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GHG-neutral DynaMotive BioOil matches natural gas in lime kiln tests In the DynaMotive fast pyrolysis process, prepared feedstock (<10% moisture and 1-2 mm particle size) is fed into the bubbling fluid-bed reactor which is heated to 450 to 500°C with no oxygen. The feedstock is vaporized into gases and char which are spun through a cyclone where the char is removed. The gases are quenched into BioOil and the non-condensed gases are re-circulated to fuel about 75% of the energy needed by the pyrolysis process. Vancouver, BC-based DynaMotive Energy Systems Corporation says initial tests directed by Prof. Paul Watkinson in a pilot lime kiln at the University of British Columbia established that DynaMotive’s BioOil performance is comparable to that of natural gas. According to Watkinson “the initial stages of the test program have shown BioOil lime kiln temperature profiles and emissions profiles similar to natural gas.” The company is in discussions with pulp producers about hosting full-scale trials when pilot testing is completed later this year. BioOil is greenhouse gas (GHG) neutral because it is manufactured from organic waste and can generate CO2 credits. The fuel does not produce heavily regulated SOx (sulfur dioxide) emissions during combustion and produces about half the NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions in comparison with fossil fuels. Substituting BioOil for fossil fuels in pulp mill kilns represents a significant market opportunity. In Western Canada alone, 22 kraft pulp mills consume some 16 million GJ of fossil fuels (2.6 million BOE – barrels of oil equivalent) each year in their lime kilns. This energy consumption is equivalent to the production from 11 commercial-scale BioOil facilities each processing 800 green tonnes of wood residue per day. The global opportunity within the pulp & paper sector alone is estimated to exceed 160 full-scale BioOil plants. UBC’s Watkinson said, “The fully calcined lime characteristics obtained with BioOil were comparable on a macroscopic and a microscopic level to those achieved with natural gas. We look forward to obtaining detailed quantitative comparisons of the performance of BioOil and natural gas to open up a variety of opportunities for application of BioOil as a greenhouse gas neutral alternative to natural gas and other fossil fuels.” DynaMotive’s president and CEO Andrew Kingston said, “In the last three years, we have validated BioOil as a fuel for power generation and combined heat and power applications with Orenda turbines, combustion characteristics in furnaces with CANMET, lumber kiln applications with Canfor and now lime kiln applications with the assistance of UBC.” David Sanguinetti, DynaMotive’s manager of
project development, says that BioOil’s viscosity is 6 or 7 at 80ºC compared
with 2 for light fuel oil and 41 for heavy fuel oil. Compared to other
biomass fuels, such as wood, straw and peat, BioOil can be stored, pumped
and transported in a manner similar to petroleum-based products to equalize
energy demand and distribution. The BioTherm process is said to take less than two seconds to produce three products: BioOil (60-75% by weight), char (15-25% wt.) and non-condensible gases (NCGs, 10-20% wt.). Yields vary depending on the feedstock composition. The char is a high BTU solid fuel that can be used in kilns, boilers and the briquette industry. There is zero waste as the BioOil and char have significant commercial application and value and the NCGs are recycled and produce about 75% of the energy required for the pyrolysis process. In June, DynaMotive formed a consortium to build a 100-tonne/day biofuel and 2.5-MW combined heat and power facility at West Lorne, ON, at the Erie Flooring and Wood Products facility. PI DynaMotive Energy Systems Corporation, www.dynamotive.com
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