INTEGRATED PYROLYSIS COMBINED CYCLE BIOMASS POWER SYSTEM CONCEPT DEFINITION
Advanced power systems based on integrated gasification/combined cycles (IGCC) are often presented as a solution to the present shortcomings of biomass as fuel. Although IGCC has been technically demonstrated at full scale, it has not been adopted for commercial power generation. Part of the reason for this situation is the continuing low price for coal. However, another significant barrier to IGCC is the high level of integration of this technology: the gas output from the gasifier must be perfectly matched to the energy demand of the gas turbine cycle. We are developing an alternative to IGCC for biomass power: the integrated (fast) pyrolysis/ combined cycle (IPCC). In this system solid biomass is converted into liquid rather than gaseous fuel. This liquid fuel, called bio-oil, is a mixture of oxygenated organic compounds and water that serves as fuel for a gas turbine topping cycle. Waste heat from the gas turbine provides thermal energy to the steam turbine bottoming cycle. Advantages of the biomass-fueled IPCC system include: combined cycle efficiency exceeding 37 percent efficiency for a system as small as 7.6 MW{sub e}; absence of high pressure thermal reactors; decoupling of fuel processing and power generation; and opportunities for recovering value-added products from the bio-oil. This report provides a technical overview of the system including pyrolyzer design, fuel clean-up strategies, pyrolysate condenser design, opportunities for recovering pyrolysis byproducts, gas turbine cycle design, and Rankine steam cycle. The report also reviews the potential biomass fuel supply in Iowa, provide and economic analysis, and present a summery of benefits from the proposed system.
- Research Organization:
- Alliant Energy (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-01NT41353
- OSTI ID:
- 826269
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Mar 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Thermal energy storage for power plant applications
Results of the Finnish bioenergy research programme
Related Subjects
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
BIOMASS
BOTTOMING CYCLES
COMBINED CYCLES
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ENERGY DEMAND
GAS TURBINES
LIQUID FUELS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POWER GENERATION
POWER SYSTEMS
PYROLYSIS
STEAM TURBINES
THERMAL REACTORS
TOPPING CYCLES
WASTE HEAT