Abstract

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of slurries of bioresidues generates hydrogen rich fuel gas for powering engines, electricity production and heating. Specific project objectives are:

• development and testing of a bioslurry feed preparation process for pressed wine grape residues (trester) and greenhouse biowaste (kasafval).
• development and testing of a high pressure bioslurry pumping step of 350 bar.
• development and measurement of the bioslurry conversion process by supercritical water gasification at 300 bar and 600 °C using a 10-30 l/hr bench scale unit (20 kWth) to produce a hydrogen rich clean fuel gas.
• identification of applications of the fuel gas for steam and electricity production.
• techno-economic analysis of the process using Life-Cycle-Analysis techniques.
• validation of the bench scale experiments in a large scale 100 l/hr pilot unit with trester slurry.
• design of a 1 MW demonstration unit for the conversion of trester to hydrogen rich fuel gas.

Participants

The project coordinator is Bauer Kompost, a large trester processor and composter in Bad Rappenau. The first SME contractor is Wiesloch Winzerkeller in Wiesloch, producing large quantities of wine and trester and interested in using the hydrogen rich fuel in steam production, electricity production and heating. The second SME is Feluwa Pumpen in Muerlenbach, a specialty producer of patented high pressure pumps for the chemical industry. The third SME is Callaghan Engineering in Dublin, who convert the bench and pilot scale result into the design for a 1 MW demonstration plant. The fourth SME is Sparqle International, an engineering firm in Hengelo, developing supercritical processes. The fifth SME is Composteringsbedrijf Zuidholland that collects and composts the rest-biomass from greenhouses in the 'Westland'.

The RTD performers are FzK Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe in Karlsruhe, the owner of the newly installed 100 l/hr supercritical gasification pilot unit (Verena unit). The second RTD performer is BTG Biomass Technology Group in Enschede (a daughter of TNO, Delft), who designed and constructed the 10 l/hr bench scale unit. The third RTD partner is Promikron in Delft, who investigated the biomass slurry production. BTG, Sparqle and Promikron developed the SCWG pilot unit. FzK is financing the pilot unit with Länder funds.

Contacts

Coordinator

• Manfred BAUER / Bauer Kompost GMBH Technical Department / GERMANY

Participant

• John VOS / BTG Biomass Technology Group BV NETHERLANDS
• Donal O'CALLAGHAN / Callaghan Engineering Ltd IRELAND
• H UITTERHOEVE / Composteringsbedrijf Zuidholland Technical Department / NETHERLANDS
• Andreas SPENST / Feluwa Pumpen GMBH Technical Department / GERMANY
• Helmut HERMANN / Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GMBH Division of Chemical Physical Processing / GERMANY
• Promikron 3 BV NETHERLANDS
• Johannes PENNINGER / Sparqle International B.V. NETHERLANDS
• Juergen KNOPF / Winzerkeller Wiesloch Eg Technical Department / GERMANY