Barriers to Success: A Technical Review on the Limits and Possible Future Roles of Small Scale Gasifiers

Allesina, Giulio; Pedrazzi, Simone

doi:10.3390/en14206711

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(101 reference statements)

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“…Syngas cleaning is simplified in this case since burning syngas will focus on reducing NOx and sulfur emissions. When internal combustion engines are used, a cooling stage is necessary, requiring careful control of tar formation to avoid precipitation on valves and engine components [113]. Patuzzi et al [114] reviewed the performance of small gasification units installed in South Tyrol (Northern Italy) thanks to a very favorable feed-in tariff.…”

Section: Sewage Sludgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The gasification process may seem feasible if only considering product yields, but the technology necessary to comply with environmental regulations or to avoid problems in subsequent valorization stages, such as the presence of filters to remove ash and tar components, catalysts to reduce tar formation, and adsorbents to eliminate inhibitory compounds increases the capital investments and maintenance costs, thus requiring substantial subsidies to become feasible [113]. The experience gained with small-scale biomass gasification and energy production by CHP units may serve as a first step to moving forward to syngas fermentation since common requirements are established, such as syngas cooling and tar/particle removal.…”

Section: Sewage Sludgementioning

confidence: 99%

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Syngas Fermentation: Cleaning of Syngas as a Critical Stage in Fermentation Performance

Ellacuriaga,

Gil,

Gómez

2023

Fermentation

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The fermentation of syngas is an attractive technology that can be integrated with gasification of lignocellulosic biomass. The coupling of these two technologies allows for treating a great variety of raw materials. Lignin usually hinders microbial fermentations; thus, the thermal decomposition of the whole material into small molecules allows for the production of fuels and other types of molecules using syngas as substrate, a process performed at mild conditions. Syngas contains mainly hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide in varying proportions. These gases have a low volumetric energy density, resulting in a more interesting conversion into higher energy density molecules. Syngas can be transformed by microorganisms, thus avoiding the use of expensive catalysts, which may be subject to poisoning. However, the fermentation is not free of suffering from inhibitory problems. The presence of trace components in syngas may cause a decrease in fermentation yields or cause a complete cessation of bacteria growth. The presence of tar and hydrogen cyanide are just examples of this fermentation’s challenges. Syngas cleaning impairs significant restrictions in technology deployment. The technology may seem promising, but it is still far from large-scale application due to several aspects that still need to find a practical solution.

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Section: Sewage Sludgementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sewage Sludgementioning

confidence: 99%

Syngas Fermentation: Cleaning of Syngas as a Critical Stage in Fermentation Performance

Ellacuriaga,

Gil,

Gómez

2023

Fermentation

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“…The NPV was −186 million JPY, the IRR was 1.87%, and the BCR was 1.08. 2 1.87% na 4.47% BCR 3 1.08 0.618 1.28…”

Section: Cash Flow and Economical-financial Viabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of woody biomass energy, in particular, is considered to contribute not only to the reduction of greenhouse gases but also to the economic cycle and resource recycling in local communities when the energy is used on a small scale, and its importance is increasing. Small woodchip gasification for combined heat and power (CHP) is particularly promising because of its high power generation efficiency and heat utilization [3][4][5]. Still, it has not yet achieved long-term operational stability due to thermal imbalance, tar generation, and low conversion efficiency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Supply Systems in Woodchip Drying Bases for Wood Gasification Combined Heat and Power

et al. 2022

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Among decentralized small-scale biomass energy sources with the potential to revitalize local communities, combined heat and power (CHP) from gasification is promising in terms of its high power generation efficiency. Still, it has yet to achieve operational stability, in part due to the variation in the moisture content of the woodchips used as fuel. In this study, a technical and economic evaluation was performed to establish a center for the efficient production of high-quality dry woodchips within a sawmill and to determine the technical characteristics and economic viability of a system using gasification CHP, wood waste-fired boilers or an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) as heat sources. The results showed that the net present values (NPVs) of gasified CHP, wood waste-fired boilers and ORC were −186 million, −402 million, and −103 million JPY, respectively. None of them were deemed profitable. Therefore, a sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the impact of low-quality wood prices, dry woodchips, heavy oil A, and the grid electricity charge on the NPV. The improvement of the low-quality wood price and dry woodchips sales price was effective for heat supply by gasification CHP and ORC turbines, and their combination was effective for woodchip-fired boilers.

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“…To further stress the importance of by-product-derived biochar, this work used the char produced through vineyard pruning gasification [26]. Unfortunately, by-products such as vine pruning material are usually characterized by higher inorganic contents compared to high-quality biomass fuels (i.e., wood pellets) [27]. For this reason, particular attention was paid to the role and the presence of inorganics through all the fiber production processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary Investigation of Possible Biochar Use as Carbon Source in Polyacrylonitrile Electrospun Fiber Production

et al. 2022

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Electrospinning with consequent thermal treatment consists in a carbon fiber production method that spins a polymer solution to create fibers with diameters around a few hundred nanometers. The thermal treatments are used for the cyclization and then carbonization of the material at 1700 °C for one hour. The unique structure of micro- and nano-carbon fibers makes them a promising material for various applications ranging from future battery designs to filtration. This work investigated the possibility of using milled gasification biochar, derived from a 20 kW fixed-bed gasifier fueled with vine pruning pellets, as an addictive in the preparation of electrospinning solutions. This study outlined that solvent cleaning and the consequent wet-milling and 32 µm sifting are fundamental passages for biochar preparation. Four different polyacrylonitrile-biochar shares were tested ranging from pure polymer to 50–50% solutions. The resulting fibers were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray and infrared spectroscopy. Results from the morphological analysis showed that biochar grains dispersed themselves well among the fiber mat in all the proposed shares. All the tested solutions, once carbonized, exceeded 97%wt. of carbon content. At higher carbonization temperatures, the inorganic compounds naturally showing in biochar such as potassium and calcium disappeared, resulting in an almost carbon-pure fiber matrix with biochar grains in between.

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Barriers to Success: A Technical Review on the Limits and Possible Future Roles of Small Scale Gasifiers

Cited by 23 publications

References 79 publications

Syngas Fermentation: Cleaning of Syngas as a Critical Stage in Fermentation Performance

Syngas Fermentation: Cleaning of Syngas as a Critical Stage in Fermentation Performance

Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Supply Systems in Woodchip Drying Bases for Wood Gasification Combined Heat and Power

Preliminary Investigation of Possible Biochar Use as Carbon Source in Polyacrylonitrile Electrospun Fiber Production

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