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A Typical BRI Renewable Energy Plant

BRI’s plants will be modular, and by adding modules, their capacities can be readily expanded.  A single module will combine two complete energy production lines, each of which will process 125 to 150 tons of waste per day.  Each module will process up to 100,000 tons of biomass annually, and depending upon the BTU content of the feedstock, will produce approximately 6-8 million gallons of ethanol from green waste or MSW and could additionally generate 5-6 MW of power or produce other by-products from the waste heat that is generated.  The amount of ethanol and electricity to be produced by any module can be varied according to energy demand.

A mid-sized BRI Renewable Energy Plant would employ seven modules to produce approximately 50 million gallons of ethanol.  It would process 700,000 tons of municipal solid waste or other organic materials per year.

The energy Department is placing a big bet on a process called gasification. Long hailed as a more environmentally friendly way to turn coal into electricity, the process might also provide a faster and eventually cheaper way to produce ethanol from a variety of renewable sources collectively known as biomass, some scientists say.

For corn-based ethanol plants, the process of producing ethanol is as simple as brewing beer: sugars are extracted from the corn kernels and then enzymes are added to ferment it into alcohol. But biomass feedstocks don’t easily give up their starches, so more expensive steps are needed to ferment cellulose in high-pressure chambers that have limited amounts of oxygen, according to Lanny Schmidt, a University of Minnesota chemical engineer.

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman pegged the current cost of gasification as being about twice as much as the average $1.10 per gallon cost at corn-based ethanol plants.

A gasifier turns plant material into a synthesis gas consisting mostly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The “syngas” then could be turned into a variety of fuels including ethanol, hydrogen and environmentally friendly versions of diesel or gasoline, Schmidt said.

“These gasifiers are some high-tech stuff with high pressures and some more complexities,” he said. “But they’re probably more versatile at the end of the day to modify them as the demand and supplies change.”

Gasification is a fairly simple process, based on chemistry developed in the 1920s, said Robert Brown, an Iowa State University chemical engineering professor and director of the school’s Office of Biorenewables Programs.

The syngas produced during gasification mixes more readily with chemical catalysts, so it could be more easily turned into other fuels, chemicals and materials. Just add steam and you could produce hydrogen to power a fuel-cell vehicle, Brown said.

Gasification is a process that converts carbon-containing materials, such as coal, petroleum coke, municipal solid waste, biomass or bitumen, into a synthesis gas, (syngas), composed primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

Gasification occurs when a carbon-containing feedstock is exposed to steam at elevated temperatures and/or pressures in the presence of controlled amounts of air or oxygen.  Syngas can be used as a fuel to generate electricity or steam, or used as a basic chemical building block in the petrochemical and refining industries.

Alter Nrg uses gasification to convert low-value feedstocks into environmentally-responsible high-value energy products through the development of innovative projects.

Plasma arc technology is a cost-effective and comprehensive solution for the destruction and reduction in volume of municipal, industrial and hazardous wastes. The NASA-developed technology is a 40-year-old proven technology with practical applications for the benefit of local governments and communities.

Westinghouse Plasma Corporation, a key Geoplasma team member providing the plasma arc equipment and design, developed commercial applications for metal extraction and waste-to-energy in Japan, where plasma gasification facilities have been used to destroy MSW for more than five years.

WPC Plasma Technology provides a uniquely flexible process for the conversion of opportunity fuels, such as, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), coal, petroleum coke and biomass, into synthesis gas ‘syngas’ that can be transformed into a variety of energy products including electricity, transportation fuels and many others using readily available technologies.

Panda Ethanol is positioned to be a leading innovator in the ethanol industry. Ethanol can be used as an effective octane-boosting fuel additive or as a stand-alone fuel. industry. Drawing on our founding company’s 25 years of experience in the merchant power industry, we are continually finding ways to use alternative technology to make our operations more efficient.

For example, four of our plants will utilize biomassBiomass: Plant matter such as trees, grasses, agricultural crops or other biological material such as cattle manure. gasification to generate the steam used in the ethanol manufacturing process. Each of these facilities will be fueled by gasifying up to 1 billion pounds of cattle manure a year. By using a renewable fuel (cattle manure) to create a renewable fuel (ethanol), Panda is significantly reducing these facilities’ exposure to natural gas prices, conserving the energy equivalent of 1,000 barrels of oil a day, providing increased price certainty for the cost of fuel, and creating a significant cost advantage depending on the prevailing price of natural gas. In addition, by disposing of the manure in a clean way, we are addressing a growing environmental hazard.

Flexible Fuel Boiler Cures “The Natural Gas Blues” (PDF 48 Kb)
Historically, ethanol plants and other industrial steam users have produced steam with natural gas-fired boilers. These gas boilers are relatively inexpensive to construct but leave their owners completely dependent upon the volatile natural gas market. Price fluctuations, supply disruptions and curtailment in the natural gas market have had, and will continue to have, a substantial impact on the profitability of these plants. The bottom line profit impact caused by wild increases in natural gas prices is the basis of “The Natural Gas Blues.” Many companies have cured “The Natural Gas Blues,” increasing their profitability and limiting their energy cost fluctuations by adding a flexible fuel boiler system. EPI

 Cox Interior of Campbellsville, Kentucky, is an example of a secondary wood products company making use of a co-generation system. Plant Operator Jerry Pierce estimates that 75 to 80 percent of the plant’s power needs are met through co-generation. Cox Interior sells excess power back to the utility company.

Overview of a Privately Owned Small-Scale Biomass Co-Generation Project at Cox Interior, Inc.

BG&E has acquired the rights to develop a recovered materials processing facility in Forsyth County, Georgia. This project will be the first commercial power generation project utilizing FERCO Enterprises’ SilvaGas® process to produce a medium Btu gas through the gasification of feedstock. The feedstock for this process includes untreated wood waste, untreated sawmill residue, and herbaceous agricultural waste. The project will be adjacent to an operating construction and demolition (C&D) landfill. Greenleaf Environmental Solutions (GES) will develop the plant adjacent to a landfill that is currently owned and operated by Greenleaf Recycling, LLC (Greenleaf) of Cumming, Georgia. Greenleaf has agreed to provide up to 800 tons per day of biomass to GES. This will allow construction and other woody biomass waste to be diverted from the landfill to the gasification process.