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DOE Guarantees $23 Million for Biomass Project
Nice write-ups from Green Energy Reporter and Business Wire about the Department of Energy (DOE) guaranteeing $23 million to two companies to support construction of a biomass gasifier at its Denver technology center.
From the story:
The grant award will be used to manufacture and install at RETC a 20 ton-per-day ClearFuels biomass gasifier designed to produce synthesis gas from various wood waste and sugar cane bagasse feedstocks. The gasifier will be integrated with Rentech’s existing PDU at the site, which uses the Rentech Process and UOP’s upgrading technologies to produce renewable drop-in synthetic jet and diesel fuels at demonstration scale. This joint demonstration of an integrated bio-refinery is anticipated to be completed in late 2011 and will lead to the final design basis for commercial facilities that are expected to use the combined technologies. The proposed team for the demonstration project includes ClearFuels, Rentech, URS, Linde/Hydro-Chem, Hawaiian Electric Company, National Renewable Energy Lab and Hawaii Natural Energy Institute.
Eric Darmstaedter, Chief Executive Officer of ClearFuels, commented, “We are very pleased with our collaborative discussions with DOE. We expect to complete submission of required supplemental information and start receiving funds in the next few months to facilitate the demonstration of our integrated technologies.”
Rentech, Inc. provides clean energy solutions. The Company’s Rentech-SilvaGas biomass gasification process can convert multiple biomass feedstocks into synthesis gas (syngas) for production of renewable fuels and power. Combining the gasification process with Rentech’s unique application of syngas conditioning and clean-up technology and the patented Rentech Process based on Fischer-Tropsch chemistry, Rentech offers an integrated solution for production of synthetic fuels from biomass. The Rentech Process can also convert syngas from fossil resources into ultra-clean synthetic jet and diesel fuels, specialty waxes and chemicals.
Rentech has a 25 percent strategic ownership interest in ClearFuels, which has begun development of multiple commercial-scale biomass-to-energy projects in the southeastern United States, Hawaii and internationally. These projects are expected to use an integrated ClearFuels-Rentech design and be co-located at biomass processing facilities.
If you’ve got a good biogas story, you can leave a link in the comments below.
Altamont landfill takes trash to gas
Great article on NPR about the Altamont Landfill in California. The Altamont landfill has been used by San Francisco and Oakland residents and businesses since 1980. Since November, a facility constructed on the 240-acre landfill has been turning the methane gas produced by the landfill into liquefied natural gas (LNG) used to fuel almost 500 Waste Management Inc. garbage and recycling trucks
“We’ve built the largest landfill-to-LNG plant in the world; this plant produces 13,000 gallons a day of LNG,” said Jessica Jones, a landfill manager for Houston-based Waste Management. “It will take 30,000 tons a year of CO2 from the environment.”
The Altamont landfill has more than 100 wells with black tubes throughout the facility that vacuum up methane from the heap and that is then turned into LNG. The LNG is pumped into the garbage and recycling trucks at a company fueling station in Oakland.
The Altamont Landfill has been doing their best to make use of the landfill as a resource for some time. Since 1989 they’ve had a methane-fueled electric power plant that can power 8,000 homes a day.
I’ve noticed quite a few stories about landfill energy plants during my time at AGA. According to the article, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency counted 517 active landfill energy projects in the nation’s approximately 1,800 operational municipal landfills in 2009. That was up almost 50 percent from 2000, and 28 percent from 2004.
One of the challenges with these types of projects is the initial expense but there’s some good news here. Four state environmental agencies contributed grants to help build the $15.5 million Altamont plant. Mike Beckman of Linde Group North America, the company that built and runs the natural gas plant, said the Altamont plant should continue producing fuel for 20 years or more meaning the plant should be profitable since the gas is sold to Waste Management and other customers.
The article has a lot more great information and pictures so I’d encourage a read. If you know of any similar projects in your area, let us know in the comments.
Thoughts from the briefing for Congressional staff on renewable natural gas
The briefing on renewable natural gas to Congressional staff we did earlier in the week went very well. I am very pleased we got an opportunity to continue educating others about the options we have using renewable natural gas and our existing distribution network.
Here is a powerpoint from Chris Voell of the Environmental Protection Agency titled, “Renewable Biogas: Environmental Protection and Energy Independence.” You can download the full pdf here. It’s a large file so it may take a moment.
I’ve pulled out some interesting graphics and stats for a quick view.
Here’s a slide showing the projects across the country.
Some stats on the projects include:
- 450 electricity generation
- 135 direct use (medium Btu)
- 25 high Btu pipeline quality gas
- AR, CA(2), GA(2), KS, LA, MI(2), NY, OH(3), PA(8), TN, TX(3), WI
- Less than 5% of total projects
- GHG reductions from currently operating methane capture and use projects:
- Direct Methane – 3.5 million metric tons CH4/year
- Avoided CO2 – 9 million metric tons CO2e/year
- Total Reductions – 80+ million metric tons CO2e/year
- Environmental equivalent to reducing CO2 emissions from:
- More than 200,000,000 barrels of oil consumed, or
- Nearly 16,000,000 passenger vehicles, or
- Burning more than 450,000 railcars’ worth of coal.
- Energy equivalent to:
- Powering more than 915,000 homes and heating more than 700,000 home
The presentation also includes some bullets on different case studies like the one from Fresh Kills Landfill, NY pictured above.
Fresh Kills Landfill, NY
- Began operation in the late 1970s
- LFG-to-high Btu pipeline quality
- Selexol (chemical technology)
- Largest plant of its kind until 2007
Valley and Monroeville Landfills, PA
- Began operation in 2006
- LFG-to-high Btu pipeline quality (2 plants)
- Membrane technology
- Delivery of gas to:
- low-pressure local distribution pipeline
- high-pressure gas transmission line
Scenic View Dairy, MI
- Began operation in 2007
- Dairy farm digester (3,500 head)
- Manure biogas-to-high Btu pipeline quality
- Pressure swing absorption technology
- Small scale – 150 cfm of biogas
Hilarides Dairy, CA
- Began operation in 2009
- Dairy farm digester (9,000 head)
- Manure biogas-to-vehicle fuel
- Pressure swing absorption technology
- Biomethane is compressed for use as vehicle fuel-displacing diesel fuel.
Renee Rippchen left a great comment on my last post. As I told her, I like hearing about how people are creating energy around this issue, so let me know what you’re doing.
True Blue Natural Gas Blog from the American Gas Association (AGA)- Natural gas is ahead of the curve
- Spectra Energy receives the 2009 Natural Gas Video Award
- Natural Gas Market Indicators
- Sen. Murkowski, Energy Leaders Point to Natural Gas as Large Piece of the Climate Change Puzzle
- Diversification of natural gas supply is an essential consumer protection
- From Austin to Boston in a natural gas vehicle
- Natural gas, how about zero carbon emissions
- The real natural gas message in a climate crunch
- Let’s work together to protect our seniors
- Natural Gas Market Indicators
