Commercializing biomass-coal cofiring: The process, status, and prospect
Recently there has been considerable emphasis on cofiring biomass opportunity fuels with coal in pulverized coal (PC) and cyclone boilers owned and operated by electricity generating utilities in order to address such issues as potential portfolio standards, voluntary actions to reduce fossil CO{sub 2} emissions, customer service, and the generation of green power within the context of deregulation. Biomass fuels include such materials as wood waste, short rotation woody crops, short rotation herbaceous crops (e.g., switchgrass), alfalfa stems, and various types of manure. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), along with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and other utilities such as GPU Genco, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), Central and South West Utilities (C and SW), Southern Company, Madison Gas and Electric (MG and E), New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) and others developed a concerted effort to commercialize direct combustion cofiring of biomass with coal. The USDOE joined the program with a cooperative agreement between the Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC) and EPRI; this agreement was extensively supported by the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Biomass Power Program element of USDOE. A variety of biofuels and fuel combinations have been analyzed. Two techniques were developed: blending the biomass and coal in the fuel handling system and feeding that blend to the boiler; and preparing the biofuel separately from coal, and injecting it into the boiler without impacting the conventional coal delivery system. Commercialization proceeded beginning with engineering and economic studies, parametric testing, and the construction of demonstration projects. The technology is now ready for commercial deployment. This paper reviews the process of commercialization, describes several of the key projects, and details some of the key lessons learned regarding material handling systems, boiler performance, and institutional issues. It then projects the future including second generation gasification based cofiring.
- Research Organization:
- Foster Wheeler Development Corp., Clinton, NJ (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 20082207
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Sixteenth Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (US), 10/11/1999--10/15/1999; Other Information: 1 CD-ROM. Operating systems required: Windows 95/98; Windows 3.X, Macintosh; PBD: 1999; Related Information: In: Sixteenth annual international Pittsburgh Coal Conference: Proceedings, [2000] pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
FETC/EPRI Biomass Cofiring Cooperative Agreement. Quarterly technical report, September 26-December 31, 1996
FETC/EPRI Biomass Cofiring Cooperative Agreement. Quarterly technical report, July 1-September 30, 1997