Biomass gasification for farm-based power generation applications

Abstract

Willow biomass crops have been shown to be a good fuel for farm-based power production using advanced gasification technology. The fuel gas can be used for generating electricity, using microturbines modified to operate on low-BTU gas, or for other farm energy needs. Willow biomass was found to make an excellent fuel for ash-rejection gasifiers with a predicted net gasification efficiency of about 85 percent. The main drivers to the cost-of-electricity were found to be associated with the harvesting, handling, and transporting of the willow biomass, accounting for 40 to 50 percent of the annual operating cost. In the present study, analysis showed that developing a method to co-gasify willow with various amounts of low-cost wastes, such as dairy farm animal waste, can be an excellent way to reduce the fuel cost, to increase the overall fuel availability and help work around problems resulting from seasonal availability of bioenergy crops. Co-gasification of dairy farm wastes along with willow offers an economical way to dispose of the wastes and manage nutrient flows on a dairy farm. The power generated from the animal waste can be used on the farm or sold to offset the cost of waste treatment.