Requirements Imposed on Biomass for
Fuel Manufacture from the Point of
View of Plant Operators
1. Research Topic and Overall Objective
Topic: Requirements for the characteristics of biomass from the point of view of the operators of production plants for the manufacture of liquid hydrocarbons. Scope of process: Thermal decomposition, gas-scrubbing, gas preparation, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.
Objective: Definition of important technical and logistical influencing parameters on the economic viability of plants manufacturing synthetic fuels. Based on this: Representation of interconnections and quantification.
Duration: 1.04.2005 to 31.10.2005
2. Results Required from the Research
Scientific/Technical Results
Thermal decomposition is defined by the laws of physics and chemistry such as conservation of mass, dynamic motion, balanced and secondary reactions and other fundamental phenomena. Requirements must be observed for technical implementation such as a good ability to be transported from storage to the reactors, homogeneity of the inputs in the decomposition zone e.g. in the pulverised fuel reactor, a maximum particle size e.g. in the fluidised bed, proneness of the catalytic converters to damage in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis etc.
Therefore in the present project, the following parameters of biomass in particular and their effects are to be illustrated from the point of view of different plant technologies:
1. Physical characteristics (particle shape and size, bulk weight, flow characteristics etc).
2. Chemical characteristics (ash and water content, alkali and alkaline earth, sulphur, chlorine, nitrogen, phosphorus concentrations etc.).
The effects on the apparatus technology, especially on any necessary secondary units (crusher, drier, acceptance technology and logistics etc.), must be indicated.
Financial Results
The requirements of the plant operators from an apparatus technology point of view must be supplemented by financial items in order to find an overall optimum for plant operation.
Therefore the following are to be investigated in the current project:
3. Technical operating parameters (e.g. storage, provision or availability of the biomass required, characteristics of residual materials).
4. Investment costs (e.g. as a function of the plant technology, capacity, availability).
The purpose of the studies is to compile sensitivity analyses, i.e. the determination of interconnections if a parameter is varied. This ensures that the results are not valid solely for individual analyses.