| Power from biomass
CHP piston engine operated for over 500 hours on Fast- Pyrolysis Bio-Oil: a world first
BTG Biomass Technology Group and ABATO Motoren B.V. (both based in The Netherlands) have reported that an important milestone has been reached in their efforts to modify an internal combustion (diesel) engine to enable the use of Fast-Pyrolysis Bio-Oil (FPBO) as fuel, with their novel engine operating for more than 500 continuous hours on FPBO to which 10% ethanol was added
This achievement, realised within the Horizon 2020 SmartCHP project, was followed by a successful 3-day continuous run on pure FPBO (ie, without any additive).
“This is a unique achievement and a very important milestone for the SmartCHP project. To our knowledge it is probably the first time worldwide that an engine has run smoothly for over 500 hours on biomass derived Fast-Pyrolysis Bio-Oil”, commented Bert van de Beld, director technology at BTG and co-ordinator of the SmartCHP project. This is “a very important step towards the development of a fully sustainable and reliable cogeneration plant with a very high potential to be replicated in Europe and able to strongly contribute to reaching the European goals in terms of climate change, energy efficiency and renewable energy”, he said. The most critical part of the engine modification concerns the fuel injection system, consisting of the fuel pump and the fuel injector. In the framework of the SmartCHP project, an ambitious target was set to achieve at least 500 hours of engine operation on FPBO without replacing the fuel injection system and while maintaining the same performance over the whole duration.
The SmartCHP cogeneration unit While around 80% of cogeneration plants run on polluting natural gas and fossil fuels as their primary fuel source, the EU-funded SmartCHP project is developing a novel, flexible small-scale cogeneration unit to produce heat and electricity from sustainable biomass. This will significantly help to increase the use of renewables in the electricity, heating and cooling sectors, thus
Above: SmartCHP engine
contributing to the 2030 and 2050 climate and energy targets.
The SmartCHP unit relies on a modified diesel engine with more than 40% electrical efficiency and an overall energy efficiency in CHP mode of at least 85%.
Its high degree of flexibility will make it possible to produce more electricity or more heat according to changes in demand and its high electrical efficiency will make the system very suitable for use in combination with fluctuating renewables and for balancing the grid.
Above: SmartCHP fuel injection system
Fast-Pyrolysis Bio-Oil Fast pyrolysis is a process in which organic materials are heated rapidly to 450-600°C in the absence of air. Under these conditions, organic vapours, non-condensable gases (NCG) and charcoal are produced (‘thermal depolymerisation’). The vapours are then condensed to a liquid, called FPBO. This process enables a transformation of difficult-to-handle biomass such as lignocellulosic material (eg, as encountered in agroforestry residues and organic waste) into a clean and uniform bio-oil, which is easy to store and use for bioenergy applications.
One of the main challenges of the project is that FPBO is more corrosive and thicker than diesel, and contains more water, making it more difficult to ignite, thus requiring significant modifications to both the engine and the ignition system.
About the project
SmartCHP was launched in June 2019 by ten partners including European industrial companies, universities and innovators, under the co-ordination of BTG Biomass Technology Group. It will run for 54 months.
Progress can be followed via Twitter, LinkedIn, and the project website. SmartCHP has also recently published a project video, available on YouTube.
The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 815259.
Contact:
Project Co-ordinator: Bert van de Beld BTG Biomass Technology Group
vandebeld@btgworld.com
www.modernpowersystems.com | January/February 2022 | 31
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