Industria 2015 – Ecopyrogas
Year: 2009 – present
Funded: MIUR
Coordinator: Energy Recuperator
Description:
The program consists in the realization of a pilot plant for the production of electric power by using the technology of the gasification of the biomass. Such technology allows to get very greater electric outputs in comparison to the traditional combustion, because from the output of the Rankine cycle of the steam plants, one passes to the output of the Otto cycle (or Diesel) thanks to the use of a internal-combustion engine.
To get the gas from the biomass, a reactor of pyro-gasification must be realized on the basis of an innovative project that solves the main problems connected to the operation of the gasification plants. The plant shall have an indicative size of 3 MWt and it is expected to get an electric power of around 1
MWe: the choice to make a pilot plant of meaningful dimensions is due to the wish to also overcome the up-scale problems that have often caused the failure of many laboratory projects with reduced dimensions.
In this program ample space has been given to the industrial research, which includes both the phase of the planning of the new conception reactor, both that of investigation on the fittest catalysts to the process; however the greater resources have been destined to the experimental development of the pilot plant, which includes both the realization of the gasification reactor, and of the most conventional sections of the plant, for which the selected industrial partners have acquired, during many years of activity, a consolidated and reliable technological experience.
The purpose of the ECOPYROGAS program is the generation of electric power from biomass on medium-great scale to get:
- a remarkable increase of the electric output: the program passes from the Rankine cycle with a 30% maximum output in the great plants and of 25% for the small plants, to a Otto cycle (or Diesel) with electric outputs that reach 42%:
- a great reliability of the process to such levels to be competitive with the generation of electric power derived by the fossil combustibles, thanks to the production of a clean biogas with a suitable calorific power;
- a lower emission of pollutants (in compliance with the UE Standards) achieved thanks to the employment of a smaller content of oxygen in comparison to the stoichiometric one, bringing so to a lower production of NOx (less then 50 ppms) and a lower level of CO and CO2 in comparison to the traditional process of combustion.