Emerging Gasification Technologies for Waste & Biomass

1 Emerging Gasification Technologies for Waste & Biomass IEA Bioenergy: Task 33 December 2020 Photo by courtesy of Meva Energy AB Copyright 2020 IEA Bioenergy. All rights Reserved ISBN 978-1-910154-84-7 Published by IEA Bioenergy The IEA Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme (TCP) is organised under the auspices of the International Energy Agency (IEA) but is functionally and legally autonomous. Views, findings and publications of the IEA Bioenergy TCP do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the IEA Secretariat or its individual member countries Emerging Gasification Technologies for Waste & Biomass Yawer Jafri, Lule University of Technology Lars Waldheim, Waldheim Consulting Joakim Lundgren, Lule University of Technology IEA Bioenergy: Task 33 December 2020 1 Index ABSTRACT.

2 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .. 4 List of Abbreviations .. 8 Introduction .. 9 Report Outline .. 9 Objectives and Scope .. 10 Concept Definitions .. 10 Methodology .. 12 Technology Characterization .. 12 Technology Readiness .. 12 Other criteria .. 14 State-of -the-art of Gasification .. 15 State of the art of Gasification of Biomass and wastes .. 15 Technology Profiles & Technology Readiness Level Assessments .. 26 Advanced Biomass Gasification Technology by Renergi Pty Ltd. [Australia] .. 26 process Description .. 27 Development Status, Applications, Production Scale .. 28 Technology Readiness 29 References.

3 31 Endeavour Microwave Gasification by Endeavour Energia S. r. l. [Italy] .. 32 process Description .. 33 Development Status, Applications, Production Scale .. 33 Technology Readiness 34 References .. 35 Heliostorm Gasifier by Cogent Energy Systems [United States] .. 36 process Description .. 37 Development Status, Applications, Production Scale .. 37 Technology Readiness 38 References .. 40 MEVA Technology by Meva Energy AB [Sweden] .. 41 process Description .. 42 Development Status, Applications, Production Scale .. 42 Technology Readiness 43 References .. 44 Moving Injection Horizontal Gasification by Wildfire Energy [Australia].

4 45 process Description .. 45 2 Development Status, Applications, Production Scale .. 47 Technology Readiness 48 References .. 50 Multifuel conversion technology by RWE Power AG [Germany] .. 51 process Description .. 52 Development Status, Applications, Production Scale .. 52 Technology Readiness 53 References .. 54 Plasco Gasification & Plasma Refining System by Plasco Conversion Technologies Inc. [Canada] .. 56 process Description .. 57 Development Status, Applications, Production Scale .. 58 Technology Readiness 58 References .. 61 RadGas Technology by Advanced Biofuel Solutions Ltd.

5 [UK] .. 62 process Description .. 63 Development Status, Applications, Production Scale .. 64 Technology Readiness 64 References .. 66 Rotary Gasification by SUNY Cobleskill/CARIBOU BIOFUELS [United States of America] .. 67 process Description .. 68 Development Status, Applications, Production Scale .. 69 Technology Readiness 69 References .. 71 TreaTech Hydrothermal Gasification System by TreaTech SARL [Switzerland] .. 72 process Description .. 72 Development Status, Applications, Production Scale .. 73 Technology Readiness 73 References .. 75 Other Emerging Technologies .. 76 Discussion and Concluding Remarks.

6 77 Concluding Remarks .. 78 References .. 80 3 ABSTRACT Gasification is a flexible thermal conversion process with wide-ranging applications in sectors such as heat and power generation, transport fuel and chemicals production. In this report, a methodological framework for assessing the technology readiness of Emerging Gasification Technologies is presented and applied to a selection of ten candidates, chosen to indicate the diversity of technical solutions breaking into the Waste and Biomass Gasification market. The examined Technologies are broken down into standardized components, which are assigned a technology readiness level score following established guidelines developed for the purpose.

7 Information is collected for various publicly available sources and used as far as possible to identify process configuration and compile process profiles based on a standard template. Particular attention is paid to technology demonstration as an integrated whole. Scores for individual components are weighed and aggregated to compute a weighted average overall TRL score, which is contrasted with the score for the weakest individual component. The amount and quality of information publicly available for each evaluation varied greatly between Technologies , but from experience, comprehensive structured questionnaires for technology developers face similar limitations in terms of the quality of response.

8 Identifying the lowest scoring component, , the weakest link can show where future development may need to be focused and is considered a good complement to a weighted average score. The use of TRL scoring ranges is recommended in instances where granularity in scoring can be misleading, such as when the evidence available is of a generalized nature. The asymmetry in data and evidence between the different Technologies are accounted for in the assignment of scores and weightings to some extent, but care is advised when interpreting the scores. Experience indicates that even commercially available equipment, which it is sometimes argued can be awarded a TRL score of 9 in an Emerging configuration requires time and effort for successful integration novel streams in new process environments.

9 This aspect has been incorporated in the methodological framework and is reflected in the scores for some of the examined technology components. Despite the difficulties in fairly and systematically assessing and comparing Technologies from incomplete data, the methodology provided has been successfully applied. It is hoped that this first attempt at a methodological framework for the assessment of Emerging Gasification Technologies can, after further refinements, be more generally used within IEA Bioenergy Agreement Task 33 for similar exercises. One future activity could be the development of a standardized data sheet for technology assessment.

10 Another would be to develop some form of formal guidance on the assignment of weighting for different process units. 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The International Energy Agency s Bioenergy Program Task 33 on Gasification of Biomass and Waste is a working group of international experts with the aim of promoting the commercialization of efficient, economically, and environmentally preferable thermal Biomass Gasification processes. Gasification is a thermal conversion process with wide-ranging applications in sectors such as heat and power generation, transport, and chemical manufacturing. Several Biomass and Waste Gasification Technologies are already well established, but as the field expands and evolves, others continue to emerge on the market.