NNE5-2001-00363 Multi Fuel Operated Integrated Clean Energy Process: Thermal Desorption Recycle-Reduce-Reuse Technology

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Website: www.terrenum.net/cleancoal/
Summary Information



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EESD (Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development) : Solid Biofuels : Thermochemical Conversion : Vegetable Oil/Fat

Proposal No:	NNE5-2001-00363
Date Prepared:	February 2004
Source:	European Bio-Energy Projects (EUR 20808)

Introduction

There is a strong demand for continuous improvement of the environmental performance of energy production systems towards safer, faster, better and less costly solutions, supported with the '3R' Recycle - Reduce - Re-use concept implementation. The open energy market demands less costly and commercially affordable electric energy production without government subsidy and financial support, and with long term predictable price development structures.

The regional utilisation of available biomass and organic feed is often not cost effective as standalone installations. Therefore, new combinations need to be developed where regionally available low cost, low grade feed streams derive fuels and biomass with low caloric value but with high transport cost per specific volume are combined with high caloric value feed streams such as coal and lignite. However, such combinations must be subject to significant improvements in the overall environmental performances of solid fuel power generation, including improvements on greenhouse gas emissions as per the Kyoto Protocol.

In order to develop the European Union to be the most progressive and competitive economical area in the world by 2010, with low cost (or at least reasonable cost) electric energy availability with the exclusion of energy shortage possibilities, it is necessary to satisfy the ever increasing energy demand. Oil/gas based energy production should be preferably substituted, to the greatest possible extent, with renewable biomass energy sources.

There is a need to take long term and comprehensive considerations for clean energy production where the total life cycle of all material streams, including residual management, need to be considered.

Activities

The 3R Multi Fuel consortium comprises a wellbalanced mixture of scientists, engineers, industrialists and SME's, both from a discipline and geographical point of view, suited to develop the . the '3R' process

This process converts widely available lowgrade fuels to high-grade fuels by value-added low temperature carbonisation. The key component of the 3R method and apparatus is an indirectly heated, horizontally arranged closed cycle operating rotary kiln, where material is safely separated in the absence of air and decomposed into gas-vapour and solid phase. The hazardous air pollutants, such as sulphur, chlorine and mercury are removed in the gas-vapour phase and separately treated - recycled in a downsized environment, while Clean Multi Fuel - Clean Coal is utilised in the plant's boiler.

Progress to date

Since project start up on 1 August 2002, the following progress has been made:

• Fuel characterisation, fuel availability overview
• 3R process modelling from pilot 100 kg/h to 70 t/h throughput capacity
• Comprehensive engineering, detailed design of 100 kg/h capacity pilot plant
• Evaluation of cost efficient scale-up design up to 560k t/y capacity
• Construction permission from authorities for 3R pilot plant installation in West Hungary (city of Polgardi, EU Environmental Centre)
• Cost efficiency, cash flow feasibility precalculations for industrial scenarios.

Impact and exploitation

The innovative 3R removes existing technical barriers for extended and combined utilisation of low grade fuels, renewable biomass and derived fuels, opens new, advanced, technical and cost reduction opportunities for safer, better and less costly clean energy production. It utilises existing agricultural and coal industrial structures by add-on and retrofits, safeguards existing jobs and creates new workplaces.

The 'state of the art' 3R aims to remove hazardous air pollutants by a preventive pre-treatment process of low temperature carbonisation in a cost effective way, with significant savings and offering the following advantages towards the ultimate goal of near-zero emissions of overall output streams. It will remove environmental impacts, improve process efficiency and provide a flexible choice by multi feed, total cost reduction, extensive use of renewable energy sources and less corrosion in the boilers. The expansion of the EU in 2004, and the applied/recommended new strict emission environmental norms/goals set to meet the Kyoto Protocol, demand for an improvement on process safety, cost reduction and a public acceptance for solid fuel utilisation to produce clean energy. These are real challenges requiring new technological solutions. The solid fuel power production is a key industrial element of energy production in several of the EU candidate countries and all the EU countries have a demand for extended low cost energy production. The 3R is expected to become a critical asset for the EU candidate countries, particularly for countries with large coal reserves and renewable biomass potential.

While the energy market is under deregulation, where the real price of the energy production is the only factor that counts, there is a strong demand to take into consideration comprehensive life cycles and environmental aspects for all the processed material streams and resources. Low cost energy production for short-term gains at the 'cost' of the environment or human health should definitely be avoided. The 3R improves the employment prospects in the coal mining, coal utilisation and agricultural industries through extensive utilisation of biomass, while improving the quality of life, health and safety.