low-sulphur content brown coal with co-firing of biomass has been identified economically most feasible and environmentally acceptable solution. The paper presents results of the study analysing the whole chain from biomass resources in the region up to the technical solutions for boilers reconstruction. The first part of the study was focused at identification of biomass resources for energy use from forestry, wood processing industry and agriculture. Ecological, economic and operational factors limiting utilization of potential biomass resources were identified and factored into calculations. Two boilers, each of them with the output of 108 MW t , will be reconstructed for co-firing of pulverized low sulphur content brown coal and biomass. Biomass will share up to 30% of the combusted fuel. After the reconstruction one boiler will remain with the same output of 108 MW t and the other will be with the output of 65 MW t . Power will be produced by the back pressure 25 MW e turbine. Chips will be stored in 9.000 m 3 open depot and in 3.000 m 3 silo. Chips will be fed

Analysis of the sintering stresses and shape distortion produced in co-firing of CGO-LSM/CGO bi-layer porous structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ni, De Wei; Esposito, Vincenzo; Schmidt, Cristine Grings

such as cracks, de-lamination and shape distortion can result as a consequence of sintering mismatch stresses caused by the strain rate difference between layers. This work seeks to understand the underlying mechanisms that occur during the co-firing of porous CGO-LSM/CGO bi-layer laminates, by evaluating...... the sintering mismatch stress and distortion development through modeling and experiments....

Validation of a FBC model for co-firing of hazelnut shell with lignite against experimental data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kulah, Gorkem [Middle East Technical University, Department of Chemical Engineering, 06531 Ankara (Turkey)

2010-07-15

Performance of a comprehensive system model extended for modelling of co-firing of lignite and biomass was assessed by applying it to METU 0.3 MW{sub t} Atmospheric Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustor co-firing lignite with hazelnut shell and validating its predictions against on-line temperature and concentration measurements of O{sub 2}, CO{sub 2}, CO, SO{sub 2} and NO along the same test rig fired with lignite only, lignite with limestone addition and lignite with biomass and limestone addition. The system model accounts for hydrodynamics; volatiles release and combustion, char combustion, particle size distribution for lignite and biomass; entrainment; elutriation; sulfur retention and NO formation and reduction, and is based on conservation equations for energy and chemical species. Special attention was paid to different devolatilization characteristics of lignite and biomass. A volatiles release model based on a particle movement model and a devolatilization kinetic model were incorporated into the system model separately for both fuels. Kinetic parameters for devolatilization were determined via thermogravimetric analysis. Predicted and measured temperatures and concentrations of gaseous species along the combustor were found to be in good agreement. Introduction of biomass to lignite was found to decrease SO{sub 2} emissions but did not affect NO emissions significantly. The system model proposed in this study proves to be a useful tool in qualitatively and quantitatively simulating the processes taking place in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor burning lignite with biomass. (author)

Field test corrosion experiences when co-firing straw and coal: 10 year status within Elsam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frandsen, Rasmus Berg; Montgomery, Melanie; Larsen, Ole Hede

2007-01-01

and straw at the 150 MW pulverized coal fired boiler Studstrup unit 1. Two exposure series lasting 3000 hours each were performed for co-firing 10 and 20% of straw (% energy basis) with coal. Using built in test tubes in the hot end of the actual superheaters and air/water cooled corrosion probes...... to 575 degrees C and for the flue gas from 1025 to 1300 degrees C. All these test tubes have been removed during the last three years at one year intervals for corrosion studies. The corrosion studies performed on all investigated tubes included measurements of the corrosion attack, light optical...

Facile synthesis of polypyrrole functionalized nickel foam with catalytic activity comparable to Pt for the poly-generation of hydrogen and electricity

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Tiantian; Li, Kan; Shen, Zhemin; Sun, Tonghua; Wang, Yalin; Jia, Jinping

2016-01-01

Polypyrrole functionalized nickel foam is facilely prepared through the potentiostatic electrodeposition. The PPy-functionalized Ni foam functions as a hydrogen-evolution cathode in a rotating disk photocatalytic fuel cell, in which hydrogen energy and electric power are generated by consuming organic wastes. The PPy-functionalized Ni foam cathode exhibits stable catalytic activities after thirteen continuous runs. Compared with net or plate structure, the Ni foam with a unique three-dimensional reticulate structure is conducive to the electrodeposition of PPy. Compared with Pt-group electrode, PPy-coated Ni foam shows a satisfactory catalytic performance for the H2 evolution. The combination of PPy and Ni forms a synergistic effect for the rapid trapping and removal of proton from solution and the catalytic reduction of proton to hydrogen. The PPy-functionalized Ni foam could be applied in photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical generation of H2. In all, we report a low cost, high efficient and earth abundant PPy-functionalized Ni foam with a satisfactory catalytic activities comparable to Pt for the practical application of poly-generation of hydrogen and electricity.

Co-firing used engine lubrication oil with LPG in furnaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Omari, S.A.-B.; Shaheen, A.; Al Fakhr, A.; Al-Hosani, A.; Al Yahyai, M.

2010-01-01

Combustion and heat transfer characteristics obtained based co-firing LPG with used engine oils (UEO) in a furnace, are investigated experimentally. In an attempt to assess UEO as a fuel, the UEO-based results are compared with results obtained using two other fuels, namely diesel, and a used cooking oil (UCkO). To ease its admission to the furnace and its subsequent vaporization and combustion, UEO is preheated by allowing it to flow upwardly in a vertical pipe surrounded by hot gases generated from LPG combustion. UEO that reaches the tip of the pipe un-vaporized, spills and hence has the chance to further heatup and vaporize as it exchanges heat with the upwardly flowing LPG combustion gases, in a counter flow process. Runs are divided into three groups based on the mass ratio of the liquid-fuel/LPG and the mass flow rate of the LPG supplied to the furnace. Ranges of these quantities over which UEO qualify as a good fuel and/or good promoter to radiation have been identified.

Co-firing used engine lubrication oil with LPG in furnaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Omari, S.A.-B.; Shaheen, A.; Al Fakhr, A.; Al-Hosani, A.; Al Yahyai, M. [Mechanical Engineering Department, UAE University, Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates)

2010-06-15

Combustion and heat transfer characteristics obtained based co-firing LPG with used engine oils (UEO) in a furnace, are investigated experimentally. In an attempt to assess UEO as a fuel, the UEO-based results are compared with results obtained using two other fuels, namely diesel, and a used cooking oil (UCkO). To ease its admission to the furnace and its subsequent vaporization and combustion, UEO is preheated by allowing it to flow upwardly in a vertical pipe surrounded by hot gases generated from LPG combustion. UEO that reaches the tip of the pipe un-vaporized, spills and hence has the chance to further heatup and vaporize as it exchanges heat with the upwardly flowing LPG combustion gases, in a counter flow process. Runs are divided into three groups based on the mass ratio of the liquid-fuel/LPG and the mass flow rate of the LPG supplied to the furnace. Ranges of these quantities over which UEO qualify as a good fuel and/or good promoter to radiation have been identified. (author)

Co-firing of Coal with Biomass and Waste in Full-scale Suspension-fired Boilers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dam-Johansen, Kim; Jappe Frandsen, Flemming; Jensen, Peter Arendt

2013-01-01

and boiler manufacturers to optimize design and operation and minimize cost and environmental impact using alternative fuels in suspension fired boilers. Our contribution has been made via a combination of full-scale measuring campaigns, pilot-scale studies, lab-scale measurements and modeling tools....... The research conducted has addressed many issues important for co-firing, i.e. fuel processing, ash induced boiler deposit formation and corrosion, boiler chamber fuel conversion and emission formation, influence on flue gas cleaning equipment and the utilization of residual products. This paper provides...... research has provided results with implications for operation of milling and burner equipment, appropriate fuel mixing strategies, minimization of ash deposit formation and corrosion, minimization of NO formation, appropriate operation of SCR catalyst equipment and utilization of residual products...

Localized temperature stability in Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics (LTCC).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dai, Steven Xunhu; Hsieh, Lung-Hwa.

2012-04-01

The base dielectrics of commercial low temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) systems have a temperature coefficient of resonant frequency ({tau}{sub f}) in the range -50 {approx} -80 ppm/C. In this research we explored a method to realize zero or near zero {tau}{sub f} resonators by incorporating {tau}{sub f} compensating materials locally into a multilayer LTCC structure. To select composition for {tau}{sub f} adjustment, {tau}{sub f} compensating materials with different amount of titanates were formulated, synthesized, and characterized. Chemical interactions and physical compatibility between the {tau}{sub f} modifiers and the host LTCC dielectrics were investigated. Studies on stripline (SL) resonator panels with multiple compensating dielectrics revealed that: 1) compositions using SrTiO{sub 3} provide the largest {tau}{sub f} adjustment among titanates, 2) the {tau}{sub f} compensation is proportional to the amount of SrTiO{sub 3} in compensating materials, as well as the thickness of the compensating layer, and 3) the most effective {tau}{sub f} compensation is achieved when the compensating dielectric is integrated next to the SL. Using the effective dielectric constant of a heterogeneous layered dielectric structure, results from Method of Momentum (MoM) electromagnetic simulations are consistent with the experimental observations.

Co-firing option of palm shell waste and Malaysian coal blends in a circulating fluidized bed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad Hussain; Farid Nasir Ani

2010-01-01

Palm oil shell waste is one of the main agriculture wastes in Malaysia. In order to utilize these wastes efficiently, pyrolysis of oil-palm shell waste was first carried out using Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effects of heating rate on the pyrolytic properties were investigated to evaluate its suitability for co-firing. The TGA analyses of oil palm shell waste and Malaysian coal blends suggests that there is an obvious lateral shift in the thermo grams for different heating rate. Kinetics calculations were also done using integral method. For palm shell waste powder it was found that the activation energies ranged from 112-119 kJ/mole and for the Mukah coal blends it ranged from 93.3 -100.8 kJ/mole. Combustion studies for palm shell wastes and coal blends were done in a hot circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) test rig. This is the first practical experience of using this type of rig in Malaysia. The temperature dependence on the combustion and emission behaviour were identified. The effects of variation of primary air and feed rate have also been analyzed and their influence on emissions has been established. The combustion studies of palm shell wastes were done and it was found that the emission of NO x ranged from 20-164 ppm while the CO emissions were high for some operating conditions. For the co-firing studies, the NO x and CO deceased with the percentage increase in the blending ratio of coal with palm shell waste.. The optimum blending ratio was found to be in a ratio of 40 percent coal and 60 percent Mukah coal. It was also found that Mukah coal show agglomeration behaviour with when it is blended in 80% ratio. (author)

Exergetic and exergoeconomic analysis of a novel hybrid solar–geothermal polygeneration system producing energy and water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calise, Francesco; D’Accadia, Massimo Dentice; Macaluso, Adriano; Piacentino, Antonio; Vanoli, Laura

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Exergetic and exergoeconomic analysis of hybrid renewable system is presented. • The system provides electric, thermal and cooling energy and desalinated water. • Exergy efficiency varies between 40–50% in the winter and 16–20% in the summer. • Electricity and fresh water costs vary between 15–17 and 57–60 c€/kW h_e_x. • Chilled and hot water costs vary between 18.6–18.9 and 1.6–1.7 c€/kW h_e_x. - Abstract: A dynamic simulation model of a novel solar–geothermal polygeneration system and the related exergetic and exergoeconomic analyses are presented in this paper. The plant is designed in order to supply electrical, thermal and cooling energy and fresh water for a small community, connected to a district heating and cooling network. The hybrid system is equipped with an Organic Rankine Cycle fueled by medium-enthalpy geothermal energy and by a Parabolic Trough Collector solar field. Geothermal brine is also used for space heating and cooling purposes. Finally, geothermal fluid supplies heat to a Multi-Effect Distillation unit, producing also desalinized water from seawater. Dynamic simulations were performed in order to design the system. The overall simulation model, implemented in TRNSYS environment, includes detailed algorithms for the simulation of system components. Detailed control strategies were included in the model in order to properly manage the system. An exergetic and exergoeconomic analysis is also implemented. The exergetic analysis allows to identify all the aspects that affect the global exergy efficiency, in order to suggest possible system enhancements. The accounting of exergoeconomic costs aims at establishing a monetary value to all material and energy flows, then providing a reasonable basis for price allocation. The analysis is applied to integral values of energy and a comparison of results between summer and winter season is performed. Results are analyzed on different time bases presenting

Assessment of policy impacts on carbon capture and sequestration and bioenergy for U.S.' coal and natural gas power plants

Science.gov (United States)

Spokas, K.; Patrizio, P.; Leduc, S.; Mesfun, S.; Kraxner, F.

2017-12-01

Reducing electricity-sector emissions relies heavily on countries' abilities to either transition away from carbon-intensive energy generation or to sequester its resultant emissions with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. The use of biomass energy technologies in conjunction with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS) presents the opportunity for net reductions in atmospheric carbon dioxide. In this study, we investigate the limitations of several common policy mechanisms to incentivize the deployment of BECCS using the techno-economic spatial optimization model BeWhere (www.iiasa.ac.at/bewhere). We consider a set of coal and natural gas power plants in the United States (U.S.) selected using a screening process that considers capacity, boiler age, and capacity factor for electricity-generation units from the EPA 2014 eGRID database. The set makes up 470 GW of generation, and produces 8,400 PJ and 2.07 GtCO2 annually. Co-firing up to 15% for coal power plants is considered, using woody-biomass residues sourced from certified and managed U.S. forests obtained from the G4M (www.iiasa.ac.at/g4m) and GeoWiki (www.geo-wiki.org) database. Geologic storage is considered with injectivity and geomechanical limitations to ensure safe storage. Costs are minimized under two policy mechanisms: a carbon tax and geologic carbon sequestration credits, such as the Q45 credits. Results show that the carbon tax scenario incentivizes co-firing at low to medium carbon taxes, but is replaced by CCS at higher tax values. Carbon taxes do not strongly incentivize BECCS, as negative emissions associated with sequestering carbon content are not accounted as revenue. On the other hand, carbon credit scenarios result in significant CCS deployment, but lack any incentive for co-firing.

Materials Problems and Solutions in Biomass Fired Plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Ole Hede; Montgomery, Melanie

2006-01-01

ascribed to the composition of the deposit and the metal surface temperature. In woodchip boilers, a similar corrosion rate and corrosion mechanism has on some occasions been observed. Co-firing of straw (10 and 20% energy basis) with coal has shown corrosion rates lower than those in straw-fired plants......Due to Denmark’s pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, biomass is utilised increasingly as a fuel for generating energy. Extensive research and demonstration projects especially in the area of material performance for biomass fired boilers have been undertaken to make biomass a viable fuel...... resource. When straw is combusted, potassium chloride and potassium sulphate are present in ash products, which condense on superheater components. This gives rise to specific chlorine corrosion problems not previously encountered in coal-fired power plants. The type of corrosion attack can be directly...

Availability of Biomass Residues for Co-Firing in Peninsular Malaysia: Implications for Cost and GHG Emissions in the Electricity Sector

OpenAIRE

W. Michael Griffin; Jeremy Michalek; H. Scott Matthews; Mohd Nor Azman Hassan

2014-01-01

Fossil fuels comprise 93% of Malaysia’s electricity generation and account for 36% of the country’s 2010 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The government has targeted the installation of 330 MW of biomass electricity generation capacity by 2015 to avoid 1.3 Mt of CO 2 emissions annually and offset some emissions due to increased coal use. One biomass option is to co-fire with coal, which can result in reduced GHG emissions, coal use, and costs of electricity. A linear optimization cost model wa...

Integration of hydrothermal carbonization and a CHP plant: Part 2 –operational and economic analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saari, Jussi; Sermyagina, Ekaterina; Kaikko, Juha; Vakkilainen, Esa; Sergeev, Vitaly

2016-01-01

Wood-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plants are a proven technology for producing domestic, carbon-neutral heat and power in Nordic countries. One drawback of CHP plants is the low capacity factors due to varying heat loads. In the current economic environment, uncertainty over energy prices creates also uncertainty over investment profitability. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a promising thermochemical conversion technology for producing an improved, more versatile wood-based fuel. Integrating HTC with a CHP plant allows simplifying the HTC process and extending the CHP plant operating time. An integrated polygeneration plant producing three energy products is also less sensitive to price changes in any one product. This study compares three integration cases chosen from the previous paper, and the case of separate stand-alone plants. The best economic performance is obtained using pressurized hot water from the CHP plant boiler drum as HTC process water. This has the poorest efficiency, but allows the greatest cost reduction in the HTC process and longest CHP plant operating time. The result demonstrates the suitability of CHP plants for integration with a HTC process, and the importance of economic and operational analysis considering annual load variations in sufficient detail. - Highlights: • Integration of wood hydrothermal carbonization with a small CHP plant studied. • Operation and economics of three concepts and stand-alone plants are compared. • Sensitivity analysis is performed. • Results show technical and thermodynamic analysis inadequate and misleading alone. • Minimizing HTC investment, extending CHP operating time important for profitability.

Synthesis of Nanocrystalline CaWO4 as Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic Material: Processing, Structural and Physical Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Vidya, S.; Solomon, Sam; Thomas, J. K.

2013-01-01

Nanocrystalline scheelite CaWO4, a promising material for low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) applications, has been successfully synthesized through a single-step autoignition combustion route. Structural analysis of the sample was performed by powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The XRD analysis revealed that the as-prepared sample was single phase with scheelite tetragonal structure. The basic optical properties and optical constants of the CaWO4 nanopowder were studied using ultraviolet (UV)-visible absorption spectroscopy, which showed that the material was a wide-bandgap semiconductor with bandgap of 4.7 eV at room temperature. The sample showed poor transmittance in the ultraviolet region but maximum transmission in the visible/near-infrared regions. The photoluminescence spectra recorded at different temperatures showed intense emission in the green region. The particle size estimated from transmission electron microscopy was 23 nm. The feasibility of CaWO4 for LTCC applications was studied from its sintering behavior. The sample was sintered at a relatively low temperature of 810°C to high density, without using any sintering aid. The surface morphology of the sintered sample was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The dielectric constant and loss factor of the sample measured at 5 MHz were found to be 10.50 and 1.56 × 10-3 at room temperature. The temperature coefficient of the dielectric constant was -88.71 ppm/°C. The experimental results obtained in this work demonstrate the potential of nano-CaWO4 as a low-temperature co-fired ceramic as well as an excellent luminescent material.

Robustness and Versatility of Thin Films on Low Temperature Cofired Ceramic (LTCC)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wolf, J. Ambrose; Vianco, P. T.; Johnson, M. H.; Goldammer, S.

2011-10-09

Thin film multilayers have previously been introduced on multilayer low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC). The ruggedness of a multipurpose Ti-Cu-Pt-Au stack has continued to benefit fabrication and reliability in state-of-theart modules. Space optimization is described, preserving miniaturization of critical spaces and component pads. Additional soldering details are also presented, including trends with solder-stop materials. Feature compensation becomes a simple step in the normal manufacturing flow which enables exact targeting of desired feature sizes. In addition, fine details of the manufacturing process, including ion milling, will be discussed. We will discuss full long-term aging results and structural details that reinforce the reliability and function. Different thin film materials for specific applications can be exploited for additional capabilities such as filters and other integral components. Cross sections verify the results shown. This successful integration of thin films on LTCC points to higher frequencies which require finer lines and spaces. Advancements of these applications become possible due to the associated progression of smaller skin depth and thinner metallic material.

EOSLT Consortium Biomass Co-firing. WP 4. Biomass co-firing in oxy-fuel combustion. Part 1. Lab- Scale Experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fryda, L.E. [ECN Biomass, Coal and Environmental Research, Petten (Netherlands)

2011-07-15

In the frame of WP4 of the EOS LT Co-firing program, the ash formation and deposition of selected coal/biomass blends under oxyfuel and air conditions were studied experimentally in the ECN lab scale coal combustor (LCS). The fuels used were Russian coal, South African coal and Greek Lignite, either combusted separately or in blends with cocoa and olive residue. The first trial period included tests with the Russian and South African coals and their blends with cocoa, the second trial period included Lignite with olive residue tests and a final period firing only Lignite and Russian coal, mainly to check and verify the observed results. During the testing, also enriched air combustion was applied, in order to establish conclusions whether a systematic trend on ash formation and deposition exists, ranging from conventional air, to enriched air (improving post combustion applications) until oxyfuel conditions. A horizontal deposition probe equipped with thermocouples and heat transfer sensors for on line data acquisition, and a cascade impactor (staged filter) to obtain size distributed ash samples including the submicron range at the reactor exit were used. The deposition ratio and the deposition propensity measured for the various experimental conditions were higher in all oxyfuel cases. No significant variations in the ash formation mechanisms and the ash composition were established. Finally the data obtained from the tests performed under air and oxy-fuel conditions were utilised for chemical equilibrium calculations in order to facilitate the interpretation of the measured data; the results indicate that temperature dependence and fuels/blends ash composition are the major factors affecting gaseous compound and ash composition rather than the combustion environment, which seems to affect neither the ash and fine ash (submicron) formation, nor the ash composition. The ash deposition mechanisms were studied in more detail in Part II of this report.

Bio-coal, torrefied lignocellulosic resources – Key properties for its use in co-firing with fossil coal – Their status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agar, D.; Wihersaari, M.

2012-01-01

Bio-coal has received generous amounts of media attention because it potentially allows greater biomass co-firing rates and net CO 2 emission reductions in pulverised-coal power plants. However, little scientific research has been published on the feasibility of full-scale commercial production of bio-coal. Despite this, several companies and research organisations worldwide have been developing patented bio-coal technologies. Are the expectations of bio-coal realistic and are they based on accepted scientific data? This paper examines strictly peer-reviewed scientific publications in order to find an answer. The findings to date on three key properties of torrefied biomass are presented and reviewed. These properties are: the mass and energy balance of torrefaction, the friability of the product and the equilibrium moisture content of torrefied biomass. It is these properties that will have a major influence on the feasibility of bio-coal production regardless of reactor technology employed in production. The presented results will be of use in modelling commercial production of bio-coal in terms of economics and green-house gas emission balance. -- Highlights: ► A technical note on torrefaction research results. ► Presents experimental values on three key properties. ► Mass-energy balance, grindability, equilibrium moisture content of torrefied biomass. ► Results useful for modelling bio-coal production schemes.

Influence of a modification of the petcoke/coal ratio on the leachability of fly ash and slag produced from a large PCC power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maria Izquierdo; Oriol Font; Natalia Moreno (and others) [CSIC, Barcelona (Spain). Institute of Earth Sciences ' Jaume Almera'

2007-08-01

Co-firing of coal with inexpensive secondary fuels such as petroleum coke is expected to increase in the near future in the EU given that it may provide certain economic and environmental benefits with respect to coal combustion. However, changes in the feed fuel composition of power plants may modify the bulk content and the speciation of a number of elements in fly ash and slag. Consequently, leachability of these byproducts also can be modified. This study is focused on identifying the changes in the environmental quality of co-fired fly ash and slag induced by a modification of the petcoke/coal ratio. Petcoke was found to increase the leachable content of V and Mo and to enhance the mobility of S and As. However, with the exception of these elements, the addition of this secondary fuel did not drastically modify the bulk composition or the overall leachability of the resulting fly ash and slag. 30 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.

Energy production from biomass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bestebroer, S.I.

1995-01-01

The aim of the task group 'Energy Production from Biomass', initiated by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, was to identify bottlenecks in the development of biomass for energy production. The bottlenecks were identified by means of a process analysis of clean biomass fuels to the production of electricity and/or heat. The subjects in the process analysis are the potential availability of biomass, logistics, processing techniques, energy use, environmental effects, economic impact, and stimulation measures. Three categories of biomass are distinguished: organic residual matter, imported biomass, and energy crops, cultivated in the Netherlands. With regard to the processing techniques attention is paid to co-firing of clean biomass in existing electric power plants (co-firing in a coal-fired power plant or co-firing of fuel gas from biomass in a coal-fired or natural gas-fired power plant), and the combustion or gasification of clean biomass in special stand-alone installations. 5 figs., 13 tabs., 28 refs

Particulate and PCDD/F emissions from coal co-firing with solid biofuels in a bubbling fluidised bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

H. Lopes; I. Gulyurtlu; P. Abelha; T. Crujeira; D. Salema; M. Freire; R. Pereira; I. Cabrita [INETI, Lisbon (Portugal). DEECA

2009-12-15

In the scope of the COPOWER project SES6-CT-2004 to investigate potential synergies of co-combustion of different biofuels with coal, a study of emissions of particulate matter and PCDD/F was carried out. The biofuels tested were meat and bone meal (MBM), sewage sludge biopellets (BP), straw pellets (SP), olive bagasse (OB) and wood pellets (WP). The tests performed include co-firing of 5%, 15% and 25% by weight of biofuels with coals of different origin. Both monocombustion and co-firing were carried out. Combustion tests were performed on a pilot fluidised bed, equipped with cyclones and air staging was used in order to achieve almost complete combustion of fuels with high volatile contents and to control gaseous emissions. Particulate matter emissions were isokinetically sampled in the stack and their particle size analysis was performed with a cascade impactor (Mark III). The results showed that most particles emitted were below 10 {mu}m (PM10) for all the tests, however, with the increasing share of biofuels and also during combustion of pure biofuels, especially olive bagasse, straw and MBM, very fine particles, below about 1 {mu}m were present. With the exception of sewage sludge, greater amounts of biofuels appeared to give rise to the decrease in particulate mean diameters and increase in PM percentages below 1 {mu}m. The formation of very fine particles could be related with the presence of aerosol forming elements such as K, Na (in the case of MBM) and Cl in biofuels, which even resulted in higher PM emissions when the ash content of fuels decreased. A correlation wasverified between the increase of PCDD/F with the decrease of PM mean diameter. This may be due to higher specific surface area and greater Cu concentration in the fly ashes. 33 refs., 11 figs., 4 tabs.

The impact of co-firing sunflower husk pellets with coal in a boiler on the chemical composition of flue gas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zajemska Monika

2017-01-01

The calculations showed that the most important influence on the composition of the flue gas from the co-firing process of coal with sunflower husk has a composition of biomass. It should be emphasized that the results of computer simulations obtained by the authors have an useful aspect and can be applied in practice, especially to the analysis of the mechanism of chloride corrosion which is possible to occur due to the chlorine content in the biomass. They may also be useful for evaluating the unburned hydrocarbons produced by combustion of rich mixtures (λ < 1.0.

Effect of biomass on burnouts of Turkish lignites during co-firing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haykiri-Acma, H.; Yaman, S. [Istanbul Technical Univ., Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering Faculty, Chemical Engineering Dept., 34469 Maslak, Istanbul (Turkey)

2009-09-15

Co-firing of some low quality Turkish lignites with woody shells of sunflower seed was investigated via non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis method. For this purpose, Yozgat-Sorgun, Erzurum-Askale, Tuncbilek, Gediz, and Afsin-Elbistan lignites were selected, and burnouts of these lignites were compared with those of their blends. Biomass was blended as much as 10 and 20 wt.% of the lignites, and heating was performed up to 900 C at a heating rate of 40 C/min under dry air flow of 40 mL/min. This study revealed that the same biomass species may have different influences on the burnout yields of the lignites. Burnouts of Erzurum-Askale lignite increased at any temperature with the increasing ratio of biomass in the blend, whereas burnout yields of other lignites decreased to some extent. Nevertheless, the blends of Turkish lignites with sunflower seed shell did not behave in very different way, and it can be concluded that they are compatible in terms of burnouts for co-combustion in a combustion system. Although the presence of biomass in the lignite blends caused to some decreases in the final burnouts, the carbon dioxide neutral nature of biomass should be taken into account, and co-combustion is preferable for waste-to-energy-management. (author)

Effect of biomass on burnouts of Turkish lignites during co-firing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haykiri-Acma, H.; Yaman, S.

2009-01-01

Co-firing of some low quality Turkish lignites with woody shells of sunflower seed was investigated via non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis method. For this purpose, Yozgat-Sorgun, Erzurum-Askale, Tuncbilek, Gediz, and Afsin-Elbistan lignites were selected, and burnouts of these lignites were compared with those of their blends. Biomass was blended as much as 10 and 20 wt.% of the lignites, and heating was performed up to 900 deg. C at a heating rate of 40 deg. C/min under dry air flow of 40 mL/min. This study revealed that the same biomass species may have different influences on the burnout yields of the lignites. Burnouts of Erzurum-Askale lignite increased at any temperature with the increasing ratio of biomass in the blend, whereas burnout yields of other lignites decreased to some extent. Nevertheless, the blends of Turkish lignites with sunflower seed shell did not behave in very different way, and it can be concluded that they are compatible in terms of burnouts for co-combustion in a combustion system. Although the presence of biomass in the lignite blends caused to some decreases in the final burnouts, the carbon dioxide neutral nature of biomass should be taken into account, and co-combustion is preferable for waste-to-energy-management.

A comparison of circulating fluidised bed combustion and gasification power plant technologies for processing mixtures of coal, biomass and plastic waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McIlveen-Wright, D.R.; Huang, Y.; McMullan, J.T.; Pinto, F.; Franco, C.; Gulyurtlu, I.; Armesto, L.; Cabanillas, A.; Caballero, M.A.; Aznar, M.P.

2006-01-01

Environmental regulations concerning emission limitations from the use of fossil fuels in large combustion plants have stimulated interest in biomass for electricity generation. The main objective of the present study was to examine the technical and economic viability of using combustion and gasification of coal mixed with biomass and plastic wastes, with the aim of developing an environmentally acceptable process to decrease their amounts in the waste stream through energy recovery. Mixtures of a high ash coal with biomass and/or plastic using fluidised bed technologies (combustion and gasification) were considered. Experiments were carried out in laboratory and pilot plant fluidised bed systems on the combustion and air/catalyst and air/steam gasification of these feedstocks and the data obtained were used in the techno-economic analyses. The experimental results were used in simulations of medium to large-scale circulating fluidised bed (CFB) power generation plants. Techno-economic analysis of the modelled CFB combustion systems showed efficiencies of around 40.5% (and around 46.5% for the modelled CFB gasification systems) when fuelled solely by coal, which were only minimally affected by co-firing with up to 20% biomass and/or wastes. Specific investments were found to be around $2150/kWe to $2400/kWe ($1350/kWe to $1450/kWe) and break-even electricity selling prices to be around $68/MWh to $78/MWh ($49/MWh to $54/MWh). Their emissions were found to be within the emission limit values of the large combustion plant directive. Fluidised bed technologies were found to be very suitable for co-firing coal and biomass and/or plastic waste and to offer good options for the replacement of obsolete or polluting power plants. (author)

Combustion behaviour and deposition characteristics of Cynara Cardunculus/Greek lignite co-firing under various thermal shares in a thermal pilot-scale facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuller, Aaron; Maier, Joerg; Scheffknecht, Guenter [Stuttgart Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Combustion and Power Plant Technology; Pawlak-Kruczek, Halina [Wroclaw Univ. of Technology (Poland). Inst. of Heat Engineering and Fluid Mechanics; Karampinis, Emmanouil; Grammelis, Panagiotis; Kakaras, Emmanuel [Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Ptolemais (Greece). Chemical Process and Energy Resources Inst.; National Technical Univ. of Athens (Greece). Lab. of Steam Boilers and Thermal Plants

2013-06-01

The combustion of herbaceous biomass in industrial boilers, either as co-firing fuel or in dedicated combustion units, possess significant operating challenges due to increased risks for corrosion and slagging/fouling. The present work aims at investigating the combustion behaviour of Cynara Cardunculus (cardoon) in a range of thermal shares (0 to 100 %) with a Greek lignite. Combustion tests were performed in a 0.5 MW thermal input pulverised fuel pilot-scale test facility. Deposits were characterised in terms of morphological and ash fusion behaviour, and slagging/fouling tendencies were determined. (orig.)

Low temperature co-fired ceramic packaging of CMOS capacitive sensor chip towards cell viability monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Halonen, Niina; Kilpijärvi, Joni; Sobocinski, Maciej; Datta-Chaudhuri, Timir; Hassinen, Antti; Prakash, Someshekar B; Möller, Peter; Abshire, Pamela; Kellokumpu, Sakari; Lloyd Spetz, Anita

2016-01-01

Cell viability monitoring is an important part of biosafety evaluation for the detection of toxic effects on cells caused by nanomaterials, preferably by label-free, noninvasive, fast, and cost effective methods. These requirements can be met by monitoring cell viability with a capacitance-sensing integrated circuit (IC) microchip. The capacitance provides a measurement of the surface attachment of adherent cells as an indication of their health status. However, the moist, warm, and corrosive biological environment requires reliable packaging of the sensor chip. In this work, a second generation of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology was combined with flip-chip bonding to provide a durable package compatible with cell culture. The LTCC-packaged sensor chip was integrated with a printed circuit board, data acquisition device, and measurement-controlling software. The packaged sensor chip functioned well in the presence of cell medium and cells, with output voltages depending on the medium above the capacitors. Moreover, the manufacturing of microfluidic channels in the LTCC package was demonstrated.

Modified precision-husky progrind H-3045 for chipping biomass

Science.gov (United States)

Dana Mitchell; Fernando Seixas; John. Klepac

2008-01-01

A specific size of whole tree chip was needed to co-mill wood chips with coal. The specifications are stringent because chips must be mixed with coal, as opposed to a co-firing process. In co-firing, two raw products are conveyed separately to a boiler. In co-milling, such as at Alabama Power's Plant Gadsden, the chip and coal mix must pass through a series of...

Atmospheric fluidized-bed combustion (AFBC) co-firing of coal and hospital waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-02-01

The proposed project involves co-firing of coal and medical waste (including infectious medical waste) in an atmospheric fluidized-bed combustor (AFBC) to safely dispose of medical waste and produce steam for hospital needs. Combustion at the design temperature and residence time (duration) in the AFBC has been proven to render infectious medical waste free of disease producing organisms. The project would be located at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The estimated cost of the proposed AFBC facility is nearly $4 million. It would be jointly funded by DOE, Veterans Affairs, and Donlee Technologies, Inc., of York, Pennsylvania, under a cooperative agreement between DOE and Donlee. Under the terms of this agreement, $3.708 million in cost-shared financial assistance would be jointly provided by DOE and the Veterans Affairs (50/50), with $278,000 provided by Donlee. The purposes of the proposed project are to: (1) provide the VA Medical Center and the Good Samaritan Hospital (GSH), also of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, with a solution for disposal of their medical waste; and (2) demonstrate that a new coal-burning technology can safely incinerate infectious medical waste, produce steam to meet hospital needs, and comply with environmental regulations

The importance of ash for the favourable properties of sewage sludge in co-firing; Askans betydelse foer roetslams goda samfoerbraenningsegenskaper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davidsson, K.; Jones, F.; Niklasson, F.; Ryde, D. [SP Sveriges Tekniska Forskningsinstitut, Boraas, (Sweden); Gustafsson, G. [Boraas Energi och Miljoe, Boraas (Sweden); Herstad Svaerd, S. [WSP Kraft and Vaerme, Goeteborg (Sweden)

2012-11-01

Sewage sludge has been shown to have positive properties during cofiring with difficult fuels. The sludge mitigates deposition and corrosion which occur because of the fuels content of chlorine and alkali. The reason for the positive properties of sludge are its content of sulphur, phosphorus and aluminium silicates. Its high content of ash has also been discussed because the fly ash would constitute a large surface for alkali chlorides to condensate on and thereby avoid condensation on e.g. superheater surfaces. The ash could also blast the surface and thereby keeping them clean. The present project aims at testing the hypothesis that the ash in the sludge mitigates the deposition. Tests have been performed with synthetically produced waste pellets of which some were doped with inert particles in form of aluminium oxide. The tests were done in a lab-scale bubbling fluidised bed. Deposit probes collected deposits during the combustion of doped and un-doped waste pellets, and the deposits were chemically analysed. The result shows that the inert particles do not have any effect on the amount of hard attached deposits. The particles ended up on the lee side of the probe where they deposited because of gravitation, but they could be easily removed. The remaining deposit was analysed and the effect of inert particles was a small decrease of the content of chlorine. Tests were also performed with pellets doped with sludge. In this case the amount of deposit and its content of chlorine decreased significantly. Different sewage sludges have different properties. The present results show that sludge for cofiring should not be chosen for its amount of ash but rather for its content of sulphur, phosphorous and aluminium.

The importance of ash for the favourable properties of sewage sludge in co-firing; Askans betydelse foer roetslams goda samfoerbraenningsegenskaper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davidsson, K.; Jones, F.; Niklasson, F.; Ryde, D. [SP Sveriges Tekniska Forskningsinstitut, Boraas (Sweden); Gustafsson, G. [Boraas Energi och Miljoe, Boraas (Sweden); Herstad Svaerd, S. [WSP Kraft and Vaerme, Stockholm (Sweden)

2012-07-01

Sewage sludge has been shown to have positive properties during cofiring with difficult fuels. The sludge mitigates deposition and corrosion which occur because of the fuels content of chlorine and alkali. The reason for the positive properties of sludge are its content of sulphur, phosphorus and aluminium silicates. Its high content of ash has also been discussed because the fly ash would constitute a large surface for alkali chlorides to condensate on and thereby avoid condensation on e.g. superheater surfaces. The ash could also blast the surface and thereby keeping them clean. The present project aims at testing the hypothesis that the ash in the sludge mitigates the deposition. Tests have been performed with synthetically produced waste pellets of which some were doped with inert particles in form of aluminium oxide. The tests were done in a lab-scale bubbling fluidised bed. Deposit probes collected deposits during the combustion of doped and un-doped waste pellets, and the deposits were chemically analysed. The result shows that the inert particles do not have any effect on the amount of hard attached deposits. The particles ended up on the lee side of the probe where they deposited because of gravitation, but they could be easily removed. The remaining deposit was analysed and the effect of inert particles was a small decrease of the content of chlorine. Tests were also performed with pellets doped with sludge. In this case the amount of deposit and its content of chlorine decreased significantly. Different sewage sludges have different properties. The present results show that sludge for cofiring should not be chosen for its amount of ash but rather for its content of sulphur, phosphorous and aluminium.

Co-firing straw with coal in a swirl-stabilized dual-feed burner: modelling and experimental validation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yin, Chungen; Kær, Søren Knudsen; Rosendahl, Lasse

2010-01-01

This paper presents a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling study of co-firing wheat straw with coal in a 150 kW swirl-stabilized dual-feed burner flow reactor, in which the pulverized straw particles (mean diameter of 451μm) and coal particles (mean diameter of 110.4μm...... conversion. It is found that for pulverized biomass particles of a few hundred microns in diameter the intra-particle heat and mass transfer is a secondary issue at most in their conversion, and the global four-step mechanism of Jones and Lindstedt may be better used in modelling volatiles combustion......-lean core zone; whilst the coal particles are significantly affected by secondary air jet and swirled into the oxygen-rich outer radius with increased residence time (in average, 8.1s for coal particles vs. 5.2s for straw particles in the 3m high reactor). Therefore, a remarkable difference in the overall...

Measurements of dioxin emissions during co-firing in a fluidised bed

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

I. Gulyurtlu; A.T. Crujeira; P. Abelha; I. Cabrita [INETI, Lisbon (Portugal). Departamento de Engenharia Energetica e Controle Ambiental

2007-09-15

The emissions of dioxins could be considerable when fuels with high chlorine content are used, particularly in fluidised beds due to constraints to use temperatures in the range 800-900{sup o}C for other considerations. However, mixing of fuels with different characteristics may lead to a reduction in dioxin emissions. Studies are currently being undertaken at the above-mentioned department in mixing fuels of varying chlorine and sulphur contents to monitor the emissions of dioxins both in the gas and solid phases. Furthermore, the influence of certain elements like Cu in the ash in the emissions of dioxins is also studied to verify the catalytic effect. The INETI pilot-scale test facility is used for the combustion work. Two different coals, namely Colombian and Polish, are used as the base fuel. The supplementary fuels for co-firing include MBM and straw pellets. The combustion temperature is maintained at about 800-830{sup o}C range without any limestone addition. The residence time of over 2 s is respected. Results obtained by far suggest that the presence of sulphur in both fuels have a very strong effect on the eventual emissions of dioxins and the synergy regarding to reduce the dioxins below the levels permitted is possible by mixing fuels based on their characteristics. The paper reports the results obtained and evaluates the effect of fuel nature and operating conditions on the emissions of dioxins. 34 refs., 8 figs., 12 tabs.

Low temperature co-fired ceramic packaging of CMOS capacitive sensor chip towards cell viability monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niina Halonen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Cell viability monitoring is an important part of biosafety evaluation for the detection of toxic effects on cells caused by nanomaterials, preferably by label-free, noninvasive, fast, and cost effective methods. These requirements can be met by monitoring cell viability with a capacitance-sensing integrated circuit (IC microchip. The capacitance provides a measurement of the surface attachment of adherent cells as an indication of their health status. However, the moist, warm, and corrosive biological environment requires reliable packaging of the sensor chip. In this work, a second generation of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC technology was combined with flip-chip bonding to provide a durable package compatible with cell culture. The LTCC-packaged sensor chip was integrated with a printed circuit board, data acquisition device, and measurement-controlling software. The packaged sensor chip functioned well in the presence of cell medium and cells, with output voltages depending on the medium above the capacitors. Moreover, the manufacturing of microfluidic channels in the LTCC package was demonstrated.

Effect of fuel type and deposition surface temperature on the growth and structure of ash deposit collected during co-firing of coal with sewage-sludge, saw-dust and refuse derived fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kupka, Tomasz; Zajac, Krzysztof; Weber, Roman [Clausthal Univ. of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany). Inst. of Energy Process Engineering and Fuel Technology

2008-07-01

Blends of a South African bituminous ''Middleburg'' coal and three alternative fuels (a municipal sewage-sludge, a saw-dust and a refuse derived fuel) have been fired in the slagging reactor to examine the effect of the added fuel on slagging propensity of the mixtures. Two kinds of deposition probes have been used, un-cooled ceramic probes and air-cooled steal probes. Distinct differences in physical and chemical structures of the deposits collected using the un-cooled ceramic probes and air-cooled metal probes have been observed. Glassy, easily molten deposits collected on un-cooled ceramic deposition probes were characteristic for co-firing of municipal sewage-sludge with coal. Porous, sintered (not molten) but easily removable deposits of the same fuel blend have been collected on the air-cooled metal deposition probes. Loose, easy removable deposits have been sampled on air-cooled metal deposition probe during co-firing of coal/saw-dust blends. The mass of the deposit sampled at lower surface temperatures (550-700 C) was always larger than the mass sampled at higher temperatures (1100-1300 C) since the higher temperature ash agglomerated and sintered much faster than the low temperature deposit. (orig.)

Fabrication and performance evaluation of a high temperature co-fired ceramic vaporizing liquid microthruster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheah, Kean How; Low, Kay-Soon

2015-01-01

This paper presents the study of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-scaled microthruster using ceramic as the structural material. A vaporizing liquid microthruster (VLM) has been fabricated using the high temperature co-fired ceramic (HTCC) technology. The developed microthruster consists of five components, i.e. inlet, injector, vaporizing chamber, micronozzle and microheater, all integrated in a chip with a dimension of 30 mm × 26 mm × 8 mm. In the dry test, the newly developed microheater which is deposited on zirconia substrate consumes 21% less electrical power than those deposited on silicon substrate to achieve a temperature of 100 °C. Heating temperature as high as 409.1 °C can be achieved using just 5 W of electrical power. For simplicity and safety, a functional test of the VLM with water as propellant has been conducted in the laboratory. Full vaporization of water propellant feeding at different flow rates has been successfully demonstrated. A maximum thrust of 633.5 µN at 1 µl s −1 propellant consumption rate was measured using a torsional thrust stand. (paper)

Co-combustion of gasified contaminated waste wood in a coal fired power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

This project demonstrates the technical and economical feasibility of the producing and cofiring of product gas from demolition waste wood. For this purpose LCV product gas is generated in an atmospheric circulating fluidized bed (CFB) gasification plant, cooled and cleaned and transported to the boiler of a 600 MWe pulverized coal fired power plant. Gas cooling and cleaning takes place in a waste heat boiler and a multi stage wet gas cleaning train. Steam raised in the waste heat boiler is exported to the power plant. On an annual basis 70,000 tons of steam coal are substituted by 150,000 tons of contaminated demolition waste wood (50,000 tons oil equivalent), resulting in a net CO2 emission reduction of 170,000 tons per year, while concurrently generating 205 GWh of electrical power. The wood gasification plant was built by NV EPZ (now incorporated in Essent Energi BV) for Amergas BV, now a 100% subsidiary of Essent Energie BV. The gasification plant is located at the Amer Power Station of NV EPZ Production (now Essent Generation) at Geertruidenberg, The Netherlands. Demonstrating several important design features in wood gasification, the plant started hot service in the Spring of 2000, with first gasification accomplished in the Summer of 2000 and is currently being optimized. (au)

Materials Problems and Solutions in Biomass fired plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Ole Hede; Montgomery, Melanie

2006-01-01

be directly ascribed to the composition of the deposit and the metal surface temperature. In woodchip boilers, a similar corrosion rate and corrosion mechanism has on some occasions been observed. Cofiring of straw (10 and 20% energy basis) with coal has shown corrosion rates lower than those in straw fired......Owing to Denmark's pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, biomass is being increasingly utilised as a fuel for generating energy. Extensive research and development projects, especially in the area of material performance for biomass fired boilers, have been undertaken to make biomass a viable...... fuel resource. When straw is combusted, potassium chloride and potassium sulphate are present in ash products, which condense on superheater components. This gives rise to specific chlorine corrosion problems not previously encountered in coal fired power plants. The type of corrosion attack can...

Techno-economic assessment for the integration into a multi-product plant based on cascade utilization of geothermal energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubio-Maya, Carlos; Pastor Martínez, Edgar; Romero, Carlos E.; Ambriz Díaz, Víctor M.; Pacheco-Ibarra, J. Jesús

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Cascade utilization of low- and mid-temperature geothermal energy is presented. • The system consists of three thermal levels producing power, ice and useful heat. • A techno-economic analysis is performed evaluating energy and economic benefits. • A simple optimization algorithm was developed to optimize system benefits. • Inconvenience of low thermal efficiency and high capital cost of ORC were overcome. - Abstract: The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is a technology that has reached maturity in cogeneration or waste heat applications. However, due to low thermal efficiency and high capital cost of ORC machines, geothermal-based ORC applications represent only a small percent sharing of the geothermal power capacity worldwide. Several countries have reported a great potential of low- and mid-temperature geothermal energy, representing an opportunity to explore a more efficient ORC integration into non-conventional applications of geothermal energy. One alternative, resembling the polygeneration concept, is known as cascade utilization of geothermal energy, where different energy outputs or products can be obtained at the same time, while improving thermal and economic performance. In this paper, a techno-economic analysis for the selection of small capacity ORC machines and absorption chillers (for ice production), to be integrated into a polygeneration plant that makes use of geothermal energy in a cascade arrangement, is presented. A simple cascade system that consists of three sequential thermal levels, producing simultaneously power, ice and useful heat is proposed, considering typical temperatures of geothermal zones in Mexico. A simple optimization algorithm, based on energy and economic models, including binary variables and manufacturer’s data, was developed to evaluate and determine optimal ORC and absorption chiller units. Results show, firstly, that inconvenience of low thermal efficiency and high capital cost of ORC machines can

Multi-fuel multi-product operation of IGCC power plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cormos, Ana-Maria; Dinca, Cristian; Cormos, Calin-Cristian

2015-01-01

This paper investigates multi-fuel multi-product operation of IGCC plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The investigated plant designs co-process coal with different sorts of biomass (e.g. sawdust) and solid wastes, through gasification, leading to different decarbonised energy vectors (power, hydrogen, heat, substitute natural gas etc.) simultaneous with carbon capture. Co-gasification of coal with different renewable energy sources coupled with carbon capture will pave the way towards zero emissions power plants. The energy conversions investigated in the paper were simulated using commercial process flow modelling package (ChemCAD) in order to produce mass and energy balances necessary for the proposed evaluation. As illustrative cases, hydrogen and power co-generation and Fischer–Tropsch fuel synthesis (both with carbon capture), were presented. The case studies investigated in the paper produce a flexible ratio between power and hydrogen (in the range of 400–600 MW net electricity and 0–200 MW th hydrogen considering the lower heating value) with at least 90% carbon capture rate. Special emphasis were given to fuel selection criteria for optimisation of gasification performances (fuel blending), to the selection criteria for gasification reactor in a multi-fuel multi-product operation scenario, modelling and simulation of whole process, to thermal and power integration of processes, flexibility analysis of the energy conversion processes, in-depth techno-economic and environmental assessment etc. - Highlights: • Assessment of IGCC-based energy vectors poly-generation systems with CCS. • Optimisation of gasification performances and CO 2 emissions by fuel blending. • Multi-fuel multi-product operation of gasification plants

Self-cementitious properties of fly ashes from CFBC boilers co-firing coal and high-sulphur petroleum coke

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheng Guanghong; Li Qin; Zhai Jianping; Li Feihu

2007-01-01

Self-cementitious properties of fly ash from circulating fluidized bed combustion boiler co-firing coal and high-sulphur petroleum coke (CPFA) were investigated. CPFA was self-cementitious which was affected by its fineness and chemical compositions, especially the contents of SO 3 and free lime (f-CaO). Higher contents of SO 3 and f-CaO were beneficial to self-cementitious strength; the self-cementitious strength increases with a decrease of its 45 μm sieve residue. The expansive ratio of CPFA hardened paste was high because of generation of ettringite (AFt), which was influenced by its water to binder ratio (W/A), curing style and grinding of the ash. The paste cured in water had the highest expansive ratio, and grinding of CPFA was beneficial to its volume stability. The hydration products of CPFA detected by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were portlandite, gypsum, AFt and hydrated calcium silicate (C-S-H)

Strategies for 2nd generation biofuels in EU - Co-firing to stimulate feedstock supply development and process integration to improve energy efficiency and economic competitiveness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berndes, Goeran; Hansson, Julia; Egeskog, Andrea; Johnsson, Filip

2010-01-01

The present biofuel policies in the European Union primarily stimulate 1st generation biofuels that are produced based on conventional food crops. They may be a distraction from lignocellulose based 2nd generation biofuels - and also from biomass use for heat and electricity - by keeping farmers' attention and significant investments focusing on first generation biofuels and the cultivation of conventional food crops as feedstocks. This article presents two strategies that can contribute to the development of 2nd generation biofuels based on lignocellulosic feedstocks. The integration of gasification-based biofuel plants in district heating systems is one option for increasing the energy efficiency and improving the economic competitiveness of such biofuels. Another option, biomass co-firing with coal, generates high-efficiency biomass electricity and reduces CO 2 emissions by replacing coal. It also offers a near-term market for lignocellulosic biomass, which can stimulate development of supply systems for biomass also suitable as feedstock for 2nd generation biofuels. Regardless of the long-term priorities of biomass use for energy, the stimulation of lignocellulosic biomass production by development of near term and cost-effective markets is judged to be a no-regrets strategy for Europe. Strategies that induce a relevant development and exploit existing energy infrastructures in order to reduce risk and reach lower costs, are proposed an attractive complement the present and prospective biofuel policies. (author)

Modelling fireside corrosion of heat exchangers in co-fired pulverised fuel power systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simms, N.J. [Cranfield Univ. (United Kingdom). Energy Technology Centre; Fry, A.T. [National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex (United Kingdom)

2010-07-01

As a result of concerns about the effects of CO{sub 2} emissions on the global environment, there is increasing pressure to reduce such emissions from power generation systems. The use of biomass co-firing with coal in conventional pulverised fuel power stations has provided the most immediate route to introduce a class of fuel that is regarded as both sustainable and carbon neutral. In the future it is anticipated that increased levels of biomass will need to be used in such systems to achieve the desired CO{sub 2} emission targets. However there are concerns over the risk of fireside corrosion damage to the various heat exchangers and boiler walls used in such systems. Future pulverised fuel power systems will need to be designed to cope with the effects of using a wide range of coal-biomass mixes. However, such systems will also need to use much higher heat exchanger operating temperatures to increase their conversion efficiencies and counter the effects of the CO{sub 2} capture technologies that will need to be used in them. Higher operating temperatures will also increase the risk of fireside corrosion damage to the critical heat exchangers. This paper reports work that has been carried out to develop quantitative corrosion models for heat exchangers in pulverised fuel power systems. These developments have been particularly targeted at producing models that enable the evaluation of the effects of using different coal-biomass mixtures and of increasing heat exchanger operating conditions. Models have been produced that have been targeted at operating conditions and materials used in (a) superheaters/reheaters and (b) waterwalls. Data used in the development of these models has been produced from full scale and pilot scale plants in the UK using a wide range of coal and biomass mixtures, as well as from carefully targeted series of laboratory corrosion tests. Mechanistic and neural network based models have been investigated during this development process to

Lab-scale co-firing of virgin and torrefied bamboo species Guadua angustifolia Kunth as a fuel substitute in coal fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fryda, Lydia; Daza, Claudia; Pels, Jan; Janssen, Arno; Zwart, Robin

2014-01-01

Bamboo is a potential sustainable biomass source for renewable heat and power production as it presents common fuel characteristics with other biomass feedstocks regarding heating value and chemical composition. This paper presents an evaluation of the combustion behaviour of the bamboo species Guadua angustifolia Kunth, virgin as well as torrefied, in blends with coal or pure, comparing with other biomass feedstocks such as wood and herbaceous biomass. The bamboo pre-treatment and the combustion experiments were carried out at dedicated installations at ECN, including a laboratory scale batch torrefaction reactor and a combustion simulation test facility. The results on combustion and co-firing reveal that in terms of fouling, the untreated bamboo shows behaviour closer to herbaceous biomass rather than to wood, with specific fouling factors of wood, bamboo and herbaceous biomass of 0.91·10 −3 , 2.9·10 −3 , 3.1·10 −3  K·m 2 ·W −1 ·g −1 respectively. Dry torrefaction improves its physical properties by increasing the density and grindability without improving significantly its fouling behaviour while the fouling behaviour of wet torrefied bamboo is similar to woody biomass; the specific fouling factors of dry torrefied and wet torrefied bamboo are 2.4·10 −3 and 0.89·10 −3  K·m 2 ·W −1 ·g −1 respectively. The fouling behaviour of biomass and coal blends lies between the fuels of the blend. Alternative bamboo species were evaluated using the alkali index A i based on their fuel composition. It appears that the fouling behaviour of alternative species is better than for G. angustifolia, therefore these should be further analysed. - Highlights: • Bamboo species Guadua angustifolia is a promising feedstock for power generation. • Dry and wet torrefaction of selected samples were carried out at ECN. • Virgin (untreated) and pretreated samples were fired pure or in coal blends. • Pretreated bamboo is suitable for large scale power

Biomass CCS study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cavezzali, S.

2009-11-15

The use of biomass in power generation is one of the important ways in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, the cofiring of biomass with coal could be regarded as a common feature to any new build power plant if a sustainable supply of biomass fuel is readily accessible. IEA GHG has undertaken a techno-economic evaluation of the use of biomass in biomass fired and co-fired power generation, using post-combustion capture technology. This report is the result of the study undertaken by Foster Wheeler Italiana.

A novel polygeneration system integrating photovoltaic/thermal collectors, solar assisted heat pump, adsorption chiller and electrical energy storage: Dynamic and energy-economic analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calise, Francesco; Figaj, Rafal Damian; Vanoli, Laura

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Space heating/cooling, domestic hot water and electrical energy are provided by the system. • Two different users are investigated: fitness center and office. • The influence of the battery system on system economic performance is scarce. • Net metering contract is more profitable compared to simplified purchase/resale arrangement one. - Abstract: In this paper a dynamic simulation model and a thermo-economic analysis of a novel polygeneration system are presented. The system includes photovoltaic/thermal collectors coupled with a solar-assisted heat pump, an adsorption chiller and an electrical energy storage. The modelled plant supplies electrical energy, space heating and cooling and domestic hot water. The produced solar thermal energy is used during the winter to supply the heat pump evaporator, providing the required space heating. In summer, solar thermal energy is used to drive an adsorption chiller providing the required space cooling. All year long, solar thermal energy in excess, with respect to the space heating and cooling demand, is used to produce domestic hot water. The produced electrical energy is self-consumed by both user and system auxiliary equipment and/or supplied to the grid. The system model includes a detailed electrical energy model for user storage and exchange with the grid along with a detailed building model. This study is a continuation of previous works recently presented by the authors. In particular, the present paper focuses on the real electrical demands of several types of users and on the analysis of the comfort of building users. Differently from the works previously published by the authors, the present work bases the calculations on measured electrical demands of real users (fitness center and offices). The system performance is analyzed with two different electricity supply contracts: net metering and simplified purchase/resale arrangement. Daily, weekly and yearly results are presented. Finally, a

Microfabrication of a Novel Ceramic Pressure Sensor with High Sensitivity Based on Low-Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic (LTCC Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Li

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a novel capacitance pressure sensor based on Low-Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic (LTCC technology is proposed for pressure measurement. This approach differs from the traditional fabrication process for a LTCC pressure sensor because a 4J33 iron-nickel-cobalt alloy is applied to avoid the collapse of the cavity and to improve the performance of the sensor. Unlike the traditional LTCC sensor, the sensitive membrane of the proposed sensor is very flat, and the deformation of the sensitivity membrane is smaller. The proposed sensor also demonstrates a greater responsivity, which reaches as high as 13 kHz/kPa in range of 0–100 kPa. During experiments, the newly fabricated sensor, which is only about 6.5 cm2, demonstrated very good performance: the repeatability error, hysteresis error, and nonlinearity of the sensor are about 4.25%, 2.13%, and 1.77%, respectively.

Evaluation of Switchgrass as a co-firing fuel in the Southeast

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Southern Research Institute

2001-11-01

The ''Evaluation of Switchgrass as a Co-Firing Fuel in the Southeast'' is a comprehensive project incorporating the highest yielding variety of switchgrass, unique harvesting methods, detailed parametric evaluations in a state-of-the-art combustion research facility, and a full-scale demonstration in a tangentially-fired Alabama Power Company power boiler. These features were incorporated into the project to reduce the technical and economic risk of yielding a practical renewable energy option for the southeastern US. There are particular incentives for proving the feasibility of switchgrass as a biomass fuel in the southeastern US. Even though agriculture is a predominant industry much of the land in this region is under-utilized, marginal farmland. As a result, some of the poorest counties in the nation are located in this region. The yields of switchgrass are substantially higher in the southeastern US than in other regions. Yield, or productivity, is a critical factor in determining the feasibility of biomass fuel. Yields in small research plots in the region averaged 25.8 Mg/ha (11.5 tons/acre) over the period 1990-1994. Achievable commercial yield in the southeastern US will likely be about 15.7 Mg/ha (7 tons/acre) with currently available varieties. Use of switchgrass as a supplemental fuel for coal-fired utility boilers could create an enormous market for growers. The Southern Company has 23,000 MW of coal-fired capacity in the southeast. If only 1% of this capacity was provided by switchgrass instead of coal, 74,500 ha (184,000 acres) of production would be needed. This would generate 1,288,000 tons of switchgrass which, if valued at $35/ton, would amount to over $45 million.

The Green Integrated Forest Biorefinery: An innovative concept for the pulp and paper mills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafione, Tatiana; Marinova, Mariya; Montastruc, Ludovic; Paris, Jean

2014-01-01

The Green Integrated Forest Biorefinery (GIFBR), a new concept suitable for implementation in pulp and paper mills is characterized by low greenhouse gases emissions, reduced water consumption and production of effluents. Its fossil fuel consumption must be nil. Several challenges have to be addressed to develop a sustainable GIFBR facility. An implementation strategy by phase is proposed to schedule the total capital investment over several years and to mitigate the economic risks associated with the transformation of an existing pulp and paper mill into a GIFBR. In the first phase of the methodology, the receptor mill and the biorefinery plant are selected. An intensive energy and material integration of the two plants is performed in the second phase, then a gasification unit is implemented and, finally a polygeneration unit is installed. The methodology is illustrated by application to a case study based on a reference Canadian Kraft mill. Each phase of the implementation strategy of the GIFBR is described. - Highlights: • The Green Integrated Forest Biorefinery (GIFBR) is a new biorefinery concept. • A GIFBR includes a pulp mill, a biorefinery, a gasification and a polygeneration units. • An implementation strategy by phase is proposed to successfully develop a GIFBR. • To determine achievable level of integration between the GIFBR constituents is crucial. • GIFBR concept technically and economically feasibility for pulp and paper mills

Indirect coal liquefaction - the first commercial CTL project in the USA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radtke, K.; Battensby, D.; Marsico, C.; Hooper, M.; Mather, C. [Uhde GmbH (Germany)

2006-07-01

The polygeneration of fuels, chemical and power offers an innovative and economically advantageous way to utilise disadvantaged fuels, such as lignite, waste coal and petroleum coke, in a coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant by means of integration of three main process blocks: gasification island to convert coal into clean synthesis gas; Fischer-Tropsch synthesis to convert synthesis gas into clean liquid fuels and chemicals; and combustion of synthesis gas to produce electric power and steam. This paper describes the process and technology side of this indirect coal liquefaction project with key plant data that has been elaborated for a commercial scale CTL project, which is expected to be the first CTL plant in the USA. The plant will use the Shell Coal Gasification process. 6 figs.

Selective recovery of silver from waste low-temperature co-fired ceramic and valorization through silver nanoparticle synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Swain, Basudev; Shin, Dongyoon; Joo, So Yeong; Ahn, Nak Kyoon; Lee, Chan Gi; Yoon, Jin-Ho

2017-11-01

Considering the value of silver metal and silver nanoparticles, the waste generated during manufacturing of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) were recycled through the simple yet cost effective process by chemical-metallurgy. Followed by leaching optimization, silver was selectively recovered through precipitation. The precipitated silver chloride was valorized though silver nanoparticle synthesis by a simple one-pot greener synthesis route. Through leaching-precipitation optimization, quantitative selective recovery of silver chloride was achieved, followed by homogeneous pure silver nanoparticle about 100nm size were synthesized. The reported recycling process is a simple process, versatile, easy to implement, requires minimum facilities and no specialty chemicals, through which semiconductor manufacturing industry can treat the waste generated during manufacturing of LTCC and reutilize the valorized silver nanoparticles in manufacturing in a close loop process. Our reported process can address issues like; (i) waste disposal, as well as value-added silver recovery, (ii) brings back the material to production stream and address the circular economy, and (iii) can be part of lower the futuristic carbon economy and cradle-to-cradle technology management, simultaneously. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermochemical and structural changes in Jatropha curcas seed cake during torrefaction for its use as coal co-firing feedstock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madanayake, Buddhike Neminda; Gan, Suyin; Eastwick, Carol; Ng, Hoon Kiat

2016-01-01

Jatropha curcas seed cake is a viable feedstock for co-firing with coal as it has the advantages of being renewable, carbon-neutral and sourced from a versatile plant. Torrefaction, a mild pyrolysis treatment by heating in a N_2 atmosphere, was investigated as a technique to improve the thermochemical properties of the biomass, primarily the HHV (higher heating value). The temperature and holding time were varied in the ranges of 200–300 °C and 0–60 min, respectively, to form a 5-level full-factorial experimental matrix. An optimum envelope of torrefaction parameters was identified in the range of 280 °C to >45 min at 220–250 °C under a heating rate of 10 °C/min. This results in an enhancement of the HHV from 24 MJ/kg to more than 27 MJ/kg, which is within the range of coal, while maintaining an energy yield higher than 90%. The relationships between the HHV and the proximate fixed carbon content as well as the elemental CHO content were also investigated. Through "1"3C NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy, hemicellulose was determined as the most volatile component, undergoing decomposition before 250 °C while cellulose only degraded fully in the 250–300 °C range and lignin decomposition spanned from 200 °C to beyond 300 °C. - Highlights: • The optimum parameters ranged from 280 °C to >45 min at 220–250 °C. • In this range, the higher heating value was enhanced by 20% to 27 MJ/kg. • A positive correlation exists between the HHV and the fixed carbon content. • H/C and O/C ratios of the biomass shifted towards those of coal. • Degradation of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin components was investigated.

Study on Characteristics of Co-firing Ammonia/Methane Fuels under Oxygen Enriched Combustion Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Hua; Wang, Zhaolin; Valera-Medina, Agustin; Bowen, Philip J.

2018-06-01

Having a background of utilising ammonia as an alternative fuel for power generation, exploring the feasibility of co-firing ammonia with methane is proposed to use ammonia to substitute conventional natural gas. However, improvement of the combustion of such fuels can be achieved using conditions that enable an increase of oxygenation, thus fomenting the combustion process of a slower reactive molecule as ammonia. Therefore, the present study looks at oxygen enriched combustion technologies, a proposed concept to improve the performance of ammonia/methane combustion. To investigate the characteristics of ammonia/methane combustion under oxygen enriched conditions, adiabatic burning velocity and burner stabilized laminar flame emissions were studied. Simulation results show that the oxygen enriched method can help to significantly enhance the propagation of ammonia/methane combustion without changing the emission level, which would be quite promising for the design of systems using this fuel for practical applications. Furthermore, to produce low computational-cost flame chemistry for detailed numerical analyses for future combustion studies, three reduced combustion mechanisms of the well-known Konnov's mechanism were compared in ammonia/methane flame simulations under practical gas turbine combustor conditions. Results show that the reduced reaction mechanisms can provide good results for further analyses of oxygen enriched combustion of ammonia/methane. The results obtained in this study also allow gas turbine designers and modellers to choose the most suitable mechanism for further combustion studies and development.

Processing, microstructure, and electric properties of buried resistors in low-temperature co-fired ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Pin; Rodriguez, Mark A.; Kotula, Paul; Miera, Brandon K.; Dimos, Duane

2001-01-01

The electrical properties of ruthenium oxide based devitrifiable resistors embedded within low-temperature co-fired ceramics were investigated from -100 o C to 100 o C. Special attention was given to the processing conditions and their effects on resistance and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). Results indicate that within this temperature range the conductance for these buried resistors is limited by tunneling of charge carriers through the thin glass layer between ruthenium oxide particles. A modified version of the tunneling barrier model is proposed to account for the microstructure ripening observed during thermal processing. The model parameters determined from curve fitting show that charging energy (i.e., the energy required for a charge carrier to tunnel through the glass barrier) is strongly dependent on particle size and particle--particle separation between ruthenium oxide grains. Initial coarsening of ruthenium oxide grains was found to reduce the charging energy and lower the resistance. However, when extended ripening occurs, the increase in particle--particle separation increases the charging energy, reduces the tunneling probability and gives rise to a higher resistance. The tradeoff between these two effects results in an optimum microstructure with a minimum resistance and TCR. Furthermore, the TCR of these buried resistors has been shown to be governed by the magnitude of the charging energy. Model parameters determined by our analysis appear to provide quantitative physical interpretations to the microstructural changes in the resistor, which in turn, are controlled by the processing conditions

CFB boilers in multifuel application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goral, D.; Krzton, B.

2007-01-01

Fuel flexibility characteristic for CFB boilers plays an important rule in industrial and utility size applications. Possibility to use wider range of fuels that has been long time considered as by-products or wastes and possibility to design boilers able to operate with alternative fuels is an important factor that improves fuel delivery security and plant economy. Presented article is based on similar publications that present Foster Wheeler's experience in design and delivery of the CFB boilers for wide range of coals and cofiring by- products of crude oil refining and coal processing. Aspects of biomass cofiring will be also presented. (author)

Co-firing coal and hospital waste in a circulating fluidized bed boiler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coulthard, E.J.; Korenberg, J.; Oswald, K.D.

1991-01-01

The Department of Energy - Morgantown Energy Technology Center and the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority are co-funding a project which will demonstrate the reduction of infectious hospital waste to an environmentally safe disposable ash by cofiring the waste with coal in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB). The main objective of this paper is increased utilization of coal but the project also provides a solution to a problem which has grown rapidly and become very visible in recent years (e.g., hospital waste washed up on beaches). The application of CFB boilers in hospitals introduces an economical clean coal technology into a size range and market dominated by gas and oil combustion systems. The use of CFB represents the utilization of state-of-the-art technology for burning coal in an environmentally benign manner. SO 2 , NO x , CO and particulate emissions lower than the latest New Source Performance Standards have proven to be achievable in CFB combustion systems. By processing the infectious waste in a steam generation system which operates continuously, the problem of creating excessive gaseous emissions during repeated start-ups (as is the case with current incinerator technology) is avoided. The operating conditions with respect to residence time, temperature and turbulence that are inherent to a CFB combustion system, provide an excellent environment for complete combustion and destruction of potentially hazardous solid and gaseous emissions (e.g., dioxins). The limestone, which is injected into the combustion system to reduce SO 2 emissions, will also react with chlorine. Thus chlorine compound emissions and the corrosive nature of the flue gas are reduced. The work efforts to date indicate that infectious waste thermal processing in a coal-fired CFB is a technically and economically viable on-site disposal option

Development of Flexi-Burn™ CFB Power Plant to Meet the Challenge of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Hackt, Horst; Fant, Zhen; Seltzert, Andrew; Hotta, Arto; Erikssoni, Timo; Sippu, Ossi

Carbon-dioxide capture and storage (CCS) offers the potential for major reductions in carbon- dioxide emissions of fossil fuel-based power generation in the fairly short term, and oxyfuel combustion is one of the identified CCS technology options. Foster Wheeler (FW) is working on reduction of carbon-dioxide with its integrated Flexi-Burn™ CFB technology. The proven high efficiency circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) technology, when coupled with air separation units and carbon purification units, offers a solution for carbon dioxide reduction both in re-powering and in greenfield power plants. CFB technology has the advantages over pulverized coal technology of a more uniform furnace heat flux, increased fuel flexibility and offers the opportunity to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions by co-firing coal with bio-fuels. Development and design of an integrated Flexi-Bum™ CFB steam generator and balance of plant system was conducted for both air mode and oxyfuel mode. Through proper configuration and design, the same steam generator can be switched from air mode to oxyfuel mode without the need for unit shutdown for modifications. The Flexi-Burn™ CFB system incorporates features to maximize plant efficiency and power output when operating in the oxy-firing mode through firing more fuel in the same boiler.

Combustion Of Poultry-Derived Fuel in a CFBC

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Lufei; Anthony, Edward J.

Poultry farming generates large quantities of waste. Current disposal practice is to spread the poultry wastes onto farmland as fertilizer. However, as the factory farms for poultry grow both in numbers and size, the amount of poultry wastes generated has increased significandy in recent years. In consequence, excessive application of poultry wastes on farmland is resulting in more and more contaminants entering the surface water. One of the options being considered is the use of poultry waste as power plant fuel. Since poultry-derived fuel (PDF) is biomass, its co-firing will have the added advantage of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power generation. To evaluate the combustion characteristics of co-firing PDF with coal, combustion tests of mixtures of coal and PDF were conducted in CanmetENERGY's pilot-scale CFBC. The goal of the tests was to verify that PDF can be co-fired with coal and, more importantly, that emissions from the combustion process are not adversely affected by the presence of PDF in the fuel feed. The test results were very promising and support the view that co-firing in an existing coal-fired CFBC is an effective method of utilizing this potential fuel, both resolving a potential waste disposal problem and reducing the amount of CO2 released by the boiler.

Energy options and the role of coal: an integrated approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Isaacs, E. [Alberta Energy Research Institute, Edmonton, AB (Canada)

2006-07-01

Considers energy goals and options with particular regard to providing affordable energy to Canada. Gasification of coal and carbon to provide a reliable source of clean power and heat to the oil sand industry and for feedstocks for the production of fertilizer, methanol, petrochemicals, and ultra-clean fuels is examined. The layout for integrated gasification polygeneration with carbon feed and plans for Canada's first commercial gasification plant (the Nexen Long Lake Project) are shown in diagrams. Progress in coal gasification at a clean coal Luscar/Sherritt pilot plant is outlined. Clean coal technology is part of a strategy to provide integration across energy systems, generate value for all hydrocarbon resources, and minimize emissions. 15 figs., 2 tabs.

NEW SOLID FUELS FROM COAL AND BIOMASS WASTE; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamid Farzan

2001-01-01

Under DOE sponsorship, McDermott Technology, Inc. (MTI), Babcock and Wilcox Company (B and W), and Minergy Corporation developed and evaluated a sludge derived fuel (SDF) made from sewage sludge. Our approach is to dry and agglomerate the sludge, combine it with a fluxing agent, if necessary, and co-fire the resulting fuel with coal in a cyclone boiler to recover the energy and to vitrify mineral matter into a non-leachable product. This product can then be used in the construction industry. A literature search showed that there is significant variability of the sludge fuel properties from a given wastewater plant (seasonal and/or day-to-day changes) or from different wastewater plants. A large sewage sludge sample (30 tons) from a municipal wastewater treatment facility was collected, dried, pelletized and successfully co-fired with coal in a cyclone-equipped pilot. Several sludge particle size distributions were tested. Finer sludge particle size distributions, similar to the standard B and W size distribution for sub-bituminous coal, showed the best combustion and slagging performance. Up to 74.6% and 78.9% sludge was successfully co-fired with pulverized coal and with natural gas, respectively. An economic evaluation on a 25-MW power plant showed the viability of co-firing the optimum SDF in a power generation application. The return on equity was 22 to 31%, adequate to attract investors and allow a full-scale project to proceed. Additional market research and engineering will be required to verify the economic assumptions. Areas to focus on are: plant detail design and detail capital cost estimates, market research into possible project locations, sludge availability at the proposed project locations, market research into electric energy sales and renewable energy sales opportunities at the proposed project location. As a result of this program, wastes that are currently not being used and considered an environmental problem will be processed into a renewable

Inventory of future power and heat production technologies. Partial report Gasification with gas turbine/engine for power plants; Incl. English lang. appendix of 24 p. titled 'Status of large-scale biomass gasification for power production'; Inventering av framtidens el och vaermeproduktionstekniker. Delrapport Foergasning med gasturbin/motor foer kraftvaerk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waldheim, Lars; Larsson, Eva K [TPS Termiska Processer, Nykoeping (Sweden)

2008-12-15

This subproject is limited to applications with gas turbines or engines from approximately 1 MWe and firing of gas in a boiler either as indirect cofiring or as separate firing of gas from waste gasification. Gasification with gas engine, BIG-ICE (Biomass Integrated Gasification Internal-Combustion Engine) is realized in approximately 10 plants in Europe between 1 and 7 MWe. The gas needs to be cleaned from particles and tar before it is fed to the engine. A number of different gasifiers and gas cleaning technologies are applied in these prototypes, and in certain cases a second generation is being built. Gas engines from GE Jenbacher are most common, but there are also other producers with engines for low-calorific-value gas. The exhausts from engines must, unlike gas turbines, be cleaned catalytically, but emissions of hydrocarbons in particular are still higher than from gas turbines. It is possible to increase the electricity generation by applying a 'bottoming cycle' in the form of a steam or an ORC cycle. Such a plant with ORC has been started in Austria this year. During the 1990's expectations were high concerning the development of biomass gasification with gas turbine in a combined cycle BIG-CC (Biomass Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) towards commercialisation. Two demonstration plants were built for the same gas turbine model, Siemens SGT 100 (earlier Typhoon); Vaernamo with pressurised gasification and ARBRE in Eggborough, England, with atmospheric gasification. The atmospheric technology has basically the same demands on gas cleaning as in the engine application, but downstream the gas is compressed to the pressure required by the gas turbine. In pressurised gasification, the gasifier pressure is set by the gas turbine. The gas is not cooled below 350-400 deg C and is cleaned in a high-temperature filter. Despite successful demonstration in Vaernamo, no more plants have been built. The ARBRE plant was never put into regular operation because of

Inventory of future power and heat production technologies. Partial report Gasification with gas turbine/engine for power plants; Incl. English lang. appendix of 24 p. titled 'Status of large-scale biomass gasification for power production'; Inventering av framtidens el och vaermeproduktionstekniker. Delrapport Foergasning med gasturbin/motor foer kraftvaerk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waldheim, Lars; Larsson, Eva K. (TPS Termiska Processer, Nykoeping (Sweden))

2008-12-15

This subproject is limited to applications with gas turbines or engines from approximately 1 MWe and firing of gas in a boiler either as indirect cofiring or as separate firing of gas from waste gasification. Gasification with gas engine, BIG-ICE (Biomass Integrated Gasification Internal-Combustion Engine) is realized in approximately 10 plants in Europe between 1 and 7 MWe. The gas needs to be cleaned from particles and tar before it is fed to the engine. A number of different gasifiers and gas cleaning technologies are applied in these prototypes, and in certain cases a second generation is being built. Gas engines from GE Jenbacher are most common, but there are also other producers with engines for low-calorific-value gas. The exhausts from engines must, unlike gas turbines, be cleaned catalytically, but emissions of hydrocarbons in particular are still higher than from gas turbines. It is possible to increase the electricity generation by applying a 'bottoming cycle' in the form of a steam or an ORC cycle. Such a plant with ORC has been started in Austria this year. During the 1990's expectations were high concerning the development of biomass gasification with gas turbine in a combined cycle BIG-CC (Biomass Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) towards commercialisation. Two demonstration plants were built for the same gas turbine model, Siemens SGT 100 (earlier Typhoon); Vaernamo with pressurised gasification and ARBRE in Eggborough, England, with atmospheric gasification. The atmospheric technology has basically the same demands on gas cleaning as in the engine application, but downstream the gas is compressed to the pressure required by the gas turbine. In pressurised gasification, the gasifier pressure is set by the gas turbine. The gas is not cooled below 350-400 deg C and is cleaned in a high-temperature filter. Despite successful demonstration in Vaernamo, no more plants have been built. The ARBRE plant was never put into regular

Fabrication and characterization of low temperature co-fired cordierite glass–ceramics from potassium feldspar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jianfang; Li, Zhen; Huang, Yanqiu; Li, Fei; Yang, Qiuran

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Low cost cordierite glass–ceramics were fabricated from potassium feldspar. • The glass–ceramics could be highly densified below 950 °C. • The glass–ceramics exhibit extraordinary properties. • The glass–ceramics can be used as LTCC substrates. • The excess SiO 2 improved the microstructure and properties of the glass–ceramics. -- Abstract: Cordierite glass–ceramics for low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) substrates were fabricated successfully using potassium feldspar as the main raw material. The sintering and crystallization behaviors of the glass–ceramics were investigated by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The results indicated that the glass–ceramics could be highly densified at 850 °C and the cordierite was the main crystalline phase precipitated from the glasses in the temperature range between 900 and 925 °C. The study also evaluated the physical properties including dielectric properties, thermal expansion and flexural strength of the glass–ceramics. The glass–ceramics showed low dielectric constants in the range of 6–8 and low dielectric losses in the range of 0.0025–0.01. The coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) are between 4.32 and 5.48 × 10 −6 K −1 and flexural strength of the glass–ceramics are 90–130 MPa. All of those qualify the glass–ceramics for further research to be used as potential LTCC substrates in the multilayer electronic substrate field. Additionally, the excess SiO 2 acted as a great role in improving the sinterability of the glasses, and the microstructure and dielectric properties of the relevant glass–ceramics

Biomass Pyrolysis in DNS of Turbulent Particle-Laden Flow

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Russo, E; Fröhlich, Jochen; Kuerten, Johannes G.M.; Geurts, Bernardus J.; Armenio, Vincenzo

2015-01-01

Biomass is important for co-firing in coal power plants thereby reducing CO2 emissions. Modeling the combustion of biomass involves various physical and chemical processes, which take place successively and even simultaneously [1, 2]. An important step in biomass combustion is pyrolysis, in which

Possibilities and evaluation of straw pretreatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Niels Ole; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Sander, Bo

1998-01-01

Biomass utilisation by cofiring of straw in a pulverised coal fire boiler is economically attractive compared to dedicated straw fired plants. However, the high content of potassium and chloride impedes utilisation of the fly ash, deactivates the de NOx catalysts in the flue gas cleaning system...

Wood pellets, what else? : Greenhouse gas parity times of European electricity from wood pellets produced in the south-eastern United States using different softwood feedstocks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hanssen, Steef V.; Duden, Anna S.; Junginger, Martin; Dale, Virginia H.; van der Hilst, Floortje

Several EU countries import wood pellets from the south-eastern United States. The imported wood pellets are (co-)fired in power plants with the aim of reducing overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity and meeting EU renewable energy targets. To assess whether GHG emissions are

Improvement of environmental aspects of thermal power plant operation by advanced control concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikulandrić Robert

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The necessity of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as formulated in the Kyoto Protocol, imposes the need for improving environmental aspects of existing thermal power plants operation. Improvements can be reached either by efficiency increment or by implementation of emission reduction measures. Investments in refurbishment of existing plant components or in plant upgrading by flue gas desulphurization, by primary and secondary measures of nitrogen oxides reduction, or by biomass co-firing, are usually accompanied by modernisation of thermal power plant instrumentation and control system including sensors, equipment diagnostics and advanced controls. Impact of advanced control solutions implementation depends on technical characteristics and status of existing instrumentation and control systems as well as on design characteristics and actual conditions of installed plant components. Evaluation of adequacy of implementation of advanced control concepts is especially important in Western Balkan region where thermal power plants portfolio is rather diversified in terms of size, type and commissioning year and where generally poor maintenance and lack of investments in power generation sector resulted in high greenhouse gases emissions and low efficiency of plants in operation. This paper is intended to present possibilities of implementation of advanced control concepts, and particularly those based on artificial intelligence, in selected thermal power plants in order to increase plant efficiency and to lower pollutants emissions and to comply with environmental quality standards prescribed in large combustion plant directive. [Acknowledgements. This paper has been created within WBalkICT - Supporting Common RTD actions in WBCs for developing Low Cost and Low Risk ICT based solutions for TPPs Energy Efficiency increasing, SEE-ERA.NET plus project in cooperation among partners from IPA SA - Romania, University of Zagreb - Croatia and Vinca

The Effect of Wood Fuels on Power Plant Availability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Orjala, Markku (Markku.Orjala@vtt.fi); Kaerki, Janne; Vainikka, Pasi [VTT Processes, Jyvaeskylae (Finland)

2003-11-01

There is a growing international interest in utilising renewable fuels, also in multifuel applications. Main reasons for this are the objective to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions and meet emission limits for NO{sub x} and SO{sub 2}. On one hand cofiring, defined as simultaneous combustion of different fuels in the same boiler, provides an alternative to achieve emission reductions. This is not only accomplished by replacing fossil fuel with biomass, but also as a result of the interaction of fuel reactants of different origin (e.g. biomass vs. coal). On the other hand, utilisation of solid biofuels and wastes sets new demands for process control and boiler design, as well as for combustion technologies, fuel blend control and fuel handling systems. In the case of wood-based fuels this is because of their high reactivity, high moisture content and combustion residues' high alkaline metal content. Combustion and cofiring properties of fuels have been studied both in VTT Processes' test facilities and in industrial-scale power plant boilers. The formation of alkaline and chlorine compounds in biomass combustion and their effect on boiler fouling and corrosion have been monitored by temperature controlled deposit formation and material monitoring probes. Deposit formation monitoring at full-scale boilers provides unique information on the rate of deposit formation, the effect of sootblowing and consequent changes in heat transfer. Additionally, the data from deposit formation monitoring has been shown to correlate with boiler performance, which gives basis for studying the interrelation of: fuel blend characteristics; deposit formation; boiler performance. If biomass fuels are blended with coal or peat, following implications may be expected: increased rate of deposit formation, shorter sootblowing interval, cleaning of heat transfer surfaces in revisions may be required, bed material agglomeration (in fluidised beds), increased risk of corrosion, higher in

Cocombustion of animal meal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roggen, M.

2001-01-01

The electricity production companies are prepared to co-fire animal meal in their coal-fired power stations. Tests conducted at the Maasvlakte power station, Netherlands, demonstrate that adding animal meal to the coal has no negative influence on human beings, the environment, the plant or the fly ash quality

Characterisation of supplementary fuels for co-combustion with pulverised coal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heikkinen, J.M.

2005-01-01

The current and future energy policy aims at increasing the share of renewable energy in worlds energy supply. One possibility to enhance energy production by renewable sources within a short term is co-combustion. This means co-firing biomass and waste with fossil fuels at existing power plants

Melting Behavior of ashes from the co-combustion of coal and straw

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arvelakis, Stelios; Frandsen, Flemming

2007-01-01

. The use of straw as a co-firing feedstock in traditional coal-fired plants is associated with operational problems, such as deposition, agglomeration, and/or corrosion, mainly because of the higher amounts of alkali metals and chlorine in straw compared to coal. This may lead to unscheduled shutdowns...

An artificial intelligence treatment of devolatilization for pulverized coal and biomass in co-fired flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abbas, T.; Awais, M.M.; Lockwood, F.C. [Lahore University of Management & Science, Lahore (Pakistan)

2003-02-01

In most of the existing predictive procedures for devolatilization, combustion and emissions are modeled by a single-step, global chemical reaction, with the yield of volatile matter presumed to experience mixing-controlled combustion. Several more detailed multi-step coal devolatilization models have recently emerged. A common shortcoming of these models is that they require a large set of input data, involving kinetic parameters, gas precursor compositions, and additional parameters describing the coal's polymeric structure. The input data must be generated from an extensive series of experimental measurements for each coal of interest. Very significant computational expense and application restricted to coals, which have already been studied, are implied. All of these problems are exacerbated when coal blending or co-firing with renewable solid fuels, such as forest and agricultural waste, and sewage sludge, is considered. In this paper, a new approach based on neural networks is proposed; it is capable of handling a range of solid fuels. The model considers heating rate, fuel atomic ratios, and the temperature of the fuel particles to predict the volatiles released by the particles. The 'learning' properties of the model implicitly facilitate all the physical conditions, of devolatilization experiments, which were used during its training and validation phases. The neural-network model was implemented into an existing 3D CFD combustion code. The predictions for high- and low-NOx burners demonstrate improved prediction of in-flame data for reduced computational effort, one-fifth of that with the standard single-global-reaction devolatilization model. Its devolatilization predictions have also been compared with a detailed devolatilization model (FLASHCHAIN) and were found to be comparable.

75 FR 54961 - Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Single Nuclear Unit at the Bellefonte Plant...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-09

... facility, a wind farm, a methane- gas cofiring facility, and several small solar photovoltaic facilities... including wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower. All of these energy resources have a place in TVA's plans... still add new base load generation to balance resources with the projected load requirements. Neither...

DEVELOPMENT OF A VALIDATED MODEL FOR USE IN MINIMIZING NOx EMISSIONS AND MAXIMIZING CARBON UTILIZATION WHEN CO-FIRING BIOMASS WITH COAL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larry G. Felix; P. Vann Bush

2002-01-31

This is the fifth Quarterly Technical Report for DOE Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC26-00NT40895. A statement of the project objectives is included in the Introduction of this report. One additional biomass co-firing test burn was conducted during this quarter. In this test (Test 9), up to 20% by weight dry hardwood sawdust and switchgrass was injected through the center of the single-register burner with Jacobs Ranch coal. Jacobs Ranch coal is a low-sulfur Powder River Basin coal ({approx} 0.5% S). The results from Test 9 as well as for Test 8 (conducted late last quarter) are presented in this quarterly report. Significant progress has been made in implementing a modeling approach to combine reaction times and temperature distributions from computational fluid dynamic models of the pilot-scale combustion furnace with char burnout and chemical reaction kinetics to predict NO{sub x} emissions and unburned carbon levels in the furnace exhaust. Additional results of CFD modeling efforts have been received and preparations are under way for continued pilot-scale combustion experiments with the dual-register burner. Finally, a project review was held at NETL in Pittsburgh, on November 13, 2001.

Spent Pot Lining Characterization Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Ospina, Gustavo; Hassan, Mohamed I.

2017-09-01

Spent pot lining (SPL) management represents a major concern for aluminum smelters. There are two key elements for spent pot lining management: recycling and safe storage. Spent pot lining waste can potentially have beneficial uses in co-firing in cement plants. Also, safe storage of SPL is of utmost importance. Gas generation of SPL reaction with water and ignition sensitivity must be studied. However, determining the feasibility of SPL co-firing and developing the required procedures for safe storage rely on determining experimentally all the necessary SPL properties along with the appropriate test methods, recognized by emissions standards and fire safety design codes. The applicable regulations and relevant SPL properties for this purpose are presented along with the corresponding test methods.

Potential of poplar short rotation coppice cultivation for bioenergy in Southern Portugal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, Sandrina; Costa, Mário; Graça Carvalho, Maria da; Rodrigues, Abel

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Evaluation of the potential of poplar coppice cultivation for bioenergy. • Biomass costs from 76.9 to 120.5 Euro/ton and net energy from 34.7 to 75.4 PJ. • Biomass co-firing in power plants reduces CO_2 emissions between 8.2% and 16.5%. • A scenario of CO_2 allowances trading can turn the project financially viable. - Abstract: This manuscript examines the potential of poplar short rotation coppice cultivation for bioenergy in the Alentejo region, Southern Portugal. The biomass is intended to fulfil, at least, 10% (energy basis) of the fuel needs of two Portuguese coal-fired power plants (Sines and Pego), using co-firing technology. The study considers the overall production chain from cradle to power plant gate, cultivated in scrubland areas with duration of 12 years, harvested every three years and with 6667 plants per ha, covering a land area of about 52,250 ha. Three different biomass annual yields are assumed. The results show that the biomass selling prices range from 76.9 to 120.5 Euro ton"−"1, to match the production costs. The net energy of the overall project ranges from 34.7 to 75.4 PJ and the project cost from 619 to 823.9 MEuro. The main environmental impact of the project is the reduction of the CO_2 emissions due to the biomass co-firing, instead of burning coal alone. The power plants can reduce CO_2 emissions over the project lifetime between 8.2% and 16.5% of the current values. The financial analysis demonstrates that the project is not financially feasible without external grants, but a policy scenario of carbon allowances trading may be instrumental on turning it financially feasible, depending on allowances and coal market prices. Finally, with a reduction of 50% in the main costs, the project becomes financially feasible under a CO_2 emissions trading scenario for a biomass yield of 20 dry ton ha"−"1 per year.

Effective new chemicals to prevent corrosion due to chlorine in power plant superheaters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martti Aho; Pasi Vainikka; Raili Taipale; Patrik Yrjas [VTT, Jyvaeskylae (Finland)

2008-05-15

Firing or co-firing of biomass in efficient power plants can lead to high-temperature corrosion of superheaters due to condensation of alkali chlorides into superheater deposits. Corrosion can be prevented if a significant portion of the alkali chlorides present in the flue gases is destroyed before reaching the superheaters. The alkali capturing power of aluminium and ferric sulphates was determined in a pilot-scale fluidised bed (FB) reactor. The reagents were added in solution, through a spraying nozzle, to the upper part of the freeboard. Both reagents, at economical dosages, fast and effectively destroyed the alkali chlorides by producing sufficient SO{sub 3} for the sulphation. Both the mass flow rate and type of sulphate affected the sulphation ability. Thus, the cation, too, plays a role in the reaction. The required chemical dosage is not directly proportional to the S{sub reagent}/Cl{sub 2fuel} ratio because alkali chlorides must compete with calcium and magnesium oxides and probably also with alkali oxides for the available SO{sub 3}. 17 refs., 16 figs., 1 tab.

Bioenergy production from perennial energy crops: A consequential LCA of 12 bioenergy scenarios including land use changes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tonini, Davide; Hamelin, Lorie; Wenzel, Henrik

2012-01-01

and IV) co-firing in large scale coal-fired CHP plants. Soil carbon changes, direct and indirect land use changes as well as uncertainty analysis (sensitivity, MonteCarlo) were included in the LCA. Results showed that global warming was the bottleneck impact, where only two scenarios, namely willow...... and Miscanthus co-firing, allowed for an improvement as compared with the reference (-82 and -45 t CO2-eq. ha-1, respectively). The indirect land use changes impact was quantified as 310 ± 170 t CO2-eq. ha-1, representing a paramount average of 41% of the induced greenhouse gas emissions. The uncertainty...... analysis confirmed the results robustness and highlighted the indirect land use changes uncertainty as the only uncertainty that can significantly change the outcome of the LCA results. © 2012 American Chemical Society....

Life cycle assessment of biomass-to-energy systems in Ireland modelled with biomass supply chain optimisation based on greenhouse gas emission reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, Fionnuala; Sosa, Amanda; McDonnell, Kevin; Devlin, Ger

2016-01-01

The energy sector is the major contributor to GHG (greenhouse gas emissions) in Ireland. Under EU Renewable energy targets, Ireland must achieve contributions of 40%, 12% and 10% from renewables to electricity, heat and transport respectively by 2020, in addition to a 20% reduction in GHG emissions. Life cycle assessment methodology was used to carry out a comprehensive, holistic evaluation of biomass-to-energy systems in 2020 based on indigenous biomass supply chains optimised to reduce production and transportation GHG emissions. Impact categories assessed include; global warming, acidification, eutrophication potentials, and energy demand. Two biomass energy conversion technologies are considered; co-firing with peat, and biomass CHP (combined heat and power) systems. Biomass is allocated to each plant according to a supply optimisation model which ensures minimal GHG emissions. The study shows that while CHP systems produce lower environmental impacts than co-firing systems in isolation, determining overall environmental impacts requires analysis of the reference energy systems which are displaced. In addition, if the aims of these systems are to increase renewable energy penetration in line with the renewable electricity and renewable heat targets, the optimal scenario may not be the one which achieves the greatest environmental impact reductions. - Highlights: • Life cycle assessment of biomass co-firing and CHP systems in Ireland is carried out. • GWP, acidification and eutrophication potentials, and energy demand are assessed. • Biomass supply is optimised based on minimising GHG emissions. • CHP systems cause lower environmental impacts than biomass co-firing with peat. • Displacing peat achieves higher GHG emission reductions than replacing fossil heat.

Plant management tools tested with a small-scale distributed generation laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrari, Mario L.; Traverso, Alberto; Pascenti, Matteo; Massardo, Aristide F.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Thermal grid innovative layouts. • Experimental rig for distributed generation. • Real-time management tool. • Experimental results for plant management. • Comparison with results from an optimization complete software. - Abstract: Optimization of power generation with smart grids is an important issue for extensive sustainable development of distributed generation. Since an experimental approach is essential for implementing validated optimization software, the TPG research team of the University of Genoa has installed a laboratory facility for carrying out studies on polygeneration grids. The facility consists of two co-generation prime movers based on conventional technology: a 100 kWe gas turbine (mGT) and a 20 kWe internal combustion engine (ICE). The rig high flexibility allows the possibility of integration with renewable-source based devices, such as biomass-fed boilers and solar panels. Special attention was devoted to thermal distribution grid design. To ensure the possibility of application in medium-large districts, composed of several buildings including energy users, generators or both, an innovative layout based on two ring pipes was examined. Thermal storage devices were also included in order to have a complete hardware platform suitable for assessing the performance of different management tools. The test presented in this paper was carried out with both the mGT and the ICE connected to this innovative thermal grid, while users were emulated by means of fan coolers controlled by inverters. During this test the plant is controlled by a real-time model capable of calculating a machine performance ranking, which is necessary in order to split power demands between the prime movers (marginal cost decrease objective). A complete optimization tool devised by TPG (ECoMP program) was also used in order to obtain theoretical results considering the same machines and load values. The data obtained with ECoMP were compared with the

Biomass and bio-fuel based poly-generation for off-grid and grid-connected operation. Final technical report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2012-07-01

The overall objective of this project was to design and build a combined heat and power plant based on an updraft gasifier and a 35 kW electrical output Stirling engine and further to test the flexibility of the plant with regards to fuel and application. In the project a containerized combined heat and power plant including a 200 kW updraft gasifier and a 35 kW electrical output Stirling engine was designed, the specified components were procured, the plant was installed in the three containers and the plant was erected at Amagerforbraendingen ready for the COP15 in November 2009. The potential of operating the Stirling engine in island-mode (without grid connection) was investigated by mathematical modelling. Using an absorption cooling plant connected to the Stirling CHP plant was also investigated. A technical feasibility study was undertaken and it was concluded that from the two available technologies (water/LiBr and Ammonia/water) the appropriate choice is depending on the required cooling temperature. Test runs focussed on investigating the fuel flexibility of two different configurations of Stirling engine CHP plants were carried out - respectively the updraft gasifier plant (the containerized plant and the DTU plant) and the pyrolysis plant (the plant situated at Barritskov). In order to perform these test runs a stable operation is required. On both the containerized plant and the pyrolysis plant this proved to be more challenging than expected and therefore the number of fuels tested was limited to willow chips at the containerized plant and dry wood residues, wood pellets and straw pellets on the pyrolysis plant. For all tested fuels it was possible to operate the plants, however different issues mainly related to the quality of the fuels were encountered. And so it can be concluded that the quality of the fuel is critical for the operation of both the updraft gasifier plant and the pyrolysis plant. A comprehensive desktop evaluation of the feasibility

Performance assessment of cogeneration and trigeneration systems for small scale applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angrisani, Giovanni; Akisawa, Atsushi; Marrasso, Elisa; Roselli, Carlo; Sasso, Maurizio

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Indices and methods to assess the performance of polygeneration systems. • Index to evaluate the economic feasibility of trigeneration system is introduced. • Thermo-economic analysis is performed considering three commercial cogenerators. • Sensitivity analysis varying reference electric efficiency for European Countries. • Sensitivity analysis varying environmental and economic parameters. - Abstract: Cogeneration and trigeneration systems can contribute to the reduction of primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in residential and tertiary sectors, by reducing fossil fuels demand and grid losses with respect to conventional systems. To evaluate the performance of these systems, several indices and assessment methodologies can be used, due to the high complexity of such systems, which can consist of several energy conversion devices and can perform bidirectional interactions with external electric and thermal grids. In this paper, a review of the available indices and methodologies to assess the performances of polygeneration systems is provided. An index (TSS_t_r_i) aimed to assess the economic feasibility of a trigeneration system is also introduced and discussed. This activity started in the framework of the International Energy Agency Annex 54 project (“Integration of Micro-Generation and Related Energy Technologies in Buildings”), where research groups shared their expertise about methods applied in each Country to evaluate the performance of polygeneration systems. It was concluded that a thermo-economic analysis comparing the performance of a polygeneration system with those of a reference benchmark scenario, is a very suitable assessment method. Some of the reviewed methodologies are then applied to small scale commercial cogenerators. The sensitivity analysis is performed considering different reference average values of electric efficiency, unitary natural gas and electricity prices, and emission factors for

Results of combustion and emissions testing when co-firing blends of binder-enhanced densified refuse-derived fuel (b-dRDF) pellets and coal in a 440 MW{sub e} cyclone fired combustor. Volume 3: Appendices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohlsson, O.

1994-07-01

This report contains the data resulting from the co-firing of b-dRDF pellets and coal in a 440-MW{sub e} cyclone-fired combustor. These tests were conducted under a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The CRADA partners included the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Otter Tail Power Company, Green Isle Environmental, Inc., XL Recycling Corporation, and Marblehead Lime Company. The report is made up of three volumes. This volume contains other supporting information, along with quality assurance documentation and safety and test plans. With this multi-volume approach, readers can find information at the desired level of detail, depending on individual interest or need.

Ultra-supercritical (USC) technology. The best practical and economic way to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions from coal fired power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mao, Jianxiong [Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). Dept. of Thermal Engineering

2013-07-01

China is the largest coal producer and consumer with largest coal power capacity in the world. By the end of 2010, the total installed power capacity in China was 962,190 MWe, in which coal fired power capacity was 706,630 MWe, accounting for over 73.4%. China has been the largest CO{sub 2} emission country as well and its huge coal power capacity is the largest CO{sub 2} emission source. How does China reduce its CO{sub 2} emissions from coal fired power plants is an austere challenge now we are facing. How does China reduce its CO{sub 2} emissions from coal fired power plants? There are three ways to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions from coal fired power plants: (1) carbon capture and storage (CCS); (2) co-firing biomass with coal; (3) much improvement of efficiency. For the first option of CCS, the technology is still under development and there are still several uncertainties today to be widely used for coal fired power plants in the short term. For the second option of biomass co-firing, it can reduce CO{sub 2} emissions in a way, but it is difficult to implement it in China without strong support of incentive policy. Therefore, the third option of improvement of efficiency is the only but also the best and feasible economic option for China to much reduce CO{sub 2} emissions from coal fired power plants. This paper will discuss how China to take a active policy to strongly promote the application of supercritical (SC)/Ultra supercritical (USC) technology. Only in 4 years from 2007 to 2010, ordered capacity of coal fired SC/USC units was 482 units with installed capacity of 230,060 MWe, in which, 1,000 MWe USC with 600 C steam parameters was almost 100 units with 100,000 MWe in which 33 units have been in operation. Today, China has been a country with the largest SC/USC units and capacity. The fast application of SC/USC units for coal fired power plants has resulted in energy saving and reduction of emissions. The average coal consumption in China reduced from 366

Molecular Weiss domain polarization in piezoceramics to diaphragm, cantilever and channel construction in low-temperature-cofired ceramics for micro-fluidic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khanna, P.K.; Ahmad, S.; Grimme, R.

2005-01-01

This paper presents the efforts made to study the process of comminution to Weiss domain polarization and phase transition in piezoceramics together with the versatility of low-temperature-cofired ceramics-based devices and components for their ready adoption for typical applications in the area of micro-fluidics. A conceptual micro-fluidic module has been presented and few unit entities necessary for its realization have been described. The purpose of these entities is to position the sensors and actuators by using piezoelectric materials. Investigations are performed to make useful constructions like diaphragms and cantilevers for laying the sensing elements, cavities for burying the electronic chip devices, and channels for fluid transportation. In order to realize these constructions, the basic step involves machining of circular, straight line, rectangular and square-shaped structure in the green ceramic tapes followed by lamination and firing with post-machining in some cases. The diaphragm and cavity includes one or more un-machined layer stacked together with several machined layers with rectangular or square slits. The cantilever is an extension of the diaphragm creation process with inclusion of a post-machining step. The channel essentially consists of a machined green ceramic layer sandwiched between an un-machined and a partially machined layer. The fabrication for all the above constructions has been exemplified and the details have been discussed

A novel solar-assisted heat pump driven by photovoltaic/thermal collectors: Dynamic simulation and thermoeconomic optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calise, Francesco; Dentice d'Accadia, Massimo; Figaj, Rafal Damian; Vanoli, Laura

2016-01-01

This paper presents a dynamic simulation model and a thermo-economic analysis of a novel polygeneration system based on a solar-assisted heat pump and an adsorption chiller, both driven by PVT (photovoltaic/thermal) collectors. The aim of this work is to design and dynamically simulate a novel ultra-high efficient solar heating and cooling system. The overall plant layout is designed to supply electricity, space heating and cooling and domestic hot water for a small residential building. The system combines solar cooling, solar-assisted heat pump and photovoltaic/thermal collector technologies in a novel solar polygeneration system. In fact, the polygeneration system is based on a PVT solar field, coupled with a water-to-water electric heat pump or to an adsorption chiller. PVT collectors simultaneously produce electricity and thermal energy. During the winter, hot water produced by PVT collectors primarily supplies the evaporator of the heat pump, whereas in summer, solar energy supplies an adsorption chiller providing the required space cooling. All year long, solar thermal energy in excess is converted into DHW (domestic hot water). The system model was developed in TRNSYS environment. 1-year dynamic simulations are performed for different case studies in various weather conditions. The results are analysed on different time bases presenting energetic, environmental and economic performance data. Finally, a sensitivity analysis and a thermoeconomic optimization were performed, in order to determine the set of system design/control parameters that minimize the simple pay-back period. The results showed a total energy efficiency of the PVT of 49%, a heat pump yearly coefficient of performance for heating mode above 4 and a coefficient of performance of the adsorption chiller of 0.55. Finally, it is also concluded that system performance is highly sensitive to the PVT field area. The system is profitable when a capital investment subsidy of 50% is considered

Investigation of a zirconia co-fired ceramic calorimetric microsensor for high-temperature flow measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lekholm, Ville; Persson, Anders; Klintberg, Lena; Thornell, Greger

2015-01-01

This paper describes the design, fabrication and characterization of a flow sensor for high-temperature, or otherwise aggressive, environments, like, e.g. the propulsion system of a small spacecraft. The sensor was fabricated using 8 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ8) high-temperature co-fired ceramic (HTCC) tape and screen printed platinum paste. A calorimetric flow sensor design was used, with five 80 µm wide conductors, separated by 160 µm, in a 0.4 mm wide, 0.1 mm deep and 12.5 mm long flow channel. The central conductor was used as a heater for the sensor, and the two adjacent conductors were used to resistively measure the heat transferred from the heater by forced convection. The two outermost conductors were used to study the influence of an auxiliary heat source on the sensor. The resistances of the sensor conductors were measured using four-point connections, as the gas flow rate was slowly increased from 0 to 40 sccm, with different power supplied through the central heater, as well as with an upstream or downstream heater powered. In this study, the thermal and electrical integrability of microcomponents on the YSZ8 substrate was of particular interest and, hence, the influence of thermal and ionic conduction in the substrate was studied in detail. The effect of the ion conductivity of YSZ8 was studied by measuring the resistance of a platinum conductor and the resistance between two adjacent conductors on YSZ8, in a furnace at temperatures from 20 to 930 °C and by measuring the resistance with increasing current through a conductor. With this design, the influence of ion conductivity through the substrate became apparent above 700 °C. The sensitivity of the sensor was up to 1 mΩ sccm −1 in a range of 0–10 sccm. The results show that the signal from the sensor is influenced by the integrated auxiliary heating conductors and that these auxiliary heaters provide a way to balance disturbing heat sources, e.g. thrusters or other

Wood power in North Carolina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cleland, J.G.; Guessous, L. [Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)

1993-12-31

North Carolina (NC) is one of the most forested states, and supports a major wood products industry. The NC Department of Natural Resources sponsored a study by Research Triangle Institute to examine new, productive uses of the State`s wood resources, especially electric power generation by co-firing with coal. This paper summarizes our research of the main factors influencing wood power generation opportunities, i.e., (1) electricity demand; (2) initiative and experience of developers; (3) available fuel resources; (4) incentives for alternate fuels; and (5) power plant technology and economics. The results cover NC forests, short rotation woody crops, existing wood energy facilities, electrical power requirements, and environmental regulations/incentives. Quantitative assessments are based on the interests of government agencies, utilities, electric cooperatives, developers and independent power producers, forest products industries, and the general public. Several specific, new opportunities for wood-to-electricity in the State are identified and described. Comparisons are made with nationwide resources and wood energy operations. Preferred approaches in NC are co-generation in existing or modified boilers and in dedicated wood power plants in forest industry regions. Co-firing is mainly an option for supplementing unreliable primary fuel supplies to existing boilers.

Gasification Plant Cost and Performance Optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samuel Tam; Alan Nizamoff; Sheldon Kramer; Scott Olson; Francis Lau; Mike Roberts; David Stopek; Robert Zabransky; Jeffrey Hoffmann; Erik Shuster; Nelson Zhan

2005-05-01

As part of an ongoing effort of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to investigate the feasibility of gasification on a broader level, Nexant, Inc. was contracted to perform a comprehensive study to provide a set of gasification alternatives for consideration by the DOE. Nexant completed the first two tasks (Tasks 1 and 2) of the ''Gasification Plant Cost and Performance Optimization Study'' for the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in 2003. These tasks evaluated the use of the E-GAS{trademark} gasification technology (now owned by ConocoPhillips) for the production of power either alone or with polygeneration of industrial grade steam, fuel gas, hydrocarbon liquids, or hydrogen. NETL expanded this effort in Task 3 to evaluate Gas Technology Institute's (GTI) fluidized bed U-GAS{reg_sign} gasifier. The Task 3 study had three main objectives. The first was to examine the application of the gasifier at an industrial application in upstate New York using a Southeastern Ohio coal. The second was to investigate the GTI gasifier in a stand-alone lignite-fueled IGCC power plant application, sited in North Dakota. The final goal was to train NETL personnel in the methods of process design and systems analysis. These objectives were divided into five subtasks. Subtasks 3.2 through 3.4 covered the technical analyses for the different design cases. Subtask 3.1 covered management activities, and Subtask 3.5 covered reporting. Conceptual designs were developed for several coal gasification facilities based on the fluidized bed U-GAS{reg_sign} gasifier. Subtask 3.2 developed two base case designs for industrial combined heat and power facilities using Southeastern Ohio coal that will be located at an upstate New York location. One base case design used an air-blown gasifier, and the other used an oxygen-blown gasifier in order to evaluate their relative economics. Subtask 3.3 developed an advanced design for an air

Biomass power for rural development. Technical progress report, October 1--December 31, 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neuhauser, E.

1998-05-01

The focus of the DOE/USDA sponsored biomass power for rural development project is to develop commercial energy crops for power generation by the year 2000. The New York based Salix Consortium project is a multi-partner endeavor, implemented in three stages. Phase-1, Final Design and Project Development, will conclude with the preparation of construction and/or operating permits, feedstock production plans, and contracts ready for signature. Field trials of willow (Salix) have been initiated at several locations in New York (Tully, Lockport, King Ferry, La Fayette, Massena, and Himrod) and co-firing tests are underway at Greenidge Station (NYSEG) and Dunkirk Station (NMPC). Phase-2 of the project will focus on scale-up of willow crop acreage, construction of co-firing facilities at Dunkirk Station (NMPC), and final modifications for Greenidge Station. Cofiring willow is also under consideration for GPU`s Seward Station where testing is underway. There will be an evaluation of the energy crop as part of the gasification trials occurring at BED`s McNeill Power Station. Phase-3 will represent fullscale commercialization of the energy crop and power generation on a sustainable basis. During the fourth quarter of 1997 the Consortium submitted a Phase-2 proposal. A few of the other more important milestones are outlined below. The first quarter of 1998 will be dominated by pre-planting activity in the spring.

Recent trends and future opportunities in UK bioenergy: Maximising biomass penetration in a centralised energy system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perry, Miles; Rosillo-Calle, Frank

2008-01-01

In the past decade or so, the British government policy support for renewable energy (RE) has been at the core of the rapid growth of bioenergy in the UK rather than genuine market forces. Policy support has been through various instruments which are discussed in this paper, with particular attention given to co-firing and transport fuels. The UK energy sector remains dominated by large fossil fuels power plants and this does not facilitate the introduction of RE. One exception is co-firing which in 2005 generated 2.5 TWh. Another area of considerable potential and interest is the use of biofuels (biodiesel and bioethanol) for transport, although current contribution remains still very small (0.18% of total fuel sales in 2005). In 2005, the UK used 1.4 million tonnes of biomass in co-firing, mostly imported, while considerable potential exists for further expansion should policy incentives continue. It is also generally accepted that the UK will have to rely largely on imports if it is to fulfil its 5% minimum biofuel blends agreed for 2010 and 10% in 2015. Both sectors present excellent opportunities for international bioenergy trade, despite the domestic production potential, as demonstrated in this paper. In addition, the forthcoming introduction of carbon and sustainability reporting should incentivise greater reporting along the supply chain, encouraging trade in the most sustainable biofuels. (author)

An evaluation of greenhouse gas mitigation options for coal-fired power plants in the US Great Lakes States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Froese, Robert E.; Shonnard, David R.; Miller, Chris A.; Koers, Ken P.; Johnson, Dana M.

2010-01-01

We assessed options for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation in the US Great Lakes States, a region heavily dependent on coal-fired power plants. A proposed 600 MW power plant in northern Lower Michigan, USA provided context for our evaluation. Options to offset fossil CO 2 emissions by 20% included biomass fuel substitution from (1) forest residuals, (2) short-rotation woody crops, or (3) switchgrass; (4) biologic sequestration in forest plantations; and (5) geologic sequestration using CO 2 capture. Review of timber product output data, land cover data, and expected energy crop productivity on idle agriculture land within 120 km of the plant revealed that biomass from forestry residuals has the potential to offset 6% and from energy crops 27% of the annual fossil fuel requirement. Furthermore, annual forest harvest in the region is only 26% of growth and the surplus represents a large opportunity for forest products and bioenergy applications. We used Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to compare mitigation options, using fossil energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions per unit electricity generation as criteria. LCA results revealed that co-firing with forestry residuals is the most attractive option and geologic sequestration is the least attractive option, based on the two criteria. Biologic sequestration is intermediate but likely infeasible because of very large land area requirements. Our study revealed that biomass feedstock potentials from land and forest resources are not limiting mitigation activities, but the most practical approach is likely a combination of options that optimize additional social, environmental and economic criteria.

URBAN WOOD/COAL CO-FIRING IN THE NIOSH BOILERPLANT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James T. Cobb, Jr.; Gene E. Geiger; William W. Elder III; Thomas Stickle; Jun Wang; Hongming Li; William P. Barry

2002-06-13

During the third quarter, the experimental portion of the project was carried out. Three one-day tests using wood/coal blends of 33% wood by volume (both construction wood and demolition wood) were conducted at the NIOSH Boiler Plant (NBP). Blends using hammer-milled wood were operationally successful and can form the basis of Phase II. Emissions of SO{sub 2} and NOx decreased and that of CO increased when compared with combusting coal alone. Mercury emissions were measured and the mathematical modeling of mercury speciation reactions continued, yielding many interesting results. Material and energy balances for the test periods at the NBP, as well as at the Bellefield Boiler Plant, were prepared. Steps were taken to remove severe constraints from the Pennsylvania Switchgrass Energy and Conservation Project and to organize the supplying of landfill gas to the Bruceton federal complex. Two presentations were made to meetings of the Electric Power Research Institute and the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Effect of secondary fuels and combustor temperature on mercury speciation in pulverized fuel co-combustion: part 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shishir P. Sable; Wiebren de Jong; Ruud Meij; Hartmut Spliethoff [Delft University Technology, Delft (Netherlands). Section Energy Technology, Department of Process and Energy

2007-08-15

The present work mainly involves bench scale studies to investigate partitioning of mercury in pulverized fuel co-combustion at 1000 and 1300{sup o}C. High volatile bituminous coal is used as a reference case and chicken manure, olive residue, and B quality (demolition) wood are used as secondary fuels with 10 and 20% thermal shares. The combustion experiments are carried out in an entrained flow reactor with a fuel input of 7-8 kWth. Elemental and total gaseous mercury concentrations in the flue gas of the reactor are measured on-line, and ash is analyzed for particulate mercury along with other elemental and surface properties. Animal waste like chicken manure behaves very differently from plant waste. The higher chlorine contents of chicken manure cause higher ionic mercury concentrations whereas even with high unburnt carbon, particulate mercury reduces with increase in the chicken manure share. This might be a problem due to coarse fuel particles, low surface area, and iron contents. B-wood and olive residue cofiring reduces the emission of total gaseous mercury and increases particulate mercury capture due to unburnt carbon formed, fine particles, and iron contents of the ash. Calcium in chicken manure does not show any effect on particulate or gaseous mercury. It is probably due to a higher calcium sulfation rate in the presence of high sulfur and chlorine contents. However, in plant waste cofiring, calcium may have reacted with chlorine to reduce ionic mercury to its elemental form. According to thermodynamic predictions, almost 50% of the total ash is melted to form slag at 1300{sup o}C in cofiring because of high calcium, iron, and potassium and hence mercury and other remaining metals are concentrated in small amounts of ash and show an increase at higher temperatures. No slag formation was predicted at 1000{sup o}C. 24 refs., 8 figs., 4 tabs.

The impact of lignocellulosic ethanol yields in polygeneration with district heating – A case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Starfelt, Fredrik; Daianova, Lilia; Yan, Jinyue; Thorin, Eva; Dotzauer, Erik

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We model a system with ethanol, power and district heating production. ► Different ethanol yields are investigated from an overall system perspective. ► Yields of ethanol production have less importance for the profitability of the plant. -- Abstract: The development towards high energy efficiency and low environmental impact from human interactions has led to changes at many levels of society. As a result of the introduction of penalties on carbon dioxide emissions and other economic instruments, the energy industry is striving to improve energy efficiency and climate mitigation by switching from fossil fuels to renewable fuels. Biomass-based combined heat and power (CHP) plants connected to district heating networks have a need to find uses for the excess heat they produce in summer when the heat demand is low. On the other hand, the transport sector makes a substantial contribution to the increasing CO 2 emissions, which have to be reduced. One promising alternative to address these challenging issues is the integration of vehicle fuel production with biomass-based CHP plants. This paper presents the configuration and operating profits in terms of electricity, heat and ethanol fuel from cellulosic biomass. A case study of a commercial small scale CHP plant was conducted using simulation and modeling tools. The results clearly show that electricity production can be increased when CHP production is integrated with cellulosic ethanol production. The findings also show that the economic benefits of the energy system can be realized with near-term commercially available technology, and that the benefits do not rely solely on ethanol yields.

A composite efficiency metrics for evaluation of resource and energy utilization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Siyu; Yang, Qingchun; Qian, Yu

2013-01-01

Polygeneration systems are commonly found in chemical and energy industry. These systems often involve chemical conversions and energy conversions. Studies of these systems are interdisciplinary, mainly involving fields of chemical engineering, energy engineering, environmental science, and economics. Each of these fields has developed an isolated index system different from the others. Analyses of polygeneration systems are therefore very likely to provide bias results with only the indexes from one field. This paper is motivated from this problem to develop a new composite efficiency metrics for polygeneration systems. This new metrics is based on the second law of thermodynamics, exergy theory. We introduce exergy cost for waste treatment as the energy penalty into conventional exergy efficiency. Using this new metrics could avoid the situation of spending too much energy for increasing production or paying production capacity for saving energy consumption. The composite metrics is studied on a simplified co-production process, syngas to methanol and electricity. The advantage of the new efficiency metrics is manifested by comparison with carbon element efficiency, energy efficiency, and exergy efficiency. Results show that the new metrics could give more rational analysis than the other indexes. - Highlights: • The composite efficiency metric gives the balanced evaluation of resource utilization and energy utilization. • This efficiency uses the exergy for waste treatment as the energy penalty. • This efficiency is applied on a simplified co-production process. • Results show that the composite metrics is better than energy efficiencies and resource efficiencies

Bioenergy production from perennial energy crops: a consequential LCA of 12 bioenergy scenarios including land use changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonini, Davide; Hamelin, Lorie; Wenzel, Henrik; Astrup, Thomas

2012-12-18

In the endeavor of optimizing the sustainability of bioenergy production in Denmark, this consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluated the environmental impacts associated with the production of heat and electricity from one hectare of Danish arable land cultivated with three perennial crops: ryegrass (Lolium perenne), willow (Salix viminalis) and Miscanthus giganteus. For each, four conversion pathways were assessed against a fossil fuel reference: (I) anaerobic co-digestion with manure, (II) gasification, (III) combustion in small-to-medium scale biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants and IV) co-firing in large scale coal-fired CHP plants. Soil carbon changes, direct and indirect land use changes as well as uncertainty analysis (sensitivity, MonteCarlo) were included in the LCA. Results showed that global warming was the bottleneck impact, where only two scenarios, namely willow and Miscanthus co-firing, allowed for an improvement as compared with the reference (-82 and -45 t CO₂-eq. ha⁻¹, respectively). The indirect land use changes impact was quantified as 310 ± 170 t CO₂-eq. ha⁻¹, representing a paramount average of 41% of the induced greenhouse gas emissions. The uncertainty analysis confirmed the results robustness and highlighted the indirect land use changes uncertainty as the only uncertainty that can significantly change the outcome of the LCA results.

Limits to co-combustion of coal and eucalyptus due to water availability in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffmann, Bettina Susanne; Szklo, Alexandre; Schaeffer, Roberto

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Brazil holds reserves of high ash coal that can only be used in mine-mouth plants. • Water scarcity requires the use of wet or dry cooling systems in several regions. • The co-firing of 30 wt% eucalyptus is possible regarding the biomass availability. • Biomass cultivation would aggravate the water scarcity in several regions. - Abstract: Brazil has favorable edaphoclimatic conditions for the cultivation of biomass for energy. On the other hand, the country plans to expand its thermal power park using fossil fuels, including Brazil’s high ash coal. This study estimates the potential of co-firing biomass from energy forests in power plants fired with Brazilian coal in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, focusing on the limits given by biomass and water availability. Results show that the state holds coal reserves that could support a potential of approximately 8 GW. Referring to limits due to water availability, different outcomes were found for the various coal fields in Rio Grande do Sul. The Candiota coal field, which represents the most important coal field, holding a capacity of 4 GW, shows severe restrictions for water availability that would be aggravated by intense eucalyptus cultivation

Introduction of an energy efficiency tool for small scale biomass gasifiers – A thermodynamic approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vakalis, S.; Patuzzi, F.; Baratieri, M.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Analysis of plants for electricity, heat and materials production. • Thermodynamic analysis by using exergy, entransy and statistical entropy. • Extrapolation of a single efficiency index by combining the thermodynamic parameters. • Application of methodology for two monitored small scale gasifiers. - Abstract: Modern gasification plants, should be treated as poly-generation facilities because, alongside the production of electricity and heat, valuable or waste materials streams are generated. Thus, integrated methods should be introduced in order to account for the full range and the nature of the products. Application of conventional hybrid indicators that convert the output into monetary units or CO_2 equivalents are a source of bias because of the inconsistency of the conversion factors and unreliability of the available data. Therefore, this study introduces a novel thermodynamic-based method for assessing gasification plants performance by means of exergy, entransy and statistical entropy. A monitoring campaign has been implemented on two small scale gasifiers and the results have been applied on the proposed method. The energy plants are compared in respect to their individual thermodynamic parameters for energy production and materials distribution. In addition, the method returns one single value which is a resultant of all the investigated parameters and is a characteristic value of the overall performance of an energy plant.

Substrate Integrated Waveguide Based Phase Shifter and Phased Array in a Ferrite Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic Package

KAUST Repository

Nafe, Ahmed A.

2014-03-01

Phased array antennas, capable of controlling the direction of their radiated beam, are demanded by many conventional as well as modern systems. Applications such as automotive collision avoidance radar, inter-satellite communication links and future man-portable satellite communication on move services require reconfigurable beam systems with stress on mobility and cost effectiveness. Microwave phase shifters are key components of phased antenna arrays. A phase shifter is a device that controls the phase of the signal passing through it. Among the technologies used to realize this device, traditional ferrite waveguide phase shifters offer the best performance. However, they are bulky and difficult to integrate with other system components. Recently, ferrite material has been introduced in Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) multilayer packaging technology. This enables the integration of ferrite based components with other microwave circuitry in a compact, light-weight and mass producible package. Additionally, the recent concept of Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) allowed realization of synthesized rectangular waveguide-like structures in planar and multilayer substrates. These SIW structures have been shown to maintain the merits of conventional rectangular waveguides such as low loss and high power handling capabilities while being planar and easily integrable with other components. Implementing SIW structures inside a multilayer ferrite LTCC package enables monolithic integration of phase shifters and phased arrays representing a true System on Package (SoP) solution. It is the objective of this thesis to pursue realizing efficient integrated phase shifters and phased arrays combining the above mentioned technologies, namely Ferrite LTCC and SIW. In this work, a novel SIW phase shifter in ferrite LTCC package is designed, fabricated and tested. The device is able to operate reciprocally as well as non-reciprocally. Demonstrating a measured maximum

DEVELOPMENT OF A VALIDATED MODEL FOR USE IN MINIMIZING NOx EMISSIONS AND MAXIMIZING CARBON UTILIZATION WHEN CO-FIRING BIOMASS WITH COAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larry G. Felix; P. Vann Bush

2002-01-01

This is the sixth Quarterly Technical Report for DOE Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC26-00NT40895. A statement of the project objectives is included in the Introduction of this report. Two additional biomass co-firing test burns were conducted during this quarter. In the first test (Test 10), up to 20% by weight dry hardwood sawdust and switchgrass was compiled with Galatia coal and injected through the dual-register burner. Galatia coal is a medium-sulfur Illinois Basin coal ((approx)1.0% S). The dual-register burner is a generic low-NO(sub x) burner that incorporates two independent wind boxes. In the second test (Test 11), regular ((approx)70% passing 200 mesh) and finely ground ((approx)90% passing 200 mesh) Pratt Seam coal was injected through the single-register burner to determine if coal grind affects NO(sub x) and unburned carbon emissions. The results of these tests are presented in this quarterly report. Significant progress has been made in implementing a modeling approach to combine reaction times and temperature distributions from computational fluid dynamic models of the pilot-scale combustion furnace with char burnout and chemical reaction kinetics to predict NO(sub x) emissions and unburned carbon levels in the furnace exhaust. No additional results of CFD modeling have been received as delivery of the Configurable Fireside Simulator is expected during the next quarter. Preparations are under way for continued pilot-scale combustion experiments with the single-register burner and a low-volatility bituminous coal. Some delays have been experienced in the acquisition and processing of biomass. Finally, a project review was held at the offices of Southern Research in Birmingham, on February 27, 2002

Biomass combustion technologies for power generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiltsee, G.A. Jr. [Appel Consultants, Inc., Stevenson Ranch, CA (United States); McGowin, C.R.; Hughes, E.E. [Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA (United States)

1993-12-31

Technology in power production from biomass has been advancing rapidly. Industry has responded to government incentives such as the PURPA legislation in the US and has recognized that there are environmental advantages to using waste biomass as fuel. During the 1980s many new biomass power plants were built. The relatively mature stoker boiler technology was improved by the introduction of water-cooled grates, staged combustion air, larger boiler sizes up to 60 MW, higher steam conditions, and advanced sootblowing systems. Circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) technology achieved full commercial status, and now is the leading process for most utility-scale power applications, with more complete combustion, lower emissions, and better fuel flexibility than stoker technology. Bubbling fluidized-bed (BFB) technology has an important market niche as the best process for difficult fuels such as agricultural wastes, typically in smaller plants. Other biomass power generation technologies are being developed for possible commercial introduction in the 1990s. Key components of Whole Tree Energy{trademark} technology have been tested, conceptual design studies have been completed with favorable results, and plans are being made for the first integrated process demonstration. Fluidized-bed gasification processes have advanced from pilot to demonstration status, and the world`s first integrated wood gasification/combined cycle utility power plant is starting operation in Sweden in early 1993. Several European vendors offer biomass gasification processes commercially. US electric utilities are evaluating the cofiring of biomass with fossil fuels in both existing and new plants. Retrofitting existing coal-fired plants gives better overall cost and performance results than any biomass technologies;but retrofit cofiring is {open_quotes}fuel-switching{close_quotes} that provides no new capacity and is attractive only with economic incentives.

An analysis of producing ethanol and electric power from woody residues and agricultural crops in East Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Ismayilova, Rubaba Mammad

The increasing U.S. dependence on imported oil; the contribution of fossil fuels to the greenhouse gas emissions and the climate change issue; the current level of energy prices and other environmental concerns have increased world interest in renewable energy sources. Biomass is a large, diverse, readily exploitable resource. This dissertation examines the biomass potential in Eastern Texas by examining a 44 county region. This examination considers the potential establishment of a 100-megawatt (MW) power plant and a 20 million gallon per year (MMGY) ethanol plant using lignocellulosic biomass. The biomass sources considered are switchgrass, sugarcane bagasse, and logging residues. In the case of electricity generation, co-firing scenarios are also investigated. The research analyzes the key indicators involved with economic costs and benefits, environmental and social impacts. The bioenergy production possibilities considered here were biofeedstock supported electric power and cellulosic ethanol production. The results were integrated into a comprehensive set of information that addresses the effects of biomass energy development in the region. The analysis indicates that none of the counties in East Texas have sufficient biomass to individually sustain either a 100% biomass fired power plant or the cellulosic ethanol plant. Such plants would only be feasible at the regional level. Co-firing biomass with coal, however, does provide a most attractive alternative for the study region. The results indicate further that basing the decision solely on economics of feedstock availability and costs would suggest that bioenergy, as a renewable energy, is not a viable energy alternative. Accounting for some environmental and social benefits accruing to the region from bioenergy production together with the feedstock economics, however, suggests that government subsidies, up to the amount of accruing benefits, could make the bioenergies an attractive business opportunity

Pre-feasibility study for an electric power plant based on rice straw. [Mali

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fock, F. [Ea Energy Analysis, Copenhagen (Denmark); Nygaard, I. [Technical Univ. of Denmark. DTU Management Engineering, UNEP Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development, Roskilde (Denmark); Maiga, A.; Kone, B.; Kamissoko, F.; Coulibaly, N.; Ouattara, O.

2012-11-15

The main objective is to make a first evaluation regarding if it's technically possible, economically viable, sustainable and recommendable to build a rice straw/hulls fired power plant in Niono in Mali. Based on the available resource of rice straw and the possibilities for connecting to the grid it has been chosen to analyse a 5 MW power plant in the project. For technical reasons the rice straw should be the main fuel, but rice hulls can be used for co-firing. Up to around 20% of the fuel in the plant can be rice hulls instead of rice straw. A number of different biomass power production technologies have been evaluated in the project. This includes: 1) Grate fired boiler. 2) Bubbling fluidised bed. 3) Circulating fluidised bed. 4) Dust fired boiler. 5) Gasification. 6) Stirling engine. 7) Organic Rankine Cycle. Grate firing is the most relevant technology in this case, due to the fuel, the size of the power plant, the demand for electricity only and not heat, the demand for a robust and well proven technology. For a grate fired plant a calculation of the thermodynamic process of the power plant has been carried out in order to determine the electrical efficiency of the plant. The case consists of a 5 MW grate fired power plant with steam turbines and air cooled condenser resulting in an efficiency of 24.6% at full load (20% as yearly average). Investment costs and costs for O and M have been assumed based on experience from Danish power plants but adjusted for local conditions in Mali. The costs for collecting and transporting the rice straw and for the ash disposal have been specifically estimated in this project. The average cost of capital has been estimated based on assumptions on equity, international loans and local loans/bank finance. Based on the investment, the cost of O and M, fuel, ash disposal and the financial assumptions, a cash flow analysis is made in order to calculate the power price resulting in a Net Present Value (NPV) of the

Role of lignin in reducing life-cycle carbon emissions, water use, and cost for United States cellulosic biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Scown, Corinne D; Gokhale, Amit A; Willems, Paul A; Horvath, Arpad; McKone, Thomas E

2014-01-01

Cellulosic ethanol can achieve estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions greater than 80% relative to gasoline, largely as a result of the combustion of lignin for process heat and electricity in biorefineries. Most studies assume lignin is combusted onsite, but exporting lignin to be cofired at coal power plants has the potential to substantially reduce biorefinery capital costs. We assess the life-cycle GHG emissions, water use, and capital costs associated with four representative biorefinery test cases. Each case is evaluated in the context of a U.S. national scenario in which corn stover, wheat straw, and Miscanthus are converted to 1.4 EJ (60 billion liters) of ethanol annually. Life-cycle GHG emissions range from 4.7 to 61 g CO2e/MJ of ethanol (compared with ∼ 95 g CO2e/MJ of gasoline), depending on biorefinery configurations and marginal electricity sources. Exporting lignin can achieve GHG emission reductions comparable to onsite combustion in some cases, reduce life-cycle water consumption by up to 40%, and reduce combined heat and power-related capital costs by up to 63%. However, nearly 50% of current U.S. coal-fired power generating capacity is expected to be retired by 2050, which will limit the capacity for lignin cofiring and may double transportation distances between biorefineries and coal power plants.

Energy conversion of source separated packaging; Energiutvinning ur kaellsorterade foerpackningsfraktioner

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blidholm, O; Wiklund, S E [AaF-Energikonsult (Sweden); Bauer, A C [Energikonsult A. Bauer (Sweden)

1997-02-01

The basic idea of this project is to study the possibilities to use source separated combustible material for energy conversion in conventional solid fuel boilers (i.e. not municipal waste incineration plants). The project has been carried out in three phases. During phase 1 and 2 a number of fuel analyses of different fractions were carried out. During phase 3 two combustion tests were carried out; (1) a boiler with grate equipped with cyclone, electrostatic precipitator and flue gas condenser, and (2) a bubbling fluidized bed boiler with electrostatic precipitator and flue gas condenser. During the tests source separated paper and plastic packagings were co-fired with biomass fuels. The mixing rate of packagings was approximately 15%. This study reports the results of phase 3 and the conclusions of the whole project. The technical terms of using packaging as fuel are good. The technique is available for shredding both paper and plastic packaging. The material can be co-fired with biomass. The economical terms of using source separated packaging for energy conversion can be very advantageous, but can also form obstacles. The result is to a high degree guided by such facts as how the fuel is collected, transported, reduced in size and handled at the combustion plant. The results of the combustion tests show that the environmental terms of using source separated packaging for energy conversion are good. The emissions of heavy metals into the atmosphere are very low. The emissions are well below the emission standards for waste incineration plants. 35 figs, 13 tabs, 8 appendices

Oxy-fuel combustion of coal and biomass, the effect on radiative and convective heat transfer and burnout

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smart, John P.; Patel, Rajeshriben; Riley, Gerry S. [RWEnpower, Windmill Hill Business Park, Whitehill Way, Swindon, Wiltshire SN5 6PB, England (United Kingdom)

2010-12-15

This paper focuses on results of co-firing coal and biomass under oxy-fuel combustion conditions on the RWEn 0.5 MWt Combustion Test Facility (CTF). Results are presented of radiative and convective heat transfer and burnout measurements. Two coals were fired: a South African coal and a Russian Coal under air and oxy-fuel firing conditions. The two coals were also co-fired with Shea Meal at a co-firing mass fraction of 20%. Shea Meal was also co-fired at a mass fraction of 40% and sawdust at 20% with the Russian Coal. An IFRF Aerodynamically Air Staged Burner (AASB) was used. The thermal input was maintained at 0.5 MWt for all conditions studied. The test matrix comprised of varying the Recycle Ratio (RR) between 65% and 75% and furnace exit O{sub 2} was maintained at 3%. Carbon-in-ash samples for burnout determination were also taken. Results show that the highest peak radiative heat flux and highest flame luminosity corresponded to the lowest recycle ratio. The effect of co-firing of biomass resulted in lower radiative heat fluxes for corresponding recycle ratios. Furthermore, the highest levels of radiative heat flux corresponded to the lowest convective heat flux. Results are compared to air firing and the air equivalent radiative and convective heat fluxes are fuel type dependent. Reasons for these differences are discussed in the main text. Burnout improves with biomass co-firing under both air and oxy-fuel firing conditions and burnout is also seen to improve under oxy-fuel firing conditions compared to air. (author)

Results of performance and emission testing when co-firing blends of dRDF/COAL in a 440 MWe cyclone fired combustor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohlsson, O.O.

1993-01-01

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) together with the University of North Texas (UNT) have developed an improved method for converting refuse (residential, commercial and institutional waste) into an environmentally safe and economical fuel. In this method, recyclable metals, glass, and some plastic products are separated from the refuse. The remaining fraction, consisting primarily of cellulosic materials is then combined with a calcium hydroxide binding additive and formed into cylindrical pellets. These pellets are dense and odorless, can be stored for extended periods of time without biological or chemical degradation, and due to their increased bulk density are more durable and can be more easily conveyed, handled, and transported than other types of waste-derived fuel pellets. Laboratory and pilot-scale research studies, followed by full-scale combustion tests undertaken by DOE, ANL and UNT, in June--July of 1987 have indicated that binder-enhanced dRDF pellets can be successfully cofired with high sulfur coal in spreader-stoker combustors. The results of these combustion tests indicated significant reductions of SO 2 , NO x and CO 2 in the flue gases, and the reduction of heavy metals and organics in the ash residue. Dioxins and furans, both in the flue gas and in the ash residues were below detectable levels. Additional commercial-scale combustion tests have recently been conducted by DOE, NREL, ANL and several industrial participants including Otter Tail Power Company, Reuter, Inc., XL Recycling and Marblehead Lime Company, under a collaborative research and development agreement (CRADA). A large 440 MW e cyclone-fired combustor was tested at Big Stone City, South Dakota on October 26--27, 1992. This paper describes the cyclone-fired combustion tests, the flue gas emission and ash samples that were collected, the analyses that were performed on these samples, and the final test results

Matching economical, energetic and environmental benefits: An analysis for hybrid CHCP-heat pump systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardona, Ennio; Piacentino, Antonio; Cardona, Fabio

2006-01-01

The optimization of design and operation of combined heat, cooling and power systems usually leads to select different plant lay-outs and size of components, depending on the adopted optimization criterion (maximum profit or energy saving or minimum environmental impact). This occurs when the current energy prices and the normative provisions supporting cogeneration are not able to coincide with the specific customer's interest and the overall 'social interest' for a reduction in energy consumption and in pollutants' emissions. At EU level, polygeneration is considered to have a large potential for residential and commercial buildings district network, for the tertiary sector and for industrial applications. In such applications, it is often convenient to integrate the trigeneration system with a reversible heat pump, because of a low ratio between electric demand and that for heating and cooling. In this paper, the design and operation of such hybrid systems is discussed. The results achievable through different operation modes are compared and, with reference to a 600-rooms hotel and a 300-beds hospital in Italy, the effects on plant design from an hour-by-hour optimization of plant operation are assessed. Finally, the need for a flexible support system for cogeneration plants is put into evidence and some criteria are listed for an effective regulation

Retrofit options to enable biomass firing at Irish peat plants: Background report 4.2 for the EU Joule 2+ project: Energy from biomass: An assessment of two promising systems for energy production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van den Broek, R.; Faaij, A.; Blaney, G.

1995-05-01

An overview is given of the most promising options for retrofitting existing Irish peat plants to accept biomass fuel. It is expected that with low investment costs the existing peat stations can be adapted to enable them to fire biomass. It will also be possible to co-fire peat and biomass, this option will become a way of using biomass in power generation with relatively low risk, both on the field of initial investments and supply security. The objectives of this report are: assessing the different technical options for retrofitting the plants to enable biomass firing; provide investment costs, efficiencies, emissions and expected lifetimes for the different retrofit options. The results from this study are used in the final integration phase of the EU-Joule project 'Energy from biomass'. Chapter 2 deals with methodological considerations which have been made in estimation of the investment costs. In chapter 3 the present situation is described. Both peat harvesting and power plant operation of both sod and milled peat plants are explained. Also some past experiences with wood chips firing in Irish peat stations are discussed. Chapter 4 gives a general view on retrofitting peat plants to enable biomass firing. Some starting points like biomass fuel feeding and emission standards that have to be met are highlighted. The rationale behind four main choices are given. Finally, a technical description is presented of the two boiler adaptations that will be considered among the different retrofit options, namely conversion of milled peat units into bubbling fluidized bed and into a whole tree energy unit. Six retrofit options are described in more detail in chapter 5. Information is given on the present status of the plants, the technical considerations of the retrofit, expected performance and an estimation of a range in which the investment costs can be expected. 4 figs., 10 tabs., 5 appendices

Hybrid fuel cells technologies for electrical microgrids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

San Martin, Jose Ignacio; Zamora, Inmaculada; San Martin, Jose Javier; Aperribay, Victor; Eguia, Pablo [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of the Basque Country, Alda. de Urquijo, s/n, 48013 Bilbao (Spain)

2010-09-15

Hybrid systems are characterized by containing two or more electrical generation technologies, in order to optimize the global efficiency of the processes involved. These systems can present different operating modes. Besides, they take into account aspects that not only concern the electrical and thermal efficiencies, but also the reduction of pollutant emissions. There is a wide range of possible configurations to form hybrid systems, including hydrogen, renewable energies, gas cycles, vapour cycles or both. Nowadays, these technologies are mainly used for energy production in electrical microgrids. Some examples of these technologies are: hybridization processes of fuel cells with wind turbines and photovoltaic plants, cogeneration and trigeneration processes that can be configured with fuel cell technologies, etc. This paper reviews and analyses the main characteristics of electrical microgrids and the systems based on fuel cells for polygeneration and hybridization processes. (author)

FORMATION OF CHLORINATED DIOXINS AND FURANS IN A HAZARDOUS-WASTE-FIRING INDUSTRIAL BOILER

Science.gov (United States)

This research examined the potential for emissions of polychlorinated diebnzodioxin and dibenzofuran (PCDD/F) from industrial boilers that cofire hazardous waste. PCDD/F emissions were sampled from a 732 kW (2.5 x 106 Btu/h), 3-pass, firetube boiler using #2 fuel oil cofired wit...

Increase in efficiency and reduction of generation cost at hard coal-fired power plants. Post-combustion of combustion residues from co-firing of RDF and biomass during dry ash removal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baur, Guenter [Magaldi Power GmbH, Esslingen (Germany); Spindeldreher, Olaf [RWE Generation SE, Werne (Germany); RWE Generation SE, Essen (Germany)

2013-09-01

Secondary as well as substitute fuels are being used in hard coal-fired power plants to improve efficiency and to enlarge fuel flexibility. However, grinding and firing systems of the existing coal-fired plants are not designed for those co-fuels. Any deterioration of the combustion performance would reduce the power output and increase ash disposal costs by increased content of combustion residues. The application of air-cooled ash removal, with simultaneous and controlled post-combustion of unburned residues on the conveyor belt, enlarges the furnace and maintains combustion efficiency even with different fuel qualities. Plant efficiency can also be increased through heat recovery. (orig.)

An Inclusive Investigation on Conceivable Performance of Rice Straw Incinerated Electricity Generation

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharjee, Subhadeep; Mohanta, Subhajit

2018-03-01

Biomass energy is one of the potential renewable energy sources which occupy 77% of the available natural resources of the world. In India, agro residues constitute a major part of the total annual production of the biomass resource. Rice is the major crop in India that leaves substantial quantity of straw in the field. 34% of rice straw residue produced in the country is surplus and is either left in the field as uncollected or to a large extent open-field burnt. Thus, the unutilized rice straw is found promising for heat and power generation either through incineration (direct combustion) or thermo chemical conversion. This present work envisages the comprehensive performative evaluation of a rice straw supported biomass incineration power plant mainly through plant performance characterization, plant economics, and co-firing issues with emission analysis.

CFD modeling of ash deposition for co-combustion of MBM with coal in a tangentially fired utility boiler

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Taha, T.J.; Stam, A.F.; Stam, K.; Brem, Gerrit

2013-01-01

Ash deposition is one of the main challenges that needs to be tackled in response to increased percentage of biomass co-firing in pulverized fuel boilers. In this study, a model has been developed to investigate the slagging behavior of meat and bone meal (MBM) at higher co-firing rates in the

How green can black be? Assessing the potential for equipping USA's existing coal fleet with carbon capture and storage

Science.gov (United States)

Patrizio, Piera; Leduc, Sylvain; Mesfun, Sennai; Yowargana, Ping; Kraxner, Florian

2017-04-01

The mitigation of adverse environmental impacts due to climate change requires the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions - also from the U.S. energy sector, a dominant source of greenhouse-gas emissions. This is especially true for the existing fleet of coal-fired power plants, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the U.S. energy sectors' total CO2 emissions. With this aim, different carbon mitigation options have been proposed in literature, such as increasing the energy efficiency, co-firing of biomass and/or the adoption of carbon capturing technologies (BECCS). However, the extent to which these solutions can be adopted depends on a suite of site specific factors and therefore needs to be evaluated on a site-specific basis. We propose a spatially explicit approach to identify candidate coal plants for which carbon capture technologies are economically feasible, according to different economic and policy frameworks. The methodology implies the adoption of IIASA's techno economic model BeWhere, which optimizes the cost of the entire BECCS supply chain, from the biomass resources to the storage of the CO2 in the nearest geological sink. The results shows that biomass co-firing appears to be the most appealing economic solution for a larger part of the existing U.S. coal fleet, while the adoption of CCS technologies is highly dependent on the level of CO2 prices as well as on local factors such as the type of coal firing technology and proximity of storage sites.

Economics of herbaceous bioenergy crops for electricity generation: Implications for greenhouse gas mitigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khanna, M.; Onal, H.; Dhungana, B.; Wander, M. [University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL (United States)

2011-04-15

This paper examines the optimal land allocation for two perennial crops, switchgrass and miscanthus that can be co-fired with coal for electricity generation. Detailed spatial data at county level is used to determine the costs of producing and transporting biomass to power plants in Illinois over a 15-year period. A supply curve for bioenergy is generated at various levels of bioenergy subsidies and the implications of production for farm income and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are analyzed. GHG emissions are estimated using lifecycle analysis and include the soil carbon sequestered by perennial grasses and the carbon emissions displaced by these grasses due to both conversion of land from row crops and co-firing the grasses with coal. We find that the conversion of less than 2% of the cropland to bioenergy crops could produce 5.5% of the electricity generated by coal-fired power plants in Illinois and reduce carbon emissions by 11% over the 15-year period. However, the cost of energy from biomass in Illinois is more than twice as high as that of coal. Costly government subsidies for bioenergy or mandates in the form of Renewable Portfolio Standards would be needed to induce the production and use of bioenergy for electricity generation. Alternatively, a modest price for GHG emissions under a cap-and-trade policy could make bioenergy competitive with coal without imposing a fiscal burden on the government.

Strategic analysis of biomass and waste fuels for electric power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGowin, C.R.; Wiltsee, G.A.

1996-01-01

Although the environmental and other benefits of using biomass and waste fuel energy to displace fossil fuels are well known, the economic realities are such that these fuels cannot compete effectively in the current market without tax credits, subsidies and other artificial measures. In 1992, EPRI initiated a strategic analysis of biomass and waste fuels and power technologies, both to develop consistent performance and cost data for the leading fuels and technologies and to identify the conditions which favor and create market pull for biomass and waste fuel energy. Using the final results of the EPRI project, this paper compares the relative performance and cost of power generation from coal, natural gas, and biomass and waste fuels. The range of fuels includes wood, agricultural wastes, municipal solid waste, refuse-derived fuel, scrap tires and tire-derived fuel. The power technologies include pulverized coal and natural gas/combined cycle power plants, cofiring with coal in coal-fired utility boilers, direct combustion in dedicated mass burn, stoker and fluidized bed boilers, and wood gasification/combined cycle-power plants. The analysis suggests that, in the near term, the highest-efficiency, lowest-cost, lowest-risk technology is cofiring with coal in industrial and utility boilers. However, this approach is economically feasible only when the fuel is delivered at a deep discount relative to fossil fuel, or the fuel user receives a tipping fee, subsidy, or emissions credit. (author)

Innovative utilization of renewable energy sources to combat climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harju-Jeantly, T.; Nuortio, K.; Hotta, A.; Coda-Zabetta, E.; Palonen, J.; Kokki, S. (Foster Wheeler Energia Oy, Varkaus (Finland)), Email: kalle.nuortimo@fwfin.com, Email: arto.hotta@fwfin.com, Email: juha.palonen@fwfin.com, Email: sami.kokki@fwfin.com

2009-07-01

Global warming has become a difficult challenge for both legislators and technologists. The need to reduce atmospheric CO{sub 2} has resulted in several new global and local agreements (the Kyoto protocol, Bali agreement etc., EU-emission trading directive) all driving tightening environmental legislation. /1/ Foster Wheeler as a global supplier of power equipment, has taken the challenge to respond to these environmental, social and political challenges. Products such as state-of-the-art boilers and gasifiers for heat and electricity generation from biomass are offered and further developed. Generally, biomass is considered to be a clean renewable energy source. Emissions are lower when firing biomass instead of fossil fuel, and the amount of SO{sub 2} released to the atmosphere is minimal due to the low sulfur content of the fuel. Life-cycle CO{sub 2} emissions are zero. /2/ Even though biomass can locally have a fairly large contribution in energy production, it will not be a global solution alone to mitigate the climate problem. Biomass currently accounts for about 10 % of world primary energy use, two thirds of which is used for small scale cooking and heating in developing countries. Biomass production is subject to a range of sustainability constraints, such deforestation etc. Coal will remain an important source for energy also in the future. Therefore it is important to develop clean coal solutions. The first, already existing solutions is to burn coal in high efficiency large Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boilers and cofire biomass. This way the biomass can be burned with much better efficiency than in small biomass fired plants. The co-firing of biomass in CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) power plant will even enable a carbon negative solution for coal firing. The future solution will be CCS. A possible future solution to combat global warming and ensure sustainable power production can be large power plants fuelled by algae combined with CCS. Algae

Biomass power for rural development. Quarterly report, July 3--December 4, 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cooper, J.T.

1998-03-01

This paper describes progress in several projects related to biomass power. These include switchgrass conversion development; switchgrass gasification development; production activities including soil studies, carbon studies, switchgrass production economics, watershed impacts, and prairie lands bio-products; information and education; and geographical information system. Attachments describe switchgrass co-firing test; switchgrass production in Iowa; cooperative agreements with ISU; Rathbun Lake watershed project; newspaper articles and information publications; Secretary of Agriculture Glickman`s visit; integration of technical aspects of switchgrass production in Iowa; and evaluation of an integrated biomass gasification/fuel cell power plant.

The role of policy instruments for promoting combined heat and power production with low CO2 emissions in district heating systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marbe, A.; Harvey, S.

2005-01-01

Policy instruments clearly influence the choice of production technologies and fuels in large energy systems, including district heating networks. Current Swedish policy instruments aim at promoting the use of biofuel in district heating systems, and at promoting electric power generation from renewable energy sources. However, there is increasing pressure to harmonize energy policy instruments within the EU. In addition, natural gas based combined cycle technology has emerged as the technology of choice in the power generation sector in the EU. This study aims at exploring the role of policy instruments for promoting the use of low CO 2 emissions fuels in high performance combined heat and power systems in the district heating sector. The paper presents the results of a case study for a Swedish district heating network where new large size natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) combined heat and power (CHP) is being built. Given the aim of current Swedish energy policy, it is assumed that it could be of interest in the future to integrate a biofuel gasifier to the CHP plant and co-fire the gasified biofuel in the gas turbine unit, thereby reducing usage of fossil fuel. The goals of the study are to evaluate which policy instruments promote construction of the planned NGCC CHP unit, the technical performance of an integrated biofuelled pressurized gasifier with or without dryer on plant site, and which combination of policy instruments promote integration of a biofuel gasifier to the planned CHP unit. The power plant simulation program GateCycle was used for plant performance evaluation. The results show that current Swedish energy policy instruments favour investing in the NGCC CHP unit. The corresponding cost of electricity (COE) from the NGCC CHP unit is estimated at 253 SEK MWh -1 , which is lower than the reference power price of 284 SEK MWh -1 . Investing in the NGCC CHP unit is also shown to be attractive if a CO 2 trading system is implemented. If the value of

Development in feedstock preparation and quality - country report from Denmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ravn Schmidt, E [Elsamprojekt A/S, Fredericia (Denmark)

1998-06-01

A comprehensive R and D programme was launched shortly after the Danish political requirement to burn large amounts of biofuel was made known. This work has now been going on for more than 5 years and a variety of projects related to the conversion of biofuels has been completed. Within the ELSAM area two plants have been commissioned during the last two years for combustion of straw and wood chips; a separate bioboiler as addition to a coal-fired plant and a plant for straw and coal cofiring. Separate bioboilers have turned out to constitute a very versatile technology for implementation of biofuel in a fossil fuel-dominated utility structure, although there are pros and cons. Based on its first year of operation it is concluded that cofiring is sustainable for at least 10% straw share on energy basis, and it has been decided to continue the programme with the long-term 20% straw tests. As is well-known there is one major obstacle to utilising straw: the increased corrosion rate. To overcome this problems two concepts are being investigated: pyrolysis/coke washing and processing corrosion-free based fuels. Straw pyrolysis at power plant scale is still at the infant stage and will require considerable efforts before being mature; another possibility could be to wash the straw prior to firing. The first phase of the latter is concluded, and the second phase is at the planning stage, the aim is among others to set up a demo-plant. With a view to resources there is many advantages in being able to predict the size of area to harvest and bale. A straw prognosis method has been developed capable of producing reliable results. Other points for consideration are handling and storage. Four favourable strategies have been set up taking economic and technical aspects into consideration. Another source of biofuel is sewage sludge and it has been found that it is possible to utilize it for energy production. Further research is ongoing

Scale-up study on combustibility and emission formation with two biomass fuels (B quality wood and pepper plant residue) under BFB conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, Atif Ahmed; de Jong, Wiebren; Jansens, Peter Johannes [Department of Process and Energy, Section Energy Technology, Faculty 3ME, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 44, NL-2628 CA, Delft (Netherlands); Aho, Martti; Vainikka, Pasi [VTT Processes, P.O. Box 1603, 40101 Jyvaeskylae (Finland); Spliethoff, Hartmut [TU Munich, Lehrstuhl fuer Thermische Kraftanlagen, Boltzmannstrasse 15, D-85748 Garching (Germany)

2008-12-15

Combustion of two biomass fuels: demolition wood (DW) and pepper plant residue (PPR), was investigated from an emission viewpoint in a 20 kW{sub th} fluidized bubbling bed reactor and a 1 MW{sub th} fluidized bubbling bed test boiler. Fluidization velocity and boiler output were varied in the larger facility whereas they were kept constant in the smaller reactor. Traditional flue gases were analyzed. In addition, impactor measurements were carried out to determine the mass flow of the finest fly ash and toxic elements. These measurements were compared with EU emission directives for biomass co-incineration. It was possible to combust DW without operational problems. However, the DW was contaminated with lead, which tended to get strongly enriched in the fine fly ash. Pb tends to be adsorbed on the measurement line surfaces stronger than many other toxic elements and therefore proved difficult to collect and measure. Enrichment of Pb in the fine fly ash can be weakened by co-firing DW with PPR. Increasing the share of PPR up to 50% markedly reduces the toxic metal concentration in the finest fly ash. This, however, leads to increased mass flow of fine fly ash and increases the potential risks of operational problems such as bed agglomeration and fouling. (author)

An integrated appraisal of energy recovery options in the United Kingdom using solid recovered fuel derived from municipal solid waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Garg, A; Smith, R; Hill, D; Longhurst, P J; Pollard, S J T; Simms, N J

2009-08-01

This paper reports an integrated appraisal of options for utilising solid recovered fuels (SRF) (derived from municipal solid waste, MSW) in energy intensive industries within the United Kingdom (UK). Four potential co-combustion scenarios have been identified following discussions with industry stakeholders. These scenarios have been evaluated using (a) an existing energy and mass flow framework model, (b) a semi-quantitative risk analysis, (c) an environmental assessment and (d) a financial assessment. A summary of results from these evaluations for the four different scenarios is presented. For the given ranges of assumptions; SRF co-combustion with coal in cement kilns was found to be the optimal scenario followed by co-combustion of SRF in coal-fired power plants. The biogenic fraction in SRF (ca. 70%) reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions significantly ( approximately 2500 g CO(2) eqvt./kg DS SRF in co-fired cement kilns and approximately 1500 g CO(2) eqvt./kg DS SRF in co-fired power plants). Potential reductions in electricity or heat production occurred through using a lower calorific value (CV) fuel. This could be compensated for by savings in fuel costs (from SRF having a gate fee) and grants aimed at reducing GHG emission to encourage the use of fuels with high biomass fractions. Total revenues generated from coal-fired power plants appear to be the highest ( 95 pounds/t SRF) from the four scenarios. However overall, cement kilns appear to be the best option due to the low technological risks, environmental emissions and fuel cost. Additionally, cement kiln operators have good experience of handling waste derived fuels. The scenarios involving co-combustion of SRF with MSW and biomass were less favourable due to higher environmental risks and technical issues.

An integrated appraisal of energy recovery options in the United Kingdom using solid recovered fuel derived from municipal solid waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garg, A.; Smith, R.; Hill, D.; Longhurst, P.J.; Pollard, S.J.T.; Simms, N.J.

2009-01-01

This paper reports an integrated appraisal of options for utilising solid recovered fuels (SRF) (derived from municipal solid waste, MSW) in energy intensive industries within the United Kingdom (UK). Four potential co-combustion scenarios have been identified following discussions with industry stakeholders. These scenarios have been evaluated using (a) an existing energy and mass flow framework model, (b) a semi-quantitative risk analysis, (c) an environmental assessment and (d) a financial assessment. A summary of results from these evaluations for the four different scenarios is presented. For the given ranges of assumptions; SRF co-combustion with coal in cement kilns was found to be the optimal scenario followed by co-combustion of SRF in coal-fired power plants. The biogenic fraction in SRF (ca. 70%) reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions significantly (∼2500 g CO 2 eqvt./kg DS SRF in co-fired cement kilns and ∼1500 g CO 2 eqvt./kg DS SRF in co-fired power plants). Potential reductions in electricity or heat production occurred through using a lower calorific value (CV) fuel. This could be compensated for by savings in fuel costs (from SRF having a gate fee) and grants aimed at reducing GHG emission to encourage the use of fuels with high biomass fractions. Total revenues generated from coal-fired power plants appear to be the highest ( Pounds 95/t SRF) from the four scenarios. However overall, cement kilns appear to be the best option due to the low technological risks, environmental emissions and fuel cost. Additionally, cement kiln operators have good experience of handling waste derived fuels. The scenarios involving co-combustion of SRF with MSW and biomass were less favourable due to higher environmental risks and technical issues.

Strategic analysis of biomass and waste fuels for electric power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGowin, C.R.; Wiltsee, G.A.

1993-01-01

Although the environmental and other benefits of using biomass and waste fuel energy to displace fossil fuels are well known, the economic realities are such that these fuels can not compete effectively in the current market without tax credits, subsidies, and other artificial measures. In 1992, EPRI initiated a strategic analysis of biomass and waste fuels and power technologies, both to develop consistent performance and cost data for the leading fuels and technologies and to identify the conditions that favor and create market pull for biomass and waste fuel energy. Using the interim results of the EPRI project, this paper compares the relative performance and cost of power generation from coal, natural gas, and biomass and waste fuels. The range of fuels includes wood, agricultural wastes, municipal solid waste, refuse-derived fuel, scrap tires, and tire-derived fuel, scrap tires, and tire-derived fuel. The power technologies include pulverized coal and natural gas/combined cycle power plants, cofiring with coal in coal-fired utility boilers, and wood gasification/combined cycle power plants. The analysis suggests that, in the near term, the highest-efficiency, lowest-cost, lowest-risk technology is cofiring with coal in industrial and utility boilers. However, this relative to fossil fuel, or the fuel user receives a tipping fee, subsidy, or emissions credit. In order to increase future use of biomass and waste fuels, a joint initiative, involving government, industry, and fuel suppliers, transporters, and users, is needed to develop low-cost and efficient energy crop production and power technology

Sintering in Biofuel and Coal-Biofuel Fired FBC's

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lin, Weigang; Dam-Johansen, Kim

1998-01-01

This report presents the results of systematic experiments conducted in a laboratory scale fluidized bed combustor in order to study agglomeration phenomena during firing straw and co-firing straw with coal. The influence of operating conditions on ag-glomeration was investigated. The effect of co......-firing straw with coal on agglomeration was also examined. The results show that temperature has the most pronounced effect on the agglomeration tendency. As bed temperature increases, the defluidiza-tion time decreases sharply, which indicates an increasing tendency of agglomera-tion. When co-firing straw...... with coal, the defluidization time can be extended signifi-cantly. Examination of the agglomerates sampled during combustion by various analytical techniques indicates that the high potassium content in straw is the main cause for the formation of agglomerates. In the combustion process, potassium...

INSTRUMENTATION DEVELOPMENT, MEASUREMENT AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unknown

2001-07-01

Biomass gasification offers a practical way to use this locally available fuel source for co-firing traditional large utility boilers. The gasification process converts biomass into a low Btu producer gas that can be fed directly into the boiler. This strategy of co-firing is compatible with a variety of conventional boilers including natural gas fired boilers as well as pulverized coal fired and cyclone boilers. Gasification has the potential to address all problems associated with the other types of co-firing with minimum modifications to the existing boiler systems. Gasification can also utilize biomass sources that have been previously unsuitable due to size or processing requirements, facilitating a reduction in the primary fossil fuel consumption in the boiler and thereby reducing the greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

Fluidized bed combustion of refuse-derived fuel in presence of protective coal ash

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferrer, Eduardo [CIRCE, Universidad de Zaragoza, Maria de Luna, 3, Zaragoza (Spain); Aho, Martti [VTT Processes, P.O. Box 1603, 40101 Jyvaeskylae (Finland); Silvennoinen, Jaani; Nurminen, Riku-Ville [Kvaerner Power, P.O.Box 109, FIN-33101 Tampere (Finland)

2005-12-15

Combustion of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) alone or together with other biomass leads to superheater fouling and corrosion in efficient power plants (with high steam values) due to vaporization and condensation of alkali chlorides. In this study, means were found to raise the portion of RDF to 40% enb without risk to boilers. This was done by co-firing RDF with coal and optimizing coal quality. Free aluminum silicate in coal captured alkalies from vaporized alkali chlorides preventing Cl condensation to superheaters. Strong fouling and corrosion were simultaneously averted. Results from 100 kW and 4 MW CFB reactors are reported. (author)

GHG Emissions and Costs of Developing Biomass Energy in Malaysia: Implications on Energy Security in the Transportation and Electricity Sector

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, Mohd Nor Azman

Malaysia's transportation sector accounts for 48% of the country's total energy use. The country is expected to become a net oil importer by the year 2011. To encourage renewable energy development and relieve the country's emerging oil dependence, in 2006 the government mandated blending 5% palm-oil biodiesel in petroleum diesel. Malaysia produced 16 million tonnes of palm oil in 2007, mainly for food use. This study addresses maximizing bioenergy use from oil-palm to support Malaysia's energy initiative while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions from land use change. When converting primary and secondary forests to oil-palm plantations between 270 - 530 g and 120 -190 g CO2 equivalent (CO2-eq) per MJ of biodiesel produced, respectively, is released. However, converting degraded lands results in the capture of between 23 to 85 g CO2-eq per MJ of biodiesel produced. Using various combinations of land types, Malaysia could meet the 5% biodiesel target with a net GHG savings of about 1.03 million tonnes (4.9% of the transportation sector's diesel emissions) when accounting for the emissions savings from the diesel fuel displaced. Fossil fuels contributed about 93% to Malaysia's electricity generation mix and emit about 65 million tonnes (Mt) or 36% of the country's 2010 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The government has set a target to install 330 MW biomass electricity by 2015, which is hoped to avoid 1.3 Mt of GHG emissions annually. The availability of seven types of biomass residues in Peninsular Malaysia is estimated based on residues-to-product ratio, recoverability and accessibility factor and other competing uses. It was found that there are approximately 12.2 Mt/yr of residues. Oil-palm residues contribute about 77% to the total availability with rice and forestry residues at 17%. Electricity from biomass can be produced via direct combustion in dedicated power plants or co-fired with coal. The co-firing of the residues at four existing coal plants in

Inventory of future power and heat production technologies. Partial report Energy combines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thunman, Henrik; Lind, Fredrik; Johnsson, Filip

2008-12-01

that produce biofuels suitable for the transport sector efficiencies between 45 and 55 % can be reached, independent of product. However, there is one exception, which is methane produced via gasification that can reach efficiencies between 70 and 75 %. What differs more between the biofuel producing processes for the transport sector is the amount of biofuel that is possible to get out from the ingoing biomass, which can be anything between 20 and 70 %. Here, ethanol gives the lowest and methane via gasification the highest values. With respect to the costs to produce the different products the lowest costs are obviously related to the production of biofuels to be used in the stationary energy system. The total production cost of these products is between 40 and 90 % higher than the cost for biomass feedstock (Swedish forest residues). The production cost for the other biofuels is 2.5 to 3.5 times higher than the cost for the feedstock (Swedish forest residues), independent of product. However, some polygeneration schemes show very high cost, up to 9 times the cost for the feedstock. The uncertainty in these figures is, nevertheless, high and the real costs are dependent on if there are any supplier of the technology, which availability that is possible to achieve and the costs for the operation and maintenance. As one or several of the components included in these plants are still at a research or at a demonstration stage, it is not possible to give any more precise estimation on the costs or availability of such plants

Inventory of future power and heat production technologies. Partial report Energy combines; Inventering av framtidens el- och vaermeproduktionstekniker. Delrapport Energikombinat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thunman, Henrik; Lind, Fredrik; Johnsson, Filip (Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden))

2008-12-15

that produce biofuels suitable for the transport sector efficiencies between 45 and 55 % can be reached, independent of product. However, there is one exception, which is methane produced via gasification that can reach efficiencies between 70 and 75 %. What differs more between the biofuel producing processes for the transport sector is the amount of biofuel that is possible to get out from the ingoing biomass, which can be anything between 20 and 70 %. Here, ethanol gives the lowest and methane via gasification the highest values. With respect to the costs to produce the different products the lowest costs are obviously related to the production of biofuels to be used in the stationary energy system. The total production cost of these products is between 40 and 90 % higher than the cost for biomass feedstock (Swedish forest residues). The production cost for the other biofuels is 2.5 to 3.5 times higher than the cost for the feedstock (Swedish forest residues), independent of product. However, some polygeneration schemes show very high cost, up to 9 times the cost for the feedstock. The uncertainty in these figures is, nevertheless, high and the real costs are dependent on if there are any supplier of the technology, which availability that is possible to achieve and the costs for the operation and maintenance. As one or several of the components included in these plants are still at a research or at a demonstration stage, it is not possible to give any more precise estimation on the costs or availability of such plants

Comparison of two biomass-electricity generation technologies in Peninsular Malaysia using linear programming method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumaran, P.; Hari, Z.; Boosroh, M.H.

2006-01-01

Two technologies have been considered to generate electricity using palm oil mill waste, the Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) as power plant fuel. One technology is to build new 100% EFB fired power plants, located in the vicinity of the palm oil mill, in which the produced electricity would be connected to the national electricity grid system. The other technology is to transport all the available EFB fuel to an existing coal power station in which the EFB fuel would be blended with coal and co-fired in conventional coal power plant to produce electricity. A study intended to compare the difference between these two technologies, to obtain the same electricity generation, has been done. Linear programming software was used simulate the two technologies to generate 5% of Peninsular Malaysia's electricity demand in the year 2005. The study indicated that the co firing technology total cost is 43.7% cheaper than EFB technology and the fuel coat is competitive until transport cost reaches 78 RM/tone

The Low Temperature CFB Gasifier

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stoholm, P.; Nielsen, Rasmus Glar; Richardt, K.

2004-01-01

straw, animal manure and waste and for co-firing the product gas in existing, e.g. coal fired power plant boilers. The aim is to prevent fouling, agglomeration and high temperature corrosion caused by potassium and chlorine and other fuel components when producing electricity. So far 92 hours......The Low Temperature Circulating Fluidised Bed (LT-CFB) gasification process is described together with the 50 kW and the 500 kW test plants and latest test results. The LT-CFB process is especially developed for medium and large scale (few to >100 MW) gasification of problematic bio-fuels like...... of experiments with the 50 kW test plant with two extremely difficult types of straw has shown low char losses and high retentions of ash including e.g. potassium. Latest 27 hours of experiments with dried, high ash pig- and hen manure has further indicated the concepts high fuel flexibility. The new 500 kW test...

Optimized raw material usage and utilization degree in a polygeneration plant for heat, electricity, biofuel and market fuel; Optimal raavaruinsats och utnyttjandegrad i energikombinat foer vaerme, el, biodrivmedel och avsalubraensle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jennie Rodin; Olle Wennberg; Mikael Berntsson; Rolf Njurell; Ola Thorson

2012-01-15

Energy and economic efficiency for six different types of energy combines which include heat, electricity, pellets and fuel production have been studied. The basic case is a conventional power plant, which subsequently is expanded with various additional facilities (dryer, pellets and/or fuel). Maximum exploitation of the product against inserted biofuel was obtained in case 6, pulp mills that use waste heat for district heating supply and drying of bark. Case 6 had also the lowest payoff period; two years. Of the CHP [combined heat and power] based energy combines 'the big combine' with four different products generally showed best marginal efficiency and economy. The results indicate that drying may be an economical way to extend the operating season and increase the production of electricity in a CHP based energy combine.

Analysis of industrial flame characteristics and constancy study using image processing technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bibhuti Bhusan Samantaray

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The study of characterizing and featuring different kinds of flames has become more important than ever in order to increase combustion efficiency and decrease particulate emissions, especially since the study of industrial flames requires more attention. In the present work, different kinds of combustion flames have been characterized by means of digital image processing (DIP in a 500 kW PF pilot swirl burner. A natural gas flame and a set of pulverized fuel flames of coal and biomass have been comparatively analyzed under co-firing conditions. Through DIP, statistical and spectral features of the flame have been extracted and graphically represented as two-dimensional distributions covering the root flame area. Their study and comparison leads to different conclusions about the flame behavior and the effect of co-firing coal and biomass in pulverized fuel flames. Higher oscillation levels in co-firing flames versus coal flames and variations in radiation regimen were noticed when different biomasses are blended with coal and brought under attention.

Additive for reducing operational problems in waste fired grate boilers; Additiv foer att minska driftproblem vid rostfoerbraenning av avfall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gyllenhammar, Marianne; Herstad Svaerd, Solvie; Davidsson, Kent; Hermansson, Sven; Liske, Jesper; Larsson, Erik; Jonsson, Torbjoern; Zhao, Dongmei

2013-09-01

The combustion of waste implies a risk for deposits and corrosion in different parts of the combustion facility. In recent years, research and tests have been performed in order to find ways to mitigate these problems in waste-fired plants. Most waste-fired plants in Sweden are grates whereas most of the research has been carried out in fluidized bed plants. The purpose of this project is to examine whether co-firing of sewage sludge and waste can reduce deposition and corrosion also in grate-fired boilers as has been shown in fludised beds. The objective is to determine the deposit growth and its composition as well as describing the initial corrosion attack. Representing sulphur-rich waste, elementary sulphur is also added to the waste and thereby compared with sludge as an additive. The target groups for this project are plant owners, researchers, consultants and authorities. Tests were performed in a 15 MWth waste-fired boiler with moving grate at Gaerstadverket, Tekniska Verken (Linkoeping). The boiler produces saturated steam of 17 bars and 207 deg C, and the normal fuel mixture contains of household and industry waste. The results show that co-firing with as heigh as 20 weight-% SLF (25 energy-%) was possible from an operational point of view, but the deposit rate increased especially at the two warmest positions. Generally the deposit rate was highest in the position closest to the boiler and decreased further downstream. During the tests a lot higher amount of SLF than normal was used (recommended mix is 5-10 % of SLF) this to be able to see effects of the different measures. Up to 23 weight-% of the rather moist sewage sludge was possible to fire when co-firing waste and SLF, without addition of oil. By adding sludge the deposit rate decreased but the increase upon adding SLF to ordinary waste was not totally eliminated. In the tests 'Avfall and SLF' the deposits were rich in chlorine. High concentrations of metal chlorides were found in the

Torrefaction of waste biomass for application in energy production in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T.A. Mamvura

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Power producing plants are major emitters of greenhouse gases that lead to global warming and climate changes. In the past two to three decades, attention has been drawn to organizations such as these reduce their dependence on coal reserves which are depleting and focus on producing clean energy i.e. for every ton of fuel produced, 100 kg or more should be made from clean energy. This has made torrefaction to gain interest as it improves energy content of biomass, a renewable and clean energy source, to levels equal to and sometimes above that of coal. The benefit of this is that, torrefied biomass could be co-fired with coal thereby reducing greenhouse gases and global warming.In this study, the effect of different parameters were investigated on two abundant sources of biomass in South Africa. There parameters were temperature, oxygen content, heating rate and residence time. It was observed that a temperature range between 275 and 300 °C under inert conditions with a heating rate of 10 °C/min and residence time between 20 and 40 min were required to achieve the best biomass with properties comparable to those of coal. This made it possible to co-fire the biomass with coal for energy production at different proportions. Keywords: Torrefaction, Biomass, Coal, Higher heating value

AFFORDABLE MULTI-LAYER CERAMIC (MLC) MANUFACTURING FOR POWER SYSTEMS (AMPS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

E.A. Barringer, Ph.D.

2002-11-27

McDermott Technology, Inc. (MTI) is attempting to develop high-performance, cost-competitive solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power systems. Recognizing the challenges and limitations facing the development of SOFC stacks comprised of electrode-supported cells and metallic interconnects, McDermott Technology, Inc. (MTI) has chosen to pursue an alternate path to commercialization. MTI is developing a multi-layer, co-fired, planar SOFC stack that will provide superior performance and reliability at reduced costs relative to competing designs. The MTI approach combines state-of-the-art SOFC materials with the manufacturing technology and infrastructure established for multi-layer ceramic (MLC) packages for the microelectronics industry. The rationale for using MLC packaging technology is that high quality, low-cost manufacturing has been demonstrated at high volumes. With the proper selection of SOFC materials, implementation of MLC fabrication methods offers unique designs for stacks (cells and interconnects) that are not possible through traditional fabrication methods. The MTI approach eliminates use of metal interconnects and ceramic-metal seals, which are primary sources of stack performance degradation. Co-fired cells are less susceptible to thermal cycling stresses by using material compositions that have closely matched coefficients of thermal expansion between the cell and the interconnect. The development of this SOFC stack technology was initiated in October 1999 under the DOE cosponsored program entitled ''Affordable Multi-layer Ceramic Manufacturing for Power Systems (AMPS)''. The AMPS Program was conducted as a two-phase program: Phase I--Feasibility Assessment (10/99--9/00); and Phase II--Process Development for Co-fired Stacks (10/00-3/02). This report provides a summary of the results from Phase I and a more detailed review of the results for Phase II. Phase I demonstrated the feasibility for fabricating multi-layer, co-fired cells and

Integrated assessment of IGCC power generation technology with carbon capture and storage (CCS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cormos, Calin-Cristian

2012-01-01

IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) is a power generation technology in which the solid feedstock is partially oxidized with oxygen and steam to produce syngas. In a conventional IGCC design without carbon capture, the syngas is purified for dust and hydrogen sulphide removal and then it is sent to a CCGT (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) for power generation. CCS (Carbon capture and storage) technologies are expected to play a significant role in the coming decades for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. IGCC is one of the power generation technologies having the highest potential to capture CO 2 with low penalties in term of plant energy efficiency, capital and operational costs. This paper investigates the most important techno-economic and environmental indicators (e.g. power output, ancillary consumption, energy efficiency, CW consumption, normalised mass and energy balances and plant construction materials, capital and O and M (operational and maintenance) costs, specific CO 2 emissions, cost of electricity, CO 2 removal and avoidance costs etc.) for IGCC with CCS. Coal-based IGCC cases produce around 400–450 MW net electricity with 90% carbon capture rate. Similar IGCC plants without CCS were presented as references. Future IGCC developments for energy vectors poly-generation were also presented. -- Highlights: ► Techno-economical evaluations of coal-based IGCC power generation with CCS. ► Model development for capital, O and M, CO 2 capture costs and cash flow estimations. ► Technical and economic investigations of key plant design characteristics. ► Evaluations of carbon capture options for IGCC power generation technology.

Thermochemical biorefinery based on dimethyl ether as intermediate: Technoeconomic assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haro, P.; Ollero, P.; Villanueva Perales, A.L.; Gómez-Barea, A.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A thermochemical biorefinery based on bio-DME as intermediate is studied. ► The assessed concepts (12) lead to multi-product generation (polygeneration). ► In all concepts DME is converted by carbonylation or hydrocarbonylation. ► Rates of return are similar to or higher than plants producing a single product. -- Abstract: Thermochemical biorefinery based on dimethyl ether (DME) as an intermediate is studied. DME is converted into methyl acetate, which can either be hydrogenated to ethanol or sold as a co-product. Considering this option together with a variety of technologies for syngas upgrading, 12 different process concepts are analyzed. The considered products are ethanol, methyl acetate, H 2 , DME and electricity. The assessment of each alternative includes biomass pretreatment, gasification, syngas clean-up and conditioning, DME synthesis and conversion, product separation, and heat and power integration. A plant size of 500 MW th processing poplar chips is taken as a basis. The resulting energy efficiency to products ranges from 34.9% to 50.2%. The largest internal rate of return (28.74%) corresponds to a concept which produces methyl acetate, DME and electricity (exported to grid). A sensitivity analysis with respect to total plant investment (TPI), total operation costs (TOC) and market price of products was carried out. The overall conclusion is that, despite its greater complexity, this kind of thermochemical biorefinery is more profitable than thermochemical bioprocesses oriented to a single product.

Metallic substrate materials for thin film oxygen transport membranes for application in a fossil power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xing, Y.; Baumann, S.; Sebold, D.; Meulenberg, W.A.; Stoever, D. [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (DE). Inst. fuer Energieforschung (IEF) - IEF-1 Materials Synthesis and Processing

2010-07-01

La{sub 0.58}Sr{sub 0.4}CO{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 0.8}O{sub 3-{delta}} (LSCF58428) and Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}CO{sub 0.8}Fe{sub 3-{delta}} (BSCF5582) exhibit high oxygen permeability due to their high ionic and electronic conductivity. For this reason they are under discussion for application in oxygen transport membranes (OTMs) in zero-emission power plants using oxyfuel technology. A thin film membrane which can increase the oxygen flux is beneficial and a structural substrate is required. Two types of Ni-base alloys were studied as substrate material candidates with a number of advantages, such as high strength, high temperature stability, easy joining and similar thermal expansion coefficient to the selected perovskite materials. Chemical compositions and thermal expansion coefficients of Ni-base alloys were measured in this study. LSCF58428 and BSCF5582 layers were screen printed on Ni-based alloys and co-fired at high temperature in air. The microstructure and element analysis of samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM and EDX). A Ni-base alloy, MCrAlY, with a high Al content was the most suitable substrate material, and showed better chemical compatibility with perovskite materials at high temperature than Hastelloy X, which is a chromia-forming Ni-base alloy. A reaction occurred between Sr in the perovskite and the alumina surface layers on MCr-AlY. However, the reaction zone did not increase in thickness during medium-term annealing at 800 C in air. Hence, it is expected that this reaction will not prevent the application of MCr-AlY as a substrate material. (orig.)

PCDDs/PCDFs, dl-PCBs and HCB in the flue gas from coal fired CFB boilers.

Science.gov (United States)

Grochowalski, Adam; Konieczyński, Jan

2008-08-01

The aim of the project was to measure the actual emissions of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) from four selected power plants in Poland in order to update the national inventory of PCDDs/PCDFs emission. Relatively low PCDDs/PCDFs as well as dl-PCBs concentrations in flue gas obtained in measurements in this study for four different circulated fluidized bed (CFB) boilers indicate practical absence of any hazards caused by PCDDs/PCDFs emission from these units. The results of PCDDs/PCDFs determination obtained in this study indicate that hard coal combustion in large CFB in the four central heating plants (CHP) is not a significant source of PCDDs/PCDFs emission to the environment even if operated by co-firing of waste coal. PCDDs/PCDFs concentration in flue gases as well as emission factors were recorded in the range of 0.012-0.060 ng I-TEQ/m(n)(3) and 7.51-46.4 microg I-TEQ/TJ, respectively. Dl-PCBs concentration was practically below the LOQ=0.006 ng WHO-PCB TEQ/m(n)(3) in all experiments. HCB concentration as well as emission factors were recorded in the range of 11.5-42.0 ng/m(n)(3) and 6.19-26.7 mg/TJ, respectively, where the highest value was obtained for co-firing of waste coal, however. Obtained in this work emission factors will be used for national emission inventory purposes instead of the factors proposed by Toolkit or taken from previous measurements. However, consideration should be given to the fact that the measurements in most cases are related to single installations. Therefore, the need for further development of national factors for the power generation industry in Poland is desired.

Torrefaction Quality Control. Based on logistic and end-user requirements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zwart, R.W.R.; Kiel, J.H.A.; Verhoeff, F.; Pels, J.R. [ECN Biomass and Energy Efficiency, Petten (Netherlands)

2011-10-15

Torrefaction is a promising key technology for boosting large-scale implementation of bioenergy. It involves the heating of biomass in the absence of oxygen to a temperature of 200 to 300C. As a result, the biomass becomes easy to grind and water resistant, which reduces risks of spontaneous biological degradation and heating and permits outdoor storage. By combining torrefaction with pelletisation or briquetting, biomass is converted into a high-energy-density commodity solid fuel with superior properties in view of (long-distance) transport, handling and storage, and also in many major end-use applications (e.g., co-firing in coal-fired power stations, gasification-based biofuels production and production of bio-based chemicals). ECN is executing an extensive research and development program in which the most important aspects of torrefaction and pelletisation upstream as well as logistics and end-use downstream are investigated. ECN's torrefaction technology is now proven on bench-, lab- and pilot scale, with the 50-100 kg/hr pilot scale plant producing tonnes of torrefied material already used in specific semi-industrial milling and pelletisation trials. Furthermore, quality analysis are being performed in relation to logistics, on-site transport and handling, and end-use application of the torrefied wood pellets (i.e. co-firing in existing combustion and gasification plants). In the presentation, the results of torrefaction tests with different types of biomass (deciduous, herbaceous and coniferous) are outlined, including the consequences for logistics and end-use application. Furthermore, an update is be provided on the scale-up and demonstration of the ECN torrefaction technology, for which ECN has teamed up with a leading European energy company as well as a worldwide operating technology supplier to continue to develop its torrefaction technology and bring it to the market.

Crop residues as a potential renewable energy source for Malawi's cement industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gondwe, Kenneth J.; Chiotha, Sosten S.; Mkandawire, Theresa

2017-01-01

that the projected total energy demands in 2020, 2025 and 2030 were approximately 177 810 TJ, 184 210 TJ and 194 096 TJ respectively. The highest supply potentials were found to be in the central and southern regions of Malawi, coinciding with the locations of the two clinker plants. Crop residues could meet 45......-57% of the national total energy demand. The demand from the cement industry is only 0.8% of the estimated biomass energy potential. At an annual production of 600 000 t of clinker and 20% biomass co-firing with coal, 18 562 t of coal consumption would be avoided and 46 128 t of carbon dioxide emission reduction...

Use of grey relational analysis to assess and optimize small biomass boilers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moran, J.; Granada, E.; Miguez, J.L.; Porteiro, J.

2006-01-01

This paper presents a new methodology for the evaluation of the environmental and economic feasibility of combustion of different biomass fuels in small boilers. The study focuses on pellets as the basic co-firing product and forest residues as the complementary product. Although the co-firing of forest residues can be economically profin, it is difficult to evaluate the general economic advantages due to the worsening of combustion in terms of performance and emissions caused by the presence of the forest residues in the fuel mixture. The grey relational analysis of different energetic and emission variables and also residue prices allows for the definition of a new single variable called the grey relational grade. Thus, evaluation and optimization of complicated multiple responses can be converted into the optimization of a standardised single variable. Experimental analyses by means of the Grey theory of different forest residues have revealed the possibility of co-firing crust of pine combined with wood pellets as a way of reducing fuel costs, keeping performance and emissions within average standards in small pellet boilers. (author)

Ni-BaTiO3-Based Base-Metal Electrode (BME) Ceramic Capacitors for Space Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Donhang; Fetter, Lula; Meinhold, Bruce

2015-01-01

A multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) is a high-temperature (1350C typical) co-fired ceramic monolithic that is composed of many layers of alternately stacked oxide-based dielectric and internal metal electrodes. To make the dielectric layers insulating and the metal electrode layers conducting, only highly oxidation-resistant precious metals, such as platinum, palladium, and silver, can be used for the co-firing of insulating MLCCs in a regular air atmosphere. MLCCs made with precious metals as internal electrodes and terminations are called precious-metal electrode (PME) capacitors. Currently, all military and space-level applications only address the use of PME capacitors.

Bio-methane via fast pyrolysis of biomass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Görling, Martin; Larsson, Mårten; Alvfors, Per

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Pyrolysis gases can efficiently be upgraded to bio-methane. ► The integration can increase energy efficiency and provide a renewable vehicle fuel. ► The biomass to bio-methane conversion efficiency is 83% (HHV). ► The efficiency is higher compared to bio-methane produced via gasification. ► Competitive alternative to other alternatives of bio-oil upgrading. - Abstract: Bio-methane, a renewable vehicle fuel, is today produced by anaerobic digestion and a 2nd generation production route via gasification is under development. This paper proposes a poly-generation plant that produces bio-methane, bio-char and heat via fast pyrolysis of biomass. The energy and material flows for the fuel synthesis are calculated by process simulation in Aspen Plus®. The production of bio-methane and bio-char amounts to 15.5 MW and 3.7 MW, when the total inputs are 23 MW raw biomass and 1.39 MW electricity respectively (HHV basis). The results indicate an overall efficiency of 84% including high-temperature heat and the biomass to bio-methane yield amounts to 83% after allocation of the biomass input to the final products (HHV basis). The overall energy efficiency is higher for the suggested plant than for the gasification production route and is therefore a competitive route for bio-methane production

Energy from waste by gasification; Energi ur avfall genom foergasning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Padban, Nader; Nilsson, Torbjoern; Berge, Niklas [TPS Termiska Processer AB, Nykoeping (Sweden)

2002-12-01

At present the investigation on alternative techniques to solve the problem with the growing amount of the wastes within European countries is a highly propitiated research area. The driving forces behind this priority are the current EU-legislations regarding the ban on landfill of combustible wastes and also the regulation on emission limits from waste treatment plants. The alternatives for waste treatment besides recycling are incineration, direct co-combustion and gasification. Co-combustion of waste with biomass can be considered a short-term solution for the problem but has the disadvantages of decreasing the capacity for clean fuels such as biomass and set demands on intensive modifications in the existing heat or heat and power plants. Waste gasification is an attractive alternative that can compete with incineration and co-combustion processes when the environmental and economical aspects are concerned. The product gas from a waste gasifier can be burned alone in conventional oil fired boilers or be co-fired with biomass in biomass plant. Fuel quality, gas cleaning system and questions related to ash treatment are the key parameters that must be considered in design and construction of a waste gasification process. Gasification of waste fractions that have limited contents of contaminants such as nitrogen, sulfur and chlorine will simplify the gas cleaning procedure and increase the competitiveness of the process. Heavy metals will be in captured in the fly ash if a gas filtering temperature below 200 deg C is applied. Activated carbon can be used as a sorbent for mercury, lime or alkali for capturing chlorine. For fuels with low Zn content a higher gas filtering temperature can be applied. Direct co-combustion or gasification/co-combustion of a fuel with low heating value affects two main parameters in the boiler: the adiabatic combustion temperature and the total capacity of the boiler. It is possible to co-fire: a) sorted MSW: 25%, b) sorted industrial

Plant host finding by parasitic plants: a new perspective on plant to plant communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Mescher, Mark C; Runyon, Justin B; De Moraes, Consuelo M

2006-11-01

Plants release airborne chemicals that can convey ecologically relevant information to other organisms. These plant volatiles are known to mediate a large array of, often complex, interactions between plants and insects. It has been suggested that plant volatiles may have similar importance in mediating interactions among plant species, but there are few well-documented examples of plant-to-plant communication via volatiles, and the ecological significance of such interactions has been much debated. To date, nearly all studies of volatile-mediated interactions among plant species have focused on the reception of herbivore-induced volatiles by neighboring plants. We recently documented volatile effects in another system, demonstrating that the parasitic plant Cuscuta pentagona uses volatile cues to locate its hosts. This finding may broaden the discussion regarding plant-to-plant communication, and suggests that new classes of volatile-meditated interactions among plant species await discovery.

Elaboration of a Platform for Increasing Straw Combustion in Sweden, based on Danish Experiences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hinge, Joergen (Danish Technological Inst. (Denmark))

2009-05-15

The report forms the background for planning a straw-fired CHP plant through recommendations based on Danish experiences. Almost all straw for large scale combustion in Denmark is produced and handled as 'big bales' (500-600 kg). Other systems with chaffed straw and straw pellets have been investigated. But even though 120,000 tonnes of straw pellets is used annually at one plant, this is not considered a feasible alternative to handling in big bales--especially not when considering establishment a new plant. In general, there are no major problems with straw quality. Quality measures are regulated in the contract/terms of delivery between producer and buyer, and each load of straw bales is visually inspected, whereas moisture content is measured automatically. Up to 20% average moisture content is in general acceptable (although not ideal), and most plants are quite flexible with regard to type of straw. Experiences and data have been collected from a number of plants. The plants were selected, so that the different combustion principles were represented. Special attention has been given to the choice of technical solutions at the most recently established plant at Fynsvaerket. Co-firing of coal and straw has proved a viable technology with low investment costs, when an existing conventional coal-fired boiler is modified for co-combustion. Corrosion has not been a problem, as ash from coal is considered to neutralize the difficult substances (chloride, potassium) from straw combustion. The limiting factor can however be whether legislation permits the utilization of the mixed ash for concrete production; Danish legislation has been adapted to this. A separate boiler can be built and operated without any major problems. The investments are much higher for a given amount of straw to be burnt, than the co-firing technology. However, separate biomass boilers offer the opportunity of using different types of biomass in varying combinations. Problems with

Plant Host Finding by Parasitic Plants: A New Perspective on Plant to Plant Communication

OpenAIRE

Mescher, Mark C; Runyon, Justin B; De Moraes, Consuelo M

2006-01-01

Plants release airborne chemicals that can convey ecologically relevant information to other organisms. These plant volatiles are known to mediate a large array of, often complex, interactions between plants and insects. It has been suggested that plant volatiles may have similar importance in mediating interactions among plant species, but there are few well-documented examples of plant-to-plant communication via volatiles, and the ecological significance of such interactions has been much d...

Techno-economic Assessment of Integrated Hydrothermal Liquefaction and Combined Heat and Power Production from Lignocellulose Residues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Magdeldin

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Waste biomass as a mean for global carbon dioxide emissions mitigation remains under-utilized. This is mainly due to the low calorific value of virgin feedstock, characterized generally with high moisture content. Aqueous processing, namely hydrothermal liquefaction in subcritical water conditions, has been demonstrated experimentally to thermally densify solid lignocellulose into liquid fuels without the pre-requisite and energy consuming drying step. This study presents a techno-economic evaluation of an integrated hydrothermal liquefaction system with downstream combined heat and power production from forest residues. The utilization of the liquefaction by-products and waste heat from the elevated processing conditions, coupled with the chemical upgrading of the feedstock enables the poly-generation of biocrude, electricity and district heat. The plant thermal efficiency increases by 3.5 to 4.6% compared to the conventional direct combustion case. The economic assessment showed that the minimum selling price of biocrude, based on present co-products market prices, hinders commercialization and ranges between 138 EUR to 178 EUR per MWh. A sensitivity analysis and detailed discussion on the techno-economic assessment results are presented for the different process integration and market case scenarios.

Environmental life cycle assessment of methanol and electricity co-production system based on coal gasification technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Śliwińska, Anna; Burchart-Korol, Dorota; Smoliński, Adam

2017-01-01

This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) of greenhouse gas emissions generated through methanol and electricity co-production system based on coal gasification technology. The analysis focuses on polygeneration technologies from which two products are produced, and thus, issues related to an allocation procedure for LCA are addressed in this paper. In the LCA, two methods were used: a 'system expansion' method based on two approaches, the 'avoided burdens approach' and 'direct system enlargement' methods and an 'allocation' method involving proportional partitioning based on physical relationships in a technological process. Cause-effect relationships in the analysed production process were identified, allowing for the identification of allocation factors. The 'system expansion' method involved expanding the analysis to include five additional variants of electricity production technologies in Poland (alternative technologies). This method revealed environmental consequences of implementation for the analysed technologies. It was found that the LCA of polygeneration technologies based on the 'system expansion' method generated a more complete source of information on environmental consequences than the 'allocation' method. The analysis shows that alternative technologies chosen for generating LCA results are crucial. Life cycle assessment was performed for the analysed, reference and variant alternative technologies. Comparative analysis was performed between the analysed technologies of methanol and electricity co-production from coal gasification as well as a reference technology of methanol production from the natural gas reforming process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A mathematical model for the dynamic simulation of low size cogeneration gas turbines within smart microgrids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bracco, Stefano; Delfino, Federico

2017-01-01

Microturbines represent a suitable technology to be adopted in smart microgrids since they are characterized by affordable capital and maintenance costs, high reliability and flexibility, and low environmental impact; moreover, they can be fed by fossil fuels or biofuels. They can operate in cogeneration and trigeneration mode, thus permitting to attain high global efficiency values of the energy conversion system from primary energy to electrical and thermal energy; from the electrical point of view, microturbines can operate connected to the distribution grid but also in islanded mode, thus enabling their use in remote areas without electrification. The paper describes the mathematical model that has been developed to simulate in off-design and transient conditions the operation of a 65 kW_e_l cogeneration microturbine installed within a smart microgrid. The dynamic simulation model is characterized by a flexible architecture that permits to simulate other different size single-shaft microturbines. The paper reports the main equations of the model, focusing on the architecture of the simulator and the microturbine control system; furthermore the most significant results derived from the validation phase are reported too, referring to the microturbine installed in the Smart Polygeneration Microgrid of the Savona Campus at the University of Genoa in Italy. - Highlights: • Dynamic simulation model of a cogeneration microturbine. • Off-design and transient performances of the microturbine. • Simulator validated on the Smart Polygeneration Microgrid at the Savona Campus.

Plant host finding by parasitic plants: A new perspective on plant to plant communication

Science.gov (United States)

Mark C. Mescher; Justin B. Runyon; Consuelo M. De Moraes

2006-01-01

Plants release airborne chemicals that can convey ecologically relevant information to other organisms. These plant volatiles are known to mediate a large array of, often complex, interactions between plants and insects. It has been suggested that plant volatiles may have similar importance in mediating interactions among plant species, but there are few well-...

Options for rural electrification in Arua District, Uganda

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onzia, Joseph; Núñez Bosch, Osvaldo Manuel

2015-01-01

This study proposed a power generation system suitable for rural area application. The electrification options were proposed for secondary schools, health centres, households and trading centre loads using solar PV system, diesel fired generators, biogas co-fired diesel generators and grid extension. The study is based on simulation, modeling and optimization of renewable energy system. Designs for the options considered were based on the electricity demand and environmental conditions of Arua district. From the designs, capital costs for each option were determined. This was used in carrying out simulations in HOMER computer program to come up with the most cost effective options. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine the effects of variation in costs such as diesel price and capital cost of solar PV system.Based on simulation results, it has been found that the trading centre, with 500 kW of electrical demand, must be electrified using the grid extension. The breakeven grid distance is 75.1 km. Grid extension become cost effective compared to diesel generators and solar PV system within this distance. The load at household level ranges from as low as 16 W to 5 kW. For 103 W peak load, the most cost effective option was solar PV system. The second best option was biogas co-fired diesel generator. For schools and health centres with load of up to 15 kW, biogas co-fired generator is the best compared to the total cost of 18 kW diesel fired generator which is higher. Therefore, where biogas cannot be generated, diesel generators should be used. Based on the amount of pollutants produced, a biogas co-fired diesel generator is the best option. (full text)

Thermal treatment of soil co-contaminated with lube oil and heavy metals in a low-temperature two-stage fluidized bed incinerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samaksaman, Ukrit; Peng, Tzu-Huan; Kuo, Jia-Hong; Lu, Chien-Hsing; Wey, Ming-Yen

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Low-temperature two-stage fluidized bed incineration was applied for soil remediation. • Co-firing of polyethylene with co-contaminated soil was studied. • Co-firing of polyethylene in soil remediation can promote residue quality. • The leachability of heavy metals passed the regulatory threshold values. - Abstract: This study presents the application of a low-temperature two-stage fluidized bed incinerator to remediate contaminants in the soil. The system was designed to control emissions of both gaseous pollutants and heavy metals during combustion. Soil co-contaminated with lube oil and heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, copper, and lead was examined. Experiments were conducted by estimating various parameters such as operating temperature in the first-stage reactor (500–700 °C), ratio of sand bed height/diameter in the second-stage reactor (H/D: 3, 4, 6), and gas velocity (0.21–0.29 m/s). Heavy metal and gaseous pollutant emissions were also investigated during contaminated soil co-firing with polyethylene. The experimental results indicated that the destruction and removal efficiency of lube oil in treated soil products ranged from 98.27 to 99.93%. On the other hand, leaching tests of bottom ashes illustrated that heavy metals such as chromium, copper, and lead in leachates were complied with the regulations. For gaseous emissions, carbon monoxide concentrations decreased apparently with increasing ratio of sand bed height/diameter in the second-stage reactor. The increase of gas velocity had significant potential to generate the lowest carbon monoxide and particulate matter emissions. Nevertheless, during co-firing with polyethylene, emissions of organic pollutants such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons decrease by using the low-temperature two-stage fluidized bed incineration system.

Plant stress signalling: understanding and exploiting plant-plant interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickett, J A; Rasmussen, H B; Woodcock, C M; Matthes, M; Napier, J A

2003-02-01

When plants are attacked by insects, volatile chemical signals can be released, not only from the damaged parts, but also systemically from other parts of the plant and this continues after cessation of feeding by the insect. These signals are perceived by olfactory sensory mechanisms in both the herbivorous insects and their parasites. Molecular structures involved can be characterized by means of electrophysiological assays, using the insect sensory system linked to chemical analysis. Evidence is mounting that such signals can also affect neighbouring intact plants, which initiate defence by the induction of further signalling systems, such as those that increase parasitoid foraging. Furthermore, insect electrophysiology can be used in the identification of plant compounds having effects on the plants themselves. It has been found recently that certain plants can release stress signals even when undamaged, and that these can cause defence responses in intact plants. These discoveries provide the basis for new crop protection strategies, that are either delivered by genetic modification of plants or by conventionally produced plants to which the signal is externally applied. Delivery can also be made by means of mixed seed strategies in which the provoking and recipient plants are grown together. Related signalling discoveries within the rhizosphere seem set to extend these approaches into new ways of controlling weeds, by exploiting the elusive potential of allelopathy, but through signalling rather than by direct physiological effects.

Thermochemical production of liquid fuels from biomass: Thermo-economic modeling, process design and process integration analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tock, Laurence; Gassner, Martin; Marechal, Francois

2010-01-01

A detailed thermo-economic model combining thermodynamics with economic analysis and considering different technological alternatives for the thermochemical production of liquid fuels from lignocellulosic biomass is presented. Energetic and economic models for the production of Fischer-Tropsch fuel (FT), methanol (MeOH) and dimethyl ether (DME) by means of biomass drying with steam or flue gas, directly or indirectly heated fluidized bed or entrained flow gasification, hot or cold gas cleaning, fuel synthesis and upgrading are reviewed and developed. The process is integrated and the optimal utility system is computed. The competitiveness of the different process options is compared systematically with regard to energetic, economic and environmental considerations. At several examples, it is highlighted that process integration is a key element that allows for considerably increasing the performance by optimal utility integration and energy conversion. The performance computations of some exemplary technology scenarios of integrated plants yield overall energy efficiencies of 59.8% (crude FT-fuel), 52.5% (MeOH) and 53.5% (DME), and production costs of 89, 128 and 113 Euro MWh -1 on fuel basis. The applied process design approach allows to evaluate the economic competitiveness compared to fossil fuels, to study the influence of the biomass and electricity price and to project for different plant capacities. Process integration reveals in particular potential energy savings and waste heat valorization. Based on this work, the most promising options for the polygeneration of fuel, power and heat will be determined in a future thermo-economic optimization.

Plant-soil feedbacks: role of plant functional group and plant traits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cortois, R.; Schröder-Georgi, T.; Weigelt, A.; van der Putten, W.H.; De Deyn, G.B.

2016-01-01

Plant-soil feedback (PSF), plant trait and functional group concepts advanced our understanding of plant community dynamics, but how they are interlinked is poorly known. To test how plant functional groups (FGs: graminoids, small herbs, tall herbs, legumes) and plant traits relate to PSF, we grew

Cocombustion of biomass in coal-fired power plants; Meestoken van biomassa in kolengestookte E-centrales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albrink, W.G.M. [Stork Thermeq, Hengelo (Netherlands)

2001-12-01

The aim of the desk study is to determine to what degree several types of biomass can be cofired with existing coal fired utility boilers in the Netherlands. All results with regard to boiler performances are obtained by making use of a computer model of a typical coal fired boiler which make part of a 600 MWe coal fired power plant. Because the existing coal fired units in the Netherlands do deviate more or less from the used model all outcomes and conclusions of this study are indicative. Slagging and corrosion which become more important when firing biogas in a coal fired boiler are considered superficially. More close investigations are necessary when carry out concrete projects. Furthermore all results are based on 100% boiler load and may not be used or extrapolated to part load conditions. The extent of firing biomass gas may depend on available space in the boiler house and correlated restrictions for necessary constructive adaptations. These aspects were leave out of consideration. For information the necessary size of piping for biomass gas from gasifier to the boiler has been determined for several amounts of biomass. [Dutch] Het doel van de studie is te onderzoeken hoeveel biomassa, in percentage van het thermisch vermogen, volgens verschillende concepten kan worden meegestookt in een kolengestookte elektriciteitscentrale. Dit wordt in deze studie behandeld aan de hand van een aantal aspecten: Rookgashoeveelheden door de ketel. Hierbij kornen de volgende zaken aan de orde: snelheden, drukval, belasting van DeNox, DeSox en E-filters, capaciteit van de ventilatoren; Rookgastemperaturen. Dit betreft temperaturen uitlaat vuurhaard, uitlaat ketel en uitlaat LUVO (luchtverhitter); Verslakking en corrosie van oververhitters; Water/stoomzijdige flows. Dit betreft aspecten als flows, temperaturen, flow door de turbine (slikvermogen) en uitlaatconditie stoomturbine (vochtgehalte). Voor de verwerking van biomassa worden alleen vergassing (in hoofdzaak) en, minder

LNG plant combined with power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aoki, I; Kikkawa, Y [Chiyoda Chemical Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1997-06-01

The LNG plant consumers a lot of power of natural gas cooling and liquefaction. In some LNG plant location, a rapid growth of electric power demand is expected due to the modernization of area and/or the country. The electric power demand will have a peak in day time and low consumption in night time, while the power demand of the LNG plant is almost constant due to its nature. Combining the LNG plant with power plant will contribute an improvement the thermal efficiency of the power plant by keeping higher average load of the power plant, which will lead to a reduction of electrical power generation cost. The sweet fuel gas to the power plant can be extracted from the LNG plant, which will be favorable from view point of clean air of the area. (Author). 5 figs.

LNG plant combined with power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoki, I.; Kikkawa, Y.

1997-01-01

The LNG plant consumers a lot of power of natural gas cooling and liquefaction. In some LNG plant location, a rapid growth of electric power demand is expected due to the modernization of area and/or the country. The electric power demand will have a peak in day time and low consumption in night time, while the power demand of the LNG plant is almost constant due to its nature. Combining the LNG plant with power plant will contribute an improvement the thermal efficiency of the power plant by keeping higher average load of the power plant, which will lead to a reduction of electrical power generation cost. The sweet fuel gas to the power plant can be extracted from the LNG plant, which will be favorable from view point of clean air of the area. (Author). 5 figs

Examinations of the process of hard coal and biomass blend combustion in OEA (oxygen enriched atmosphere)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pawlak-Kruczek, Halina; Ostrycharczyk, Michał; Czerep, Michał; Baranowski, Marcin; Zgóra, Jacek

2015-01-01

The benefits of oxygen enrichment have been demonstrated in a variety of industrial combustion applications, but to date no implementation of oxygen enrichment in boilers has been reported, primarily due to their already high thermal efficiencies and a very large scale of such systems, which require significant amounts of oxygen. But recently, oxygen combustion in boilers has become one of the CCS technologies which can be an effective tool for reducing greenhouse gases emissions, and oxygen enriched combustion is suitable for low-calorific fuels, including biomass. This paper analyses the use of oxygen enrichment in a furnace for co-firing of different kinds of biomass with hard coal in terms of emission and burnout impact (LOI). As a part of this research, the effect of injection oxygen mode and total oxygen concentration on the flue gas emission (SO_2, NO_x) and burnout from co-firing of straw and wooden biomass in different proportions (20% and 40%) with hard coal were studied. The co-firing tests were carried out in an isothermal flow reactor. One of the benefits from the OEA (oxygen enriched atmosphere) technology is more effective separation of CO_2 owing to the higher CO_2 concentration in the flue gas. The additional advantage of the OEA combustion technology in comparison with oxy-fuel combustion is that the OEA process needs lower O_2 purities and therefore it is cost-effective. Experimental tests on co-firing of 20% straw-hard coal blend were conducted in oxygen enriched (up to 25 and 30%) atmospheres with three variants of O_2 injection modes. NO_x, SO_2 emissions and burnout for the various atmospheres in the combustion chamber were studied. Moreover, co-firing tests were performed with 40% share of wooden biomass to examine the effect of the biomass share and a type on emission of NO_x and SO_2 in OEA. The two O_2 injection modes were investigated. In each case, the emission of SO_2 increases alongside an increase of oxygen concentration in

Realisation of microstrip junction circulator using LTCC technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Thomas; Krozer, V; Kjærgaard, Claus

2011-01-01

An integrated circulator based on low-temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) tapes and LTCC compatible ferrite tapes has been developed for the first time and its performance has been verified experimentally. The insertion loss is less than 2 dB and the isolation is better than 25 dB with a centre f...... frequency of 7.45 GHz. These results are in good agreement with simulations and offer a route towards integrated LTCC microwave circulators.......An integrated circulator based on low-temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) tapes and LTCC compatible ferrite tapes has been developed for the first time and its performance has been verified experimentally. The insertion loss is less than 2 dB and the isolation is better than 25 dB with a centre...

Real-time management solutions for a smart polygeneration microgrid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossi, Iacopo; Banta, Larry; Cuneo, Alessandra; Ferrari, Mario Luigi; Traverso, Alberto Nicola; Traverso, Alberto

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Different management systems are compared on the basis of experimental results. • Target system is a real smart microgrid composed by different co-generative systems. • A complex demand scenario was used to test decision-making of the controllers. • Experimental results were analyzed from both economic and reliability viewpoints. - Abstract: In recent years, many different concepts to manage smart distributed systems were proposed and solutions developed. Smart grids and the increasing influence of renewable sources on energy production lead to concerns about grid stability and load balance. Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generators coupled with solar or other renewable sources offer the opportunity to satisfy both electric and thermal power economically. Both electric and thermal demand and supply change continuously, and sources such as solar and wind are not dispatchable or accurately predictable. At the same time, it is essential to use the most efficient and cost effective sources to satisfy the demand. This problem has been studied at the University of Genoa (UNIGE), Italy, using different generators and energy storage device that can supply both electric and thermal energy to consumer buildings. Here the problem is formulated as a constrained Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) problem with sometimes conflicting requests that must be satisfied. The results come from experiments carried out on the test rig located at the Innovative Energy System Laboratories (IESL) of the Thermochemical Power Group (TPG) of UNIGE. This paper compares three different control approaches to manage the distributed generation system: Simplified Management Control (SMC), Model Predictive Control (MPC), and Multi-Commodity Matcher (MCM). Control systems and their control actions are evaluated through economic and performance key indicators.

Application Of Artificial Neural Networks In Modeling Of Manufactured Front Metallization Contact Resistance For Silicon Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Musztyfaga-Staszuk M.

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the application of artificial neural networks for prediction contact resistance of front metallization for silicon solar cells. The influence of the obtained front electrode features on electrical properties of solar cells was estimated. The front electrode of photovoltaic cells was deposited using screen printing (SP method and next to manufactured by two methods: convectional (1. co-fired in an infrared belt furnace and unconventional (2. Selective Laser Sintering. Resistance of front electrodes solar cells was investigated using Transmission Line Model (TLM. Artificial neural networks were obtained with the use of Statistica Neural Network by Statsoft. Created artificial neural networks makes possible the easy modelling of contact resistance of manufactured front metallization and allows the better selection of production parameters. The following technological recommendations for the screen printing connected with co-firing and selective laser sintering technology such as optimal paste composition, morphology of the silicon substrate, co-firing temperature and the power and scanning speed of the laser beam to manufacture the front electrode of silicon solar cells were experimentally selected in order to obtain uniformly melted structure well adhered to substrate, of a small front electrode substrate joint resistance value. The prediction possibility of contact resistance of manufactured front metallization is valuable for manufacturers and constructors. It allows preserving the customers’ quality requirements and bringing also measurable financial advantages.

Plant-plant competition outcomes are modulated by plant effects on the soil bacterial community.

Science.gov (United States)

Hortal, S; Lozano, Y M; Bastida, F; Armas, C; Moreno, J L; Garcia, C; Pugnaire, F I

2017-12-19

Competition is a key process that determines plant community structure and dynamics, often mediated by nutrients and water availability. However, the role of soil microorganisms on plant competition, and the links between above- and belowground processes, are not well understood. Here we show that the effects of interspecific plant competition on plant performance are mediated by feedbacks between plants and soil bacterial communities. Each plant species selects a singular community of soil microorganisms in its rhizosphere with a specific species composition, abundance and activity. When two plant species interact, the resulting soil bacterial community matches that of the most competitive plant species, suggesting strong competitive interactions between soil bacterial communities as well. We propose a novel mechanism by which changes in belowground bacterial communities promoted by the most competitive plant species influence plant performance and competition outcome. These findings emphasise the strong links between plant and soil communities, paving the way to a better understanding of plant community dynamics and the effects of soil bacterial communities on ecosystem functioning and services.

Life cycle energy efficiency and environmental impact assessment of bioethanol production from sweet potato based on different production modes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jun; Jia, Chunrong; Wu, Yi; Xi, Beidou; Wang, Lijun; Zhai, Youlong

2017-01-01

The bioethanol is playing an increasingly important role in renewable energy in China. Based on the theory of circular economy, integration of different resources by polygeneration is one of the solutions to improve energy efficiency and to reduce environmental impact. In this study, three modes of bioethanol production were selected to evaluate the life cycle energy efficiency and environmental impact of sweet potato-based bioethanol. The results showed that, the net energy ratio was greater than 1 and the value of net energy gain was positive in the three production modes, in which the maximum value appeared in the circular economy mode (CEM). The environment emission mainly occurred to bioethanol conversion unit in the conventional production mode (CPM) and the cogeneration mode (CGM), and eutrophication potential (EP) and global warming potential (GWP) were the most significant environmental impact category. While compared with CPM and CGM, the environmental impact of CEM significantly declined due to increasing recycling, and plant cultivation unit mainly contributed to EP and GWP. And the comprehensive evaluation score of environmental impact decreased by 73.46% and 23.36%. This study showed that CEM was effective in improving energy efficiency, especially in reducing the environmental impact, and it provides a new method for bioethanol production. PMID:28672044

Availability of Dutch biomass for electricity and heat in 2020

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koppejan, J.; Elbersen, W.; Meeusen, M.; Bindraban, P.

2009-11-01

Availability of biomass is an important factor in realizing the Dutch targets for renewable energy. This study maps the availability of Dutch biomass in the framework of alternative applications and sustainability requirements, today and in the future. The conclusion is drawn that there is approximately 13 to 16 million tons of dry biomass available for energy generation in the Netherlands in 2020. This is 30 to 40% of the amount of biomass that is annually used in the Netherlands, generating 53 to 94 PJ of final energy, avoiding 101 to 157 PJ of fossil energy. This availability of biomass and the energy that is generated from the biomass can increase further after 2020. In addition, biomass will also be imported, especially for combustion and co-firing in coal-fired power plants and for the production of transport fuels. [nl

Modelling supply and demand of bioenergy from short rotation coppice and Miscanthus in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauen, A W; Dunnett, A J; Richter, G M; Dailey, A G; Aylott, M; Casella, E; Taylor, G

2010-11-01

Biomass from lignocellulosic energy crops can contribute to primary energy supply in the short term in heat and electricity applications and in the longer term in transport fuel applications. This paper estimates the optimal feedstock allocation of herbaceous and woody lignocellulosic energy crops for England and Wales based on empirical productivity models. Yield maps for Miscanthus, willow and poplar, constrained by climatic, soil and land use factors, are used to estimate the potential resource. An energy crop supply-cost curve is estimated based on the resource distribution and associated production costs. The spatial resource model is then used to inform the supply of biomass to geographically distributed demand centres, with co-firing plants used as an illustration. Finally, the potential contribution of energy crops to UK primary energy and renewable energy targets is discussed. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Apoplastic interactions between plants and plant root intruders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kanako eMitsumasu

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Numerous pathogenic or parasitic organisms attack plant roots to obtain nutrients, and the apoplast including the plant cell wall is where the plant cell meets such organisms. Root-parasitic angiosperms and nematodes are two distinct types of plant root parasites but share some common features in their strategies for breaking into plant roots. Striga and Orobanche are obligate root parasitic angiosperms that cause devastating agricultural problems worldwide. Parasitic plants form an invasion organ called a haustorium, where plant cell wall degrading enzymes (PCWDEs are highly expressed. Plant-parasitic nematodes are another type of agriculturally important plant root parasite. These nematodes breach the plant cell walls by protruding a sclerotized stylet from which PCWDEs are secreted. Responding to such parasitic invasion, host plants activate their own defense responses against parasites. Endoparasitic nematodes secrete apoplastic effectors to modulate host immune responses and to facilitate the formation of a feeding site. Apoplastic communication between hosts and parasitic plants also contributes to their interaction. Parasitic plant germination stimulants, strigolactones (SLs, are recently identified apoplastic signals that are transmitted over long distances from biosynthetic sites to functioning sites. Here, we discuss recent advances in understanding the importance of apoplastic signals and cell walls for plant-parasite interactions.

Apoplastic interactions between plants and plant root intruders.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitsumasu, Kanako; Seto, Yoshiya; Yoshida, Satoko

2015-01-01

Numerous pathogenic or parasitic organisms attack plant roots to obtain nutrients, and the apoplast including the plant cell wall is where the plant cell meets such organisms. Root parasitic angiosperms and nematodes are two distinct types of plant root parasites but share some common features in their strategies for breaking into plant roots. Striga and Orobanche are obligate root parasitic angiosperms that cause devastating agricultural problems worldwide. Parasitic plants form an invasion organ called a haustorium, where plant cell wall degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) are highly expressed. Plant-parasitic nematodes are another type of agriculturally important plant root parasite. These nematodes breach the plant cell walls by protruding a sclerotized stylet from which PCWDEs are secreted. Responding to such parasitic invasion, host plants activate their own defense responses against parasites. Endoparasitic nematodes secrete apoplastic effectors to modulate host immune responses and to facilitate the formation of a feeding site. Apoplastic communication between hosts and parasitic plants also contributes to their interaction. Parasitic plant germination stimulants, strigolactones, are recently identified apoplastic signals that are transmitted over long distances from biosynthetic sites to functioning sites. Here, we discuss recent advances in understanding the importance of apoplastic signals and cell walls for plant-parasite interactions.

Pre-treatment of biofuels for power production. Final report (1998). K. Joule 3 - OPTEB, Task: No. 19/20

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jensen, P.A.; Sander, B.; Dam-Johansen, K.

1999-10-01

Co-firing of straw and coal on existing pulverised coal fired power plants may cause problems with deposition, corrosion, deactivation of SCR catalysts and impedes the utilisation of the fly ash, because of the high chlorine and potassium content of straw. Experiments with co-combustion of straw and coal on boilers plants have shown, that when maximal 20% of straw on a thermal basis is applied the most serious problems is the deactivation of high dust SCR catalysts and the deterioration of fly ash quality. The objective of this work was to evaluate a large-scale pre-treatment process for straw. The process applies pyrolysis at a moderate temperature, where the alkaline is retained in the char. The char is then washed and char and pyrolysis gasses can be co-fired with coal without causing serious problems. Fundamental laboratory studies as well as technical investigations were conducted to evaluate the pre-treatment concept. The laboratory studies were mainly done to improve the understanding of potassium and chlorine release during pyrolysis and the extraction of char with water. Some work were also done with respect to particle characterisation, straw pyrolysis kinetic and straw char combustion. The technical evaluation of a plant with 20 tons/hour capacity included investigations of possible reactor technologies, waste water handling, power efficiency and investment costs. Based on the laboratory experiments a pyrolysis temperature of 500 to 600 deg. C is recommended for the pre-treatment process. A high degree of pyrolysis is obtained without a significant release of potassium to the gas, but a release of 30 to 60% of the chlorine can not be avoided. Extraction of potassium from char with water is a two-step process, where the first step is a fast dissolution of potassium salts and the second step is a slow release of potassium from the interior of the char particle. A high potassium removal during char wash could not be obtained for all types of char within

Rheology of fly ashes from coal and biomass co-combustion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arvelakis, Stelios; Frandsen, Flemming

2010-01-01

The presence of large amounts of alkali metals, chlorine and sulphur in most biomass fuels - compared to coal - can create serious ash-related problems such as deposition, agglomeration and/or corrosion. This paper discusses the viscosity characteristics of fly ash from the co-combustion of various...... coal/biomass blends in a pilot scale pf-boiler. The produced data provide information on the melting of the ash and its flow characteristics, as a function of temperature, which may be used to modify the temperature profile of the boiler in order to avoid slagging. Straw co-firing lowers the ash...... viscosity leading to higher stickiness of the ash particles. Wood co-firing has only minor effects, due to the composition of wood ash and the low percentage of wood in the coal/biomass blend....

Chemical signaling between plants and plant-pathogenic bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Venturi, Vittorio; Fuqua, Clay

2013-01-01

Studies of chemical signaling between plants and bacteria in the past have been largely confined to two models: the rhizobial-legume symbiotic association and pathogenesis between agrobacteria and their host plants. Recent studies are beginning to provide evidence that many plant-associated bacteria undergo chemical signaling with the plant host via low-molecular-weight compounds. Plant-produced compounds interact with bacterial regulatory proteins that then affect gene expression. Similarly, bacterial quorum-sensing signals result in a range of functional responses in plants. This review attempts to highlight current knowledge in chemical signaling that takes place between pathogenic bacteria and plants. This chemical communication between plant and bacteria, also referred to as interkingdom signaling, will likely become a major research field in the future, as it allows the design of specific strategies to create plants that are resistant to plant pathogens.

Techno-economic analysis of PC versus CFB combustion technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-10-01

In the last ten years circulating fluidised bed combustion (CFBC) has emerged as a viable alternative to pulverised coal combustion (PCC) for utility-scale coal power generation, with widespread deployment of 300 MW boilers and the successful demonstration of supercritical units of up to 600 MW. Although CFBC offers a greater degree of fuel flexibility and does not usually require downstream flue gas cleaning, high capital costs and high auxiliary power use have hindered the adoption of CFBC for utility power generation. Recent advances in CFBC unit capacity and steam conditions have led to higher efficiencies and economies of scale, with the result that a CFBC plant may now be more economically favourable than a PCC plant depending on a range of factors such as available fuels and regional emissions limits. This report reviews the state-of-the-art for both technologies and provides a comparison of their relative performances and economic costs. Standard operational parameters such as efficiency, availability, and flexibility are assessed, in addition to relative suitability for biomass cofiring and oxyfuel combustion as strategies for carbon mitigation. A review of recent cost evaluations of the two technologies is accompanied by a breakdown of individual plant expenses including flue gas scrubbing equipment and ash recycle value.

Biomass resources for energy in Ohio: The OH-MARKAL modeling framework

Science.gov (United States)

Shakya, Bibhakar

The latest reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have indicated that human activities are directly responsible for a significant portion of global warming trends. In response to the growing concerns regarding climate change and efforts to create a sustainable energy future, biomass energy has come to the forefront as a clean and sustainable energy resource. Biomass energy resources are environmentally clean and carbon neutral with net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, since CO2 is absorbed or sequestered from the atmosphere during the plant growth. Hence, biomass energy mitigates greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions that would otherwise be added to the environment by conventional fossil fuels, such as coal. The use of biomass resources for energy is even more relevant in Ohio, as the power industry is heavily based on coal, providing about 90 percent of the state's total electricity while only 50 percent of electricity comes from coal at the national level. The burning of coal for electricity generation results in substantial GHG emissions and environmental pollution, which are responsible for global warming and acid rain. Ohio is currently one of the top emitters of GHG in the nation. This dissertation research examines the potential use of biomass resources by analyzing key economic, environmental, and policy issues related to the energy needs of Ohio over a long term future (2001-2030). Specifically, the study develops a dynamic linear programming model (OH-MARKAL) to evaluate biomass cofiring as an option in select coal power plants (both existing and new) to generate commercial electricity in Ohio. The OH-MARKAL model is based on the MARKAL (MARKet ALlocation) framework. Using extensive data on the power industry and biomass resources of Ohio, the study has developed the first comprehensive power sector model for Ohio. Hence, the model can serve as an effective tool for Ohio's energy planning, since it evaluates economic and environmental

Economic and Environmental Evaluation of Flexible Integrated Gasification Polygeneration Facilities Equipped with Carbon Capture and Storage

Science.gov (United States)

Aitken, M.; Yelverton, W. H.; Dodder, R. S.; Loughlin, D. H.

2014-12-01

carried out to investigate the impact of various assumptions and scenarios, such as the plant capacity factor, capital costs, CO2 mitigation targets, oil prices, and CO2 storage costs.

Four planting devices for planting no-till maize

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osei Bonsu Patterson

2015-05-01

Full Text Available An experiment was conducted at the CSIR-Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI Experimental station at Ejura in Ghana to compare the efficiency of four devices for planting no-till maize: Tractor drawn seeder, Chinese made jab planter, Locally made jab planter and a Cutlass. It took two (2 hours 48 minutes to plant one hectare of maize with the tractor drawn seeder, which was significantly (p less than 1% faster than all the planting methods. Cutlass was the slowest planting device lasting more than 14 hours per hectare. There was no significant difference in planting time between the Chinese planter and local planter. Economic analysis showed that cutlass planting produced the highest net benefit, whilst tractor drawn seeder produced the least benefit. In this study cutlass planting was done with precision by collaborating farmers. In actual farm situation however, hired laborers (planting gangs often plant in haste which often results in poor plant population leading to low yields. Tractor drawn seeders or jab planters could reduce drudgery in planting and encourage farm expansion.

Plant aquaporins: roles in plant physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Guowei; Santoni, Véronique; Maurel, Christophe

2014-05-01

Aquaporins are membrane channels that facilitate the transport of water and small neutral molecules across biological membranes of most living organisms. Here, we present comprehensive insights made on plant aquaporins in recent years, pointing to their molecular and physiological specificities with respect to animal or microbial counterparts. In plants, aquaporins occur as multiple isoforms reflecting a high diversity of cellular localizations and various physiological substrates in addition to water. Of particular relevance for plants is the transport by aquaporins of dissolved gases such as carbon dioxide or metalloids such as boric or silicic acid. The mechanisms that determine the gating and subcellular localization of plant aquaporins are extensively studied. They allow aquaporin regulation in response to multiple environmental and hormonal stimuli. Thus, aquaporins play key roles in hydraulic regulation and nutrient transport in roots and leaves. They contribute to several plant growth and developmental processes such as seed germination or emergence of lateral roots. Plants with genetically altered aquaporin functions are now tested for their ability to improve plant resistance to stresses. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Aquaporins. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrated Gasification SOFC Plant with a Steam Plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rokni, Masoud; Pierobon, Leonardo

2011-01-01

A hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and Steam Turbine (ST) plant is integrated with a gasification plant. Wood chips are fed to the gasification plant to produce biogas and then this gas is fed into the anode side of a SOFC cycle to produce electricity and heat. The gases from the SOFC stacks...... enter into a burner to burn the rest of the fuel. The offgases after the burner are now used to generate steam in a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG). The generated steam is expanded in a ST to produce additional power. Thus a triple hybrid plant based on a gasification plant, a SOFC plant...... and a steam plant is presented and studied. The plant is called as IGSS (Integrated Gasification SOFC Steam plant). Different systems layouts are presented and investigated. Electrical efficiencies up to 56% are achieved which is considerably higher than the conventional integrated gasification combined...

Untitled

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Utsumi et al 1985). wiring network resulting in high values of lead inductances consuming the real estate. Space. The integration of capacitor elements into the package minimizes this problem. The necessity of cofiring the insulators, dielectrics, ...

Plant ecdysteroids: plant sterols with intriguing distributions, biological effects and relations to plant hormones.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarkowská, Danuše; Strnad, Miroslav

2016-09-01

The present review summarises current knowledge of phytoecdysteroids' biosynthesis, distribution within plants, biological importance and relations to plant hormones. Plant ecdysteroids (phytoecdysteroids) are natural polyhydroxylated compounds that have a four-ringed skeleton, usually composed of either 27 carbon atoms or 28-29 carbon atoms (biosynthetically derived from cholesterol or other plant sterols, respectively). Their physiological roles in plants have not yet been confirmed and their occurrence is not universal. Nevertheless, they are present at high concentrations in various plant species, including commonly consumed vegetables, and have a broad spectrum of pharmacological and medicinal properties in mammals, including hepatoprotective and hypoglycaemic effects, and anabolic effects on skeletal muscle, without androgenic side-effects. Furthermore, phytoecdysteroids can enhance stress resistance by promoting vitality and enhancing physical performance; thus, they are considered adaptogens. This review summarises current knowledge of phytoecdysteroids' biosynthesis, distribution within plants, biological importance and relations to plant hormones.

Plant toxicity, adaptive herbivory, and plant community dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Z.; Liu, R.; DeAngelis, D.L.; Bryant, J.P.; Kielland, K.; Stuart, Chapin F.; Swihart, R.K.

2009-01-01

We model effects of interspecific plant competition, herbivory, and a plant's toxic defenses against herbivores on vegetation dynamics. The model predicts that, when a generalist herbivore feeds in the absence of plant toxins, adaptive foraging generally increases the probability of coexistence of plant species populations, because the herbivore switches more of its effort to whichever plant species is more common and accessible. In contrast, toxin-determined selective herbivory can drive plant succession toward dominance by the more toxic species, as previously documented in boreal forests and prairies. When the toxin concentrations in different plant species are similar, but species have different toxins with nonadditive effects, herbivores tend to diversify foraging efforts to avoid high intakes of any one toxin. This diversification leads the herbivore to focus more feeding on the less common plant species. Thus, uncommon plants may experience depensatory mortality from herbivory, reducing local species diversity. The depensatory effect of herbivory may inhibit the invasion of other plant species that are more palatable or have different toxins. These predictions were tested and confirmed in the Alaskan boreal forest. ?? 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

A Partially Magnetized Ferrite LTCC-Based SIW Phase Shifter for Phased Array Applications

KAUST Repository

Ghaffar, Farhan A.; Shamim, Atif

2015-01-01

The theory and design of a half-mode substrate-integrated waveguide ferrite low-temperature cofired ceramic-based phase shifter are presented in this paper. Unlike typical ferrite-based designs, the biasing is done through embedded windings in a

An Integrable SIW Phase Shifter in a Partially Magnetized Ferrite LTCC Package

KAUST Repository

Nafe, Ahmed; Shamim, Atif

2015-01-01

, yielding them unsuitable for this kind of application. In this paper, a novel compact light-weight substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) based phase shifter realized in a multi-layer ferrite low-temperature co-fired ceramic package with embedded bias

Fabrication of cavities in low loss LTCC materials for microwave applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malecha, Karol

2012-01-01

A method of buried cavity fabrication in low loss DP951 and new DP9K7 LTCC (low-temperature co-fired ceramic) materials is described in this paper. Laser micromachining and method based on sacrificial volume material (SVM) are studied. Cavities are fabricated in LTCC materials using two different SVMs—cetyl alcohol and carbon tape. The influence of laser system parameters on cutting quality of the LTCC materials is studied. Moreover, thermal properties of the LTCCs and used SVMs are analyzed using combined thermo-gravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis and differential thermo-gravimetry. Geometries of the LTCC test structures fabricated using different SVMs are analyzed using a scanning electron microscope and x-ray tomography. Energy dispersive spectroscopy and surface wettability measurements are used to analyze changes in LTCC materials atomic composition after co-firing with SVMs. (paper)

Co-combustion of risk husk with coal in a fluidized bed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghani, A.K.; Alias, A.B.; Savory, R.M.; Cliffe, K.R.

2006-01-01

Power generation from biomass is an attractive technology which utilizes agricultural residue waste. In order to explain the behavior of biomass-fired fluidized bed incinerator, biomass sources from agricultural residues (rice husk) was co-fired with coal in a 0.15 m diameter and 2.3 m high fluidized bed combustor. The combustion efficiency and CO emissions were studied and compared with those for pure coal combustion. Biomass waste with up to 70% mass fraction can be co-combusted in a fluidized bed combustor designed for coal combustion with a maximum drop of efficiency of 20% depending upon excess air levels. CO levels fluctuated between 200-700 ppm were observed when coal is added. It is evident from this research that efficient co-firing of rice husk with coal can be achieved with minimum modification of existing coal-fired boilers. (Author)

CO-COMBUSTION OF REFUSE DERIVED FUEL WITH COAL IN A FLUIDISED BED COMBUSTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. A. WAN AB KARIM GHANI

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Power generation from biomass is an attractive technology which utilizes municipal solid waste-based refused derived fuel. In order to explain the behavior of biomass-fired fluidized bed incinerator, biomass sources from refuse derived fuel was co-fired with coal in a 0.15 m diameter and 2.3 m high fluidized bed combustor. The combustion efficiency and carbon monoxide emissions were studied and compared with those from pure coal combustion. This study proved that the blending effect had increased the carbon combustion efficiency up to 12% as compared to single MSW-based RDF. Carbon monoxide levels fluctuated between 200-1600 ppm were observed when coal is added. It is evident from this research that efficient co-firing of biomass with coal can be achieved with minimum modification of existing coal-fired boilers.

[Development of Plant Metabolomics and Medicinal Plant Genomics].

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Kazuki

2018-01-01

 A variety of chemicals produced by plants, often referred to as 'phytochemicals', have been used as medicines, food, fuels and industrial raw materials. Recent advances in the study of genomics and metabolomics in plant science have accelerated our understanding of the mechanisms, regulation and evolution of the biosynthesis of specialized plant products. We can now address such questions as how the metabolomic diversity of plants is originated at the levels of genome, and how we should apply this knowledge to drug discovery, industry and agriculture. Our research group has focused on metabolomics-based functional genomics over the last 15 years and we have developed a new research area called 'Phytochemical Genomics'. In this review, the development of a research platform for plant metabolomics is discussed first, to provide a better understanding of the chemical diversity of plants. Then, representative applications of metabolomics to functional genomics in a model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, are described. The extension of integrated multi-omics analyses to non-model specialized plants, e.g., medicinal plants, is presented, including the identification of novel genes, metabolites and networks for the biosynthesis of flavonoids, alkaloids, sulfur-containing metabolites and terpenoids. Further, functional genomics studies on a variety of medicinal plants is presented. I also discuss future trends in pharmacognosy and related sciences.

An LTCC Based Compact SIW Antenna Array Feed Network for a Passive Imaging Radiometer

KAUST Repository

Abuzaid, Hattan

2013-01-01

Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC), are coupled with an innovative design to miniaturize the passive front-end. The two technologies synergize very well with the shielded characteristics of SIW and the high density multilayer integration of LTCC. The proposed

Miniaturized and Ferrite Based Tunable Bandpass Filters in LCP and LTCC Technologies for SoP Applications

KAUST Repository

Arabi, Eyad A.

2015-01-01

, namely low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) and the liquid crystal polymers (LCP) is demonstrated. The miniaturized filter is based on a second order topology, which has been modified to improve the selectivity and out-of-band rejection without

7 CFR 302.2 - Movement of plants and plant products.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Movement of plants and plant products. 302.2 Section... INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MOVEMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS § 302.2 Movement of plants and plant products. Inspection or documentation of the plant health status of...

PLANT BIOPRINTING: NOVEL PERSPECTIVE FOR PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adhityo WICAKSONO

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Bioprinting is a technical innovation that has revolutionized tissue engineering. Using conventional printer cartridges filled with cells as well as a suitable scaffold, major advances have been made in the biomedical field, and it is now possible to print skin, bones, blood vessels, and even organs. Unlike animal systems, the application of bioprinting in simple plant tissue cells is still in a nascent phase and has yet to be studied. One major advantage of plants is that all living parts are reprogrammable in the form of totipotent cells. Plant bioprinting may improve scientists’understanding of plant shape and morphogenesis, and could serve for the mass production of desired tissues or plants, or even the production of plant-based biomaterial for industrial uses. This perspectives paper explores these possibilities using knowledge on what is known about bioprinting in other biosystems.

Plant responses to plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loon, L.C. van

2007-01-01

Non-pathogenic soilborne microorganisms can promote plant growth, as well as suppress diseases. Plant growth promotion is taken to result from improved nutrient acquisition or hormonal stimulation. Disease suppression can occur through microbial antagonism or induction of resistance in the plant.

Cleaner fossil power generation in the 21st century: a technology strategy for carbon capture and storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-04-15

The document describes how the research, development and demonstration (RD&D) components of the United Kingdom Government's Carbon Abatement Technologies (CATs) Strategy should be developed and extended, with particular reference to a 2020 target for carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) commercialisation and the 2050 UK Committee on Climate Change (CCC) dioxide target. It sets out a strategy for RD&D through the establishment of a collaborative programme linking industry, and academia, and involving different funding sources. The proposed RD& D programme has seven strategic themes: Power plant: focus on cost, increasing efficiency, biomass co-firing; Capture technologies: focus on cost, efficiency penalty, waste heat utilisation; storage: focus on security, monitoring and verification; transport: focus on logistics and transport network; whole system: focus on risks, transient capability, economics, environmental issues; advanced and novel capture technologies; and underpinning technology support. 11 refs., 10 figs., 15 tabs.

Imaging of Flames in Cement Kilns To Study the Influence of Different Fuel Types

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Morten Nedergaard; Nielsen, Mads; Clausen, Sønnik

2017-01-01

The cement industry aims to use an increased amount of alternative fuels to reduce production costs and CO2 emissions. In this study three cement plants firing different kinds and percentages of alternative fuel were studied. A specially developed camera setup was used to monitor the flames...... in the three cement kilns and assess the effect of alternative fuels on the flame. It was found that cofiring with solid recovered fuel (SRF) would delay the ignition point by about 2 m and lower the intensity and temperature of the kiln flame compared to a fossil fuel flame. This is related to a larger...... particle size and moisture content of the alternative fuels, which lowers the conversion rate compared to fossil fuels. The consequences can be a lower kiln temperature and cement quality. The longer conversion time may also lead to the possibility of localized reducing conditions in the cement kiln, which...

The iPlant Collaborative: Cyberinfrastructure for Plant Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Goff, Stephen A.; Vaughn, Matthew; McKay, Sheldon; Lyons, Eric; Stapleton, Ann E.; Gessler, Damian; Matasci, Naim; Wang, Liya; Hanlon, Matthew; Lenards, Andrew; Muir, Andy; Merchant, Nirav; Lowry, Sonya; Mock, Stephen; Helmke, Matthew; Kubach, Adam; Narro, Martha; Hopkins, Nicole; Micklos, David; Hilgert, Uwe; Gonzales, Michael; Jordan, Chris; Skidmore, Edwin; Dooley, Rion; Cazes, John; McLay, Robert; Lu, Zhenyuan; Pasternak, Shiran; Koesterke, Lars; Piel, William H.; Grene, Ruth; Noutsos, Christos; Gendler, Karla; Feng, Xin; Tang, Chunlao; Lent, Monica; Kim, Seung-Jin; Kvilekval, Kristian; Manjunath, B. S.; Tannen, Val; Stamatakis, Alexandros; Sanderson, Michael; Welch, Stephen M.; Cranston, Karen A.; Soltis, Pamela; Soltis, Doug; O'Meara, Brian; Ane, Cecile; Brutnell, Tom; Kleibenstein, Daniel J.; White, Jeffery W.; Leebens-Mack, James; Donoghue, Michael J.; Spalding, Edgar P.; Vision, Todd J.; Myers, Christopher R.; Lowenthal, David; Enquist, Brian J.; Boyle, Brad; Akoglu, Ali; Andrews, Greg; Ram, Sudha; Ware, Doreen; Stein, Lincoln; Stanzione, Dan

2011-01-01

The iPlant Collaborative (iPlant) is a United States National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project that aims to create an innovative, comprehensive, and foundational cyberinfrastructure in support of plant biology research (PSCIC, 2006). iPlant is developing cyberinfrastructure that uniquely enables scientists throughout the diverse fields that comprise plant biology to address Grand Challenges in new ways, to stimulate and facilitate cross-disciplinary research, to promote biology and computer science research interactions, and to train the next generation of scientists on the use of cyberinfrastructure in research and education. Meeting humanity's projected demands for agricultural and forest products and the expectation that natural ecosystems be managed sustainably will require synergies from the application of information technologies. The iPlant cyberinfrastructure design is based on an unprecedented period of research community input, and leverages developments in high-performance computing, data storage, and cyberinfrastructure for the physical sciences. iPlant is an open-source project with application programming interfaces that allow the community to extend the infrastructure to meet its needs. iPlant is sponsoring community-driven workshops addressing specific scientific questions via analysis tool integration and hypothesis testing. These workshops teach researchers how to add bioinformatics tools and/or datasets into the iPlant cyberinfrastructure enabling plant scientists to perform complex analyses on large datasets without the need to master the command-line or high-performance computational services. PMID:22645531

The iPlant Collaborative: Cyberinfrastructure for Plant Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Goff, Stephen A; Vaughn, Matthew; McKay, Sheldon; Lyons, Eric; Stapleton, Ann E; Gessler, Damian; Matasci, Naim; Wang, Liya; Hanlon, Matthew; Lenards, Andrew; Muir, Andy; Merchant, Nirav; Lowry, Sonya; Mock, Stephen; Helmke, Matthew; Kubach, Adam; Narro, Martha; Hopkins, Nicole; Micklos, David; Hilgert, Uwe; Gonzales, Michael; Jordan, Chris; Skidmore, Edwin; Dooley, Rion; Cazes, John; McLay, Robert; Lu, Zhenyuan; Pasternak, Shiran; Koesterke, Lars; Piel, William H; Grene, Ruth; Noutsos, Christos; Gendler, Karla; Feng, Xin; Tang, Chunlao; Lent, Monica; Kim, Seung-Jin; Kvilekval, Kristian; Manjunath, B S; Tannen, Val; Stamatakis, Alexandros; Sanderson, Michael; Welch, Stephen M; Cranston, Karen A; Soltis, Pamela; Soltis, Doug; O'Meara, Brian; Ane, Cecile; Brutnell, Tom; Kleibenstein, Daniel J; White, Jeffery W; Leebens-Mack, James; Donoghue, Michael J; Spalding, Edgar P; Vision, Todd J; Myers, Christopher R; Lowenthal, David; Enquist, Brian J; Boyle, Brad; Akoglu, Ali; Andrews, Greg; Ram, Sudha; Ware, Doreen; Stein, Lincoln; Stanzione, Dan

2011-01-01

The iPlant Collaborative (iPlant) is a United States National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project that aims to create an innovative, comprehensive, and foundational cyberinfrastructure in support of plant biology research (PSCIC, 2006). iPlant is developing cyberinfrastructure that uniquely enables scientists throughout the diverse fields that comprise plant biology to address Grand Challenges in new ways, to stimulate and facilitate cross-disciplinary research, to promote biology and computer science research interactions, and to train the next generation of scientists on the use of cyberinfrastructure in research and education. Meeting humanity's projected demands for agricultural and forest products and the expectation that natural ecosystems be managed sustainably will require synergies from the application of information technologies. The iPlant cyberinfrastructure design is based on an unprecedented period of research community input, and leverages developments in high-performance computing, data storage, and cyberinfrastructure for the physical sciences. iPlant is an open-source project with application programming interfaces that allow the community to extend the infrastructure to meet its needs. iPlant is sponsoring community-driven workshops addressing specific scientific questions via analysis tool integration and hypothesis testing. These workshops teach researchers how to add bioinformatics tools and/or datasets into the iPlant cyberinfrastructure enabling plant scientists to perform complex analyses on large datasets without the need to master the command-line or high-performance computational services.

The iPlant Collaborative: Cyberinfrastructure for Plant Biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen A Goff

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The iPlant Collaborative (iPlant is a United States National Science Foundation (NSF funded project that aims to create an innovative, comprehensive, and foundational cyberinfrastructure in support of plant biology research (PSCIC, 2006. iPlant is developing cyberinfrastructure that uniquely enables scientists throughout the diverse fields that comprise plant biology to address Grand Challenges in new ways, to stimulate and facilitate cross-disciplinary research, to promote biology and computer science research interactions, and to train the next generation of scientists on the use of cyberinfrastructure in research and education. Meeting humanity's projected demands for agricultural and forest products and the expectation that natural ecosystems be managed sustainably will require synergies from the application of information technologies. The iPlant cyberinfrastructure design is based on an unprecedented period of research community input, and leverages developments in high-performance computing, data storage, and cyberinfrastructure for the physical sciences. iPlant is an open-source project with application programming interfaces that allow the community to extend the infrastructure to meet its needs. iPlant is sponsoring community-driven workshops addressing specific scientific questions via analysis tool integration and hypothesis testing. These workshops teach researchers how to add bioinformatics tools and/or datasets into the iPlant cyberinfrastructure enabling plant scientists to perform complex analyses on large datasets without the need to master the command-line or high-performance computational services.

Characterization and quantification of deposits build up and removal in straw suspension fired boilers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Peter Arendt; Shafique Bashir, Muhammad; Wedel, Stig

This project deals with ash deposit formation in suspension fired biomass power plant boilers. The project has been conducted in a tight collaboration between Vattenfall and the CHEC Research Centre at DTU Department of Chemical Engineering. A large part of the project has been performed by condu......This project deals with ash deposit formation in suspension fired biomass power plant boilers. The project has been conducted in a tight collaboration between Vattenfall and the CHEC Research Centre at DTU Department of Chemical Engineering. A large part of the project has been performed...... by conducting advanced probe measurements at the Amagerværkets Vattenfall owed boilers. It was the objective of the project to provide an improved understanding of ash deposit formation and removal in biomass suspension fired boilers. The project have provided a large amount of knowledge on the following issues......: 1) The influence of local boiler conditions on deposit formation in suspension fired boilers using wood or co-firing straw and wood, 2) quantification of deposit removal in biomass suspension firing boilers with regards both to natural shedding and soot blower induced shedding, 3) established...

Biopower market impact: Applying advanced technologies to specific needs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gregoire, C.E.; Bain, R.L.; Craig, K.R.

1994-01-01

The impact of biopower on the electric power capacity in the United States is projected to increase 5- to 10-fold by the year 2010. A number of competing technologies will likely be available that will provide a variety of advantages for the U.S. economy, from creating jobs in rural areas to increasing the demand for component manufacturing. Biopower also offers environmental advantages over conventional fossil fuel-fired power plants, particularly global climate change benefits. Feedstock type and availability, proximity to users or transmission stations, and markets for potential byproducts will influence which biomass conversion technology is selected and the scale of operation. Cofiring biomass in aging coal-fired power plants represents a near-term alternative for reducing sulfur and CO 2 emissions. Producing biocrude from pyrolysis processes may be suitable for isolated feedstock supplies with high transportation costs or to supply fuel to a single large family in a centralized area. Integrated gasification/combined cycle (IGCC) systems offer high efficiencies and low capital costs. More advanced systems, including fuel cells, will offer additional opportunities for increasing the impact of biopower on the nation's power production

DESIGN REPORT: LOW-NOX BURNERS FOR PACKAGE BOILERS

Science.gov (United States)

The report describes a low-NOx burner design, presented for residual-oil-fired industrial boilers and boilers cofiring conventional fuels and nitrated hazardous wastes. The burner offers lower NOx emission levels for these applications than conventional commercial burners. The bu...

24-GHz LTCC Fractal Antenna Array SoP With Integrated Fresnel Lens

KAUST Repository

Ghaffar, Farhan A.; Khalid, Muhammad Umair; Salama, Khaled N.; Shamim, Atif

2012-01-01

A novel 24-GHz mixed low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) tape based system-on-package (SoP) is presented, which incorporates a fractal antenna array with an integrated grooved Fresnel lens. The four-element fractal array employs a relatively low

Three-dimensional RF SoP technologies: LTCC versus LCP

KAUST Repository

Arabi, Eyad A.; Shamim, Atif

2014-01-01

or cover but is a functional part of the system. The leading multilayer packaging technologies for SoP designs: low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) and liquid crystal polymer (LCP) are compared in this work for the first time. Passive components

Aboveground mechanical stimuli affect belowground plant-plant communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Elhakeem, Ali; Markovic, Dimitrije; Broberg, Anders; Anten, Niels P R; Ninkovic, Velemir

2018-01-01

Plants can detect the presence of their neighbours and modify their growth behaviour accordingly. But the extent to which this neighbour detection is mediated by abiotic stressors is not well known. In this study we tested the acclimation response of Zea mays L. seedlings through belowground interactions to the presence of their siblings exposed to brief mechano stimuli. Maize seedling simultaneously shared the growth solution of touched plants or they were transferred to the growth solution of previously touched plants. We tested the growth preferences of newly germinated seedlings toward the growth solution of touched (T_solution) or untouched plants (C_solution). The primary root of the newly germinated seedlings grew significantly less towards T_solution than to C_solution. Plants transferred to T_solution allocated more biomass to shoots and less to roots. While plants that simultaneously shared their growth solution with the touched plants produced more biomass. Results show that plant responses to neighbours can be modified by aboveground abiotic stress to those neighbours and suggest that these modifications are mediated by belowground interactions.

Aboveground mechanical stimuli affect belowground plant-plant communication.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Elhakeem

Full Text Available Plants can detect the presence of their neighbours and modify their growth behaviour accordingly. But the extent to which this neighbour detection is mediated by abiotic stressors is not well known. In this study we tested the acclimation response of Zea mays L. seedlings through belowground interactions to the presence of their siblings exposed to brief mechano stimuli. Maize seedling simultaneously shared the growth solution of touched plants or they were transferred to the growth solution of previously touched plants. We tested the growth preferences of newly germinated seedlings toward the growth solution of touched (T_solution or untouched plants (C_solution. The primary root of the newly germinated seedlings grew significantly less towards T_solution than to C_solution. Plants transferred to T_solution allocated more biomass to shoots and less to roots. While plants that simultaneously shared their growth solution with the touched plants produced more biomass. Results show that plant responses to neighbours can be modified by aboveground abiotic stress to those neighbours and suggest that these modifications are mediated by belowground interactions.

Design of plant safety model in plant enterprise engineering environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabbar, Hossam A.; Suzuki, Kazuhiko; Shimada, Yukiyasu

2001-01-01

Plant enterprise engineering environment (PEEE) is an approach aiming to manage the plant through its lifecycle. In such environment, safety is considered as the common objective for all activities throughout the plant lifecycle. One approach to achieve plant safety is to embed safety aspects within each function and activity within such environment. One ideal way to enable safety aspects within each automated function is through modeling. This paper proposes a theoretical approach to design plant safety model as integrated with the plant lifecycle model within such environment. Object-oriented modeling approach is used to construct the plant safety model using OO CASE tool on the basis of unified modeling language (UML). Multiple views are defined for plant objects to express static, dynamic, and functional semantics of these objects. Process safety aspects are mapped to each model element and inherited from design to operation stage, as it is naturally embedded within plant's objects. By developing and realizing the plant safety model, safer plant operation can be achieved and plant safety can be assured

Aquatic plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, T. V.; Sand-Jensen, K.

2006-01-01

Aquatic fl owering plants form a relatively young plant group on an evolutionary timescale. The group has developed over the past 80 million years from terrestrial fl owering plants that re-colonised the aquatic environment after 60-100 million years on land. The exchange of species between terre...... terrestrial and aquatic environments continues today and is very intensive along stream banks. In this chapter we describe the physical and chemical barriers to the exchange of plants between land and water.......Aquatic fl owering plants form a relatively young plant group on an evolutionary timescale. The group has developed over the past 80 million years from terrestrial fl owering plants that re-colonised the aquatic environment after 60-100 million years on land. The exchange of species between...

BARRIER ISSUES TO THE UTILIZATION OF BIOMASS; SEMIANNUAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruce C. Folkedahl; Darren D. Schmidt; Greg F. Weber; Christopher J. Zygarlicke

2001-01-01

The Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) is conducting a project to examine the fundamental issues limiting the use of biomass in small industrial steam/power systems in order to increase the future use of this valuable domestic resource. Specifically, the EERC is attempting to elucidate the ash-related problems-grate clinkering and heat exchange surface fouling-associated with cofiring coal and biomass in grate-fired systems. Utilization of biomass in stoker boilers designed for coal can be a cause of concern for boiler operators. Boilers that were designed for low volatile fuels with lower reactivities can experience damaging fouling when switched to higher volatile and more reactive lower-rank fuels, such as when cofiring biomass. Higher heat release rates at the grate can cause more clinkering or slagging at the grate because of higher temperatures. Combustion and loss of volatile matter can start too early for biomass fuels compared to the design fuel, vaporizing alkali and chlorides which then condense on rear walls and heat exchange tube banks in the convective pass of the stoker, causing noticeable increases in fouling. In addition, stoker-fired boilers that switch to biomass blends may encounter new chemical species such as potassium sulfates and various chlorides, in combination with different flue gas temperatures because of changes in fuel heating value which can adversely affect ash deposition behavior. The goal of this project is to identify the primary ash mechanisms related to grate clinkering and heat exchange surface fouling associated with cofiring coal and biomass-specifically wood and agricultural residuals-in grate-fired systems, leading to future mitigation of these problems. The specific technical objectives of the project are: Modification of an existing EERC pilot-scale combustion system to simulate a grate-fired system; Verification testing of the simulator; Laboratory-scale testing and fuel characterization to determine ash

Plants, plant pathogens, and microgravity--a deadly trio

Science.gov (United States)

Leach, J. E.; Ryba-White, M.; Sun, Q.; Wu, C. J.; Hilaire, E.; Gartner, C.; Nedukha, O.; Kordyum, E.; Keck, M.; Leung, H.;

An analysis of the pull strength behaviors of fine-pitch, flip chip solder interconnections using a Au-Pt-Pd thick film conductor on Low-Temperature, Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uribe, Fernando R.; Kilgo, Alice C.; Grazier, John Mark; Vianco, Paul Thomas; Zender, Gary L.; Hlava, Paul Frank; Rejent, Jerome Andrew

2008-01-01

The assembly of the BDYE detector requires the attachment of sixteen silicon (Si) processor dice (eight on the top side; eight on the bottom side) onto a low-temperature, co-fired ceramic (LTCC) substrate using 63Sn-37Pb (wt.%, Sn-Pb) in a double-reflow soldering process (nitrogen). There are 132 solder joints per die. The bond pads were gold-platinum-palladium (71Au-26Pt-3Pd, wt.%) thick film layers fired onto the LTCC in a post-process sequence. The pull strength and failure modes provided the quality metrics for the Sn-Pb solder joints. Pull strengths were measured in both the as-fabricated condition and after exposure to thermal cycling (-55/125 C; 15 min hold times; 20 cycles). Extremely low pull strengths--referred to as the low pull strength phenomenon--were observed intermittently throughout the product build, resulting in added program costs, schedule delays, and a long-term reliability concern for the detector. There was no statistically significant correlation between the low pull strength phenomenon and (1) the LTCC 'sub-floor' lot; (2) grit blasting the LTCC surfaces prior to the post-process steps; (3) the post-process parameters; (4) the conductor pad height (thickness); (5) the dice soldering assembly sequence; or (5) the dice pull test sequence. Formation of an intermetallic compound (IMC)/LTCC interface caused by thick film consumption during either the soldering process or by solid-state IMC formation was not directly responsible for the low-strength phenomenon. Metallographic cross sections of solder joints from dice that exhibited the low pull strength behavior, revealed the presence of a reaction layer resulting from an interaction between Sn from the molten Sn-Pb and the glassy phase at the TKN/LTCC interface. The thick film porosity did not contribute, explicitly, to the occurrence of reaction layer. Rather, the process of printing the very thin conductor pads was too sensitive to minor thixotropic changes to ink, which resulted in

An analysis of the pull strength behaviors of fine-pitch, flip chip solder interconnections using a Au-Pt-Pd thick film conductor on Low-Temperature, Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) substrates.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uribe, Fernando R.; Kilgo, Alice C.; Grazier, John Mark; Vianco, Paul Thomas; Zender, Gary L.; Hlava, Paul Frank; Rejent, Jerome Andrew

2008-09-01

The assembly of the BDYE detector requires the attachment of sixteen silicon (Si) processor dice (eight on the top side; eight on the bottom side) onto a low-temperature, co-fired ceramic (LTCC) substrate using 63Sn-37Pb (wt.%, Sn-Pb) in a double-reflow soldering process (nitrogen). There are 132 solder joints per die. The bond pads were gold-platinum-palladium (71Au-26Pt-3Pd, wt.%) thick film layers fired onto the LTCC in a post-process sequence. The pull strength and failure modes provided the quality metrics for the Sn-Pb solder joints. Pull strengths were measured in both the as-fabricated condition and after exposure to thermal cycling (-55/125 C; 15 min hold times; 20 cycles). Extremely low pull strengths--referred to as the low pull strength phenomenon--were observed intermittently throughout the product build, resulting in added program costs, schedule delays, and a long-term reliability concern for the detector. There was no statistically significant correlation between the low pull strength phenomenon and (1) the LTCC 'sub-floor' lot; (2) grit blasting the LTCC surfaces prior to the post-process steps; (3) the post-process parameters; (4) the conductor pad height (thickness); (5) the dice soldering assembly sequence; or (5) the dice pull test sequence. Formation of an intermetallic compound (IMC)/LTCC interface caused by thick film consumption during either the soldering process or by solid-state IMC formation was not directly responsible for the low-strength phenomenon. Metallographic cross sections of solder joints from dice that exhibited the low pull strength behavior, revealed the presence of a reaction layer resulting from an interaction between Sn from the molten Sn-Pb and the glassy phase at the TKN/LTCC interface. The thick film porosity did not contribute, explicitly, to the occurrence of reaction layer. Rather, the process of printing the very thin conductor pads was too sensitive to minor thixotropic changes to ink, which resulted in

Plant life management optimized utilization of existing nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watzinger, H.; Erve, M.

1999-01-01

For safe, reliable and economical nuclear power generation it is of central importance to understand, analyze and manage aging-related phenomena and to apply this information in the systematic utilization and as-necessary extension of the service life of components and systems. An operator's overall approach to aging and plant life management which also improves performance characteristics can help to optimize plant operating economy. In view of the deregulation of the power generation industry with its increased competition, nuclear power plants must today also increasingly provide for or maintain a high level of plant availability and low power generating costs. This is a difficult challenge even for the newest, most modern plants, and as plants age they can only remain competitive if a plant operator adopts a strategic approach which takes into account the various aging-related effects on a plant-wide basis. The significance of aging and plant life management for nuclear power plants becomes apparent when looking at their age: By the year 2000 roughly fifty of the world's 434 commercial nuclear power plants will have been in operation for thirty years or more. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, as many as 110 plants will have reached the thirty-year service mark by the year 2005. In many countries human society does not push the construction of new nuclear power plants and presumably will not change mind within the next ten years. New construction licenses cannot be expected so that for economical and ecological reasons existing plants have to be operated unchallengeably. On the other hand the deregulation of the power production market is asking just now for analysis of plant life time to operate the plants at a high technical and economical level until new nuclear power plants can be licensed and constructed. (author)

Slag characterization and removal using pulse detonation for coal gasification. Quarterly research report, January 1, 1996--March 31, 1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huque, Z.; Mei, D.; Biney, P.O.; Zhou, J.

1996-03-25

Microbeam Technologies Incorporated (MTI) is working with Prairie View to develop and demonstrate a new method to remove deposits from coal-fired utility boilers. MTI is providing background information on fuel properties, ash formation, ash deposition, and ash removal. In addition, MTI is providing deposits collected from a full scale utility boilers. Ash deposits on fireside heat exchange surfaces of power plants significantly decrease plant efficiency and are aggravated by variability in coal quality. Deposit formation is related to coal quality (chemical and physical characteristics of the inorganic material), system operating conditions, and system design. Variations in coal quality can significantly influence ash deposition on heat transfer surfaces resulting in decreased plant performance and availability. Ash accumulations on heat transfer surfaces require annual or semi-annual shutdowns for cleaning which result in cleaning costs and lost revenues from being off-line. In addition, maintaining slag flow in wet bottom boilers and cyclone-fired boilers can require co-firing of other fuels and outages to remove frozen slag resulting in decreased efficiency and availability. During this reporting period MTI performed analysis of deposits collected from full-scale utility boilers. Deposit samples were obtained from Basin Electric and from Northern States Power (NSP). The analyses were conducted using scanning electron microscopy/microprobe techniques as described in the past quarterly report. The chemical and physical properties of the deposits were determined. The results for sample collected from NSP`s Riverside plant are reported here.

Dipping Strawberry Plants in Fungicides before Planting to Control Anthracnose

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myeong Hyeon Nam

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Anthracnose crown rot (ACR, caused by Colletotrichum fructicola, is a serious disease of strawberry in Korea. The primary inoculums of ACR were symptomless strawberry plants, plant debris, and other host plants. To effectively control anthracnose in symptomless transplanted strawberries, it is necessary to use diseasefree plants, detect the disease early, and apply a fungicide. Therefore, in 2010 and 2011, we evaluated the efficacy of pre-plant fungicide dips by using strawberry transplants infected by C. fructicola for the control of anthracnose. Dipping plants in prochloraz-Mn for 10 min before planting was most effective for controlling anthracnose in symptomless strawberry plants and resulted in more than 76% control efficacy. Azoxystrobin showed a control efficacy of over 40%, but plants treated with pyraclostrobin, mancozeb and iminoctadine tris showed high disease severity. The control efficacy of the dip treatment with prochloraz-Mn did not differ with temperature and time. Treatment with prochloraz-Mn for more than an hour caused growth suppression in strawberry plants. Therefore, the development of anthracnose can be effectively reduced by dipping strawberry plants for 10 min in prochloraz-Mn before planting.

Melting and Sintering of Ashes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lone Aslaug

1997-01-01

-1300°C, and a trend of higher fusion temperatures with increasing contents of Al-silicates and quartz was found.c) Fly ashes, bottom ashes and deposits from coal/straw co-firing were all found to consist mainly of metal-alumina and alumina-silicates. These ashes all melt in the temperature range 1000......The thesis contains an experimental study of the fusion and sintering of ashes collected during straw and coal/straw co-firing.A laboratory technique for quantitative determination of ash fusion has been developed based on Simultaneous Thermal Analysis (STA). By means of this method the fraction......, the biggest deviations being found for salt rich (i.e. straw derived) ashes.A simple model assuming proportionality between fly ash fusion and deposit formation was found to be capable of ranking deposition rates for the different straw derived fly ashes, whereas for the fly ashes from coal/straw co-firing...

Understanding the influence of tellurium oxide in front Ag paste for contacting silicon solar cells with homogeneous high sheet resistance emitter

Science.gov (United States)

Ebong, Abasifreke; Bezawada, Nirupama; Batchu, Kartheek

2017-08-01

This paper investigates TeO2, one of the front Ag paste additives, to understand its role in low contact and gridline resistances for screen-printed Si solar cell. It is concluded that TeO2 aids the reduction of molten glass frit viscosity during contact co-firing. This in turn, leads to uniform flow of molten glass frit, both in the gridline bulk and interface of gridline and SiN x . Therefore, the uniform wetting and etching of SiN x and consequently larger contact area of metal to Si compared to its counterpart without TeO2. Hence, the current transport mechanism from Si to gridline can be said to be both direct and tunneling. The Raman spectra showed a blue shift in the phase of the TeO2 after contact co-firing in the gridline bulk confirming a crystalline γ-TeO2.

Plant traits related to nitrogen uptake influence plant-microbe competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreau, Delphine; Pivato, Barbara; Bru, David; Busset, Hugues; Deau, Florence; Faivre, Céline; Matejicek, Annick; Strbik, Florence; Philippot, Laurent; Mougel, Christophe

2015-08-01

Plant species are important drivers of soil microbial communities. However, how plant functional traits are shaping these communities has received less attention though linking plant and microbial traits is crucial for better understanding plant-microbe interactions. Our objective was to determine how plant-microbe interactions were affected by plant traits. Specifically we analyzed how interactions between plant species and microbes involved in nitrogen cycling were affected by plant traits related to 'nitrogen nutrition in interaction with soil nitrogen availability. Eleven plant species, selected along an oligotrophic-nitrophilic gradient, were grown individually in a nitrogen-poor soil with two levels of nitrate availability. Plant traits for both carbon and nitrogen nutrition were measured and the genetic structure and abundance of rhizosphere. microbial communities, in particular the ammonia oxidizer and nitrate reducer guilds, were analyzed. The structure of the bacterial community in the rhizosphere differed significantly between plant species and these differences depended on nitrogen availability. The results suggest that the rate of nitrogen uptake per unit of root biomass and per day is a key plant trait, explaining why the effect of nitrogen availability on the structure of the bacterial community depends on the plant species. We also showed that the abundance of nitrate reducing bacteria always decreased with increasing nitrogen uptake per unit of root biomass per day, indicating that there was competition for nitrate between plants and nitrate reducing bacteria. This study demonstrates that nitrate-reducing microorganisms may be adversely affected by plants with a high nitrogen uptake rate. Our work puts forward the role of traits related to nitrogen in plant-microbe interactions, whereas carbon is commonly considered as the main driver. It also suggests that plant traits related to ecophysiological processes, such as nitrogen uptake rates, are more

Status report - expert knowledge of operators in fuel reprocessing plants, enrichment plants and fuel fabrication plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preuss, W.; Kramer, J.; Wildberg, D.

1987-01-01

The necessary qualifications of the responsible personnel and the knowledge required by personnel otherwise employed in nuclear plants are among the requirements for licensing laid down in paragraph 7 of the German Atomic Energy Act. The formal regulations for nuclear power plants are not directly applicable to plants in the fuel cycle because of the differences in the technical processes and the plant and work organisation. The aim of the project was therefore to establish a possible need for regulations for the nuclear plants with respect to the qualification of the personnel, and to determine a starting point for the definition of the required qualifications. An extensive investigation was carried out in the Federal Republic of Germany into: the formal requirements for training; the plant and personnel organisation structures; the tasks carried out by the responsible and otherwise employed personnel; and the state of training. For this purpose plant owners and managers were interviewed and the literature and plant specific documentation (e.g. plant rules) were reviewed. On the basis of literature research, foreign practices were determined and used to make comparative evaluations. The status report is divided into three separate parts for the reprocessing, the uranium enrichment, and the manufacture of the fuel elements. On the basis of the situation for reprocessing plants (particularly that of the WAK) and fuel element manufacturing plants, the development of a common (not uniform) regulation for all the examined plants in the fuel cycle was recommended. The report gives concrete suggestions for the content of the regulations. (orig.) [de

Conservation law of plants' energy value dependence of plants ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The plants differences in biochemical composition are analyzed, and the conservation law of energy value in plants is obtained. The link between the need for the nutrients and the plants biochemical composition is examined, Liebig's law is specified. Keywords: plant's biochemical composition, biochemistry, energy value in ...

An Automated and Continuous Plant Weight Measurement System for Plant Factory.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei-Tai; Yeh, Yu-Hui F; Liu, Ting-Yu; Lin, Ta-Te

2016-01-01

In plant factories, plants are usually cultivated in nutrient solution under a controllable environment. Plant quality and growth are closely monitored and precisely controlled. For plant growth evaluation, plant weight is an important and commonly used indicator. Traditional plant weight measurements are destructive and laborious. In order to measure and record the plant weight during plant growth, an automated measurement system was designed and developed herein. The weight measurement system comprises a weight measurement device and an imaging system. The weight measurement device consists of a top disk, a bottom disk, a plant holder and a load cell. The load cell with a resolution of 0.1 g converts the plant weight on the plant holder disk to an analog electrical signal for a precise measurement. The top disk and bottom disk are designed to be durable for different plant sizes, so plant weight can be measured continuously throughout the whole growth period, without hindering plant growth. The results show that plant weights measured by the weight measurement device are highly correlated with the weights estimated by the stereo-vision imaging system; hence, plant weight can be measured by either method. The weight growth of selected vegetables growing in the National Taiwan University plant factory were monitored and measured using our automated plant growth weight measurement system. The experimental results demonstrate the functionality, stability and durability of this system. The information gathered by this weight system can be valuable and beneficial for hydroponic plants monitoring research and agricultural research applications.

An Automated and Continuous Plant Weight Measurement System for Plant Factory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei-Tai eChen

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In plant factories, plants are usually cultivated in nutrient solution under a controllable environment. Plant quality and growth are closely monitored and precisely controlled. For plant growth evaluation, plant weight is an important and commonly used indicator. Traditional plant weight measurements are destructive and laborious. In order to measure and record the plant weight during plant growth, an automated measurement system was designed and developed herein. The weight measurement system comprises a weight measurement device and an imaging system. The weight measurement device consists of a top disk, a bottom disk, a plant holder and a load cell. The load cell with a resolution of 0.1 g converts the plant weight on the plant holder disk to an analogue electrical signal for a precise measurement. The top disk and bottom disk are designed to be durable for different plant sizes, so plant weight can be measured continuously throughout the whole growth period, without hindering plant growth. The results show that plant weights measured by the weight measurement device are highly correlated with the weights estimated by the stereo-vision imaging system; hence, plant weight can be measured by either method. The weight growth of selected vegetables growing in the National Taiwan University plant factory were monitored and measured using our automated plant growth weight measurement system. The experimental results demonstrate the functionality, stability and durability of this system. The information gathered by this weight system can be valuable and beneficial for hydroponic plants monitoring research and agricultural research applications.

Plant walkdown

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostov, M.

2000-01-01

This report covers the following: preparatory steps for performing plant walk-down; the objective of the first plant walk-down; plant walk-down procedures; earthquake screening evaluation; walk-down documentation; second plant walk-down. The following objectives concerning the plant walk-down(s) were achieved. The plant system configuration is verified in order to proceed with event tree and fault tree analyses. Systems interactions, other types of dependencies or plant unique features are identified. he safety related components that are judged to generically possess high capacities (i.e., larger than the earthquake review level) have been verified to contain no weaknesses. Further analyses needed to establish the capacities of remaining safety-related components are identified and necessary field data are obtained. Information on components is obtained to assist in HCLPF (fragility) evaluation and peer review of the seismic margin study

Advanced plant design recommendations from Cook Nuclear Plant experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmerman, W.L.

1993-01-01

A project in the American Electric Power Service Corporation to review operating and maintenance experience at Cook Nuclear Plant to identify recommendations for advanced nuclear plant design is described. Recommendations so gathered in the areas of plant fluid systems, instrument and control, testing and surveillance provisions, plant layout of equipment, provisions to enhance effective maintenance, ventilation systems, radiological protection, and construction, are presented accordingly. An example for a design review checklist for effective plant operations and maintenance is suggested

PlantDB – a versatile database for managing plant research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gruissem Wilhelm

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Research in plant science laboratories often involves usage of many different species, cultivars, ecotypes, mutants, alleles or transgenic lines. This creates a great challenge to keep track of the identity of experimental plants and stored samples or seeds. Results Here, we describe PlantDB – a Microsoft® Office Access database – with a user-friendly front-end for managing information relevant for experimental plants. PlantDB can hold information about plants of different species, cultivars or genetic composition. Introduction of a concise identifier system allows easy generation of pedigree trees. In addition, all information about any experimental plant – from growth conditions and dates over extracted samples such as RNA to files containing images of the plants – can be linked unequivocally. Conclusion We have been using PlantDB for several years in our laboratory and found that it greatly facilitates access to relevant information.

Top 10 plant viruses in molecular plant pathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholthof, Karen-Beth G; Adkins, Scott; Czosnek, Henryk; Palukaitis, Peter; Jacquot, Emmanuel; Hohn, Thomas; Hohn, Barbara; Saunders, Keith; Candresse, Thierry; Ahlquist, Paul; Hemenway, Cynthia; Foster, Gary D

2011-12-01

Many scientists, if not all, feel that their particular plant virus should appear in any list of the most important plant viruses. However, to our knowledge, no such list exists. The aim of this review was to survey all plant virologists with an association with Molecular Plant Pathology and ask them to nominate which plant viruses they would place in a 'Top 10' based on scientific/economic importance. The survey generated more than 250 votes from the international community, and allowed the generation of a Top 10 plant virus list for Molecular Plant Pathology. The Top 10 list includes, in rank order, (1) Tobacco mosaic virus, (2) Tomato spotted wilt virus, (3) Tomato yellow leaf curl virus, (4) Cucumber mosaic virus, (5) Potato virus Y, (6) Cauliflower mosaic virus, (7) African cassava mosaic virus, (8) Plum pox virus, (9) Brome mosaic virus and (10) Potato virus X, with honourable mentions for viruses just missing out on the Top 10, including Citrus tristeza virus, Barley yellow dwarf virus, Potato leafroll virus and Tomato bushy stunt virus. This review article presents a short review on each virus of the Top 10 list and its importance, with the intent of initiating discussion and debate amongst the plant virology community, as well as laying down a benchmark, as it will be interesting to see in future years how perceptions change and which viruses enter and leave the Top 10. © 2011 The Authors. Molecular Plant Pathology © 2011 BSPP and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

Data concerning the existing nuclear power plants in the world are presented. The data was retrieved from the SIEN (Nuclear and Energetic Information System) data bank. The information are organized in table forms as follows: nuclear plants, its status and type; installed nuclear power plants by country; nuclear power plants under construction by country; planned nuclear power plants by country; cancelled nuclear power plants by country; shut-down nuclear power plants by country. (E.G.) [pt

Sintering of Multilayered Porous Structures: Part I-Constitutive Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olevsky, Eugene; Tadesse Molla, Tesfaye; Frandsen, Henrik Lund

2013-01-01

Theoretical analyses of shrinkage and distortion kinetics during sintering of bilayered porous structures are carried out. The developed modeling framework is based on the continuum theory of sintering; it enables the direct assessment of the cofiring process outcomes and of the impact of process...

Evolutionary responses of native plant species to invasive plants : a review

OpenAIRE

Oduor, Ayub M. O.

2013-01-01

Strong competition from invasive plant species often leads to declines in abundances and may,in certain cases, cause localized extinctions of native plant species. Nevertheless, studies have shown that certain populations of native plant species can co-exist with invasive plant species, suggesting the possibility of adaptive evolutionary responses of those populations to the invasive plants. Empirical inference of evolutionary responses of the native plant species to invasive plants has invol...

Biomass gasification in district heating systems - The effect of economic energy policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wetterlund, Elisabeth; Soederstroem, Mats

2010-01-01

Biomass gasification is considered a key technology in reaching targets for renewable energy and CO 2 emissions reduction. This study evaluates policy instruments affecting the profitability of biomass gasification applications integrated in a Swedish district heating (DH) system for the medium-term future (around year 2025). Two polygeneration applications based on gasification technology are considered in this paper: (1) a biorefinery plant co-producing synthetic natural gas (SNG) and district heat; (2) a combined heat and power (CHP) plant using integrated gasification combined cycle technology. Using an optimisation model we identify the levels of policy support, here assumed to be in the form of tradable certificates, required to make biofuel production competitive to biomass based electricity generation under various energy market conditions. Similarly, the tradable green electricity certificate levels necessary to make gasification based electricity generation competitive to conventional steam cycle technology, are identified. The results show that in order for investment in the SNG biorefinery to be competitive to investment in electricity production in the DH system, biofuel certificates in the range of 24-42 EUR/MWh are needed. Electricity certificates are not a prerequisite for investment in gasification based CHP to be competitive to investment in conventional steam cycle CHP, given sufficiently high electricity prices. While the required biofuel policy support is relatively insensitive to variations in capital cost, the required electricity certificates show high sensitivity to variations in investment costs. It is concluded that the large capital commitment and strong dependency on policy instruments makes it necessary that DH suppliers believe in the long-sightedness of future support policies, in order for investments in large-scale biomass gasification in DH systems to be realised.

[Review on application of plant growth retardants in medicinal plants cultivation].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Yu-Yao; Guo, Bao-Lin; Cheng, Ming

2013-09-01

Plant growth retardants are widely used in cultivation of medicinal plant, but there is still lack of scientific guidance. In order to guide the use of plant growth retardants in medicinal plant cultivation efficiently and reasonably, this paper reviewed the mechanism, function characteristic, plant and soil residue of plant growth retardants, such as chlorocholine chloride, mepiquat chloride, paclobutrazol, unicnazle and succinic acid, and summarized the application of plant growth retardants in medicinal plants cultivation in recent years, with focus on the effect of growth and yield of the officinal organs and secondary metabolites.

Evolutionary responses of native plant species to invasive plants: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Oduor, Ayub M O

2013-12-01

Strong competition from invasive plant species often leads to declines in abundances and may, in certain cases, cause localized extinctions of native plant species. Nevertheless, studies have shown that certain populations of native plant species can co-exist with invasive plant species,suggesting the possibility of adaptive evolutionary responses of those populations to the invasive plants. Empirical inference of evolutionary responses of the native plant species to invasive plants has involved experiments comparing two conspecific groups of native plants for differences in expression of growth/reproductive traits: populations that have experienced competition from the invasive plant species (i.e. experienced natives) versus populations with no known history of interactions with the invasive plant species (i.e. naıve natives). Here, I employ a meta-analysis to obtain a general pattern of inferred evolutionary responses of native plant species from 53 such studies. In general, the experienced natives had significantly higher growth/reproductive performances than naıve natives, when grown with or without competition from invasive plants.While the current results indicate that certain populations of native plant species could potentially adapt evolutionarily to invasive plant species, the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that probably underlie such evolutionary responses remain unexplored and should be the focus of future studies.

Analysis of plant height between male sterile plants obtained by space flight and male fertile plants in Maize

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Moju; Huang Wenchao; Pan Guangtang; Rong Tingzhao; Zhu Yingguo

2004-01-01

F 2 fertility segregation population and the sister-cross fertility segregation population, which descended from the male sterile material, were analysed by their plant height of different growing stage between 2 populations of male sterile plants and male fertile plants. The plant height of different fertility plants come to the significance at 0.01 level in different stage through the whole growing period. The differences become more and more large with the development of plants, the maximum difference happens in adult stage. The increasing amount of different stage also shows significance at 0.01 level between two kinds of different fertility plants

Configuration management of plant modifications for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritsch, W.J.

1987-01-01

Due to the increasing complexity of nuclear power plant operation, regulatory pressure, and the large numbers of people required to operate and support the stations, the control of plant modifications at these plants needs to be expanded and improved. The aerospace and defense industries, as well as the owners or operators of large energy projects have established configuration management programs (CMPs) to control plant design changes. These programs are composed of well-defined functions for identifying, evaluating, recording, tracking, issuing, and documenting the established baseline conditions, as well as required changes to these baseline conditions. The purpose of this paper is to describe a recommended CMP for plant modifications consisting of a computerized data base installed on the utility's computer to provide a central storage of plant design and operations data necessary to control the following activities as they are affected by plant design changes: training; record management; operations; maintenance; health physics; planning/scheduling; procurement/inventory control; outage management (including modifications); and emergency response

Plant diversity surpasses plant functional groups and plant productivity as driver of soil biota in the long term.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nico Eisenhauer

2011-01-01

Full Text Available One of the most significant consequences of contemporary global change is the rapid decline of biodiversity in many ecosystems. Knowledge of the consequences of biodiversity loss in terrestrial ecosystems is largely restricted to single ecosystem functions. Impacts of key plant functional groups on soil biota are considered to be more important than those of plant diversity; however, current knowledge mainly relies on short-term experiments.We studied changes in the impacts of plant diversity and presence of key functional groups on soil biota by investigating the performance of soil microorganisms and soil fauna two, four and six years after the establishment of model grasslands. The results indicate that temporal changes of plant community effects depend on the trophic affiliation of soil animals: plant diversity effects on decomposers only occurred after six years, changed little in herbivores, but occurred in predators after two years. The results suggest that plant diversity, in terms of species and functional group richness, is the most important plant community property affecting soil biota, exceeding the relevance of plant above- and belowground productivity and the presence of key plant functional groups, i.e. grasses and legumes, with the relevance of the latter decreasing in time.Plant diversity effects on biota are not only due to the presence of key plant functional groups or plant productivity highlighting the importance of diverse and high-quality plant derived resources, and supporting the validity of the singular hypothesis for soil biota. Our results demonstrate that in the long term plant diversity essentially drives the performance of soil biota questioning the paradigm that belowground communities are not affected by plant diversity and reinforcing the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning.

Perspectives on plant vulnerabilities ampersand other plant and containment improvements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaChance, J.; Kolaczkowski, A.; Kahn, J.

1996-01-01

The primary goal of the Individual Plant Examination (IPE) Program was for licensees to identify plant-unique vulnerabilities and actions to address these vulnerabilities. A review of these vulnerabilities and plant improvements that were identified in the IPEs was performed as part of the IPE Insights Program sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The purpose of this effort was to characterize the identified vulnerabilities and the impact of suggested plant improvements. No specific definition for open-quotes vulnerabilityclose quotes was provided in NRC Generic Letter 88-20 or in the subsequent NRC IPE submittal guidance documented in NUREG-1335. Thus licensees were left to use their own definitions. Only 20% of the plants explicitly stated that they had vulnerabilities. However, most licensees identified other plant improvements to address issues not explicitly classified as vulnerabilities, but pertaining to areas in which overall plant safety could potentially be increased. The various definitions of open-quotes vulnerabilityclose quotes used by the licensees, explicitly identified vulnerabilities, proposed plant improvements to address these vulnerabilities, and other plant improvements are summarized and discussed

Life management plants at nuclear power plants PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esteban, G.

2014-01-01

Since in 2009 the CSN published the Safety Instruction IS-22 (1) which established the regulatory framework the Spanish nuclear power plants must meet in regard to Life Management, most of Spanish nuclear plants began a process of convergence of their Life Management Plants to practice 10 CFR 54 (2), which is the current standard of Spanish nuclear industry for Ageing Management, either during the design lifetime of the plant, as well as for Long-Term Operation. This article describe how Life Management Plans are being implemented in Spanish PWR NPP. (Author)

Carbon, energy and forest biomass: new opportunities and needs for forest management in Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Forest biomass provides a relevant fraction of world energy needs, not only in developing Countries. In Italy, several factors are presently contributing to a new interest for this resource, ranging from regulatory quotas for renewables to the increasing price of fossil fuel to the emergence of a European carbon stock exchange. This focus on renewable resources constitutes an important opportunity for the forest sector and for society by and large, but because of the potential dimensions of the emerging market it also requires new planning instruments, in order to avoid a sudden and widespread resumption of coppice management and a reduction of standing carbon stock in forest ecosystems, which would run contrary to the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol. An example of the future demand for biomasses in Central Italy is presented, based on the possible use of fuelwood in new coal-fired power plants by the 'co-firing' technology.

Historical plant cost and annual production expenses for selected electric plants, 1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

This publication is a composite of the two prior publications, Hydroelectric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses and Thermal-Electric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses. Beginning in 1979, Thermal-Electric Plant Construction Cost and Annual Production Expenses contained information on both steam-electric and gas-turbine electric plant construction cost and annual production expenses. The summarized historical plant cost described under Historical Plant Cost in this report is the net cumulative-to-date actual outlays or expenditures for land, structures, and equipment to the utility. Historical plant cost is the initial investment in plant (cumulative to the date of initial commercial operation) plus the costs of all additions to the plant, less the value of retirements. Thus, historical plant cost includes expenditures made over several years, as modifications are made to the plant. Power Production Expenses is the reporting year's plant operation and maintenance expenses, including fuel expenses. These expenses do not include annual fixed charges on plant cost (capital costs) such as interest on debt, depreciation or amortization expenses, and taxes. Consequently, total production expenses and the derived unit costs are not the total cost of producing electric power at the various plants. This publication contains data on installed generating capacity, net generation, net capability, historical plant cost, production expenses, fuel consumption, physical and operating plant characteristics, and other relevant statistical information for selected plants

Aquatic Plant Control Research Program. Allelopathic Aquatic Plants for Aquatic Plant Management: A Feasibility Study

Science.gov (United States)

1989-10-01

1978. " Ecotoxicology of aquatic plant communi- ties," Principles of Ecotoxicology , SCOPE Report 12, Chapter 11, pp 239-255. [Heavy metals, Pollutants...Phragmites communis and Equisetum limosum were cultivated . They found plant-plant influences depend on soil type. Typha latifolia, S. A2 lacustris, and

Different palm oil production systems for energy purposes and their greenhouse gas implications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wicke, B.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/306645955; Dornburg, V.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/189955007; Junginger, H.M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/202130703; Faaij, A.P.C.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/10685903X

2008-01-01

This study analyses the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) production in northern Borneo (Malaysia), their transport to the Netherlands and their co-firing with natural gas for electricity production. In the case of CPO, conversion to

Mercury speciation in pulverized fuel co-combustion and gasification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sable, S.P.

2007-01-01

Coal based power generation is a significant source of mercury emissions to the atmosphere and this has attracted huge attention in the past decade. Recently, the concerns regarding global warming and need for new energy resources introduced the concept of cofiring of biomass and waste as secondary

Making Plant-Support Structures From Waste Plant Fiber

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Robert C.; < oscjmocl. < attjew K/; {ertzbprm. A,amda; Ej (e. Cjad); Hunt, John

2006-01-01

Environmentally benign, biodegradable structures for supporting growing plants can be made in a process based on recycling of such waste plant fiber materials as wheat straw or of such derivative materials as paper and cardboard. Examples of structures that can be made in this way include plant plugs, pots, planter-lining mats, plant fences, and root and shoot barriers. No chemical binders are used in the process. First, the plant material is chopped into smaller particles. The particles are leached with water or steam to remove material that can inhibit plant growth, yielding a fibrous slurry. If the desired structures are plugs or sheets, then the slurry is formed into the desired shapes in a pulp molding subprocess. If the desired structures are root and shoot barriers, pots, or fences, then the slurry is compression-molded to the desired shapes in a heated press. The processed materials in these structures have properties similar to those of commercial pressboard, but unlike pressboard, these materials contain no additives. These structures have been found to withstand one growth cycle, even when wet

Chapter 15. Plant pathology and managing wildland plant disease systems

Science.gov (United States)

David L. Nelson

2004-01-01

Obtaining specific, reliable knowledge on plant diseases is essential in wildland shrub resource management. However, plant disease is one of the most neglected areas of wildland resources experimental research. This section is a discussion of plant pathology and how to use it in managing plant disease systems.

Biogeographical diversity of plant associated microbes in arcto-alpine plants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kumar, Manoj Gopala Krishnan

2016-01-01

Terrestrial plants and microbes have co-evolved since the emergence of the former on Earth. Associations with microorganisms can be either beneficial or detrimental for plants. Microbes can be found in the soil surrounding the plant roots, but also in all plant tissues, including seeds. In

Exotic plant species attack revegetation plants in post-coal mining areas

Science.gov (United States)

Yusuf, Muhammad; Arisoesilaningsih, Endang

2017-11-01

This study aimed to explore some invasive exotic plant species that have the potential to disrupt the growth of revegetation plants in post-coal mining areas. This research was conducted in a revegetation area of PT, Amanah Anugerah Adi Mulia (A3M) Kintap site, South Borneo. Direct observation was carried out on some revegetation areas by observing the growth of revegetation plants disturbed by exotic plant species and the spread of exotic plant species. Based on observation, several invasive exotic plant species were identified including Mikania cordata, Centrosema pubescence, Calopogonium mucunoides, Mimosa pudica, Ageratum conyzoides, and Chromolaena odorata. These five plant species grew wild in the revegetation area and showed ability to disrupt the growth of other plants. In some tree species, such as Acacia mangium, Paraserianthes falcataria, M. cordata could inhibit the growth and even kill the trees through covering the tree canopy. So, the trees could not receive optimum sun light for photosynthesis processes. M. cordata was also observed to have the most widespread distribution. Several exotic plant species such as C. mucunoides, M. pudica, and A. conyzoides were observed to have deep root systems compared with plant species used for revegetation. This growth characteristic allowed exotic plant species to win the competition for nutrient absorption with other plant species.

Co-combustion of anthracite coal and wood pellets: Thermodynamic analysis, combustion efficiency, pollutant emissions and ash slagging.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Feihong; Zhong, Zhaoping

2018-08-01

This work presents studies on the co-combustion of anthracite coal and wood pellets in fluidized bed. Prior to the fluidized bed combustion, thermogravimetric analysis are performed to investigate the thermodynamic behavior of coal and wood pellets. The results show that the thermal decomposition of blends is divided into four stages. The co-firing of coal and wood pellets can promote the combustion reaction and reduce the emission of gaseous pollutants, such as SO 2 and NO. It is important to choose the proportion of wood pellets during co-combustion due to the low combustion efficiency caused by large pellets with poor fluidization. Wood pellets can inhibit the volatilization of trace elements, especially for Cr, Ni and V. In addition, the slagging ratio of wood pellets ash is reduced by co-firing with coal. The research on combustion of coal and wood pellets is of great significance in engineering. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electronic plants

Science.gov (United States)

Stavrinidou, Eleni; Gabrielsson, Roger; Gomez, Eliot; Crispin, Xavier; Nilsson, Ove; Simon, Daniel T.; Berggren, Magnus

2015-01-01

The roots, stems, leaves, and vascular circuitry of higher plants are responsible for conveying the chemical signals that regulate growth and functions. From a certain perspective, these features are analogous to the contacts, interconnections, devices, and wires of discrete and integrated electronic circuits. Although many attempts have been made to augment plant function with electroactive materials, plants’ “circuitry” has never been directly merged with electronics. We report analog and digital organic electronic circuits and devices manufactured in living plants. The four key components of a circuit have been achieved using the xylem, leaves, veins, and signals of the plant as the template and integral part of the circuit elements and functions. With integrated and distributed electronics in plants, one can envisage a range of applications including precision recording and regulation of physiology, energy harvesting from photosynthesis, and alternatives to genetic modification for plant optimization. PMID:26702448

Stress tolerant plants

OpenAIRE

Rubio, Vicente; Iniesto Sánchez, Elisa; Irigoyen Miguel, María Luisa

2014-01-01

[EN] The invention relates to transgenic plants and methods for modulating abscisic acid (ABA) perception and signal transduction in plants. The plants find use in increasing yield in plants, particularly under abiotic stress.

The application of plant information system on third Qinshan nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Wangtian

2005-01-01

Plant overall control has been applied in Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, which enhances the security of plant operation, but it is not enough to improve the technical administration level. In order to integrate the overall information and to improve the technical administration level more. Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant applies the plant information system. This thesis introduces the application of plant information system in Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant and the effect to the plant after the system is carried into execution, in addition, it does more analysis and exceptions for application of plant information system in the future. (authors)

Linking plant nutritional status to plant-microbe interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalhais, Lilia C; Dennis, Paul G; Fan, Ben; Fedoseyenko, Dmitri; Kierul, Kinga; Becker, Anke; von Wiren, Nicolaus; Borriss, Rainer

2013-01-01

Plants have developed a wide-range of adaptations to overcome nutrient limitation, including changes to the quantity and composition of carbon-containing compounds released by roots. Root-associated bacteria are largely influenced by these compounds which can be perceived as signals or substrates. Here, we evaluate the effect of root exudates collected from maize plants grown under nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), iron (Fe) and potassium (K) deficiencies on the transcriptome of the plant growth promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42. The largest shifts in gene expression patterns were observed in cells exposed to exudates from N-, followed by P-deficient plants. Exudates from N-deprived maize triggered a general stress response in FZB42 in the exponential growth phase, which was evidenced by the suppression of numerous genes involved in protein synthesis. Exudates from P-deficient plants induced bacterial genes involved in chemotaxis and motility whilst exudates released by Fe and K deficient plants did not cause dramatic changes in the bacterial transcriptome during exponential growth phase. Global transcriptional changes in bacteria elicited by nutrient deficient maize exudates were significantly correlated with concentrations of the amino acids aspartate, valine and glutamate in root exudates suggesting that transcriptional profiling of FZB42 associated with metabolomics of N, P, Fe and K-deficient maize root exudates is a powerful approach to better understand plant-microbe interactions under conditions of nutritional stress.

Plant diversity and plant identity influence Fusarium communities in soil.

Science.gov (United States)

LeBlanc, Nicholas; Kinkel, Linda; Kistler, H Corby

2017-01-01

Fusarium communities play important functional roles in soil and in plants as pathogens, endophytes, and saprotrophs. This study tests how rhizosphere Fusarium communities may vary with plant species, changes in the diversity of the surrounding plant community, and soil physiochemical characteristics. Fusarium communities in soil associated with the roots of two perennial prairie plant species maintained as monocultures or growing within polyculture plant communities were characterized using targeted metagenomics. Amplicon libraries targeting the RPB2 locus were generated from rhizosphere soil DNAs and sequenced using pyrosequencing. Sequences were clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and assigned a taxonomy using the Evolutionary Placement Algorithm. Fusarium community composition was differentiated between monoculture and polyculture plant communities, and by plant species in monoculture, but not in polyculture. Taxonomic classification of the Fusarium OTUs showed a predominance of F. tricinctum and F. oxysporum as well of the presence of a clade previously only found in the Southern Hemisphere. Total Fusarium richness was not affected by changes in plant community richness or correlated with soil physiochemical characteristics. However, OTU richness within two predominant phylogenetic lineages within the genus was positively or negatively correlated with soil physiochemical characteristics among samples within each lineage. This work shows that plant species, plant community richness, and soil physiochemical characteristics may all influence the composition and richness of Fusarium communities in soil.

Plant Density Effect in Different Planting Dates on Growth Indices, Yield and

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F Azizi

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In order to determine the appropriate plant density in different planting dates for sweet corn cultivar KSC403su, an experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design in split plot lay out with three replications at Seed and Plant Improvement Institute in Karaj in 2006. Three planting dates (22 May, 5 June and 22 June were assigned as main plots and three plant densities (65000, 75000 and 85000 plants per hectare were considered as sub plots. Effect of planting date on row/ear, 1000 kernels weight, biological yield and harvest index was significant at 1% probability level and it was significant at 5% probability level for kernels/ear row and grain yield. All traits decreased with postponement of planting date to 5 June except for row/ear, kernels/row and grain yield. More delay in planting from 22 May to 22 June caused that grain yield was decreased significantly about 32.5% (from 14.45 to 9.78 ton/ha. Effect of plant density was significant at 1% probability level for all the traits. All of the traits decreased significantly with increasing plant density except for biological yield. The highest grain yield was resulted from 65000 plants per hectare density (14.20 ton/ha. Interaction effect of planting date and plant density was significant at 5% probability level for biological yield and harvest index but it wasn’t significant for the other traits. Growth indices decreased with delay in planting date and increasing plant density. Only leaf area index increased in more plant densities. From the results of this experiment it might be resulted that appropriate planting date to produce the highest grain yield is 22 May to 5 June for sweet corn cultivar KSC403su and also the highest grain yield can obtain from 65000 plants per hectare density.

Medicinal Plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillipson, J. David

1997-01-01

Highlights the demand for medicinal plants as pharmaceuticals and the demand for health care treatments worldwide and the issues that arise from this. Discusses new drugs from plants, anticancer drugs, antiviral drugs, antimalarial drugs, herbal remedies, quality, safety, efficacy, and conservation of plants. Contains 30 references. (JRH)

Regulatory requirements for desalination plant coupled with nuclear reactor plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yune, Young Gill; Kim, Woong Sik; Jo, Jong Chull; Kim, Hho Jung; Song, Jae Myung

2005-01-01

A small-to-medium sized reactor has been developed for multi-purposes such as seawater desalination, ship propulsion, and district heating since early 1990s in Korea. Now, the construction of its scaled-down research reactor, equipped with a seawater desalination plant, is planned to demonstrate the safety and performance of the design of the multi-purpose reactor. And the licensing application of the research reactor is expected in the near future. Therefore, a development of regulatory requirements/guides for a desalination plant coupled with a nuclear reactor plant is necessary for the preparation of the forthcoming licensing review of the research reactor. In this paper, the following contents are presented: the design of the desalination plant, domestic and foreign regulatory requirements relevant to desalination plants, and a draft of regulatory requirements/guides for a desalination plant coupled with a nuclear reactor plant

Plant simulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukumitsu, Hiroyuki

1998-01-01

A simulator of a reactor plant of the present invention comprises a plurality of distributed computers, an indication processing section and an operation section. The simulation calculation functions of various kinds of plant models in the plant are shared by the plurality of computers. The indication processing section controls collection of data of the plant simulated by the computers and instructions of an operator. The operation section is operated by the operator and the results of operation are transmitted to the indication processing section, to conduct operation trainings and display the results of the simulation. Each of the computers and the indication processing portion are connected with each other by a network having a memory for common use. Data such as the results of calculation of plant models and various kinds of parameters of the plant required commonly to the calculators and the indication processing section are stored in the common memory, and adapted to be used by way of the network. (N.H.)

[Distribution of HCB discharged from a chemical plant in plants].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jing; Wang, Lin-Ling; Lu, Xiao-Hua; Yuan, Song-Hu; Liu, Xi-Xiang; Wang, Yue; Zhao, Qian; Mei, Ling-Fang

2009-04-15

The distribution characteristics of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in plant and rhizosphere soil in contamination conduit, a nearby river and a cropland were studied and the impact factors were also discussed. The results are summarized as follows: the range of the HCB concentration in plant and rhizosphere soil in investigation area were respectively from 4.45 microg x kg(-1) to 1,189.89 microg x kg(-1) (dw) and from 27.93 microg x kg(-1) to 3,480.71 microg x kg(-1) (dw). Higher enrichment of HCB in woodplant than herbs due to higher fat concentration in woodplant in the contamination conduit and the rich concentrtion factor of woodplant and herbs were 0.41-2.55 and 0.01-1.34. The range of HCB concentrations in plants in nearby croplands was significantly wide (4.45-333.1 microg x kg(-1)) while HCB concentrations in different parts of plant were various, e.g. HCB concentrations in fruit, root and shoot of taro were 318.77 microg x kg(-1), 281.02 microg x kg(-1) and 10.94 microg x kg(-1). There was a remarkable positive relation between the concentrations of HCB in plant and fat concentration of plant while no relativity between the concentrations of HCB in plant and those in ground soils in the contamination conduit and cropland. The concentration levels of HCB in plant and rhizosphere soil in river were dramatically decreased with increasing distance from contaminated conduit. There was a remarkable positive relation between the concentrations of HCB in plant and those in ground soils but no relation between concentrations of HCB in plant and fat concentration of plant in river. The distribution characteristics of HCB in plants were influenced by contaminated levels, fat concentration and Partition-transfer model.

Plant extraction process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2006-01-01

A method for producing a plant extract comprises incubating a plant material with an enzyme composition comprising a lipolytic enzyme.......A method for producing a plant extract comprises incubating a plant material with an enzyme composition comprising a lipolytic enzyme....

Integrating Studies on Plant-Pollinator and Plant-Herbivore Interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lucas-Barbosa, Dani

2016-01-01

Research on herbivore-induced plant defence and research on pollination ecology have had a long history of separation. Plant reproduction of most angiosperm species is mediated by pollinators, and the effects of herbivore-induced plant defences on pollinator behaviour have been largely neglected.

On-line acquisition of plant related and environmental parameters (plant monitoring) in gerbera: determining plant responses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baas, R.; Slootweg, G.

2004-01-01

For on-line plant monitoring equipment to be functional in commercial glasshouse horticulture, relations between sensor readings and plant responses on both the short (days) and long term (weeks) are required. For this reason, systems were installed to monitor rockwool grown gerbera plants on a

Electrodialytic removal of Cd from biomass combustion fly ash suspensions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirkelund, Gunvor M.; Ottosen, Lisbeth M.; Damoe, Anne J.

2013-01-01

was investigated with the aim of enabling reuse of the ashes. The ashes originated from combustion of straw (two ashes), wood chips, and co-firing of wood pellets and fuel oil, respectively. A series of laboratory scale electrodialytic remediation experiments were conducted with each ash. The initial Cd...

Plutonium Plant, Trombay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yadav, J.S.; Agarwal, K.

2017-01-01

The journey of Indian nuclear fuel reprocessing started with the commissioning of Plutonium Plant (PP) at Trombay on 22"n"d January, 1965 with an aim to reprocess the spent fuel from research reactor CIRUS. The basic process chosen for the plant was Plutonium Uranium Reduction EXtraction (PUREX) process. In seventies, the plant was subjected to major design modifications and replacement of hardware, which later met the additional demand from research reactor DHRUVA. The augmented plutonium plant has been operating since 1983. Experience gained from this plant was very much helpful to design future reprocessing plant in the country

[Intoxications with plants].

Science.gov (United States)

Kupper, Jacqueline; Reichert, Cornelia

2009-05-01

Ingestions of plants rarely lead to life-threatening intoxications. Highly toxic plants, which can cause death, are monkshood (Aconitum sp.), yew (Taxus sp.) and autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale). Lethal ingestions of monkshood and yew are usually suicides, intoxications with autumn crocus are mostly accidental ingestions of the leaves mistaken for wild garlic (Allium ursinum). Severe intoxications can occur with plants of the nightshade family like deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), angel's trumpet (Datura suaveolens) or jimsonweed (Datura stramonium). These plants are ingested for their psychoactive effects. Ingestion of plant material by children most often only causes minor symptoms or no symptoms at all, as children usually do not eat great quantities of the plants. They are especially attracted by the colorful berries. There are plants with mostly cardiovascular effects like monkshood, yew and Digitalis sp. Some of the most dangerous plants belong to this group. Plants of the nightshade family cause an anticholinergic syndrome. With golden chain (Laburnum anagyroides), castor bean (Ricinus communis) and raw beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) we see severe gastrointestinal effects. Autumn crocus contains a cell toxin, colchicine, which leads to multiorgan failure. Different plants are irritative or even caustic to the skin. Treatment is usually symptomatic. Activated charcoal is administered within one hour after ingestion (1 g/kg). Endoscopic removal of plant material can be considered with ingestions of great quantities of highly toxic plants. Administration of repeated doses of charcoal (1-2 g/h every 2-4 hours) may be effective in case of oleander poisoning. There exist only two antidotes: Anti-digoxin Fab fragments can be used with cardenolide glycoside-containing plants (Digitalis sp., Oleander). Physostigmine is the antidote for severe anticholinergic symptoms of the CNS. Antibodies against colchicine, having been developed in France, are not available at

Plant life management and maintenance technologies for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikegami, Tsukasa; Aoki, Masataka; Shimura, Takao; Kaimori, Kimihiro; Koike, Masahiro

2001-01-01

Nuclear power generation occupying an important position for energy source in Japan and supplying about one third of total electric power usage is now required for further upgrading of its economics under regulation relaxation of electric power business. And, under execution retardation of its new planning plant, it becomes important to operate the already established plants for longer term and to secure their stability. Therefore, technical development in response to the plant life elongation is promoted under cooperation of the Ministry of Economics and Industries, electric power companies, literate, and plant manufacturers. Under such conditions, the Hitachi, Ltd. has progressed some technical developments on check inspection, repairs and maintenance for succession of the already established nuclear power plants for longer term under securing of their safety and reliability. And in future, by proposing the check inspection and maintenance program combined with these technologies, it is planned to exert promotion of maintenance program with minimum total cost from a viewpoint of its plant life. Here were described on technologies exerted in the Hitachi, Ltd. such as construction of plant maintenance program in response to plant life elongation agreeing with actual condition of each plant, yearly change mechanism grasping, life evaluation on instruments and materials necessary for maintenance, adequate check inspection, repairs and exchange, and so forth. (G.K.)

Plant life management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charbonneau, S.; Framatome, J.B.

1992-01-01

Plant life assessment and extension studies have been performed by numerous companies all over the world. Critical equipment has been identified as well as various degradation mechanisms involved in the plant aging process. Nowadays one has to think what to implement to improve the existing situation in the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). FRAMATOME has undertaken this thought process in order to find the right answers and bring them to utilities facing either critical concern for plant life extension or the problem of management of power plant potential longevity. This is why we prepared a Plant Life Improvement Action Plan, comprising 10 (ten) major items described hereafter using examples of work performed by FRAMATOME for its utility customers desiring to manage the lives of their plants, both in France with EDF and abroad

Plant Research '75

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1975-01-01

Research is reported on stomatal regulation of the gas exchanges between plant and environment; inhibitory effects in flower formation; plant growth and development through hormones; hormone action; development and nitrogen fixation in algae; primary cell wall glycoprotein ectensin; enzymic mechanisms and control of polysaccharide and glycoprotein synthesis; molecular studies of membrane studies; sensory transduction in plants; regulation of formation of protein complexes and enzymes in higher plant cell and mechanism of sulfur dioxide toxicity in plants. (PCS)

Plant air systems safety study: Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-05-01

The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Air System facilities and operations are reviewed for potential safety problems not covered by standard industrial safety procedures. Information is presented under the following section headings: facility and process description (general); air plant equipment; air distribution system; safety systems; accident analysis; plant air system safety overview; and conclusion

PlantCV v2: Image analysis software for high-throughput plant phenotyping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malia A. Gehan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Systems for collecting image data in conjunction with computer vision techniques are a powerful tool for increasing the temporal resolution at which plant phenotypes can be measured non-destructively. Computational tools that are flexible and extendable are needed to address the diversity of plant phenotyping problems. We previously described the Plant Computer Vision (PlantCV software package, which is an image processing toolkit for plant phenotyping analysis. The goal of the PlantCV project is to develop a set of modular, reusable, and repurposable tools for plant image analysis that are open-source and community-developed. Here we present the details and rationale for major developments in the second major release of PlantCV. In addition to overall improvements in the organization of the PlantCV project, new functionality includes a set of new image processing and normalization tools, support for analyzing images that include multiple plants, leaf segmentation, landmark identification tools for morphometrics, and modules for machine learning.

Are atomic power plants saver than nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roeglin, H.C.

1977-01-01

It is rather impossible to establish nuclear power plants against the resistance of the population. To prevail over this resistance, a clarification of the citizens-initiatives motives which led to it will be necessary. This is to say: It is quite impossible for our population to understand what really heappens in nuclear power plants. They cannot identify themselves with nuclear power plants and thus feel very uncomfortable. As the total population feels the same way it is prepared for solidarity with the citizens-initiatives even if they believe in the necessity of nuclear power plants. Only an information-policy making transparent the social-psychological reasons of the population for being against nuclear power plants could be able to prevail over the resistance. More information about the technical procedures is not sufficient at all. (orig.) [de

Stem parasitic plant Cuscuta australis (dodder) transfers herbivory-induced signals among plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Hettenhausen, Christian; Li, Juan; Zhuang, Huifu; Sun, Huanhuan; Xu, Yuxing; Qi, Jinfeng; Zhang, Jingxiong; Lei, Yunting; Qin, Yan; Sun, Guiling; Wang, Lei; Baldwin, Ian T; Wu, Jianqiang

2017-08-08

Cuscuta spp. (i.e., dodders) are stem parasites that naturally graft to their host plants to extract water and nutrients; multiple adjacent hosts are often parasitized by one or more Cuscuta plants simultaneously, forming connected plant clusters. Metabolites, proteins, and mRNAs are known to be transferred from hosts to Cuscuta , and Cuscuta bridges even facilitate host-to-host virus movement. Whether Cuscuta bridges transmit ecologically meaningful signals remains unknown. Here we show that, when host plants are connected by Cuscuta bridges, systemic herbivory signals are transmitted from attacked plants to unattacked plants, as revealed by the large transcriptomic changes in the attacked local leaves, undamaged systemic leaves of the attacked plants, and leaves of unattacked but connected hosts. The interplant signaling is largely dependent on the jasmonic acid pathway of the damaged local plants, and can be found among conspecific or heterospecific hosts of different families. Importantly, herbivore attack of one host plant elevates defensive metabolites in the other systemic Cuscuta bridge-connected hosts, resulting in enhanced resistance against insects even in several consecutively Cuscuta -connected host plants over long distances (> 100 cm). By facilitating plant-to-plant signaling, Cuscuta provides an information-based means of countering the resource-based fitness costs to their hosts.

PlantPAN: Plant promoter analysis navigator, for identifying combinatorial cis-regulatory elements with distance constraint in plant gene groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huang Hsien-Da

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The elucidation of transcriptional regulation in plant genes is important area of research for plant scientists, following the mapping of various plant genomes, such as A. thaliana, O. sativa and Z. mays. A variety of bioinformatic servers or databases of plant promoters have been established, although most have been focused only on annotating transcription factor binding sites in a single gene and have neglected some important regulatory elements (tandem repeats and CpG/CpNpG islands in promoter regions. Additionally, the combinatorial interaction of transcription factors (TFs is important in regulating the gene group that is associated with the same expression pattern. Therefore, a tool for detecting the co-regulation of transcription factors in a group of gene promoters is required. Results This study develops a database-assisted system, PlantPAN (Plant Promoter Analysis Navigator, for recognizing combinatorial cis-regulatory elements with a distance constraint in sets of plant genes. The system collects the plant transcription factor binding profiles from PLACE, TRANSFAC (public release 7.0, AGRIS, and JASPER databases and allows users to input a group of gene IDs or promoter sequences, enabling the co-occurrence of combinatorial transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs within a defined distance (20 bp to 200 bp to be identified. Furthermore, the new resource enables other regulatory features in a plant promoter, such as CpG/CpNpG islands and tandem repeats, to be displayed. The regulatory elements in the conserved regions of the promoters across homologous genes are detected and presented. Conclusion In addition to providing a user-friendly input/output interface, PlantPAN has numerous advantages in the analysis of a plant promoter. Several case studies have established the effectiveness of PlantPAN. This novel analytical resource is now freely available at http://PlantPAN.mbc.nctu.edu.tw.

Wet flue gas desulphurization and new fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kiil, S.; Dam-Johansen, K.; Michelsen, M.L.

1998-04-01

This thesis describes experimental and theoretical investigations of wet flue gas desulphurization (FGD). A review of the current knowledge of the various rate determining steps in wet FDG plants is presented. The mechanism underlying the rate of dissolution of finely grained limestone particles was examined in a laboratory batch apparatus using acid titration. Three Danish limestones of different origin were tested. A transient, mass transport controlled, mathematical model was developed to describe the dissolution process. Model predictions were found to be qualitatively in good agreement with experimental data. Empirical correlations for the dimensionless mass transfer coefficients in a pilot plant (falling-film column) were determined. The presence of inert particles in the liquid phase was found to decrease the rate of gas phase mass transport with up to 15%, though the effect could not be correlated. A detailed model for a wet FGD pilot plant, based on the falling film principle, was developed. All important rate determining steps, absorption of SO{sub 2}, oxidation of HSO{sub 3}{sup -}, dissolution of limestone, and crystallisation of gypsum were included. Model predictions were compared to experimental data such as gas phase concentration profiles of SO{sub 2}, slurry pH-profiles, solids contents of slurry, liquid phase concentrations, and residual limestone in the gypsum. The possibility of co-firing straw and coal was investigated in a full-scale power plant. No effects on the overall performance of the wet FGD plant were observed, though laboratory experiments with fine dust and fly ash from the full-scale experiments showed a decrease in limestone reactivity. (EG) EFP-95. 45 refs.; Also ph.d. thesis of Soeren Kiil

Los Alamos Nuclear Plant Analyzer: an interactive power-plant simulation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)