Bioenergy Insight November/December 2017

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 Volume 8 • Issue 6

Backing a winner Biomass attracts investors

Capturing carbon

Commercialising the HTC process

Regional focus: Bioenergy in Africa

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contents Bioenergy

Contents Issue 6 • Volume 8 November/December 2017 Woodcote Media Limited Marshall House 124 Middleton Road, Morden, Surrey SM4 6RW, UK www.bioenergy-news.com MANAGING DIRECTOR Peter Patterson Tel: +44 (0)208 648 7082 peter@woodcotemedia.com EDITOR Liz Gyekye Tel: +44 (0)20 8687 4183 liz@woodcotemedia.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Daryl Worthington Tel: +44 (0)20 8687 4146 daryl@woodcotemedia.com INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER George Doyle Tel: +44 (0) 203 551 5752 george@bioenergy-news.com NORTH AMERICA SALES REPRESENTATIVE Matt Weidner +1 610 486 6525 mtw@weidcom.com PRODUCTION Alison Balmer Tel: +44 (0)1673 876143 alisonbalmer@btconnect.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES £170/$270/€225 for 6 issues per year.

Contact: Lisa Lee Tel: +44 (0)20 8687 4160 Fax: +44 (0)20 8687 4130 marketing@woodcotemedia.com Follow us on Twitter: @BioenergyInfo Join the discussion on the Bioenergy Insight LinkedIn page

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any form by any mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or other means without the prior written consent of the publisher. Whilst the information and articles in Bioenergy Insight are published in good faith and every effort is made to check accuracy, readers should verify facts and statements direct with official sources before acting on them as the publisher can accept no responsibility in this respect.

Any opinions expressed in this magazine should not be construed as those of the publisher.

ISSN 2046-2476

2 Comment 3 News 13 Incident report 14 Plant update 16 Backing a winner

Why biomass is becoming an increasingly attractive investment

18 On the right track

Rail loading of wood pellets for power station consumption

20 Towards a sustainable-based bioenergy sector in Africa

A look at the challenges facing Africa’s bioenergy industry

22 Political risk insurance: The key to doing business in Africa

Africa is on the up, with investors and developers enjoying generous returns. Using an insurance broker can help companies to avoid common pitfalls

24 Best uses of gasification in today’s power sector

Gasification co-products breathe new life into gasification power applications

25 Power generation

ORC technology is efficiently converting waste wood into electricity

26 Capturing carbon

A UK-based company has developed a technology solution to commercialise the process of HTC

28 From organic waste to high value biocoal

Unlocking the potential of the circular bioeconomy

32 Fading out coal

New technologies are helping to bring torrefaction on the verge of commercialisation

34 From the forest to the plant

How a Portuguese company uses three pellet brands, for complete control of the pellet process

36 Safety first

Adhering to health and safety rules in the UK NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 Volume 8 • Issue 6

38 All aboard the biomass train

A US-based railroad is working with a start-up company to create the perfect corn stover supply chain

40 Sustainable development

A sustainable agriculture and bioenergy model is helping rural communities in Africa

Backing a winner

Biomass attracts investors

Capturing carbon

Commercialising the HTC process

Regional focus: Bioenergy in Africa FC_Bioenergy_November/December_2017.indd 1

Bioenergy Insight

27/10/2017 11:01

November/December 2017 • 1

Bioenergy comment

A fond farewell

Liz Gyekye Editor

I

am writing my final comment for Bioenergy Insight, as I prepare to move on to pastures new. Over the past 23 months in this role, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the whole supply chain, including meeting and writing about global biogas and biomass specialists. I’ve been so impressed by their dedication and determination, passion and professionalism and I am in awe in how hard you guys work to make a difference to the planet.

At the end of the day, that is the main aim of the industry ­— to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Bioenergy is playing an important role in achieving renewable energy

targets in most countries across the globe. Biogas and biomethane in particular have great potential for wide-scale deployment, as a broad range of feedstocks can be used for their production and they are very versatile bioenergy carriers. They can be used for the generation of renewable heat and electricity. In addition to this, biomethane can be transported using gas grids. This sector is growing across the world.

Biomass is also growing.

Demand growth is gathering pace in Asia. South Korea has already tendered for more than 660,000 tonnes of wood pellets for delivery by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Japanese imports increased by around 52% in the first ten months of 2016 to 273,000t. Elsewhere, some African countries are also coming up with innovations to turn agricultural waste into biomass energy.

Moreoever, it’s great to see how well received and

respected Bioenergy Insight is and how passionate readers can be about the magazine and the articles within it. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve spoken to experts at events who have started the conversation with “there was a really interesting article the other month about…”.

I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I have enjoyed working on it.

Last but not least I want to thank my manager and my colleagues for all of their help and support (see side panel on page 1). I have enjoyed working with them. Please continue to support the magazine. My successor is my colleague Daryl Worthington.

My new role is still within environmental publishing so there is every chance our paths may cross again­ — and if they do, please come and say hello!

It’s been a pleasure.

Liz Gyekye Editor

Get your weekly fix of bioenergy news every Tuesday and sign up to our newsletter at www.bioenergy-news.com.

Connect with more than 600 members on Bioenergy’s LinkedIn group

2 • November/December 2017

Join 1,800 followers of Bioenergy Insight at @bioenergyinfo

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xxxxxx Bioenergy

biomass news Japanese companies attracted to biomass projects due to high subsidies Japanese investors and companies are rushing into wood-burning biomass projects to take advantage of high government subsidies, according to a media report in Reuters.

More than 800 projects have already won government approval, offering 12.4GW of capacity — equal to 12 nuclear power stations and nearly double Japan’s 2030 target for biomass in its basic energy policy, according to the news agency.

Questions have been raised about the availability of feedstocks and how all

the plants will find sufficient fuel, mostly shipped in from countries like Canada and Vietnam. In addition to this, some experts have questioned the environmental credentials of such large-scale plants.

The projects approved to date that use general wood fuel would need the equivalent of up to 60 million tonnes of wood pellets, compared with global output of 24 million tonnes in 2014, Takanobu Aikawa, a senior researcher at Japan’s Renewable Energy Institute, told Reuters.

Other fuels such as local forest thinned woods or palm kernel shells from Indonesia and Malaysia would not make up the shortfall, he said.

“There will be a scramble for

Currently, the US and Canada dominate the trade in industrial wood pellets into Europe, the UK, and Japan fuels as countries like China and South Korea are looking to expand biomass power,” he said. l

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November/December 2017 • 3

2016-02-15 15:15

biomass news

Royal opening for biomass plant in Wales The Prince of Wales has officially opened Volac’s Felinfach biomass plant in Wales, UK. Located near Lampeter, the dairy company’s biomass plant produces 20MW of energy, which is sufficient to power the equivalent of 20,000 homes.

The plant uses wood as a fuel which is sourced from sustainably-managed forests within a 55 mile radius of the site.

Energy produced at the site is exported to the adjacent Volac dairy plant

which consumes 100% of the biomass plant output. The technology for the plant was provided by Austria-based company Polytechnik Biomass Energy.

James Neville, CEO at Volac, said: “Our major investment of £38 million (€42m) in the plant enables Volac to generate sustainable energy to meet the growing needs of our business at Felinfach.

It has enabled us to reduce carbon emissions from our Felinfach operations and reduce the carbon footprint of our products. Through this investment we have been able to employ an additional five staff from the local community.” l

Veolia unveils biomass heating project in Spain Waste management company Veolia has launched a 12.5MW biomass district heating system in Spain with Móstoles Ecoenergía. The development will initially provide heat to 3,000 homes.

The company said that an expansion project is planned for next summer, which will allow the system to heat an additional 4,000 homes.

According to Veolia, the first phase of the project represents a €7m investment. To date, the project has included the construction of 4km of pipeline and 13 exchange substations.

The heating plant consists of three Uniconfort biomass boilers. Two of the boilers have an output of 5,000kW,

while one has an output of 2,000kW. The biomass heating network is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 9,000 tonnes annually, while reducing energy costs by 15%.

The inauguration, which took place in early October, was attended by the Mayor of Móstoles, David Lucas Parrón, Veolia’s CEO, Hervé Peneau and the manager of Móstoles Ecoenergía, Francisco Villalobos.

Villalobos said: “I am proud to present this project, which is so ambitious, not only to the neighbours of Móstoles, but to the whole society. Our objective is always to be able to offer solutions that, besides being economically beneficial to the owners, are environmentally responsible. It is our commitment to always offer the best service adapted to the specific need of each project.” l

Officials representing the biomass industry celebrate the launch of a biomass district heating system in Spain

4 • November/December 2017

Prince of Wales meets with Polytechnik’s managing director

Dong Energy reveals new name Dong Energy will be changing its name to Orsted.

Dong currently stands for Danish Oil and Natural Gas. The company began transitioning away from coal in 2006 and earlier this year it announced that it would stop using the material by 2023.

Since 2006, Dong has reduced its coal consumption by 73% through a reduction in the number of power stations, a massive buildout of offshore wind energy, as well as biomass conversions.

Dong has used wood pellets and chips at its Herning Power Station and Avedøre Power Station since 2002, and in 2016, both its Studstrup Power Station near Aarhus and Avedøre Power Station near Copenhagen were converted to run on 100% wood pellets and straw. Those conversions were followed by Skærbæk Power Station near Fredericia, which runs on 100% wood chips, and most recently, Dong began the conversion process for its Asnæs Power Station, which will use wood chips when the conversion is complete in late 2019.

Following completion of the Asnæs Power Station, Dong will have one remaining coal plant - the Esbjerg Power Station.

Dong, which is campaigning for 100% green energy worldwide, said its decision to change the name is because Dong “no longer reflects who we are, so we’re changing our name to Orsted, inspired by the Danish scientist who laid the foundation of how today’s society is powered”.

The name change to Orsted will be effective from 6 November, 2017. l

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biomass news

Wallonia abandons support for large-scale biomass plant The Walloon government has decided to cancel its call for tenders for a biomass power plant in Wallonia, Belgium.

The Walloon government is the executive branch of Wallonia, and it is part of one of the six main governments of Belgium.

In May 2016, the Walloon government announced plans to support a 200MW biomass plant and launched a call for tenders. However, on 12 October, 2017, L’Echo maintained that the new MR cdH executive decided

to stop the procedure.

“We are stopping a project that was committing us to more than 20 years of … costly conditions,” said Jean-Luc Crucke, MR, Minister of Energy.

According to L’Echo, the government saw the project as a risk in terms of biomass supply because it was “unaccompanied by cogeneration”.

Crucke said: “Supply contracts do not reach 20 years, so there is no guarantee on prices over 20 years.”

The government also expressed concern over the ability of suppliers to meet long-term sustainability

The Walloon government in Belgium is shifting its support from large-scale biomass plants to small-scale biomass plants

certification rules. In Belgium, subsides are made conditional in relation to sustainability certification.

Crucke highlighted the

issue of “theoretical carbon neutrality”.

“The deposits come from Norway and South Africa,” he explained. l

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biogas news

Bioenergy UK’s ‘first’ vehicle to collect and run highlighted on commercial food waste unveiled management in UK’s Clean Resource company GENeco has launched a vehicle Growth called the Bio-Bee that collects commercial Strategy food waste and runs A plan for cutting carbon emissions while growing the economy has been released by the UK government.

‘The Clean Growth Strategy: Leading the way to a low carbon future’ has been published by Greg Clark, the UK’s Business and Energy Secretary. It highlights progress already made in the UK towards a low-carbon economy, while also setting out how the ‘whole country’ can benefit from low-carbon economic sources in the future.

According to a statement from the government, carbon emissions have fallen and national income risen faster and further in the UK than any other nation in the G7 since 1990.

Bioenergy and biofuels are both highlighted in the report as playing a key role in the transition away from fossil fuels, and in having potential for the future.

Sustainable biomass power stations are highlighted as an ‘Emissions removal pathway’ in the run up to 2032 in the strategy.

“Under this pathway, sustainable biomass power stations are used in tandem with CCUS [Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage] technology,” the report states.

An announcement was also made to introduce a plan to divert all food waste from landfill by 2030 and a pledge was made to publish a resources and waste strategy. l

Bioenergy Insight

on the same material in Bristol, UK.

With Bristol among 40 places in the UK that consistently exceeds air quality limits for nitrogen dioxide, the Bio-Bee demonstrates a real alternative to diesel RCVs and HGVs by running on clean biomethane, according to GENeco.

In a statement, GENeco said: “It also offers a cost-effective and more sustainable way for food waste to be collected and recycled, and it follows in the footsteps of the BioBus — or ‘poo bus’ — which ran on human waste and was trialled in Bristol in 2015.”

Boston Tea Party and St Monica Trust care homes are among the first companies

to use the service, and it is hoped the Bio-Bee will increase food waste recycling levels in the city.

Charlotte Stamper, project manager at GENeco, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer customers a UK first — collecting their food waste using a vehicle running from their food waste.

“This clean fuel helps to improve Bristol’s air quality and creates a sustainable circular economy for the client’s operations.

“Bees are renowned for the good work they do for the environment, and their daily routine involves collecting valuable natural resources and then bringing them back to a hive to make renewable and nutritious products.

“The Bio-Bee operates the same way. It runs on biomethane that has been produced by the anaerobic digestion of food waste and sewage from houses in Bristol, Bath and the surrounding area.” l

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November/December 2017 • 7

biogas news

Canadian biogas facility to utilise animal carcasses Lethbridge Biogas in Alberta, Canada, is increasing its waste division stream by taking advantage of thermal hydrolysis technology from PlanET Biogas Solutions.

For the last four years the 2.8MW biogas plant in Lethbridge, Alberta, has produced enough electrical energy to power 2,800 homes while diverting 120,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill each year.

The facility is the largest farm based anaerobic digester/co-generation facility in Canada. It has the capacity to produce up to 4.2MW of electricity in the future if new generating units are added.

With the hydrolysis expansion, Lethbridge Biogas is permitted to increase its waste division to include the processing of deadstock as well as other animal waste products. The use of animal carcasses as a feedstock will not

only increase the facility’s renewable electricity generation, but also recover valuable nutrients for use on the land.

The hydrolysis system installed by PlanET is a high temperature and pressure sterilisation unit which treats the incoming material at 180°C and 10 bar in 40 minute batches.

In a statement, the company said it is the world’s first hydrolysis system operating at this specific temperature and pressure combination. The residual heat from the hydrolysis process can be partly used to supply the digesters with heat.

In addition, the process will have a positive effect on the amount of carbon offsets created by Lethbridge Biogas. Increased amounts of renewable electricity as well as increased amounts of organics diverted from landfill will help to push the volume of carbon offsets created annually with the project towards 30,000 tCO2e. l

Estonia backs biomethane The Estonian government has announced that companies in the the Baltic country can apply for state subsidies to produce biomethane.

Estonia is aiming to provide 10% of its transport fuel from renewable sources by 2020 and biomethane will account for one third of this percentage.

The measure is aimed at boosting the use of Estonian-made renewables. The scheme will be financed with the proceeds from the auctioning of carbon dioxide emission credits, according to ERR news.

Producers of the green fuel can submit applications for the subsidy on a rolling basis between the beginning of 2018 and 30 November, 2020. Estonia’s Environmental Investment Centre (KIK) will spend €2.23 million to support the construction of 12 gas stations offering biomethane fuel. l

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8 • November/December 2017

Bioenergy Insight

biogas news

New waste-to-energy contract signed in China Hong-Kong based China Everbright International has signed a supplementary concession agreement with the Public Utility Management Bureau of Yixing City, Jiangsu Province, to invest in and construct a waste-toenergy plant worth around RMB780 million (€100m).

The development, entitled Yixing waste-to-energy project phase II, will be constructed on a build-operatetransfer basis with a concession period of 30 years. It will process 1,700 tonnes of household waste per day and is expected to generate around 170 million kWh of electricity per year.

According to China Everbright, the project is equipped with two selfdeveloped 850 tonnes/day mechanic grate furnaces, which have the largest

China Everbright’s new waste-to-energy plant will process 1,700 tonnes of household waste per day

single-furnace processing capacity in the waste industry in China; two medium-temperature sub-high pressure waste heat boilers; and a 40MW turbine power generator.

Its gas emissions will fully comply with the Euro 2010 Standard.

Phase I of the project commenced operation in June 2007, with a total investment of approximately RMB238 million. It was China’s first demonstration project that was equipped with domestically-made

Oklahoma pork waste to biogas plant can power 5,300 homes Operations have started at a new biogas upgrading plant (BUP) in Guymon, Oklahoma.

Operated by High Plains Bioenergy, a subsidiary of Seaboard Foods, the new plant produces pipeline quality renewable natural gas, which is collected from the biogas collected from the wastewater treatment system at the nearby Seaboard Foods pork processing plant.

Previously, Seaboard Foods recovered raw biogas from three anaerobic wastewater lagoons at the pork processing plant. However, this raw biogas was only suitable to heat the boilers at the processing plant. The new BUP increases the quality of the biogas through a pressure swing absorption process to produce pipeline quality renewable natural gas.

The updated plant will be able to produce 440 million standard cubic feet per year of recovered natural gas that will be sold to utility

Bioenergy Insight

companies to generate electricity for more than 5,300 homes annually.

“High Plains Bioenergy is dedicated to finding alternative energy sources and using the by-products of the Seaboard Foods connected system responsibly and in a renewable way,” said Gary Louis, executive vice president of Seaboard Foods.

“With our new biogas recovery plant, we’re doing exactly what HPB has been charged to do, by taking what is often considered a waste product and making renewable energy from it.”

As well as the biogas recovery plant, High Plains Bioenergy operates biodiesel plants in Guymon, Oklahoma, and St. Joseph, Missouri.

The Guymon biodiesel plant uses fat from the Guymon pork processing plant as the feedstock and the St. Joseph biodiesel plant uses vegetable oils as the primary feedstock. They also operate compressed natural gas (CNG) stations for vehicles in the connected food system and for the public. l

equipment and imported technologies.

It also achieved “nil discharge” of leachate from the waste-to-energy process, according to China Everbright.

Hu Yanguo, CEO of Environmental Energy Sector at Everbright International, said: “Yixing project phase I has been operating safely and in an environmentalfriendly manner for over ten consecutive years, with its construction quality and operation management being highly recognised by the local government.” l

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November/December 2017 • 9

wood pellet news Arensis buys Scottish wood pellet plant Arensis, an international provider of off-grid energy generation, has bought Verdo Renewables’ pellet plant in Grangemouth, Scotland.

The acquisition, part of a £50 million (€54m) UK investment plan, gives Arensis a sustainable, carbon-neutral fuel supply for its biomass energy generation.

Arensis provides off-grid, carbonneutral energy generation to customers around the world using biomass energy generators from German manufacturer and sister company, Entrade.

Arensis said it currently has 185 power systems in operation across the UK accounting for around 85% of all smallscale biomass generation in the UK. The Verdo biomass pellet plant will provide Arensis with more than 60,000 tonnes of wood pellets per year, allowing the company to meet growing customer demand.

Arensis will also install 30 Entrade biomass generators at the pellet plant site itself, to power manufacturing operations, reducing the carbon footprint further. It will maintain all jobs at the Verdo plant, and hopes to boost job numbers in the near future.

Off-grid energy generation Stuart Banks, executive vice president of UK operations and former plant

director of the Grangemouth site, said: “By bringing the Verdo pellet plant into Arensis’ portfolio, we can streamline the entire process of off-grid energy generation, integrating fuel production, technology deployment, logistics and project management into one sustainable, country level operation.”

Julien Uhlig, CEO of Arensis and Entrade, added: “This development is really significant for our business growth in the UK, and for our ability to help UK companies cut their emissions.

Verdo’s pellets are by far the best we tested in the UK, offering about 20% more energy over imported pellets.

“There is a lot of biomass generation that relies on importing biomass from abroad, undermining sustainability, and compromising efficiency due to pellet deterioration in transit. We don’t believe in shipping fuel around the world when local resources are available. We are committed to using local, sustainable sources for our biomass, reducing the transport carbon footprint and maintaining local jobs.

“This site meets our needs in terms of production, but also provides particularly reliable feedstocks. This is important because having a good baseline product allows us to carry out better comparative research on new feedstocks, especially waste products which we want to help customers turn into biomass fuel.

“The UK has now become our business and technology testing site.” l

GNT poised to buy Scotia Atlantic Biomass Company

Great Northern Timber Group (GNT) is “poised to buy and restart” the shuttered Scotia Atlantic Biomass Company (SAB) wood pellet plant in Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia, Canada, according to a local media report.

According to the local newspaper The Chronicle Herald, Halifax-based GNT has a “tentative agreement” with the receiver of the shuttered pellet facility to buy the machinery, equipment and property.

The deal is subject to court approval and the value has not been disclosed.

GNT is reported to have secured fibre supply commitments and is prepared to make several upgrades and repairs to the plant to improve productivity. The 120,000 tonne per annum capacity plant could be operational in quarter four of 2017, provided “the financial close, repairs and upgrades progress well”.

The plant originally went on the market in April 2016 when former owner Viridis Energy engaged US-headed pellet industry consultants FutureMetrics to “pursue alternatives” in a bid to resolve outstanding indebtedness of its British Columbia subsidiary Okanagan Pellet Company.

Alternatives included finding a buyer or buyers for one or all of Viridis three subsidiaries: Okanagan Pellet Company, Scotia Atlantic Biomass Company, and Viridis Merchants. l

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Bioenergy Insight

wood pellet news

8.1 million tonnes of wood pellets certified in 2016 The European Pellet Council (EPC) has announced a record year for its wood pellet quality scheme, with more than 8.1 million tonnes certified worldwide in 2016.

According to a statement, EPC is anticipating 9.2 million tonnes of wood pellets will be certified by the end of 2017.

A network in the European Biomass Association, the EPC is in charge of the ENplus wood pellet management programme, which was launched in Germany in 2010 to ensure quality of wood pellets “all along the supply chain”. Since its inception,

ENplus has experienced sustained growth, expanding beyond European borders.

In 2016, ENplus certified 366 pellet producers and 324 traders across 41 countries. Projections for 2017 predict as many as 411 producers and 259 traders will be certified, a 12% and 11% increase respectively.

Producers from Australia and New Zealand have also applied for involvement in the scheme for the first time.

The biggest quantity of ENplus certified pellets came from Germany, at 1.7 million tonnes. Austria, France and Romania were the next biggest certified producers.

Russia was the largest non-EU wood pellet producer under the scheme, and ranked in the top five globally. In 2017, the

country is expected to see one of the most substantial increases in certified production under the scheme.

“Market players’ interest in ENplus will allow us to continue investing serenely in consolidating the scheme, its implementation and the coordination with ENplus partners. Maintaining high and harmonised standards will be key for the longterm establishment of the pellet sector,” said Gilles Gauthier, the scheme’s general manager.

The ENplus scheme is broken down into three grades. 91% of all certified production matched the scheme’s highest A1 grade, while around 9% was in the scheme’s A2 grade. Less than 1% of the certified

volume fell within the B grade boundaries.

As well as carrying out annual inspections, the ENplus scheme also follows up on quality complaints, potentially leading to additional inspections. On top of that, the scheme investigates trademark infringements, and has identified and positively solved 478 infringements over the past two years.

Eric Vial, president of the European Pellet Council, said: “The ENplus scheme reached a whole new level, it is now essential to protect and develop its reputation.

Among other strategic orientations, we have therefore decided to work in 2018 on improving public awareness about pellet quality and the ENplus brand.” l

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November/December 2017 • 11

technology news

xx Bioenergy

Wärtsilä to acquire Swedish biogas firm

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä is set to acquire Puregas Solutions, a Swedenbased provider of turnkey biogas upgrading solutions. The acquisition agreement was reached in early October.

Puregas utilises a “CApure” process to covert raw biogas into biomethane and renewable natural gas. The company has subsidiaries in Germany, Denmark, the UK and US. According to a statement from Wärtsilä, the acquisition will provide the company with added expertise and equipment in biogas upgrading, and “complement … the company’s existing position in the biogas liquefaction market”.

“We are acquiring a company with technical know-how, good references, and a strong market position. It provides us, therefore, with a good platform to expand our offering and support our customers with complementary biogas upgrading and liquefaction solutions,” said Timo Koponen, vice president at Wärtsilä’s Flow & Gas, Marine Solutions division.

“Puregas Solutions has grown successfully in recent years

12 • November/December 2017

and we have now reached the point where it makes sense to achieve further growth through joining forces with a truly global technology specialist. Wärtsilä is a company with a similar philosophy towards creating customer value as our own, and we look forward to an exciting future together,” added Jan Molin, CEO at Puregas Solutions.

In 2016, Puregas Solutions’ turnover was SEK200m (€21m) with a “good profitability level”. The acquisition transaction is valued at SEK280m (€29m) with an additional maximum sum of SEK 70m (€7.3m) to be paid based on the performance of the business in the coming year. l

Bioenergy Insight

incident report Bioenergy A summary of the recent major explosions, fires and leaks in the bioenergy industry Date

Location

Company

Incident information

4 October Ohio, US

Hebron Solvent Recycling Services

Multiple fire crews and a hazmat team were called to a “large structure” fire at the Clean Harbors Environmental Hebron Solvent Recycling Services building in Hebron, Ohio.

The building recycles spent industrial solvents, as well as working in fuel blending and wastewater treatment.

The fire took around 15 minutes to contain.

2 October

Lisahally Biomass Power Plant

Firefighters were called to Lisahally Biomass Power Plant in Londonderry, Northern Ireland at 19:30 BST on Sunday 1 October, 2017, following reports of a ruptured steam pipe.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the steam explosion, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service reported.

According to the BBC, several fire engines were called to the scene. Some aluminium panelling was damaged by the seventh floor explosion.

The biomass power station is capable of generating electricity for 25,000 homes and businesses in the area.

Despite this, there have been no reports of power cuts.

20 September Nottingham, UK

Bio Dynamic

Two men were seriously injured following an explosion at an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in Nottingham, UK, according to media reports.

Police and firefighters were called to the Colwick industrial estate on 20 September, 2017, following reports of an explosion at Bio Dynamic’s biogas production facility.

Two men were taken to the nearby Queen’s Medical Centre with serious injuries.

News agencies reported that a large blue cylinder exploded at the facility.

A slurry leak was discovered after the explosion, but fortunately the Environment Agency was able to contain it.

The cause of the explosion was unknown at time of going to press.

18 September Bolton, UK

Viridor

A huge blaze broke out at Viridor’s Bolton recycling plant, which fire officials said they believed to be accidental.

Ten fire engines and sixty firefighters were sent to the scene of the fire, which engulfed three floors of a building at the plant.

The fire was brought under control within 90 minutes, and no one was reported injured.

As well as recycling, Viridor recovers energy from residual waste to prevent it going to landfill.

Londonderry, Northern Ireland

15 September Gasville-Oisème, Paprec

France

Bioenergy Insight

A 20 metre high mountain of woodchips caught fire at the Parpec factory in Gasville-Oisème, close to Chartres, France.

The fire was quickly brought under control by the fire brigade, according to local media, and nobody was reported injured.

November/December 2017 • 13

Bioenergy plant udpate

Plant update – Africa and Asia Germany’s Center for Development Research (ZEF) and Ghana’s Forum for Agricultural Research

Producer

Germany’s Center for Development Research (ZEF) and Ghana’s Forum for Agricultural Research Location Pan-Africa Alternative fuel Biomass power Feedstock Food and non-food biomass Construction/ The “first” pan-African expert network expansion/acquisition on food and non-food biomass has been launched by African and German researchers. BiomassNet aims to ensure that food security and environmental sustainability are not compromised in the development of new biomass uses.

The scheme’s developers claim this will help to strengthen the emerging African bioeconomies. The scheme was launched by Germany’s Center for Development Research ( ZEF) and the Ghana-based Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). The project was also developed within the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded project BiomassWeb Project start date August 2017

Guinea Bissau Location Guinea Bissau Alternative fuel Biomass Capacity 30MW Construction/ China will invest $184 million expansion/acquisition (€156 million) into a 30MW biomass power plant in Guinea Bissau, according to a media report in Reuters. “The funds are meant for construction of a biomass plant fed by two generators each with 15 (sic.) kilowatt (MW) capacity,” a statement from the Chinese embassy said, quoted in Reuters. China will foot 93% of the bill for the project, while Guinea pays for the remaining 7%. Guinea Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, suffers chronic power shortages that often leave its seaside capital Bissau in darkness Project start date August 2017 Investment $184 million (€156 million)

14 • November/December 2017

Earth Energy

Producer Earth Energy Location Uganda Alternative fuel Biomass Capacity 20MW Construction/ The Africa Development Bank (ADB) expansion/acquisition gave a grant of $1m (€1.14m) to renewable energy firm Earth Energy to develop a 20MW biomass power plant in northern Uganda in order to mitigate climate change due to deforestation, according to news website AllAfrica.com Project start date August 2017 Investment $1 million (€1.14 million) Comment Speaking during the signing of the grant in Kampala, the ADB resident representative in Uganda, Jeremiah Mutonga, said there was a need to mitigate climatic change in the country by use of renewable energy sources because it helps to reduce deforestation activities Advanced Biomass Solutions (an affiliate of Active Energy) Location Alternative fuel Capacity

Across Southeast Asia Biomass power The plants will have production capacity of between 20-30 tonnes per hour Feedstock Wood biomass Construction/ Advanced Biomass Solutions (ABS), an expansion/acquisition affiliate of Active Energy, has entered into an agreement with US-based Lumino Capital for the financing, development and operation of eight CoalSwitch plants across Southeast Asia. Active Energy is a London Stock Exchange-quoted international forestry management and biomass-based renewable energy business. Under the terms of the vertically-integrated agreement, ABS and Lumino will work together on financing, development and operation of each CoalSwitch plant. The eight plants will be located across Vietnam, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries. Each plant will be capitalised primarily by equity investments and debt financing from Lumino and a consortium of financial institutions Project start date September 2017 Investment Not disclosed

Bioenergy Insight

plant update Bioenergy First Quezon Biogas

Veolia

Location Philippines Alternative fuel Biogas Capacity 1.2MW Feedstock Animal waste Construction/ EnviTec has begun construction on a expansion/acquisition new biogas plant in Candelaria, Quezon province. The waste-to-energy project benefits from subsidies under the Renewable Energy Act, passed by the Philippines government in 2008 Designer/builder EnviTec Project start date August 2017 Investment Not disclosed

Location China Alternative fuel Electricity and steam from biomass Feedstock Biomass Construction/ French waste management company expansion/acquisition Veolia has signed a deal to boost the production of electricity and steam from biomass for chemicals and construction clients. The 25-year plan will include construction, operation and maintenance of a biomass plant in North China’s Hebei province in a bid to increase the use of renewable energy in the region’s energy mix Designer/builder Veolia Project start date May 2017 Investment €341 million Entrade

Japan Renewable Energy Location Alternative fuel Capacity Feedstock Construction/ expansion/acquisition

Project start date Investment

Japan Biomass power 70,000kw Biomass The Goldman Sachs Group is set to expand into Japan’s biomass industry, according to an article by Nikkei Asian Review. Japan Renewable Energy, a solar power company established by Goldman Sachs, intends to build new biomass plants at ten or more locations by 2020 June 2017 40 billion yen (€326 million)

Location Japan Alternative fuel Biomass power Capacity 25kW electrical energy, 55kW thermal Feedstock Pellets derived from waste wood and saw dust Construction/ A new E3 biomass energy plant was expansion/acquisition launched by Fukushima prefecture governor Masao Uchibori at the small health resort of Nishigo. The power plant supplies enough heat to bring the water for the resort’s healing treatments to a pleasant temperature and to heat the rooms of the hotel Designer/builder Entrade Completion date March 2017 *This list is based on information made available to Bioenergy Insight at the time of printing. If you would like to update the list with additional plants for future issues, email liz@woodcotemedia.com

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November/December 2017 • 15

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With the Brexit negotiations underway and the new Government committed to reducing carbon emissions, the Rt Hon. the Lord Deben, chairman of the Committee on Climate Change will speak on how the UK government needs to urgently reduce emissions to meet the binding carbon budgets. There are still significant policy gaps in energy, farming and waste, which will need to be resolved.

This is an exciting time for AD, with the industry having significant potential to reduce emissions from heat and transport, whilst simultaneously providing a management solution for UK waste – if the right policies are in place, such as mandatory separate food waste collections in England.

Join us this year to discuss the drivers shaping our industry with politicians, policy makers and business leaders. The Conference, now in its 9th year, will discuss how we can optimize the AD industry to reduce emissions through the 2020s.

Topics aT a glance: • ADBA’s pioneering Best Practice Scheme • Will Brexit bring new opportunities to on-farm AD? • Which gases are best for injection into the grid?

• Which food waste collection systems are most effective?

• Decarbonising transport through AD

Register your place today: http://adbioresources.org/events/adba-national-conference-2017 16 • November/December 2017

Bioenergy Insight

project finance Bioenergy Why biomass is becoming an increasingly attractive investment

Backing a winner

B

ioenergy has traditionally been a difficult sell to investors, both in terms of debt finance and equity.

Challenges around security of supply, confidence in the management of technically demanding equipment and processes, and deal size, have created a risk profile outside their comfort zone.

The market has since moved on, with solar and onshore wind maturing both in terms of technology and as an investment opportunity. As a result, attention and expertise is now focusing elsewhere.

Many investors, including traditional institutions and more niche funders, are now looking closely at biomass. Today, there is an appetite to provide straight debt funding or combined equity/debt propositions to a variety of bioenergy projects, particularly where the developer has a proven track record and the project is on a smaller scale (or part of a portfolio where the risks are aggregated).

In these cases, risks over fuel supply and technology become more acceptable.

Clean energy is seen as a reliable investment and the launch by the UK government of a green finance taskforce will further position the UK as a global hub for green finance and attract increasing numbers of banks, renewable funds, infrastructure funds and pensions funds who are looking for a safe place for their money. This presents a real opportunity for bioenergy projects to secure funding that might not have been available previously. With an increasing number of players chasing the same

Bioenergy Insight

opportunities, and with the traditional new-build largescale solar and onshore wind farms facing challenges of their own, interest in bioenergy will continue to rise as investors look to grow and diversify their portfolios.

Bankable contracts

The key to capitalising on the UK’s status as a global green finance hub will be to create projects that represent an easy investment from a risk point of view. While there will always be challenges over fuel supply and the reliability of technology, there are some underlying principles that can be addressed to help improve a project’s viability. One of the biggest barriers to investment is the bankability of the contracts associated with the development. Taking time to prepare and negotiate bankable contracts that take the project from design to finance, development, construction and operation will be fundamental.

If robust documentation can be put in place for the entire project lifecycle, that will help increase the project’s investment potential. Particular attention should be paid to the grid

documentation, infrastructure agreements, land interests and planning permissions.

Also important are preparing and negotiating turnkey construction contracts, operation and maintenance agreements, management services agreements and all other ancillary documents such as direct agreements, performance guarantees and retention guarantees. The security of supply — in its dual guise of legal and practical robustness — will remain a key driver for any project.

It is also worth considering the investment mix that a project may require. Equity investors are more likely to look at projects that have a higher risk profile, particularly where the developer has some skin in the game, while traditional debt funders will require more reassurances about a project before they invest. Predictably, we have seen a rise in projects being built-out with equity, and then re-financed once they are operational and have a proven track record. The UK’s status as a global hub for green investment and the subsequent increase in investor interest may mean that this type of

equity/debt split model will allow more bioenergy sites to come to market.

The UK government’s Clean Growth Strategy, announced on 12 October, emphasises putting energy use in the hands of end users. This could see an increase in the number of small-to-medium scale sites which, by their very nature, are more bankable.

Bioenergy is already used across a range of commercial and residential developments and it is likely that we will see a rise in the number of new mixed-use developments and retro-fit projects using bioenergy technologies to reduce impact on the grid or even make them grid neutral.

The UK may also see biomass-fired heat and power plants continue to replace the more traditional coalfired plants, which are used for general power provision and grid balancing services.

While securing funding for projects of this nature is more difficult, they are often funded by consortiums of investors who each take a percentage of the overall deal value, thus reducing the risk.

With the right project structure and the right developer, bioenergy projects are an attractive investment for both debt and equity funders. The changes in the clean energy market combined with the government’s push to not only make the UK carbon neutral but also a hub for green finance, could be exactly the impetus that bioenergy needs to grow its market share. l For more information:

Clean energy is seen as a reliable investment

This article was written by Maria Connolly, partner and head of energy and renewables at TLT, and Gary Roscoe, partner at the financial services at TLT, specialising in clean energy projects.

Visit: www.tltsolicitors.com

November/December 2017 • 17

Bioenergy trading and ports

Drax biomass conveyor interior

On the right track

O

Rail loading of wood pellets for power station consumption

ne of the quirks of the mathematics surrounding the economics of biomass generation is that in round numbers, 1m3/h of wood pellets will produce heat to raise enough steam to generate 1MWh of electricity. A 500MW biomass unit will consume approximately 500m3/h or 300tph of pellets, operating for 8000 hours per year, a unit will consume approximately 2.4 million tonnes of wood pellets.

Currently, tonnages imported into the UK are rising, imported wood fuel in 2012 totalled 3.5 million tonnes, and by 2016 the demand had doubled to more than 7 million tonnes.

To illustrate the logistical challenges using a figure of say 12 MTPA, this equates to the bulk carrying capacity of some 207 Panamax vessels a

year delivering the fuel to UK ports for off-loading, storage and forward shipment to the power stations — that’s 7,500 train loads (or 400,000 lorry loads) per year from ports to power stations.

particularly strong so from the moment the pellet is formed it starts to degrade. By the time pellets reach the UK up to 10% of the cargo may have reverted to sawdust.

Pellets also swell and revert

Wood may sound benign, but in the correct concentrations in air it is an explosive Existing port infrastructure is geared up for these tonnages of coal, but biomass and particularly wood pellets pose their own set of unique challenges: To comply with legislation, the pellet producers are prohibited from using any form of artificial binder. Pellets are formed at such a pressure that friction heating melts the lignin in the cell walls to form a natural binder. This bond is not

18 • November/December 2017

back to sawdust if they get wet. These are irritating problems, but they can also be extremely dangerous.

Risk of combustion Wood may sound benign, but in the correct concentrations in air it is an explosive: The lower explosive limit (LEL) is generally agreed to be 30g of dust in a cubic metre of air, so there’s not much room for

error. Pellets are also prone to self-heating in transit, especially if they get wet prior to long-term storage, and can arrive in the UK as hot as 50°C. Thus, the risk of combustion is ever-present, be it from self-heating or “sparked” by an ignition source.

The material, being organic, is technically rotting all the time and steadily gives off carbon monoxide which in ship holds and in silo or shed storage systems leads to oxygen depletion in the atmosphere, while over longer periods of time the risk of methane off-gassing increases.

The handling and storage rules can therefore be summarised as below: • Keep it dry • Control fugitive dust emissions • Design to comply with ATEX regulations (ATEX is the name commonly

Bioenergy Insight

trading and ports Bioenergy given to the two European Directives for controlling explosive atmospheres) • Monitor product temperature and moisture • Check for high CO and CH4 concentrations in enclosed spaces • Be prepared for a fire (detection and suppression) But how do you move such a vast amount of material whilst also maintaining precision and safety?

The time available to load the train is often the starting point of the design, typically this is specified as the total turn round time on site (90 minutes is common).

To allow time for shunting, re-fuelling, driver change etc, UK engineering specialist Spencer settled on loading a train in less than one hour in order to guarantee the 90-minute turn around.

The technology Spencer had in mind to perform the loading function was already in existence in the US, having a 40-year track record of loading bulk materials into rail wagons, particularly coal and iron ore. Spencer

Drax biomass silos

saw the potential in the Pebco rail ‘flood loading’ technology to load biomass trains quickly and efficiently.

Flood loading is achieved when the instantaneous loading rate is so large that the material floods into the receiving rail car, backs up and chokes the

discharge chute. Once the chute is choked, material can only flow from the chute at a rate dictated by the movement of the train under the chute. Providing the choke is maintained then control of the loading operation is straightforward.

The balance of the rail car

is filled as it moves under the chute presenting a void into which material floods into to maintain the choke. The end of the car is detected and the discharge gate closed allowing sufficient time for the material in the chute (the in-flight material) to fill the back of the car without overspilling the back and keeping the chute retracted until the next rail car presents.

The control system monitors train speed, wagon position and in the case of biomass wagons, verifies the top doors of the wagon are open before allowing loading to proceed.

Whilst in this instance wagons are volumetrically loaded; an independent track weighing system completes the loading system providing tare and gross weight information for each axel of each wagon to an accuracy approved by trading standards. l

For more information:

Drax biomass conveyor

Bioenergy Insight

This article was written by Ian Atkinson, engineering director — Materials Handling at Spencer Group.

Visit: www.thespencergroup.co.uk

November/December 2017 • 19

Bioenergy regional focus Africa Challenges of developing Africa’s bioenergy sector

Towards a sustainable-based bioenergy sector in Africa

D

By Shem Oirere

emand for bioenergy in Africa is expected to go up 40% to 490 million tonnes of oil equivalent by 2040, equivalent to one quarter of the anticipated global demand, according to the International Energy Agency.

It is anticipated that this substantial surge in bioenergy demand will create numerous investment opportunities for renewable energy developers and also exert pressure on governments in the region to fast-track formulation and promulgation of sustainable policy guidelines on bioenergy, especially regulations that ensure a balance between the increasing demand for energy on one hand and the dire need for food production to meet the frequent shortages in Africa.

Although African governments acknowledge the place of bioenergy in the mix of solutions to the continent’s struggle to reduce the more than 600 million people who have no access to electricity, and also as an alternative to expensive and environmentally-destructive fossil fuels, a majority of the countries in Africa have still not integrated the technology into their national integrated energy growth strategies and development plans.

The integration is critical in triggering interest among private sector investors keen on investing in the continent’s bioenergy sector.

In 2013, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations of Economic Commission for

Africa (UNECA) launched a document entitled ‘Africa Bioenergy Policy Framework and Guidelines’. In this document, they identified the need for “support policies to create a sustainable bioenergy sector”.

Food vs. fuel In the document, the AU said the policies were necessary because “changes in land use and crop production affect directly the availability and price of food, especially for the rural poor”.

“The food crisis of 20072008 in many African countries was partly attributable to biofuels market development, which diverted food crops into energy production,” the AU document says in part.

In addition, a number of biofuel projects backed by foreign developers in Tanzania, Ghana, Mozambique and Kenya acquired huge tracts of land for the growth of feedstock such as jatropha but the land has not been given back to communities for food production after the initiatives collapsed.

guidelines on how to address land tenure and rights in Africa, bioenergy technical feasibility study thresholds and also the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity produced, the response by potential clean energy developers to the region’s investment opportunities has been slow.

“In spite of many national programmes in Africa, achievements are still few and far between,” said the AU. “There is a need to develop complementary national sustainable bioenergy policies and strategies, as well as regulatory frameworks based on Africa’s collective vision, which is consistent with New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad), the Millennium Development Goals and global conventions,” says the AU. Nepad is an economic development programme of the AU. Government and private investment in Africa’s bioenergy, just like in

other renewable energy technologies, requires bankable project development plans to qualify for financing, for instance, in the form of loans or grants from international donors such as development finance institutions and climate funds.

“Many clean energy projects in Africa are potentially technically and commercially viable, but have yet to become bankable investment opportunities,” says Amadou Hott, African Development Bank’s vice president for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth.

“High initial development costs, lack of start-up capital, limited knowhow on project financing, and inadequate enabling environments are some of the key impediments,” he says.

Bioenergy potential In landlocked Zambia for example, with an estimated biomass resource and economic

Sustainability criteria According to the AU, “there is an urgent need to define and adopt sustainability criteria that could enhance food security, rural development, poverty alleviation, land rights and tenure, environmental protection, social equity and wellbeing, cultural heritage and macroeconomic impacts”.

Without clear policy

20 • November/December 2017

Biofuel projects backed by foreign developers in Ghana acquired huge tracts of land to grow feedstocks like jatropha

Bioenergy Insight

regional focus Africa Bioenergy bioenergy potential of 2.15 million tonnes and 498MW respectively, lack of financing has hampered optimisation of this potential, according to the Centre of Energy, Environment and Engineering Zambia (CEEEZ), a nongovernmental organisation.

“One of the challenges facing the biomass energy sector in Zambia is insufficient financing packages for scaling up exploitation and utilisation of modern bioenergy technologies, which has considerably higher investment costs in comparison to traditional biomass technologies,” says Francis Mwila, a National Resources Officer at CEEEZ. Africa’s bioenergy and biofuels sector provides numerous investment opportunities such as installations of ethanol production distillery, biomass and energy cogeneration plants, ethanol exports, on-the-ground partner joint ventures, farmland development to generate feedstock, powersector companies, and shipping and logistics.

A few initiatives have been launched to financially support the fledgling bioenergy sector in Africa with the African Development Bank (AfDB) taking the lead in establishing the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to facilitate access to financing and private risk

guarantees for the projects.

SEFA was set up with financing from the governments of the US and Denmark, to support privately-owned small and medium-sized clean energy developers finance pre-investment activities ranging from feasibility studies to financial close.

SEFA also provides the initial

Africa’s largest biomass power plant by Ugandan developer Earth Energy. The 20MW to be generated from the plant will be fed into the national grid. The landlocked country’s generation capacity is estimated at 947MW and is expected to grow to 1,681MW by the end of 2020.

Other bioenergy developers in the African

Zambia has an estimated biomass resource and economic bioenergy potential of 2.15 million tonnes phase financing for small and medium-sized renewable energy projects and technical and skills empowerment for entrepreneurs and developers.

In 2016, the SEFA approved three project preparation grants, six equity investments and four enabling environments estimated at $16.4 million (€13.8m).

By last year, SEFA had committed $42 million of its $95 million capitalisation for 32 projects in 18 countries, including six multinational initiatives, according to the Fund’s annual report for 2016. At least 1% of the commitment is for bioenergy projects and another 2% for biomass initiatives.

In December 2016, SEFA approved $993,000 for the development of Eastern

market have financed their projects through debt and equity as more countries embrace robust renewable energy policies that could encourage financiers to support the region’s nascent bioenergy sector.

For example, Mauritiusbased Sunbird Bioenergy Africa, which is focused on developing biofuel initiatives for production of bioethanol, low-carbon transportation fuels, electricity, and other byproducts from biomass feedstock, is in various stages of developing projects in Zambia, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.

Sunbird Bioenergy and a consortium of investors acquired a majority stake in Addax Bioenergy Sierra Leone, a subsidiary of Addax and

Oryx Group, which developed a 32MW bioenergy plant in the West African country.

In Namibia, the country’s power utility Nampower, with financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and EU Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund, is constructing a 20MW biomass power plant as part of its National Integrated Resource Plan.

Nampower and EIB have picked Danish international consulting group COWI A/S as the technical commercial consultant for the project.

The biomass plant that it is building is the first of many planned for the northern part of Namibia.

“This project is sustainable in every sense of the word.

Biomass power plants will not only contribute to solve the problem of declining husbandry: Thinning the invasive bushes and trees and setting up a production of wood chips will create a new industry in Namibia, which will also enhance employment,” said Marc Normann, Senior Market Director of COWI’s Energy and Industry division early this year.

There are several similar projects across sub-Saharan Africa and despite the technology being at infancy and still struggling to get its footing in the region, the biomass/bioenergy sector is definitely staring at a bright future. l

Technical data: 82 x 70 cm Up to 160 10 pcs.

Bioenergy Insight

Feed opening (wxh)

64x 65 cm

Chopping output Up to 120 (loose cubic metres/hour) Chopping knives (or change blades)

8 pcs.

November/December 2017 • 21

Bioenergy bioenergy political risk Africa is on the up, with investors and developers enjoying generous returns. Using an insurance broker can help companies to avoid common pitfalls

Political risk insurance: The key to doing business in Africa

A

ustralian immigrants are having an unprecedented effect on the economy of Ghana, West Africa.

These ‘newcomers’ are eucalyptus trees, and they’re being cultivated in vast plantations to provide biomass fuel for a huge, 600MWe power plant.

The fast-growing hardwood forests were established in 2012 by APSD, a sustainable plantation company. They cover thousands of hectares near Kwame Danso in the Brong-Ahafo region of northern Ghana.

The trees were planted in a ‘mosaic’ system, to encourage biodiversity, and they form part of Ghana’s plans to produce green electricity in a region blighted by a lack of electricity access.

Biofuel forests are sprouting up all over Africa.

The continent’s speedy growth is being driven by rapid industrialisation, and there’s a huge demand for clean energy.

There’s no doubt about it, Africa is ripe for investment.

Outstanding returns “Over the decade and a half from 2000 to 2015, the average annual growth rate of ‘real’ (ie, inflation-adjusted) GDP

was 5.5% for sub-Saharan Africa,” says US investment strategist, Harry Broadman.

“The corresponding rate among the world’s advanced countries was just 1.8%, about a third as fast as sub-Saharan Africa.”

APSD, the eucalyptus plantation owner, is headed

by Norwegian entrepreneurs, Erling Lorentzen and Finn Tvede Jacobsen. It’s one of hundreds of European and US firms investing in Africa.

Waste-to-energy — extracting methane gas from huge city landfill sites — is another area of fuel production that’s generating interest from investors.

capital, which “generates approximately 1,000 tonnes of waste per day at an annual generation rate of 3.7×104 tonnes/year. The existing collection capacity can only keep up with about 55% of this amount”. Other sources estimate the amount of waste generated per day to be as much as 3,000 tonnes.

Key considerations for investing in Africa Looking at the potential, who wouldn’t be tempted to develop in African countries?

Taking Ghana as an example, economic growth rates averaged 7.4% during

Political risk is a huge deal for business stakeholders in emerging markets Organic matter, which creates the methane, makes up 66% of landfill waste in Africa.

“Waste management is a critical issue for most African cities as a result of mountains of waste stemming from increases in urban populations over the past few decades,” notes an editorial in UrbanAfrica.net.

It cites as an example, Accra, the Ghanaian

22 • November/December 2017

the past decade. That’s even more enticing than the 5.5% average for the rest of the continent. On the political scene, Ghana has experienced peaceful transitions of power each time there has been a change in government since the country ended military rule in 1992.

Before they start making big plans, however, developers and investors need to look at the wider picture.

Although Ghana is leading the way for democracy in Africa, the West African country is blighted by corruption, and is ranked 70 out of 176 on Transparency International’s 2016 corruption index.

Fraudulent conduct by those in power is one of a suite of ‘political risks’ that can hinder a project’s insurability.

This in turn could hamstring its financing, construction, operation and profitability.

Government spending cuts in 2017 triggered some social unrest in Ghana: Yet another form of political risk.

For clean energy firms, this form of risk needs handling before a project hits the planning stage, and can yield rewards.

The answer, says Duncan Gordon, Renewable Energy account executive at insurance broker JLT Specialty, is “bankable” all risks property damage, business interruption policies and robust political risk insurance (PRI).

What is political risk insurance?

Political risk is a huge deal for business stakeholders in emerging markets. The term is multi-faceted, and there is no universally accepted definition.

The insurance market defines it this way: “The risk of a strategic, financial

Bioenergy Insight

bioenergy political risk Bioenergy

Ghana has received eucalyptus trees from Australia to encourage biodiversity and use the biomass for renewable energy

or personnel loss because of non-market factors.”

This dry-sounding sentence covers a wide range of government actions (or inactions), and the effects thereof, that could impede a project’s efficiency, and, ultimately, its financial viability.

Government-triggered events can include anything from nationalisation and civil war to currency shortages, or expropriation of assets.

PRI protects investors and financiers against a range of these risks. The policy can also indemnify you in arbitration over power purchase agreement (PPA) dispute.

No two investors will have the same risk profile, even if they’re operating in the same country and industry. Cover varies from insurer to insurer, and policies are written on a bespoke basis to reflect each firm’s individual risk.

Challenges can include confiscation, nationalisation, expropriation, and deprivation (CNED).

PRI can be triggered when utilities and assets come under government control

Bioenergy Insight

should conflicts arise: wars, civil wars, and invasions.

Such events can be covered by two forms of insurance, PRI, or MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) cover, a protection offered by the World Bank.

Every company has different needs, so it is important to talk to a specialist broker to find the most appropriate cover. The private PRI market is flexible and can offer a bespoke solution, while the MIGA route can have long lead times.

Public dispute Perception is everything.

It’s not good enough for stakeholders in biomass or biofuel projects to do the right thing — they have to be seen to be doing it, too.

“A waste-to-energy company using urban landfill in Accra would probably be welcomed as an innovative solution and an alternative to landfill,” says Gordon.

He adds: “A biomass producer in a remote forest would have more to prove. Local landowners must be treated fairly.

Public acceptance and landowner perception are both important.

“A company might pay a landowner an initial annual sum to build on their land under lease, but if they and nearby landowners feel they’re not given an equitable offering, or it is inconsistent, there could be public unrest and the negative perception of a project.”

Technology risk Equipment, and its transport, is another factor taken into consideration by insurers.

“Insurers will ask how experienced the contractor is in making sure the technology runs to specification,” says Gordon.

Shipment times and infrastructure need to be considered, too. Gordon explains: “If you’re transporting a critical item with a long replacement lead time, such as a transformer, along an access road, you need to make sure the road is suitable and in an appropriate condition to avoid vibration or knocks that could damage the cargo. A route survey, as

well as loading and fastening methodology, need to be carefully considered.

“These are all factors that have to be thought about at an early stage in project planning.”

How do I find the right insurance?

Talking to an expert broker, one that understands the market conditions in depth, is crucial.

Use a specialist renewable energy broker to find an insurer appropriate to your business, and to negotiate the most agreeable terms and wording.

Developers looking to build in African countries shouldn’t forget to seek specialist advice on all their other insurances, too, such as appropriate construction all risks (CAR), delay in start-up (DSU), and cargo and liability covers. l

For more information:

This article was written by Sarah Maybank, content writer at JLT Specialty. Visit: www.jltspecialty.com Contact: Duncan Gordon, Renewable Energy account executive at JLT Specialty. E-mail: Duncan_Gordon@jltgroup.com

November/December 2017 • 23

Bioenergy gasification Gasification co-products breathe new life into gasification power applications

Best uses of gasification in today’s power sector

B

iomass as a renewable energy source faces challenges in current regulatory markets in the US and abroad, due to current legislation focusing on energy storage for wind and solar renewable energy. Biomass as a renewable energy resource needs an advantage when competing for investment capital for new projects. Coproducts formed when gasifying biomass is that advantage.

Gasification is the process that occurs when fossil or biomass fuel is heated without sufficient oxygen, which occurs between 550°C and 650°C in a fluid bed gasifier. The process self-sustains temperature by fully reacting a portion of the fuel into carbon dioxide and water. This heat causes the remaining biomass to break down in the absence of oxygen into primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen, as well

as lesser fractions of biochar and tar. By tuning the fluid bed gasification process, up to 40% of the carbon present in biomass can be captured in the biochar, and prevented from fully converting into CO2.

Fluid bed gasifiers create a high-carbon biochar byproduct, (char produced from biomass).

Historically, this byproduct of gasification has been a waste stream and has been extremely hard to handle. New research into using biochar has shown its applicability as a soil amendment, filtration medium, long-term carbon sequestration medium, feedstock for activated carbon production and much more. These uses of biochar could not come at a more opportune time. The world’s growing population creates constant need to improve the productivity of agricultural land, improve the quality of rainwater runoff from roadways, reduce carbon emissions from

Biomass gasification power plants are key to the power industry of the future

24 • November/December 2017

power plants, and find more carbon-neutral raw materials.

Valuable byproduct This recent evolution of biochar is changing the value of gasification systems.

Historically, an energy plant had to justify the economics strictly on a single product, such as electricity, or heat. Given the global need for the power industry to reduce its carbon footprint, this char byproduct reduces the carbon footprint of biomass power plants, as well as produces a valuable byproduct to the plant’s energy output.

If this biochar is captured and marketed, it has the potential to generate a revenue stream which could match or exceed the value of the primary energy sales. Depending on the properties of the biochar (carbon content, porosity, size distribution and others) the value of this product can range from $70 (€59) per short ton to as high as $2,500 per short ton.

Biomass as a renewable energy source also brings other benefits to a region in the form of providing a value to proper forest maintenance practices. Normally, there is little motivation to remove this fuel from the forest, and given the difficulty to harvest timber in large areas due to political opposition, it accumulates until a wildfire occurs. After a fire starts, the high concentration of fuel strengthens that fire, reduces air quality to dangerous levels, increases the damage to home and property, and drastically increases the cost to control that fire. There have been many successful examples of proper harvesting practices

which lower the risk and reduce the severity of forest fires, simply by the plant operating within normal conditions.

Biomass gasification power plants are key to the power industry of the future. There are numerous benefits that stem back to the use of biomass as a renewable energy resource using responsible and ecological methods.

There are a large number of beneficial and valuable uses of biochar, but it has not been commercialised to the fullest extent because of other products, primarily originating from the petroleum and petrochemical industry.

Biorefineries, which process the oils and tars created during biomass gasification into useable compounds, are subject to the economic roller coaster and control of competing crude oil prices.

Biomass has a high entry cost, and even when it is paid, it is usually only a matter of time for the cycle of crude oil and energy pricing to remove any economic incentive for these facilities to keep operating. Therefore, to assure these biomass plants have the longevity to fulfill the needs of the power industry, they need more streams of revenue that are independent of the fluctuating price of crude oil. Biochar provides that stream, but only if we recognise its potential and prioritise implementation of this model. l

For more information:

This article was written by Jim Beck, project manager/engineer at Precision Energy Services.

Visit: www.pes-world.com

Bioenergy Insight

technology Bioenergy ORC technology is efficiently converting waste wood into electricity

Power generation

G

ermany-based timber construction company Heberndorfer Leistenfabrik (HLF) uses the waste wood from its wood processing activities to generate electricity and heat. Since equipping its power plant with the latest Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology from Dürr Cyplan, the specialist in baseboards and accessories has managed to meet the majority of its annual electricity requirement with wood-based biomass.

The Eco+Energy ORC system, with an electrical output of 500kW, will pay for itself in just four years.

The sawmill and wood industry is constantly producing waste wood, no matter how the wood is processed. Whether bark, sawmill by-products, old wood, or industrial waste wood, the organic biomass can be used to generate energy — as the example of HLF shows. Instead of having to dispose of 11,000 metric tonnes of chips each year, the company based in Wurzbach (Thuringia) puts them to use with ORC technology.

At HLF, this technology is combined with a modernised furnace system to convert various kinds of wood into heat and electricity. This means that the waste products can be used where they are produced, and where the need for the generated power also exists.

It is a clean process, since the fuel is transported and stored in closed pipeline systems and bunkers.

The self-generated heat is used at HLF to heat the production halls and the administration building, while the amount of electricity

Bioenergy Insight

Figure 2: Eco+Energy ORC technology generates electricity and heat from waste products and waste heat Figure 1: Heberndorfer Leistenfabrik converts waste products into electrical and thermal energy with a high level of efficiency using an Eco+Energy ORC system from Dürr Cyplan

generated via the ORC module covers the energy required for production and is additionally fed into the public grid. By doing this, HLF reduces it electricity costs by approximately €400,000 each year.

Waste wood “Electricity prices have almost doubled in recent years. Using waste wood for power was a strategic decision that will safeguard us against future cost increases and make us more energy independent,” explains Christian Horn, managing director at HLF. Based on current electricity prices, the ORC module will pay for itself in energy savings in approximately four years. This fast return for energy infrastructure is also due to the low service and operation costs.

Dürr Cyplan offers a full service package based on a guaranteed availability for the ORC system. The system is fully assembled and tested at the Dürr Cyplan manufacturing facility, which means it only has to be connected to the heat transfer media before it is ready for operation, which can be done in two weeks.

Konrad Misselwitz, technical director at HLF, is impressed by the concept of the Eco+Energy ORC and the professional execution of the project. He maintains that the system combines simple and logical operation with robust components and low -maintenance requirements.

He also says that it is completely standalone and can be controlled remotely.

Apart from an annual service, it does not need any complicated maintenance,

such as oil changes or seal replacements, Misselwitz says.

“The ORC systems from Dürr Cyplan are extremely compact and are easy to integrate into existing energy systems and buildings,” says Timm Greschner, project and operations manager at Dürr. This enabled the HLF furnace system to be easily extended to include the new ORC module. The high cost efficiency is further boosted by the ease of handling, the high level of automation, and the long service life of at least 15 years. This makes the system extremely economically attractive for medium and large wood processing operations. l

For more information:

This article was written by JoachimUwe Lorenzen, director at Dürr Cyplan.

Visit: www.durr-cyplan.com

November/December 2017 • 25

Bioenergy technology A UK-based company has developed a technology solution to commercialise the process of HTC

Capturing carbon

T

he fundamental problem remains for all existing conversion technologies in that they struggle with the issue of mass-energy balance.

It takes energy to make energy, and all processes, with the exception of hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC), still require significant amounts of energy, no matter how they have been modified and advanced over the years. HTC is different. It captures more carbon and uses less energy compared to other thermal processes and the temperature and pressure required for the chemical reaction to take place are much lower. In addition, the energy required to sustain the conversion process is significantly lower than other processes.

In light of this, Antaco has won a contract to manage a water utility’s sludge ­­— the first of its kind for HTC in Europe. With the water sector typically riskaverse to technological innovation, by removing the

risk, Antaco has been able to penetrate the market.

HTC is a thermal reduction process able to convert all types of organic material into a stable sterile carbon material. In doing so, it offers a cost-effective waste solution. It is a relatively new technology that offers advantages over conventional conversion processes, not least to the water sector.

Independent research shows that HTC can cut wastewater treatment plant’s (WWTP) operational costs by 50%, energy use by 73% and carbon emissions by 95%.

Waste-to-energy conversion process Antaco has developed a technology solution to commercialise the process of HTC. Their patented process creates a bespoke biofuel maximising carbon, and therefore calorific value, whilst removing undesirable properties in resultant biofuel.

Where alternative conversion

Engineer at Antaco’s plant

26 • November/December 2017

Antaco’s HTC plant

technologies typically only convert a low proportion of the available carbon in feedstock into a useable form, Antaco’s technology is able to capture 95% of the carbon and transform this into a solid, transportable, storable biofuel.

HTC has the highest carbon efficiency of any waste-toenergy conversion process.

In comparison to anaerobic digestion (AD), Antaco’s HTC solution is 4-5 times more efficient in capturing the valuable carbon out of organic matter and converting this

into solid fuel. This leap in innovation is rarely seen.

The resultant solid biofuel produced has similar properties to fossil coal and so termed, biocoal. Biocoal has a comparable heat value to fossil coal but burns ‘cleaner’ and has a high-density, lowmoisture content. Biocoal is only one of many products that can be produced from the HTC process. For example, the carbon product can be treated to produce high-grade activated carbon (AC). This can be used in water treatment to purify both drinking water and contaminated water, adsorbing contaminants due to its extremely large surface area.

Due to its porous nature, AC can also be adapted to provide a high phosphorus content fertiliser with the ability to retain vast amounts of water.

Biocoal has also attracted attention as a component for fuel cells replacing the platinum electro catalyst.

The recent discovery and advanced applied research of HTC during the last few years is reflected in around a dozen companies worldwide that are exploring HTC, albeit with different focuses and approaches. A viable solution

Bioenergy Insight

technology Bioenergy that can meet industrial requirements in size and continuous operation has not yet been demonstrated.

This is because of the three key problem areas: high costs; inability to maintain a continuous process; and lack of means for an efficient heat recovery system.

Antaco’s solution successfully addresses these barriers by offering an innovative engineering process different to other HTC providers.

Sewage sludge recovery Due to changes in legislation, there is growing interest from the European water sector in turning sludge into renewable energy through modifications to thermal reduction processes. For decades WWTPs have employed AD to convert sludge into biogas. Thermal processes using sludge have generally not been used

due to its aqueous nature, with utilities deferring to incineration when sludge cannot be applied to land as fertiliser. This has increasingly become the case as legislation tightens around the use of sewage sludge recovery, most recently in Germany with the enforcement of Ordinance 2016/514/D. Aside from the high costs associated with incineration, flue gas emissions are a serious problem and have led some operators of incineration to consider switching to HTC technology. AD has a similar problem in that digestate is produced as a by-product and must also be disposed of at cost. Pyrolysis only deals with dry matter. Fortunately, HTC does not suffer from the same deficiencies. HTC is a hydrothermal processing technology specifically designed for wet wastes that converts the carbon

Inside of Antaco’s HTC plant

in the organic matter into products with calorific value with the only natural by-product being H20.

With decision-makers the world over having now pushed sustainability to the top of the agenda the race for commercialising thermal

reduction technologies is on ­­— and Antaco are about to prove that the economic benefits of turning waste into renewable energy really do add up! l For more information:

This article was written by Liz Gyekye, editor of Bioenergy Insight.

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November/December 2017 • 27

Bioenergy biomass hydrothermal carbonisation Unlocking the potential of the circular bioeconomy

From organic waste to high value biocoal

B

iowaste can be defined as a mixture of biodegradable garden and park waste, organic fraction of municipal solid waste (food and kitchen waste from households, restaurants, caterers and retail premises), food waste (waste from food processing plants), and sludge. To date, EU biowaste production is around 300 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE) and is expected to rise to around 350 MTOE in 2030. However, world statistics are even worse and are predicted to be around 2.5-3.5 billion TOE in 2030.

Currently, the main environmental threat from biowaste (and other biodegradable waste) is the emission of methane due to its decomposition in landfills, which account for some 4% of total greenhouse gas emissions. The Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) obliged EU Member States to reduce the amount of landfilled biodegradable municipal waste to 35% of 1995 levels by 2016, but most of these countries could not achieve the target.

This was due to serious technical difficulties and highly expensive conventional disposal methods. Among the technologies for biowaste treatment, composting is the most largely adopted (around 42% of EU28 municipal organic waste is composted) sometimes accompanied with anaerobic digestion (AD).Unfortunately, composting is very expensive

Information

Value Unit

Number of reactors

2

-

Plant area

2,000

m2

Dry biomass capacity

5,500

Tn/y

Wet biomass capacity

11,000

Tn/y

Biocoal produced annually

3,300

Tn/y

Liquid fertiliser produced annually

4,600

m3/y

Table One. Ingelia HTC plant 2 reactors’ performance levels

(it normally cost between €60 and €120/tonne), and the composting process is applicable only to highquality biowaste substrates.

Furthermore, compost has a very low market value (€3-€12/t), which drastically affects the composting plants’ profitability. The integration of the AD contributes to recover energy from the organic material, improving the whole process efficiency, but the investment is paid back only thanks to the national renewable electricity feed in tariffs (€c16-25/ kWhe), and the AD outcome (the digestate) represents a residual sludge to be treated and disposed, with consequent additional management costs.

Similarly, the sludge produced by wastewater treatment (with an annual amount of 10 million dry tonnes/year) must be disposed of at very high costs.

The produced sludge, at 85-90% moisture, represents around 50% of wastewater treatment costs. In the most modern facilities, sludge is processed by AD, before being dried (with very high energy consumption) and disposed of.

Landfilling and incineration have costs between €80 and

28 • November/December 2017

€170/t, whilst agricultural disposal costs around €50€60/t. Another important aspect is the sludge sterilisation and stabilisation needed to avoid biological pollution. This article aims to present Ingelia’s hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) plant as a potential revolutionary technology for the biowaste treatment sector.

The technology at a glance During the hydrothermal carbonisation process (HTC), biomass is treated thermally at approximately 200ºC in the presence of water, at around 16-20 bar. Hence, chemical

composition becomes less polar and plant structure is partly degraded. Under these conditions, the main part of the carbon content (>98%) is maintained in the solid product, while alkali metals, and a part of organic nutrients, can be recovered in a liquid fraction, containing around 2-4% of solid material. Liquid-solid separation can be achieved in two ­— adopting a filter press, plus a drier, and obtaining a char with a moisture content from 5 to 10%. HTC has its strength in the treatment of wet biomass feedstocks. To understand this, it is necessary to compare it with related thermochemical processes such as torrefaction and pyrolysis.

All these processes convert biomass thermochemically under ambient pressure at temperatures above the boiling point of water (>100 ºC).

Consequently, before biomass is heated to the desired reaction temperatures, water is

The HTC plant designed by Ingelia and installed in 2010 represents the first industrial HTC plant worldwide able to work non-stop and to process any type of biowaste

Bioenergy Insight

biomass hydrothermal carbonisation Bioenergy evaporated. This evaporation is an energy consuming process with a negative impact on the energetic balance of the processes and, therefore, also on the economic balance.

The penalty might be still acceptable for less humid biomass. For instance, wood at 25-30% moisture. However, plenty of biomass is available with a relatively high water content: from 50 to 80%, like agro-industrial residues, any kind of fruit pomace, orange peel waste, organic fraction of municipal waste and sludges. The evaporation of water is not necessary when carrying out the hydrothermal carbonisation process.

The Ingelia HTC plant The HTC plant designed by Ingelia and installed in 2010 represents the first industrial HTC plant worldwide able to work non-stop and to process any type of biowaste. These aspects were crucial to make the HTC plant attractive for the biowaste treatment sector at large scale. Moreover, thanks to the specific patented design, the reactor is modular, therefore, the plant scale up can be performed by installing more than one unit. The hydrothermal carbonisation process takes less than five hours, whilst the whole Ingelia plant, including pre-treatment and post-treatment units, transform the input feedstock into biocoal and liquid fertiliser

in less than eight hours. A single reactor (1 unit) has a maximum capacity of processing 3,0003,200 dry tonnes biowaste per year, considered at around 65-80% moisture content, running around 7,800 hours/ year. The biocoal production mass yield is in a range of 50-65%, based on the input material quality. At present, the Ingelia industrial plant is running commercially with green waste, but one reactor is also used to provide largescale trials with other types of biomass residues and biowaste, required by Ingelia partners before starting the construction of every new commercial HTC plant. As an example of plant performances, a full-scale Ingelia HTC commercial plant made of two reactors, running at 7,800 hours/year will be able to process around 6,500 dry tonnes of biowaste/year, producing 3,300-3,500 tonnes/ year of hydrochar, and 4,600 m3/year of liquid fertiliser.

Vital elements recovery The Ingelia process allows recovery of more than 98% of carbon, and all organic nutrients (N, P, K) from the treated biomass, transforming the humid biowaste into a solid carbonaceous product, and a liquid fertiliser. The carbonaceous product, the biocoal, represents the results of fresh organic substrate upgrading, and contains more than 50% carbon (the 98% of the total contained in the fresh

material), 5-7% of hydrogen, 1-3% of nitrogen, 5-15% ashes, and about 8% water. The characteristics of the biocoal make the product suitable for a wide range of market applications (solid biofuel, biofertiliser, activated carbon, etc). Additionally, the water extracted from the fresh input material contains a part of the nutrients (N, P, Ca) and alkali metals (K, Na). This liquid fraction represents a precious soil conditioner, which is used in the agricultural industry.

The Ingelia HTC plant, thanks to its dedicated post-treatment equipment, refines the two end-products, increasing their quality and market value for a sustainable application in different sectors. Being the input feedstock processed to extract all its vital elements, the HTC process clearly demonstrates that it is a transformation process, where the nature of the input biomass is changed, and upgraded to obtain two high value bio-based products.

Ingelia’s main product: Biocoal At present, the use of biocoal as a fuel is the most technologically mature exploitation strategy developed by Ingelia. The unique chemical-physical characteristics of the Ingelia biocoal pellets ensure high market competitiveness in comparison with the most conventional ones used for

4 2.2 t CO2 saved per tonne of hydrochar used 4 Only 8 hours process 4 New jobs creation 4 98% carbon recovery 4 Valuable nutrients recovery 4 80-120 kg water produced I tonne of biowaste processed 4 No more landfilling 4 Low investment payback time 4 Reduced plant installation area 4 No bad odours generated

Bioenergy Insight

biofuels. This application has already been demonstrated and it currently represents the commercial end-use of the biocoal produced from green waste and sold by the Ingelia plant located in Valencia, Spain.

Biocoal used as solid biofuels As demonstrated by Table Two, despite the input materials influencing the final product composition, the quality of the produced biocoal remains in a range of a bio-lignite, with a calorific value from 20 to 24MJ/kg. Additionally, Ingelia is able to upgrade the product in the post-treatment unit, by reducing ashes of the lower quality biocoal (the one from organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and sludge, bringing them down to less than 10%.

Additionally, the HTC process ensures a reduction of the alkali metals in the biocoal.

Therefore, the biofuel performance in combustion chambers showed an ashes melting point, which is higher than 1,100°C. This data has been also demonstrated by the several combustion performance tests provided

by Ingelia together with its customers, and in the context of EC research projects.

The good combustion performances of the product are integrated with a high market penetration potential, given by a wide range of factors: 1. The price. Ingelia biocoal market price is one of the most competitive in Europe. The cost per GJ is in a range of €4.2-€7/GJ 2. The hydrophobicity.

The pelletised biocoal presents a very high quality in terms of durability and hydrophobicity.

The energy density is around 15-16 GJ/m3 3. The sustainability. According to the lifecycle assessment studies provided by Ingelia on the biocoal use as biofuel, its utilisation

November/December 2017 • 29

Bioenergy biomass hydrothermal carbonisation Data

Unit

Moisture

GW*

Conclusions

FW** OFMSW*** Sludge

% 7 7 7 7

Ash

%, dw

5-10

3-5

9-16

8-15

Tot. C

%, dwaf b

55-60

60-65

55-60

52-60

Tot. N

%, dwaf b

1-1.5

1-2.5

1-2

1-2

Volatiles

% on C

45-55

45-55

60-70

60-70

LHV

MJ/Kg 21-23 23-24 21-23 19-22 *Green waste; ** Orange peel; *** Organic fraction of municipal solid waste

Table Two. Composition of Ingelia HTC Biocoal obtained from different biomass samples

allows one to save from 1.6 to 2.2t CO2/t of biocoal in comparison with most conventional fossil fuels.

Ingelia biocoal use as biofertiliser The biocoal can be defined, for its features, as an intermediate product between compost and biochar. However, it presents substantial differences and large benefits compared to both of the mentioned products. In comparison to compost, the biocoal has a better quality, as it presents

Information

Value Unit

LHV

20-24 MJ/Kg

Ashes melting point in oxidizing atmosphere

> 1100

°C

Bulk density

>750

Kg/m3

Humidity

< 8

%

Grindability (Hardgrove Index ISO 5074)

>44

-

Table Three. Ingelia Biocoal properties as solid biofuel

a double carbon content, a much larger water retention and a soil textile structure improving capacities. The biocoal also has higher market attractiveness. Additionally, the biocoal lifecycle assessment demonstrated to save around

UNIQUE FIRE PROTECTION SOLUTIONS FOR THE BIOENERGY INDUSTRIES

0.6t CO2 per tonne of biocoal used in comparison to the compost production chain. In summary, the application of biocoal on soils can respond to both fertilisation and carbon sequestration objectives. Its application would contribute to the global climate warming mitigation purposes and, for these reasons, it constitutes a research field of great interest for the international scientific and political community, including the review of the legal regulations for the application of char on soil that guarantees the achievement of global sustainability targets.

The industrial-scale hydrothermal carbonisation technology represents a great opportunity to launch a new sustainable bioeconomy, based on a new commodity ­— biocoal.

The material is derived by low-quality biological residues, at competitive costs and is suitable for a wide range of industrial applications.

Additionally, the organic nutrients concentrated in the HTC liquid phase and reused at local level to improve the soil quality increase the sustainability of this technology. Therefore, given the high value and the market interest for the two obtained products, Ingelia’s HTC technology shows itself to be a solution to reduce the high biowaste treatment cost, integrating its contribution to the environment’s health, with direct economic benefits for world nations, municipalities, and citizens. l

For more information:

This article was written by Andrea Salimbeni, business development engineer at Ingelia.

Visit: www.ingelia.com

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Ingelia’s hydrothermal carbonisation plant

30 • November/December 2017

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November/December 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ 31

Bioenergy torrefaction

Global view of total torrefaction process line including Beltomatic dryer, Biogreen CM600 torrefier, and briquette system for W2W project in July 2016, Arcata, CA

New technologies are helping to bring torrefaction on the verge of commercialisation

Fading out coal

W

oody biomass is one fuel used to generate electricity, and when extraction rates do not exceed growth rates, biomass derived electricity is generally accepted to be renewable energy. Using raw biomass feedstock for electricity production presents several challenges including high moisture content, lowbulk density, low calorific value, high grinding energy requirements, hydrophilicity, relatively high grinding energy requirements, and non-uniformity of fuel properties and particle size.

Torrefaction, which is a mild form of pyrolysis, is a pretreatment process to improve the properties of biomass fuel and make it more suitable for electricity generation.

Torrefied biomass is being considered as a drop-in replacement for coal. Unlike raw biomass, torrefied

biomass has very similar properties to coal and can be processed, handled, and burned with the same equipment used in existing coal-fired power plants.

There is interest in cofiring torrefied biomass in existing coal-fired power plants or using 100% torrefied wood to replace coal at

Biogreen CM600 torrefier system during the summer of 2015. This torrefier was integrated with a Norris Thermal belt dryer and a briquetter manufactured by RUF Briquetting Systems to produce torrefied briquettes out of woody biomass. This demonstration plant produced up to 0.6 tons of torrefied

Torrefied biomass is being considered as a drop-in replacement for coal a given plant. This would allow existing electricity generation assets to remain in operation while reducing or eliminating the amount of fossilised carbon that is converted to free atmospheric carbon in the process.

Norris Thermal Technologies worked with Schatz Energy Research Center to build, demonstrate, and test a

32 â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2017

briquettes per hour using woody biomass feedstock. The work was completed under the Waste-to-Wisdom research project, which was led by Humboldt State University and funded by the US Department of Energy Biomass Research and Development Initiative.

The Biogreen machine was able to easily control the level of torrefaction by

changing the residence time and reaction temperature for the raw biomass. The CM600 reliably generated consistent torrefied product with minimal operator effort.

The cooled, torrefied biomass produced by the CM600 was fed directly into the RUF briquetter, which compressed, or densified, the material into briquettes. Densifying either raw or torrefied biomass fuel will improve volumetric energy density, but densifying torrefied wood is more challenging because torrefaction breaks down lignin, which acts as a natural binding agent in the densification process.

The combination of the CM600 torrefier and the RUF briquetter produced high-quality torrefied briquettes without the addition of binders.

Experimental data generated during the testing indicated that calorific value,

Bioenergy Insight

torrefaction Bioenergy

Biogreen model CM600 torrefaction system. Reactor sitting on a mobile trailer during testing for W2W project in July 2016, Arcata, CA

bulk density, and briquette durability were increased and grinding energy was decreased by torrefaction using the CM600. While calorific value (MJ/kg) and bulk density (kg/m3) were increased, it should be noted that as much as 20% of the original bone-dry mass and energy content may be lost during the torrefaction process.

Further study The torrefied briquettes were more durable than raw biomass briquettes immediately after production, which means that packing densities can be high at the point of origin resulting in more energy transported for a given volume. However, after a transportation simulation using an environmental chamber that varied temperature and humidity conditions over time for a synthetic transport cycle, the torrefied briquettes were found to be less durable than raw briquettes. This may result in material handling challenges at the receiving point. The data on this point was highly variable and researchers identified the transportation simulation

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as an area where further study seemed warranted.

Energy consumed during grinding was reduced by 70% after torrefaction. This is significant because coal-fired power plants grind feedstock before combustion and these results indicate that torrefied wood can likely be processed through existing grinders at power plants whereas raw biomass would require modifications to an existing coal grinding system.

The CM600 uses an

electrically heated screw to achieve and maintain the desired reactor temperature.

The electrical demand, which is a function of temperature set point and residence time in the reactor, ranged from 200 to 450kWh per ton of torrefied material. About 90% of the electrical energy consumed was used to heat the reactor screw. While the electrically heated reactor does use more primary energy than an autothermal torrefier would, the CM600â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electrically

heated design does enable precise control of reactor conditions. This means that operators can easily customise the properties of the torrefied product for a specific market preference and repeatedly produce a very consistent product. Researchers identified that using the syngas produced in the CM600 to generate some of the heat for the reactor as an important topic for future research and engineering efforts. This would reduce the primary energy demand of the process while still allowing the precision control of reactor conditions.

For further details, look for an upcoming article in the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Applied Engineering Journal, which is expected to be published in the autumn of 2017.

This material is based upon work supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy under the Biomass Research and Development Initiative program: Award Number DE-EE0006297. l For more information:

This article was written by David Carter, P.E., managing research engineer, and Mark Severy, P.E., research engineer at Humboldt State Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Schatz Energy Research Center. Visit: www.schatzcenter.org Visit: www.norristhermal.com

Final torrefied briquettes from Biogreen CM600 torrefier in W2W project. July 2016, Arcata, CA

November/December 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ 33

Bioenergy chippers How a Portuguese company uses three pellet brands, for complete control of the pellet process

Grupo Transfradelos purchased its first Vermeer HG4000 horizontal grinder in 2013

From the forest to the plant

M

ore than 30 years ago, familyowned Grupo Transfradelos opened its doors as a forestry logging and transportation logistics company. As the Fradelos’ Portugal-based business grew, management explored other services that would complement its current operation. Before long, Grupo Transfradelos developed a specialised handling service that included wood terminal management as well as cargo ship loading and unloading services at several ocean ports. When the company’s management saw opportunity in the bioenergy market, they invested their resources into three wood pellet production plants and are about to open the doors of a brand new, state-of-theart biomass power plant.

Today, Grupo Transfradelos is the umbrella company for several biomass organisations, including its three pellet

plant companies: Tec Pellets, Stellep and Tresmasa. The company employs around 300 people and operates a fleet of 76 transport trucks, as well as more than 100 pieces of forestry equipment, including five Vermeer HG4000 horizontal grinders.

Complementary business According to Tiago Reis, manager and a member of the family who started

expand our organisational reach, and with our logging and transportation operations, establishing ourselves in the wood pellet industry was a natural fit,” he explains.

“For those same reasons, we decided to build our own biomass power plant.”

Grupo Transfradelos’s complementary businesses are more than just a means of expanding the company’s reach, though. It’s also a competitive advantage to

‘We can have a unit in the forest chipping wood one day and back at the pellet plant the next’ Tiago Reis, manager of Grupo Transfradelos

Grupo Transfradelos, the rise of the bioenergy market was a contributing factor in the company’s expanding businesses. “We are always looking for opportunities to

34 • November/December 2017

have three wood pellet brands. “Very few pellet producers have complete control of the process,” says Reis. “We harvest our own raw material, transport it

to a pellet plant where it is dried and either packaged or prepared for bulk shipment. We then handle the transportation logistics, whether it’s by roadway or by sea. Many other pellet producers subcontract out a large portion of that process. In order to control the entire value chain, we’ve had to invest heavily and take some risks, but in the end it has been worth it.”

Equipment investment Part of the investment Reis is referring to is acquiring the equipment needed to support three wood pellet plants. “Grinders are an important part of our overall operations,” says Reis. “When we first began to develop the pellet plants project, we met with and heard presentations from several different grinder manufacturers. Based on those presentations and a demo, we selected what we felt would fit our needs the best.”

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chippers Bioenergy

Tec Pellets, Stellep and Tresmasa produce around 200,000 tonnes (220,462 US tons) of pellets per year

Grupo Transfradelos purchased its first Vermeer HG4000 horizontal grinder in 2013 after the Elmia Wood Forestry Show in Sweden.

Since then, the company has added three more units to its fleet. “The HG4000 grinder’s versatility is what really sold us,” Reis explains.

“We can have a unit in the forest chipping wood one day and back at the pellet plant the next grinding material to supply heat to the plant’s dryer boiler — that’s not possible with other grinders.”

Grupo Transfradelos’s 331kW (445hp) Vermeer HG4000 horizontal grinders have the unique ability to swap out their patented Series II duplex drum with an optional chip drum. “Being able to switch between grinding and chipping makes the HG4000 grinder an allin-one machine that doesn’t require additional investment or special setup,” he says Keeping production costs low is important for Grupo Transfradelos, and Reis says the dual function of the HG4000 grinder helps keep expenditure down. “Also, our Vermeer grinders can produce a tremendous amount of material with low diesel consumption,” he adds.

Grupo Transfradelos relies on its wood grinders to supply material every day, so when a machine is in need

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of repair, fast parts and service support is critical to its overall operations. “The service Vermeer Portugal has given us over the years has been great,” says Reis. “They give us their full support, are knowledgeable about our businesses and have been there to help us grow.”

Bioenergy vested Tec Pellets, Stellep and Tresmasa produce around 200,000 tonnes (220,462 US tons) of pellets per year.

Approximately half of that volume is exported to power

plants in Europe, primarily in the UK, Belgium and Denmark, and is sold through specialised trading companies. The other half of the pellets produced are sold through a network of dealers for household use in Portugal and Spain. These bagged pellets meet ENplus certification for low emissions and high-energy value.

In addition to the pellet plants, Grupo Transfradelos recently signed a contract with Portugal’s main energy provider, EDP, to supply electrical power to the grid during the next 25 years.

Reis says Probiomass, the

company’s biomass power plant, is a natural addition for their business portfolio since they will be burning widely available biomass at a rate of approximately 300 tonnes (330 US tons) per day.

The new power plant required an investment of close to €40 million to build, and when it goes online, it will have the capacity to produce 14.75MW. “We’re optimistic about the future of the bioenergy industry; the need for electricity will always be a reality and between our pellet plants and power plant, we are in a great spot to continue to grow,” concludes Reis. l This article contains thirdparty observations, advice or experiences that do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Vermeer Corporation, its affiliates or its dealers. Testimonials and/ or endorsements by contractors in specific circumstances may not be representative of normal circumstances experienced by all customers.

For more information:

This article was written by Matt Eul, marketing specialist — Recycling and Forestry, at Vermeer.

Visit: www.vermeer.com

Vermeer HG4000 horizontal grinders have the ability to swap out their patented Series II duplex drum with an optional chip drum

November/December 2017 • 35

Bioenergy AD plant safety Adhering to health and safety rules in the UK

Safety first

T

he growth and development of renewable energy technologies and processes has resulted in a new set of risks and hazards being introduced to many locations where previously there were no process risks or hazards present.

Renewable energy technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD), gasification using pyrolysis and gas plasma technologies, biomass combustion, carbon dioxide capture and biomethane gas-togrid have seen sustained growth and development.

One particular industry, AD has seen significant growth since 2010 with a considerable number of plants being built in the UK and is now considered a mature industry sector.

Even though the AD process is well known, the dangers of the AD process and its main product biogas tend to be underestimated. AD is analogous to a chemical process and carries a number of associated hazards and risks, including flammable atmospheres, fire and explosion, toxic gases, confined spaces, asphyxiation and pressure systems. AD plants also include gas storage, and all the risks associated with gas storage and gas handling also need to be considered.

Plant operators/owners are solely responsible for ensuring the health and safety of employees, and of the public. It is therefore a requirement that hazard and risk assessments are

completed by the plant designers, construction contractor and owner at each stage of the project lifecycle: from design, installation and commissioning, through to operation.

Minimising risk At the design stage, a risk assessment (typically a detailed hazard and operability (HAZOP) study using an experienced HAZOP chairman) must be carried out to determine the possibility

and consequences of potential hazards, with appropriate precautions incorporated into the design to minimise risk. Any identified risk can be quantified at the HAZOP stage against set corporate tolerable risk targets, to determine if the identified safeguards offer adequate protection to employees, the public, the environment, to assets, and if ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practical) is being achieved.

During the construction phase, the CDM regulations

2015 place legal duties on everyone involved in construction work, including the client, the principal designer, the principal contractor, contractors and workers. These regulations set out the requirements to ensure that construction projects are suitably managed to safeguard the health and safety of all who might be affected by the work, including members of the public. CDM 2015 may apply to any maintenance work that is required on site, as under CDM 2015 the definition of “construction work” includes a reference to “maintenance”.

The principal contractor must prepare a construction phase plan, which outlines the health and safety arrangements, site rules and specific measures concerning any work involving the particular risks listed in Schedule 3 of CDM 2015.

The principal designer should prepare a health and safety file containing information necessary for future construction, maintenance, refurbishment or demolition of the plant, which must be retained by the client/end-user and updated as required.

The plant owner/ operator is responsible and accountable for ensuring that the principal designer and principal contractor comply with their own duties.

Explosive matters

Even though the AD process is well known, the dangers of the AD process and its main product biogas tend to be underestimated

36 • November/December 2017

Before the plant becomes operational, the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002

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AD plant safety Bioenergy (DSEAR), which incorporates the European ATEX directives (ATEX 195 & ATEX 137) require employers/end users to control the risks to safety from fire and explosions.

Under DSEAR, employers must identify dangerous substances in the workplace and what the fire and explosion risks are and put control measures in place to either remove these risks or where this is not possible, control them. It is the responsibility of the employer to classify areas where explosive atmospheres may occur and the entry points to areas classified into zones must be marked with a specified ‘EX’ sign.

To avoid ignition sources in areas of the workplace where explosive atmospheres may occur, it is a requirement to use electrical equipment suitable for flammable and explosive atmospheres (ATEX certified). Before a workplace containing zoned areas comes into operation for the first time, all ATEX equipment must be checked for conformance by suitably qualified personnel.

A fire risk assessment must be undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005 or Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and a copy should be lodged with the local fire prevention officer. This should identify the likely causes of ignition and fire spread within the plant and buildings and allow for effective control and fire safety measures to be introduced.

Any pressure equipment used for the process must comply with the Pressure Equipment Regulations 1999 and the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000. These regulations are intended to ensure the mechanical integrity required by the pressurised state of the equipment.

The Pressure Equipment Regulations apply to the design and construction

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aspects of pressure equipment intended to contain a gas or liquid at 0.5 bar gauge or above and provide guidance on the essential safety requirements that qualifying vessels must satisfy. The regulations cover pressure equipment such as vessels, piping, safety accessories, pressure accessories and assemblies.

The duties imposed by Pressure Systems Safety Regulations relate to pressure systems for use at work and the risk to health/ safety. When installing new

such as a storage tank or digester, then the work must be considered as confined space working and must therefore be in compliance with the requirements of the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997. Before any confined space work can take place a safe system at work has to be in place.

A risk assessment should be undertaken as part of a safe system of work to identify the potential hazards and risk of entering a confined space. From this risk assessment, a number of

AD has seen significant growth since 2010 with a number of plants being built in the UK equipment, it is essential to reduce risks by ensuring that all equipment is suitable for its intended purpose and that it is installed correctly. Under the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations, the duty holder (employer/owner) is required to demonstrate that the safe operating limits of the pressure systems are known and that the systems are safe under those conditions. The aim of these regulations is to prevent serious injury from the hazard of stored energy as a result of the failure of a pressure system or one of its component parts.

Responsibility Once operational, the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 ensures that all employees are entitled to work in environments where risks to their health and safety are properly controlled — under health and safety law, the person responsible for this is the employer.

If any work (including maintenance) is required within a confined space (an enclosed area with limited space and accessibility)

safeguards and precautions must be assigned to reduce any identified hazards that may lead to a risk of injury.

The Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 2015 may also apply if the cumulative quantity of any COMAH substance such as biogas will equal or exceed the lower or upper thresholds stated in the regulations.

Biogas is a COMAH dangerous substances as a flammable gas with a threshold value. Digestate should be tested to confirm whether digestate has hazardous properties as an aquatic pollutant and if so, it could be classified as a dangerous substance under COMAH. The COMAH Regulations are intended to prevent major accidents and hazards arising from the processing, storage or use of identified COMAH substances, by defining the safety management requirements to ensure that any effects on people and the environment in the event of a major accident are limited. They are enforced by the UK-based Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with

support from the Environment Agency and local authorities.

It is the responsibility as the AD plant operator to determine and notify the HSE if their establishment is subject to these regulations.

Rowan House has assisted a number of companies designing, building and operating AD and gasification plants with their required process safety. It has done this by using a blend of engineering and management skills focused on reducing hazards and preventing accidents or near misses. Our services have included various risk assessments including, HAZID, HAZOP, COSHH, DSEAR (including identifying ATEX Zones and preparing zoning diagrams) and confined spaces. Rowan House has also provided guidance on how to achieve compliance with regulations that may need to be complied with. l

For more information:

This article was written by Zaffer Khan, professional process safety engineer at Rowan House.

Visit: www.rowanhouse.co.uk

November/December 2017 • 37

Bioenergy transportation ­— corn stover focus A US-based railroad is working with a start-up company to create the perfect corn stover supply chain

All aboard the biomass train

I

owa Northern Railway (IANR) is situated in northeast Iowa, US, operating 253 miles of track amongst high yield corn crops. IANR is perfectly located for a biomass processor because within fifteen miles of the track in each direction there is more than 4 million tons of excess corn stover.

IANR has connections to three Class 1 railroads for access to the entire North American rail network.

This defines the perfect location for a corn stover processor because there is unlimited feedstock and the outbound transportation network is in place.

In 2005, a commissioned study from Iowa State University determined the amount of corn stover available in the IANR operating area. Based on 2004 harvest averages of 177

bushels per acre, the study determined that there was more than 4 million tons of excess stover within a 30 minute drive time of IANR tracks. In relation to the word excess, one means that this stover would be required to be removed from the fields to maintain optimum health of the fields. This was done in preparation for the next phase of cellulosic ethanol production expected after the boom of corn ethanol production.

Stockpiling stover The fact that there exists, mountains of corn stover feedstock is great news but it needs to be removed from the fields and transported to the processor. In 2005, the only removal of stover was for use as animal bedding and silage.

Removing thousands of tons of stover from a single farm

was not done and no supply chain existed to do it. We devised a plan to setup several collection points along the railroad to stockpile stover.

This concept would alleviate the necessity to have massive stockpiles in one place, which creates several concerns such as fire and rodent infestation.

It also removes the stover from the farm which makes it easier to access throughout the year and doesn’t impede the farmers from doing their work. It would then be railed or trucked to the processor on the Iowa Northern, assuming one would be built on the company’s tracks.

IANR wanted to make it known to farmers that this new revenue stream would be available to them soon.

The company approached our elevators and asked them to speak with their farmers about gathering to hear us talk about the opportunity.

Iowa Northern Railway (IANR) is situated in northeast Iowa, US, operating 253 miles of track amongst high yield corn crops

38 • November/December 2017

IANR held several town hall type meetings to discuss the potential and how this might work. The farmers had many opinions on how it would work, or not work.

Their primary concerns were the health of the field and the time involved to harvest crops, then harvest stover.

45 days per year Stover needs to be harvested in the autumn either with the grain, or shortly after the grain harvest. The window of opportunity to harvest a full year’s worth of stover needs to be accomplished in approximately 45 days.

Custom balers exist but not in the volume that is required to harvest half a million tons of stover in 45 days. If there are enough labourers and equipment to accomplish this feat, what would they do the rest of the year? That’s a lot of people and equipment to only be active for 45 days per year.

IANR worked on a grant application for a start-up company to create the perfect corn stover supply chain. The start-up planned to produce several different types of fuel including bio jet fuel. The company gathered people that were custom balers, agronomists, transportation experts, etc. IANR contacted farmers that would be willing to be our collection farm, the company designated sites along our railroad where IANR owned adjacent property to be laydown sites. IANR priced

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transportation ­— corn stover focus Bioenergy equipment and labor, planned to harvest, load and deliver 10,000 field tons of stover.

The railroad did not get the grant because the costs were well beyond what the cost of feedstock for a project of this type would bear.

The overall concept to harvest and move this much stover required a processor to build their facility on IANR’s line, build several collection points and still required a large laydown space on the site of the processing plant for day-to-day usage. The theory’s main objective was protecting the integrity or quality of the feedstock to increase the efficiency of the processing facility. In theory it works, but every time the bale was handled the cost increased about $4 (€3.40) per ton. Getting the bales off the farm fields costs about $20 per ton. Getting the bales from the farm to the storage

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The window of opportunity to harvest a full year’s worth of stover needs to be accomplished in approximately 45 days site would be $4 per ton, getting it to the facility cost $4 per ton, moving the bales into the processor another $4 per ton. After a while this adds up to the point of not making economic sense.

The railroad also worked with another startup that was testing its science of pelletising stover to be used as coal replacement at an electric utility on IANR’s line.

They started by transporting the stover to our site for storage, then process and transport the pellets. They decided not to build shelter for the stover due to cost and it became degraded from

weather events. After this they would gather stover from the edge of farm fields as needed to take directly into the pelletising equipment to better control the integrity of the feedstock. This works in the short term but would not be sustainable throughout the year on a large scale basis. The science was proven and their stover pellets were a quality replacement for coal. However, the cost of transporting and processing the stover was too expensive to be economically viable as the pellets ultimately cost more than coal. This is at a time when natural gas

is cheaper than coal and there are no mandates to force the use of renewable energy feedstocks.

All in all, IANR came to a conclusion that biomass transporting should be minimised as much as possible. Transportation should be focused on the outbound finished product.

The best outcome is when the finished product is a high value product and a product that can absorb the costs of transporting and processing.

The processing plant needs to be built among the biomass feedstock on the railroad that gives the best access to the North American rail network. Iowa Northern Railway remains the perfect place to build that facility. l For more information:

This article was written by William Rhodes, director of industrial marketing at Iowa Northern Railway.

Visit: www.iowanorthern.com

November/December 2017 • 39

Bioenergy bioenergy project A sustainable agriculture and bioenergy model is helping rural communities in Africa

Sustainable development

A

frica is a huge continent with magnificent landscapes, many diverse cultures, and enthusiastic people, with a can-do attitude. Africans are keen to develop and grow Africa’s economy and to be able to participate fully in world trade, but are being held back by a lack of infrastructure especially away from the major cities and a lack of access to stable costeffective supplies electricity and other energy sources in large parts of Africa.

Renewable energy projects offer African people an opportunity to play catch up by developing mini and micro grids to provide electricity and other energy, so desperately needed to create new businesses and industry while stimulating agricultural production.

Project developer Harambe means pulling together in Swahili and is the name of a feed, food and fuel model which aims to bring together funders, communities, technology suppliers, skilled African and foreign professionals, engineers, managers and academics to create viable bioenergy and agriprocessing enterprises.

These businesses will provide jobs, skills and economic benefits to local communities ­— especially rural women and school leavers.

The model is technology

neutral and advocates the use of the best available commercial technology(ies).

The operating model consists of three integral and interrelated components namely farming, energy production and agri-processing within a feed, food and fuel model, where feed refers to animal feeds for downstream livestock and poultry farming, food refers to value-added foodstuffs like canned foods and packaged fresh produce and milled grains, and fuel refers to biofuels, electricity, biogas and pure gasses like hydrogen (for fuel cells).

Farming Harambe advocates a family unit farming mode, where each family is allocated a 25-hectare plot and has access to the guidance of highly experienced farm managers.

All planting and harvesting is mechanised. Each family is tasked with monitoring the crops, keeping livestock off the fields and keeping pests under control, while the central farming management allocates crops to each farmer.

The farming management team also provides and plants the seeds and provides the fertiliser and pest control measures. This all happens on a profit share basis with family farming units.

The basic model allows for 80% of the land to produce high-yield-multi-product biomass like sugarcane while the remaining 20% is used for grazing and to

40 • November/December 2017

grow high-value vegetable and grain crops, which can be beneficiated by canning, packaging and milling. This model also provides for crop rotation and low-carbon impact farming techniques like pasture cropping, which also prevent soil erosion.

Poultry and livestock manure provides natural fertilisers and encourages the growth of natural grasses in rotation with crops. Each family farming unit would have a series of paddocks separated by natural hedgerows like jatropha, where cattle would be grazed, then mobile chicken coups would be introduced and thereafter crops planted using pasture cropping, and after harvesting the natural grass would re-establish itself to start the cycle again.

The oil seeds produced by the hedgerows would also provide additional feedstock for biofuel production.

The crops harvested are delivered to the agriprocessing unit/s while the residues and oil seeds are delivered to energy unit/s.

Waste streams from the agri-processing units are supplied to the energy units.

Energy production Two cost-effective and proven technologies can be used to produce energy, namely anaerobic digestion (AD) to produce a methane rich gas and pyrolysis (thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen) to produce bio-crude oil,

heat or hydrogen rich syngas. These technologies are available from South African and other African engineering companies, while opportunities exist to manufacture and build foreign designed units under licence on the continent.

Biogas is purified and compressed to produce biocompressed natural gas (bioCNG) or bio liquefied natural gas (bio-LNG). Bio-CNG can be used for transportation such as gas engine buses and trucks as well as generators, while bio-LNG can be used instead of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Syngas can be purified to produce hydrogen for fuel cells or used in gas turbine or gas engine generators. Bio oil, depending on the acidity, can be used as heating fuel instead of paraffin (kerosene), wood and coal. To produce clean power, the heat can be used to produce electricity using Organic Rankine Cycle generators and also by the agri-processing units to cook, sterilise and heat food stuffs.

AD produces a digestate as a by-product; which can be used as fertiliser, while pyrolysis produces biochar which is used in soil remediation or can be compressed to form charcoal briquettes for cooking and heating. l

For more information:

This article was written by Gary Vermaak, chief project officer at Harambe Sustainability Ventures.

Visit: www.burnaby-group.com

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xxxxxx Bioenergy

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November/December 2017 â&#x20AC;¢ 41

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