Re: Bulk Biomass For Power Generation
Maybe not on the scale you want, but interesting anyway...
http://www.sloughheatandpower.co.uk/...re%20intro.htm ■
Bulk Biomass For Power Generation
My thanks for the referal to www.sloughheatandpower.co.uk
Indeed the small scale of 3-5 Megawatt is a problem with regard to capital cost, or $$cost per installed KW.
However, I suggest that the viability of biomass as an alternative fuel shall rest on the ability of engineers to design efficient and inexpensive small scale plants, that could be scattered over the countryside to utilize small quantities of harvest trash, sorted municipal waste, mill wastes, agricultural by-products etc.
This is especially true for Third World countries, where transmission lines from centralized large plants may be inexistant and where where the biomass fuel is available. Pockets of power could be established with very small plants in totally remote and isolated areas and improve living conditions greatly.
Furthermore, co-generation at existing plant sites with biomass waste generated on a daily basis (like ours) will greatly mitigate the capital cost
of a small power plant. For instance, we already have all the grinding equipment, and biomass fuel storage facilities.
We need help and call on the ingenuity of our colleagues to help us with a simple furnace design, boiler configuration, and the right Turbine-Generator set. Perhaps the piston-type Spilling Engine from Germany would be more forgiving to pressure fluctuations and operate on lower steam pressures than a turbine.
Our experience in rural Texas and Third World countries has shown us that processing plants and surely power plants need to be kept at the lowest level of "Control" sophistication. Typically "First World" vendors pride themselves in furnishing expensive turnkey plants with very elaborate control panels and the latest digital proportional controllers, and touch screen monitors, where simple on/off switches and"wang/bang" controllers would do just fine.
We found that Low-tech still has its advantages when the plant is down, and the next electronic expert is 600 miles away.
Having operated small wood-fired boilers for the pas 30 years, we also wonder whether it is not best and safer to stay with fire tube boilers (even if a battery of them is needed), rather than one large water tube boilers, which is more sensitive to operate.
Like in the case of coal plants, biomass-fired power plant operators will find that the bulk handling of large volumes of solids 24/7 is one of the greatest challenges of the overall operation.
This worldwide forum of bulk handlers is a valuable ressource. We are thankful for it.
Gueric Boucard
TEXAROME INC.
Leakey, Texas, USA
830 232 6079
www.texarome.com ■
Bulk biomass for power generation
Hello Wood chip handlers,
Is any of you operating a 3-5 Megawatt Power Plant fired with wood chips only??? (co-firing not possible)
We have access to some 60 tons/day of Cedar wood chips (10 mesh and under - 20% moisture) as a by-product of our essential oil distillation process, and up to 40 tons/day more from other surrounding mills, from Brush cleared from local ranches, plus #1 municipal trash (cardboard, pallets, construction lumber scraps etc) sorted from surrounding small towns.
Currently we sell our Cedar wood chips to the Texas oil drilling industry as lost circulation material (mixed with drilling mud to plug fissures and cavities), but we fear this outlet may some day vanish.
Consistent with current trends and credit-facilitating new US legislation, we propose to build a biomass-fired power plant, in partnership with our County, at our current plant site, to supply our own in-plant needs (1.5 Megawatt), and sell the excess power to the grid, creating much needed revenues for the County.
I would greatly appreciate any advice and referals.
Gueric Boucard, Pres.
TEXAROME INC.
Leakey, Texas, USA
830 232 6079
www.texarome.com ■