This Technology Replaces Coal Power with Wood Power

“In Europe, the coal and fossil fuels sector gets away with this too easily because it is a major industry providing many jobs. An awareness of providing better market conditions for the use of biomass varies somewhat. This may seem straightforward on paper, but such things take time and there are many factors involved”, says Skreiberg.

Ten “Alta” Power Plants

The coal-fired power plant in Rotterdam that will be converted to pellet use generates about 5.5 TWh per year. This is equivalent to more than ten “Alta” power plants, or more than 40 percent more electricity than is currently generated by all Norwegian wind farms. (The Alta hydropower plant is located in Finnmark in northern Norway).

This is not the first time that pellets have been tested in an industrial setting, but it is the first time that they have been manufactured locally, right next to the power plant. Pellet manufacture requires steam, and this is generated by the power plant. The process also produces a limited volume of gas, which can be combusted in the plant to generate energy.

“The process also generates a liquid fraction”, says Skreiberg. “This fraction is worth more as a chemical product than for energy production, so it’s all money in the bank”, he says.

No Secrets
Industrial secrecy and competition considerations represent another obstacle to the more rapid adoption of cleaner technologies.

“Our challenge is that when we’re trying to sell our technology into a new coal-fired power plant, it has to undergo a very comprehensive testing and verification process”, says Knappskog. “We’re not permitted to bring along information obtained from one client to the next”, he says.

The European research project Arbaheat circumvents this problem. “Our aim is to show the EU how the pellets are manufactured, handled, stored, crushed and combusted. We shall also develop a comprehensive and universally accessible verification package”, says Knappskog.

Electricity and Steam Provide High Levels of Energy Efficiency
Today, the coal-fired plant in Rotterdam produces only electricity. This means that it is exploiting only 46 per cent of its energy generation potential. In the future, the plan is to supply steam to local industrial plants and by doing so increase energy generation efficiency to between 70 and 90 percent.

This conversion will take place gradually. At the outset, the pellets will account for ten per cent of production.

As well as the total cessation of CO2 emissions from the power plant following conversion to wood firing, there will also be reductions in NOx and SO2 emissions and less ash.

Licensing Out
In the longer term, Arbaflame has ambitions to be one of the world’s largest pellet manufacturers. However, Bjørn Halvard Knappskog is well aware that the global market is currently too big for his company to tackle such conversions alone. During the next ten years, one country after another will prohibit the use of coal-fired power plants.

“We’re looking to combine investment with the development of our own capacity by sharing and licensing out our technology”, says Knappskog.

The article is published courtesy of Gemini, which publishes research news from NTNU: Norwegian University of Science and Technologyand SINTEF