New gasification technology offers promise for biomass plants
- National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
This article describes a new gasification process using biomass to power a gas turbine with no turbine modifications. Biomass moved a key step toward competitiveness with fossil fuels in a landmark event last summer, the groundbreaking for adding a facility to the McNeil Generating Station, a 12-year-old biomass power plant in Burlington, VT. When completed, this facility will house the world`s first gasifier capable of burning biomass to fuel an unmodified natural gas turbine-generator for electric power generation. Biomass gasification has the potential to marry the environmental advantages of renewable biomass fuels with power generation efficiency levels matching those of coal and oil power plants. Gasification promotion is part of a major initiative by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to expand the use of biomass. DOE`s Biomass Power Program supports demonstration of new methods to produce feedstocks and development of equipment to convert feedstocks into electric power or process heat. For the McNeil project, Battelle Columbus Laboratory of Columbus, Ohio, took the lead in conceptualizing and developing a pilot-scale version of the gasifier.
- OSTI ID:
- 417955
- Journal Information:
- Power Engineering (Barrington), Vol. 100, Issue 8; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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