INDUSTRY NEWS
Volume 3 Number 15
In this issue:
2 Industry News
6 Andritz
9 Interview
10 Wood Handling 1
INDUSTRY NEWS
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2
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INDUSTRY COMMENT/IN THISNEWS ISSUE
Editorial comment
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he comment on this page in the first issue of Forest Bioenergy Review two and a half years ago included the message
In this issue INDUSTRY NEWS
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What’s happening in the world of forest bioenergy?
that “biomass use can be increased while keeping carbon neutrality in sustainably managed and productive forests
and saving CO2 by substituting fossil fuels”. It is right to argue that a managed forest is a healthy forest, not just for the trees it contains, but for the environment in general and this February, the World Bioenergy Association, the European Biomass Association and the Austrian Biomass Association made a joint appeal to policy makers to take scientific results into account when establishing harmonised sustainability and future bioenergy policy.
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Professor Hubert Hasenauer from the Vienna University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences recently published a paper based on several years of research work, which highlighted the major role that managed forests play in carbon emissions mitigation compared to unmanaged forests. One of his main conclusions was that the effect of the managed forest as a carbon sink is many times that of a primary forest. In the example studied, the sustainably managed European forest saved at least ten times more CO2 than one in the
AEBIOM
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AEBIOM Bioenergy Conference 2013
ANDRITZ
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Green power to Poznan
same region that was unmanaged. This result can be explained by looking at the relationship between sustainably managed forests and CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Carbon, which would be released into the atmosphere during the unmanaged forest’s phase of decay, is put into use in the form of fossil fuel substitution in the case of a managed forest. In contrast, as verified by the study, unmanaged forests would emit almost as much CO2 as they absorbed during a life cycle of around 300 years. As no wood was harvested, no substitution effect occurred
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so these forests were of only minimal value as carbon sinks.
David Young Editor
INTERVIEW
FOREST BIOENERGY REVIEW Volume 3, Number 15 - March 2013 Contact information PUBLISHER &
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Peter Emery talks about change at Drax
HANDLING EQUIPMENT
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Wood handling: a vital part of biomass utilisation
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10 PRODUCTS
12
Introducing new equipment and services
EVENTS
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Conferences and exhibitions past and future Front cover: Dalkia’s combined heat and power plant in Poznan, Poland, was converted by Andritz to burn 100% biomass - see page 6. 1 March 2013 1
INDUSTRY NEWS NEWS INDUSTRY
Topping-out at Ponsse
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he construction of Ponsse’s new logistics centre has reached the final stage and a toppingout ceremony was held in Iisalmi, Finland, on 15 February. Work on the centre began in Autum, 2012, and the new premises will be occupied during Summer, 2013. The centre, with a floor area of 4,500 sq m and storage space of 42,000 sq m, will be Ponsse’s most important investment this year costing approximately 6 million Euros. It will be an important part of Ponsse’s services and will accommodate a central warehouse for spare parts, maintaining the company’s local spare part supplies tailored for each country and continent and arranging regular deliveries for them. Ponsse’s international service network comprises 150 service and spare part centres. “The logistics centre is a very important investment for us. The market situation is challenging for all forest machine manufacturers, Ponsse included. However, we want to invest in the constant development of services offered to our customers. Without investment, we cannot remain competitive,” said Jarmo Vidgrén, Sales and Marketing Director of Ponsse Plc. Quick access to spare parts is essential for forest machine
Left to right: Sales and Marketing Director Juha Vidgren with Matti Lipponen and Heikki Hortling. operators – a machine must not remain at a standstill and unproductive for any longer than necessary. According to Jarmo Vidgrén, the logistics centre is first and foremost an investment in the reliability and speed of spare parts delivery, whilst also serving as an investment in the working conditions of warehouse employees. New, automated functions will enable night and weekend work to be reduced. The storage facilities at the new logistics centre will hold 22,000 different items with a value of 20 million Euros in 7,000 pallet spaces served by modern materialshandling equipment. Inventory management is controlled at all stages of the process, from the reception of goods to shelving, picking and automated shipment documentation. The new inventory management system also enables a gradual increase in the degree of automation as required.
New role at Anesco Leading energy efficiency solutions company, Anesco, is continuing its impressive expansion with the appointment of Jamie Champness as Green Deal & ECO Manager. Jamie joins the firm having previously worked as partnerships manager for renewable energy firm Enact and as a commercial manager within a building services company. In his new role, Jamie will have responsibility for building and maintaining relationships with housing associations, local 22
March 2013
authorities and Anesco’s wider client base. He will be leading and developing the company’s growing Green Deal and ECO team, whilst working closely with Anesco’s head of energy efficiency, Matthew Tunstall, who said: “We were very impressed by Jamie’s experience and enthusiasm. He is a strong communicator and is skilled in building lasting relationships, with values that match our own. He joins the firm as we enter a further stage of sustained growth”.
LandEnergy awarded ENPlus A1 It has been announced that LandEnergy wood pellets have been awarded an ENplus A1 certificate by the European Pellet Council. This is the highest kitemark of quality in the industry. The pellets are manufactured at the company’s plant in Girvan, Scotland. In order to achieve an ENplus A1 certificate, the European Pellet Council provides a thorough audit of LandEnergy processes, including origin and storage of raw material, production and product storage. Samples are taken of the wood pellets and sent to an independent laboratory to test for material, moisture content, bulk density and additives (if any).
Testing in the plant is then required on a continuous basis, with products sampled every hour. This gives assurance to the end-user that LandEnergy wood pellets are premium quality – produced with maximum energy content and minimum ash output, which optimises the performance of any boiler or stove. John Westmacott, Managing Director of LandEnergy, said: “We are delighted to have received the ENPlus A1 certificate. This assurance of quality, combined with the fact that they are produced with very low carbon emissions, means that we are producing great wood pellets at a competitive price”.
Praise for Drax Efforts by the UK’s Drax power station to address and disclose its impact on forests have been recognised by the fourth annual Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) Report. In particular, Drax has been praised for its commitment to taking a leadership role in the utilities sector. The report, which was published on 29 January, emphasised Drax’s commitment to innovation and ensuring sustainability of supply for the future. It also highlighted Drax’s leadership for moving beyond the immediate supply chain and engaging with upstream suppliers and being prepared to spend time and money on finding solutions to problems wherever they are found in the world. Dr Nigel Burdett, Head of Environment at Drax, said: “Drax is proud to once again be recognised by FFD as the leader in the utilities sector when it comes to our efforts to address and disclose our impact on forests. We are committed
to an extensive programme of increasing the amount of biomass we use and believe it to be a prerequisite that any biomass used should be sustainable. This not only makes sense from a business perspective, that is longevity of feedstock supplies, but it is also essential for environmental, economic and social reasons. We intend to remain at the forefront of the introduction of credible standards for solid biomass procurement, anticipating that the experience gained will be beneficial as clarity evolves in the regulations for the definition of sustainability standards and associated methodologies”. FFD is a special project of the Global Canopy Programme and engages with private sector companies to ask them to disclose their current understanding of their ‘forest footprint’ based on exposure to five key commodities – soy, palm oil, timber, cattle products and biofuels – in their operations and/or supply chain
INDUSTRY NEWS
A step forward for sustainable energy generation We deliver complete power plantss with w cutting edge bioenergy solutions, including fuel handling ing, boilers, automation systems, flue gas condensation and flue gass cleaning. cle Our experts help to reconstruct your plant for greater availability avai and efficiency. We share the green n challenge. ch
www.me metso.com March 2013
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INDUSTRYNEWS NEWS INDUSTRY
AEBIOM
Russia orders biomass-fired CHP plant
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complete biomassfired combined heat and power (CHP) plant will be supplied by Metso to Bioenergeticheskaya Kompaniya LLC in Syktyvkar, the Komi Republic, Russia. The power plant is scheduled to begin operating in 2014. Metso’s delivery will include process equipment and technical advisory services for installation, commissioning and training. A Metso belt dryer and a Metso DNA automation system will also be included in the order.
The power plant will utilise bark and wood residues from the Syktyvkar sawmill and other biomass. The power output of the plant will be 4 MWe. Power will be distributed to the local grid and heat will be utilised in the belt dryer. “We are convinced that co-operation with Metso will provide a means to utilise the sawmill residues from the Syktyvkar sawmill to produce power. This is an important issue for the Government of the Komi Republic. The new plant
will be built based on advanced know-how solutions using the most modern equipment,” said Alexander Gibezh, Deputy Minister of Industry and Transport of the Republic of Komi. “Sawmill residues that have long been stored at the site of the Syktyvkar sawmill will now be used as fuel for the new power plant. The investment in the power plant will help to create more job opportunities and will improve the environmental situation in the Komi Republic,”
EU funds green oil project The Commission of the EU has decided to finance commercially-viable and innovative production facilities to expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce CO2 emissions. BillerudKorsnäs’ project
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on the production of green oil from forestry residues has been allocated €31.4 million within the framework of the NER300 programme and the company is now engaged in discussions with joint venture partners, who are interested in a future supply of
green oil from forest biomass. The aim of the project is to extract green oil from forestry residues such as branches, tops and stumps. The project is based on the idea of producing a new type of commercial fuel at a fullscale facility at Skärblacka Mill,
Biomass power plant for Bioenergeticheskaya Kompaniya. added Alexey Kryukov, CEO of Bioenergeticheskaya Kompaniya. More information from www.metso.com close to Norrköping in Sweden. “We are delighted at the EU’s affirmative response to this forward-looking venture. On the basis of this positive decision, we will now continue with our project planning and I anticipate news on the way ahead in 2013,” said Per Lindberg, President and CEO of BillerudKorsnäs.
INDUSTRY NEWS AEBIOM
AEBIOM Bioenergy Conference 2013 Material supplied by Anamaria Olaru of the European Biomass Association E-mail: olaru@aebiom.org
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he 4th AEBIOM Bioenergy Conference organised by the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM) will take place at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Brussels, Belgium, from 17-19 June. The event is organised in association with the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU and co-organised with the European Pellet Council (EPC) and the European Industrial Pellet Suppliers (EIPS) in collaboration with the European Biogas Association (EBA). With 300 international participants in the field of biomass production and supply, planning and bioenergy production, representatives from the EC and EP and NGOs, the AEBIOM Bioenergy Conference has become Europe´s
major occasion for discussion and networking amongst important industry leaders and policy makers. The conference will provide an excellent platform for everyone who wishes to hear the latest news on sustainable bioenergy and exchange views and experience. This year, the main topics of debate will be the sustainability criteria of solid/gaseous biomass and the worrying carbon neutrality debate. Against
this background, AEBIOM has invited representatives from the European Commission and the European Parliament to give their perspective on the needs of the future promotional framework. There are three important reasons why 2013 is an important year for AEBIOM’s annual conference. These are: The European Commission will release this year a report, very likely accompanied by a legislative proposal on sustainability criteria for solid
and gaseous biomass used for heat and electricity production. The European Commission recently proposed to change the RES and Fuel Quality Directives and introduce measures aiming to tackle ILUC issues. The proposal is now under discussion in the Council and in the European Parliament. The debate on carbon emissions accounting is expected to continue and the principle of biomass carbon neutrality will have to be strongly supported so as to face the criticisms related to the so called ‘carbon debt’ issue. So far, the conference has four sponsors: two Silver Sponsors (Andritz and BioAlgaeSorb), one Bronze Sponsor (Neuson-Ecotec) and one Visits Sponsor (Port of Ghent).
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INDUSTRY NEWS ANDRITZ
Green power to Poznan
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onverting an old pulverised coal boiler into a bubbling fluidised bed boiler to burn 100% biomass allowed Dalkia in Poland to improve its revenue stream and reduce fossil fuel emissions. The schedule was tight to end the construction works before the Winter so Dalkia turned to Andritz AG for technology and project execution. One of the leading suppliers of energy services in Europe, Dalkia was formed in 1998 as the subsidiary of two French companies: Veolia Environnement and EDF. Dalkia acquired the combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Poznan, Poland, privatising the state-owned facility in 2004. Today, Dalkia is the largest private operator of heating networks in Poland, managing over 50 district heating networks, among them the largest ones in Warszawa, Łódz, and Poznan. According to Paweł Jazikowski of Dalkia’s asset management
Dalkia Poznan’s boiler complex.
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department and the Project Manager for a retrofit project, the Poznan plant had three boilers (the oldest one was installed in 1984). The boilers fired coal and heavy oil. “Our aim is to develop new co-generation based on renewable energy sources wherever possible to maintain a moderate price level for our customers,” said Jazikowski. Most power boilers in Poland are fired by pulverised coal (PC) or heavy oil. “Our Poznan boilers have been operating 150,000 hours. When you calculate the lifetime of a boiler, it is normally 200,000 hours; you can see that some big investments will be necessary in the not-too-distant future.”
A green deadline Dalkia’s Board of Directors took the decision to retrofit the oldest coal-burning boiler so that it could fire biomass. “We are driven by EU directives that require us to retrofit all boilers to achieve certain emissions and to burn certain fuels,” explained
Jazikowski. Directive 2009/28/ EC sets a target of reaching 20% of the EU’s energy consumption through renewable energy sources by 2020 by setting mandatory national targets. For the biomass portion at Dalkia, the target is 20% agro biomass and 80% wood-based. “Our incentive was to do the project quickly, because if we wait, the amount of required agro biomass will increase each year,” he added. “The problem with agro biomass is that it introduces different alkalines, chlorine, potassium, and other compounds that can corrode our old boilers.” In order to secure the certification, all of the retrofit work and paperwork had to be completed early in 2012 in order to be issued with the Green certificates. “The requirements in Poland are very complex and quite strict for the paperwork,” noted Jazikowski. Quite disappointing to Dalkia Poland was that only one Polish boiler company was interested in
quoting retrofit work. “The Polish companies were quite busy with new boilers and large projects and would not even submit a quote for our retrofit project,” said Jazikowski. Dalkia had already contracted with a Finnish company for a retrofit project elsewhere in Poland and was concerned if that company could meet the deadline. So, they decided to see what Andritz could do. The contract was signed with Andritz Oy from Finland in August, 2010. According to Jazikowski, “My first experience with Andritz was during the tendering process”. Dalkia team members went to visit the company’s CHP reference in Estonia and the workshops in Varkaus, Finland. “I have to admit that I knew nothing about Finns and Finnish culture,” agreed Jazikowski. “My first impression of the project team was not totally
INDUSTRY NEWS ANDRITZ
positive. They seemed focused on completing the project on time, but less about the paperwork and starting the project well, but after I got to know Janne and Antti and their team, we became quite good friends.” The ‘Janne’ that Jazikowski refers to is Janne Kolehmainen, Andritz’s Project Manager for the retrofit. Kolehmainen and Antti Pulkka, Project Engineer, and their team mobilised on-site in March, 2011, with the target of firing the boiler with biomass in September of that same year – in time for Dalkia to make it before Winter, the heating season. Kolehmainen cites the tight schedule and the extent of Andritz’s scope in the project as perhaps being the reason for this focused intensity.
Mitigating risks Andritz carried out the mechanical demolition and erection supervision, instrumentation supervision, training and commissioning/start-up. In terms of equipment, the company supplied the biomass material feeding system, bottom ash handling system, the steel stack, pressure parts, fluidising grid, some boiler structure, air and flue gas handling equipment, refractory of the lower furnace, insulation and electrification/ automation. For Andritz there were some rather strict performance guarantees. One of the main challenges was meeting the NOx emissions targets because of the short residence time of
Paweł Jazikowski, Dalkia’s Project Manager. gases inside the boiler due to the limited furnace height. “The other risk we had to manage in our design,” said Pulkka, “was to accommodate the 20% agro biomass fuel, which contributes to fouling of the heating surfaces as well as superheater corrosion”. On the supply side, Jazikowski stated that EU directives are bringing us quickly to a situation where there is a lack of biomass to choose from. “Just to give an idea, fueling our small (110 t/h steam) boiler requires 230,000 tonnes of biomass per year.”
Growing miscanthus Most of the plant’s agro biomass (stalks, brewery waste, annual plants) comes from a 50 km radius of Poznan. It is pelletised to make it easier to transport and store, but to add to this, and to secure its future, Dalkia leased a plot of land near the plant and is growing Miscanthus (a tall woody plant that grows up to 3.5 m high and is harvested annually). The heating value of Miscanthus
(~15 GJ/t) is slightly lower than wood (~18 – 19 GJ/t) and half the value of coal (~20 – 30 GJ/t). “The ash content is quite high, similar to straw,” said Jazikowski. “Plus you have the chlorides and potassium to deal with.”
ChlorOut unit To meet NOx emissions and anti-corrosion targets head-on, Andritz installed its first ChlorOut unit. ChlorOut was developed and patented by Vattenfall and Andritz has the license to install this technology in BFB boilers. Pulkka explains that in the ChlorOut system, ammonium sulphate is injected into the furnace. This decomposes into SO2 and ammonia. The amount injected is controlled via an online alkali chloride sensor and NOx emission measurements. The alkaline elements in the fuel (mainly potassium) react with the SO2. The nitrous oxides react with the ammonia. These reactions mitigate both the corrosion rate of the
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INDUSTRY NEWS SUSTAINABILITY
Stock of raw material at Dalkia Poznan.
superheaters and the formation of NOx. Then there were the challenges of providing the documentation according to Polish legislation and standards, which require a lot of translation work in order to receive approvals from the various authorities. Biomass was first fired on 30 September, 2011. “From a mechanical point-of-view, the project was ahead of schedule,” commented Jazikowski. “From a paperwork point-of-view, it was tight.” He had witnessed cases in Poland where the mechanical work was done and the boiler was operating for a year without getting the paperwork finalised for Green certification. “In our case, due to an excellent relationship
In cooperation with
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Member of
Andritz also delivered a new stack.
with the authorities, we were able to file the papers and get the certification in one month.” Certification was granted in February, 2012. “When you produce Green energy you get extra benefits,” explained Jazikowski. “For example, we can charge about 45 Euros per megawatt hour for ‘Black’ energy production from coal. ‘Red’ energy (combined heat and power) generates about 51 Euros and ‘Green’ energy generates about 112 Euros. You can see the incentive for Green energy certification from the producer’s standpoint”.
Excellent scheduling According to Jazikowski, “The scheduling was excellent. The project was completed safely with no accidents. We were good on the budget with no additional costs from Andritz and boiler performance has been according to contract. “The moisture content of Dalkia’s biomass has been above the specified limits, but the boiler has been able to handle this. We are at the mercy of biomass suppliers,” he added. When the Poznan plant was state-owned it produced heat, steam and power. “Today, thanks to privatisation, we produce heat for district heating, process steam for nearby manufacturing plants, district cooling (bromolithium cold water generator) and power through our own turbines,” concluded Jazikowski.
INDUSTRY NEWS INTERVIEW
Peter Emery of Drax power station In July, 2012, Drax confirmed that it plans to transform itself into a predominantly biomass-fuelled power station. Initially, Drax plans to convert three of its six generating units to run on sustainable biomass; the first unit will be converted in the second quarter of 2013 and the second a year later. Production Director Peter Emery answered questions about the change to renewable fuel.
Q
Being relatively new (the second stage of Drax being completed in 1986), it was already the cleanest and most efficient coal-fired station in the UK so why was the change to biomass considered necessary? A. Drax is the newest, cleanest and most efficient coal-fired station in the UK, but we understand the threat caused by climate change and support the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy. As a coal-fired power station, carbon is a major constraint and so we have focused on reducing our carbon footprint through improved overall efficiency and burning sustainable biomass in place of coal. Generating electricity from biomass is a low cost, low carbon and reliable form of renewable power. Unlike most other renewables, it does not depend on the sun, wind or tide being available in order to generate electricity. In the UK, other intermittent and inflexible forms of power rely on either biomass or fossil fuels for backup and flexibility so sustainable biomass is an essential component of the energy mix, as well as being renewable. Q. You are retaining three generating units to run on coal. What are the advantages in utilising both materials? A. We retain the option to go further and convert more than three units and our aspiration remains to maximise our biomass potential, but the economic conditions and regulations must be right. It makes sense to take a step at a time. Decisions on the other units do not need to be taken for several years so we will develop our plans based on the circumstances as they unfold. The development of a robust and scalable sustainable biomass supply chain
and Contracts for Difference Feed in Tariff support mechanism will also be key factors in determining how many units we are able to convert and when. Meanwhile, coal has its advantages. It reduces the risks associated with burning mainly one fuel and enables us optimise our business commercially with an eye on the commodity markets. The capability to burn coal on unconverted units will also provide the system operator with security of supply at a time of rapid change in the UK’s power supply infrastructure. Q. Have any unforeseen problems emerged during the conversion from coal to biomass-based power generation? A. One challenge has been the shifting regulatory environment. At the start of 2012, the Government’s favoured option appeared to be enhanced co-firing, which would have meant an incremental increase in biomass burn across all six units. By the time the Government’s decisions came in mid2012, it was clear full conversion of individual units was the preferred solution. However, the extensive research and development that we had already carried out prepared us to meet that challenge with a high degree of confidence in our technical ability. Q. Handling and storage of forest biomass presents different problems than coal, particularly the fire danger posed by wood dust. What measures are being taken to counter the risk of injury and damage? A. There are some key differences between coal and biomass. The physical properties mean that we need to handle a larger volume of biomass to generate a similar amount of electricity. One important change has therefore
been to the rail wagons that will bring the biomass to Drax. A brand-new, bespoke design, which Drax owns, means that the trains we use will have 50% more capacity so although there will be a need for larger volumes of fuel there is no need for a corresponding increase in rail movements. Dust management is also crucial due to the risk of fire and inhalation; both represent a higher risk than coal. That has meant changing the distribution systems that deliver biomass from the dome stores to our boilers. There will be no open biomass conveyors. Instead, from the time the biomass is stored on the train, to the storage domes right through to injection into the boilers, the biomass will be enclosed. As well as the new distribution systems, part of Drax’s coal yard is being transformed to store biomass in four huge domes, which are a UK first. Q. As reported elsewhere in this issue, Drax has been praised for its efforts to address its impact on forests. How will you maintain your reputation for procuring woody biomass from sustainable sources when higher volumes are required? A. Whatever the volume of biomass we need our principles remain the same and are nonnegotiable. Our procurement process means our biomass will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to coal-fired generation whilst safeguarding the environment and contributing to local prosperity in the area of supply chain management and biomass production. Drax’s third party auditors carry out a range of audits on existing
and potential suppliers to confirm that they are embracing our policy. Q. Haven Power, which was acquired by Drax in 2009, serves the business market. Will its clients benefit from the change to biomass? A. A selling point for Haven Power is its unrivalled customer service. Datamonitor ranked it No. 1 for customer satisfaction in 2012 so that’s a big reason for the jump in sales from 0.8TWh in 2009 to 5.5TWh in 2012, but its link with Drax also provides good value access to renewable electricity. Q. Finally, will the lessons you have learned when converting Drax to biomass operation be offered to other power suppliers on a consultancy basis? A. To date, we have collaborated with other organisations in designing and building safe storage and handling facilities at ports and elsewhere. We have also provided advice to others when requested by UK Government Agencies. However, our main focus is getting this right for Drax.
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INDUSTRY NEWS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
Wood handling: a vital part of biomass utilisation By Alpo Tuomi*
Material handling Agro Waste Woody
Mechanical conversion
Peat
Thermal conversion Chemical conversion
BioEnergy
BioFuel
- Heat/Electricity - Liquid fuels - Pellets
- Bioethanol - Biodiesel - Biogas
BioChemicals - Flavours - Monomers - Proteins - Fine chemicals - Speciality chemicals
BioMaterials - Polymers - Composites
Figure 1
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s a result of the efforts to minimise greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, the global trend in power production is to replace fossil fuels with biofuels. In Europe, the EU has put in place legislation to reduce its emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. This calls for improving the energy efficiency by 20% and increasing the use of renewable
energy up to 20% of total sources of energy. In the power production sector, a prominent part of renewable natural resources consists of various types of biofuels. Further treatment of the available biofuels requires specific technology for material handling.
Material handling A large part of today’s energy produced from renewable resources comes as a by-product
Figure 2: An example of a Metso material handling system for a thermal or chemical conversion process. 10 10
March 2013
from the burning of black liquor in pulp mills. Black liquor contains the solids dissolved from wood in the cooking process. The handling of incoming wood for the pulping process represents the typical material handling technology also required for production of energy. However, biofuels comprise a much larger variety of raw materials than just wood logs. The main biomass categories and their treatment for the production of bioenergy, biochemicals, biofuels
or biomaterials are illustrated in fig. 1 above: The raw materials are utilised in direct combustion, or through gasification, pyrolysis, or torrefaction (fig.2).
CHP production Regarding biofuels for CHP production, wood pellets are growing in popularity in large combustion plants for co-firing with coal, as well as in private homes. This is because pellets
INDUSTRY NEWS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
Figure 3: Metso belt dryer for biomass. are clean and easy to handle and have high combustion efficiency. Traditionally, pellets were made from compacted sawdust or other waste manufactured from wood products. As a result of the growing interest in using pellets, new plans for megasize pelletizing plants have been established around the world. Production capacity of the planned installations equals an annual production of one to two million metric tons of pellets. Such huge production levels mean that besides traditional treetops and branches left over after logging, whole trees will also be utilised in pellet production. Wood handling of these production plants is very similar to large pulp mill wood handling systems. However, the raw material must additionally be dried down to 10-15% moisture content before milling and pelletising.
in the vicinity must be taken into consideration. Consequently, receiving stations, flight conveyors and silos are often covered (fig.3). Material screening is mandatory for removing metals and other larger impurities from the flow. Material storage systems are very similar to pulp mill wood handling storage arrangements featuring silo, stack or pile type storage systems, depending on the plant size and biomaterial in question.
Layout arrangements
Case history
Environment protection is an important factor in fuel handling, and prevention of dust and noise
Vaskiluodon Voima in Vaasa, Finland, is an example of a customer currently installing a
Drying biomass When the biomass is used for end products other than direct combustion, efficient drying of the material is of the utmost importance. The dryer the biomaterial is before further processing, the higher the overall efficiency will be. A belt dryer is the economical choice for material drying, where heat from the main process can be utilised (fig.4).
Figure 5: Biomass belt-dryer, together with a bio-gasification plant, was installed by Metso at the Vaskiluodon Voima plant in Finland. This plant was commissioned for start-up in December, 2012. large biomass utilisation plant for the production of heat and power. The new installation incorporates a total system from Metso, together with process automation, starting from fuel reception and weighing, mechanical conversion and material drying, ending up in the world’s largest gasification plant, with a nameplate capacity of
140 MW. The gas is combusted in the existing coal burning boiler. This arrangement enables the replacement of approximately 25-40% of the coal previously used in the plant with fuel from renewable sources, with a corresponding reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere (fig.5).
Summary The exploitation of biomass on a larger scale to replace fossil fuels is still at an early stage. However, technology for biomass handling and further processing is already available. The development of material handling technologies is partly based on the knowledge obtained in the handling of wood and agro-based materials for the forest industry.
Figure 4
*Managing Director, Studio Alpo. Article prepared from information supplied by Ari Havu, Manager, Biofuel, Pulp, Paper & Power, Metso Paper, Pori, Finland. March 2013
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INDUSTRY NEWS PRODUCTS
Carbon in fly-ash gauge
A ‘harwarder’ that works
T
he measurement of unburned carbon in flyash produced by power stations is a measure of efficiency of energy production. The problem is to measure the carbon content in the fly-ash in an automated, continuous process. Typically, measurement is currently done by hand sampling and is often provided too late to be of value for the burner adjustment. Berthold Technologies has now developed an on-line analyser for the accurate measurement of carbon in fly-ash. Working on
the principal that the unburned carbon particles are conductive and are distributed in the fly-ash, which acts as an insulator, the Berthold instrument passes a high frequency electromagnetic field through the product and then monitors the reduction of velocity of the wave (phase shift) as it is reduced due to the cyclical polarity reversals of the carbon particles. A Berthold nucleonic density gauge is used to compensate for density variation to give a highly accurate and repeatable result. More information from www.berthold.com
Heat logs A heat log briquette specifically manufactured to achieve high temperatures with a low burn rate for use in both domestic and commercial environments has been launched by Midland Bio Energy Ltd. The logs have a low moisture content of below 8%, are manufactured purely from clean sawmill residue with no additives and the low burn rate ensures that they will last longer than 12 12
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more conventional fuels. They are available in a fiveunit pack weighing 10 kg per pack and boast an exceptional heat value of between 18.8-20.0 mj/kg. More information from www.midlandbioenergy.co.uk
A few hybrid harvester/ forwarders do exist on the market, but most forest contractors have a wait-and-see attitude to ‘harwarders’. Christer Lennartsson of Fiberpac says this is for several reasons; one being that a contractor may be restricted to using a special harvester head that limits the machine to doing only thinning. Known as The Beauty, his machine is claimed to be the first ‘harwarder’ for final felling and features a number of new solutions. A regular harvester head is used for felling and delimbing, but can be quickly replaced with a grapple, the change being made by the operator without leaving his cab.
Other innovations on the machine are a newly developed crane, which can handle two tonnes with ten metres of reach, and a totally new hydraulic transmission with a motor in each of the ten wheel hubs. The Beauty has ten individually suspended wheels that are selflevelling to reduce ground damage. That is also why there is a motor in each hub. The speed of the wheels can be controlled individually, which helps prevent scraping and rubbing. Ground damage is further reduced because one ‘harwarder’ is doing the work of two different machines in the forest. More information from www.fiberpac.se
Wheeled harvesters x 2 Two wheeled harvesters that meet EPA Tier 3 emission standards have been introduced to its E-series range by John Deere. The 1270E and 1470E models are now equipped with new features and enhancements that not only give loggers more power, greater productivity and higher uptime, but allow them to maintain lower daily operating costs. The new harvesters feature an advanced twin-pump hydraulic system that utilises two openloop pumps, one for harvester head and transmission control and one for head and boom control. These features give operators highly efficient, simultaneous steering and
increased boom and woodprocessing control. The new standard, user-friendly TimberMatic (TM) H-12 Control System delivers fine-tuned hydraulics to provide smooth boom control and features a user interface that can be modified to meet operators’ needs by selecting the functions and adjustments needed for each specific application or operator. The harvesters are equipped with fuel-efficient and powerful John Deere 6090 PowerTec (TM) Plus turbo-charged six-cylinder 9.0L engines, which deliver high torque at low rpm. More information from www.JohnDeere.com
INDUSTRYEVENTS NEWS
Elmia’s forests are becoming crowded
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Nordic Baltic Bioenergy 2013 Oslo, Norway 21-22 May, 2013 www.bioenergy2013.no
Visitors arriving at the previous Elmia Wood in 2009. groups every day,” she said. She and her colleagues are arranging rooms in everything from hotels and hostels to residential study centres, camping cottages and private homes. About 30% of the exhibiting companies are from outside Sweden, with the majority from Finland, Germany and Austria. Visitors who have booked accommodation are coming from a wide range of countries, confirmed Helena. “We’ve had large group bookings from countries like Brazil, Japan, Switzerland, the United States and Russia,” she said, adding that she is now expecting more bookings from countries
closer to home. Elmia Wood has always been closely associated with new machine concepts and exciting technological innovations. This year will be no exception, promised Torbjörn Johnsen, who is responsible for overall co-ordination of Elmia’s forestry fairs. “We’ve made a special effort this year and have even published advertisements calling for innovators to participate in the fair,” he explained. This campaign has had clear results and according to Torbjörn, a number of interesting concepts will be unveiled at Elmia Wood in June. More information from www.elmia.se
Nordic Baltic Bioenergy 2013 The largest and most prestigious bioenergy conference in Scandinavia and the Baltic region, Nordic Baltic Bioenergy 2013, will take place at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia in Oslo, Norway, from 21-22 May. The event is organised by the Norwegian Bioenergy Association (Nobio) in co-operation with sisterorganisations in the Nordic and Baltic countries, as well as the Nordic Council of Ministers.
European Conference on Renewable Heating & Cooling Dublin, Ireland 22-23 April, 2013 www.rhc-platform.org World Biomass Power Markets Amsterdam, The Netherlands 16-17 May, 2013 www.greenpowerconferences. com
(Picture courtesy of Elmia AB)
espite considerable uncertainty about the future of the forestry market, there is clearly great interest in participating in the Elmia Wood forestry fair from 5-8 June, this year. The organisers are now working to build extra stands for all the companies wanting to exhibit their products and services. “The fair site is almost fully booked, but we’re receiving enquiries every day from more people wanting to exhibit,” commented Jörgen Andersson, who is in charge of stand sales at Elmia Wood. He and his colleague, Johan Löfgren, who manages the planning and construction of the fair site, are now hunting for every possible place to build a stand. “Last Elmia Wood we sold 69,460 sq m of stand space for the whole fair, but we’re already up at 72,000 sq m now, so this year’s fair will be crammed full,” added Jörgen. Destination Jönköping, which is helping to arrange accommodation for long-distance visitors, is also extremely busy. Coordinator Helena Lindgren says her team has already booked far more guest nights now than at the same time prior to Elmia Wood 2009. “We’re still getting many large bookings, maybe two or three big
Diary of events
It is an attractive meeting point for representatives from all parts of the bioenergy sector where business representatives, consultants, researchers, scientists, policymakers and media meet. This year’s conference will focus on trade, economics, marketing and finance within the bioenergy industry. New technologies and market opportunities regarding bioenergy production and utilisation are, as always, of great interest. Important topics regarding
climate and environmental issues related to the use of bioenergy will also be discussed. Parallel sessions and panel debates with profiled speakers will be organised to discuss the future challenges and possibilities of bioenergy. Side-events will provide opportunities for networking, match-making, sharing experiences and improving knowledge about various activities in the bioenergy sector.
36th Euroheat & Power Congress Vienna, Austria 27-28 May, 2013 www.ehpcongress.org Elmia Wood Jönköping, Sweden 5-8 June, 2013 www.elmia.se AEBIOM Bioenergy Conference Brussels, Belgium 17-19 June, 2013 www.aebiom.org World Bio Markets – Technology & Innovation Copenhagen, Denmark 25-26 June, 2013 www.greenpowerconferences. com Wood & Bioenergy Jyväskylä, Finland 4-6 September, 2013 www.jklpaviljonki.fi The Energy Event Birmingham, England 10-11 September, 2013 www.theenergyevent.com Expobioenergia Valladolid, Spain 22-24 October, 2013 www.expobioenergia.com F. O. Licht’s World Ethanol & Biofuels Munich, Germany 4-7 November www.agraevents.com March 2013
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INDUSTRY NEWS
World Bio Markets Technology & Innovation 25—26 June 2013 Copenhagen Marriott Hotel, Copenhagen, Denmark
SCALING UP FLEXIBLE CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES & FEEDSTOCK PRODUCTION Building on the international success of the 8th World Biofuels Markets, Green Power Conferences is proud to introduce the World Bio Markets - Innovation & Technology event, which provides inventive solutions on driving efficient, effective and economical feedstock and conversion technology to scale up production and scale down costs. By hearing from technologists, scientists, inventors and futurists, you will benefit from new perspectives to overcome industry challenges.
BE A STEP AHEAD OF THE GAME: The Latest Announcements on Next Generation Advanced Biobased Technology Fresh Government Perspectives on Deploying Advanced Bio Markets Unique Capital Raising Solutions to get your Project off the Ground Cutting Edge and Game Changing Technology at Research & Development Level Novel Ways to Grow and Employ Higher Yielding Sustainable Feedstocks
Thank you for your always interesting and well organised conferences. Abengoa
www.greenpowerconferences.com/worldbioinnovation Organised by
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