Valuable products and by-products of biomass gasification – Task 33 Workshop, Vienna 19 October 2022

Dec 2022
Publications

IEA Bioenergy Task 33 (Gasification of biomass and waste) organised a workshop in Vienna on 19 October 2022 showing actual developments in products / by-products from biomass and waste gasification pathways.

The main product of a biomass gasification process is a producer gas, which is converted into synthesis gas (syngas) through cleaning and conditioning. The syngas contains mainly CO and H2; this mixture is beneficial for further processing, e.g., for the production of biofuels and/or biochemicals.

There is also a valuable by-product of gasification, namely biochar, which could be utilized in many ways, e.g. for soil improvement, as an additive to animal feed, in industrial processes such as filtration medium, etc. In order to further improve the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance, biochar could be employed as a storage of carbon.

Cleaned producer gas can be used for combined heat and power production, co-firing or production of high temperature heat. Combined heat and power (CHP) production through biomass gasification is already matured technology, with more than 1 700 operational units in Europe. To replace fossil fuels and reduce their GHG emissions, biomass gasification is also employed in industrial processes. The produced gas is co-fired in the boilers and the heat is used within the industrial process.

For the synthesis of biofuels and/or biochemicals, more precise cleaning and conditioning processes are necessary. In this way gaseous bio-products such as synthetic natural gas (SNG), hydrogen or ammonia can be produced. Moreover, liquids biofuels and biochemicals, such as Fischer-Tropsch (FT) liquids (e.g. biodiesel, biokerosene, biopetrol), mixed alcohols or methanol/DME can be produced.

In recent years, development of units for SNG or FT liquids, as well as methanol of mixed alcohols can be observed. Through these applications, gasification technology can play an important role in fossil-free future.

Interesting trends:

  • SNG fits in the European mandate of 35 bcm biomethane by 2030 (to phase out Russian gas), which could boost gasification pathways
  • Chemicals and fuels are markets that go hand in hand with Fischer-Tropsch and methanol developments worldwide
  • Hydrogen is booming and we see some development in projects based on gasification (combined with CO2 capture)
  • The fact that biomass gasification can have significant impact on GHG emissions by generation of negative CO2 emissions is starting to get recognized and will change the playing field in the future.

 

Workshop report available at:
https://www.ieabioenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/WS_Report-final1.pdf

 

Presentations in the workshop:

  • B. Vreugdenhil, TNO – Actual trends in gasification technology (Keynote 1)
  • C. Spaans, Mavitec – The benefits of manure gasification
  • A. Rouanet, UCL – Experimental study on the impacts of steam injection and air enrichment on two-stage downdraft wood gasification
  • T. Pröll, BOKU – Negative emissions (Keynote 2)
  • M. Huber, SynCraft – Negative Emissions through staged gasification from SynCraft – an evaluation
  • N. Schaaf, MCI – Added value through carbon sequestration in agriculture
  • R. Berends, Torrgas – Negative CO2 emissions by gasification of torrefied biomass into syngas, biochar and liquid CO2
  • R. Rauch, KIT – Conversion of Renewable Synthesis Gas (Keynote 3)
  • H. Thunman, Chalmers University – Development of gasification solutions towards production of materials, based on the experiences from the GoBiGas demonstration
  • F. Benedikt, TU Wien – Overview on research activities at TU Wien for the production of sustainable fuel-based energy carriers
  • M. Kuba, BEST – Project Waste-2-Value
  • E. M. Moghaddam, Gidara – Gasification of RDF in High Temperature Winkler (HTW® 2.0) Process
  • M. Maheut, ENGIE – Project Gaya
  • A. Angeletti, NextChem – Waste to chemicals
  • B. Yan, Tianjin University – Novel gasification with bio-thermo-chemical coupling technology

All presentations available at:
http://www.ieatask33.org/content/home/minutes_and_presentations/2022_Oct_WS