High-Temperature Steam Gasification of Agricultural and Municipal Solid Waste March 8, 2012 ASCE Chapter Meeting

Emphasis of Alternative Energy Research: To develop cost effective solutions for energy conversion To develop solutions sensitive not only to life cycle costs but also life cycle assessments (environmental and natural resource impact) To integrate (combine) energy recovery and alternative energy solutions to produce sustainable technologies

Gasification of Woody Biomass, Farm Wastes and MSW Research Objectives: Using high temperature (1000 to 1300deg C) steam to gasify various materials such as woody biomass, farm wastes and MSW Requires significant system integration, possibly with a catalytic reactor to produce liquid fuels In the case of MSW, the concept would involve an operation in conjunction with a landfill operation, a source of MSW and leachate (water source) Note: Consider the energy trail! Using energy to convert “dirt” to products and packaging which ultimately go to landfills and then back to energy! Begs the question, what happens if we reduce consumption of products and packaging that go to landfills? Consider the quality of the energy used……

System Integration Sorted MSW Landfill Bioreactor Aux. Equipment to Support Bioreactor Methane Feedstock Preparation Electrical Energy Pre-Heat Gasifer Syngas Conditioning Heat Recovery Low Temperature Boiler Leachate Steam Superheater High Temperature Steam Concentrate from Low Temp Boiler Concentrate from Low Temp Boiler to Feedstock Prep Catalytic Reactor Byproduct Gases Heat Recovery Liquid Fuels Electrical Energy

Background  Trends in MSW Generation Rates  Disadvantage of Partial Oxygen Gasification or Incineration  Lower temperature gasifiers produce low-quality syngas that contains undesirable char, tar and soot  Costly air pollution control required for both technologies

Experimental Objectives  Define the critical parameters affecting product yields  Develop optimal conditions for thermal-chemical conversions  Study cost-effective methods for the production of hydrogen fuel  Study system integration with production of liquid fuels from syngas Agricultural Wastes MSW High Temperature Steam Gasification

Team Members  PI  Skip Ingley, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida. - Tel  Jacob N. Chung, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida. - Tel  Members Name Atish Shah Graduate student Billy Allen Samuel Mammo Stephen Belser Uisung Lee Andrew Hatcher Undergraduate student Thomas Lunden

Team Members  Hinkley Center  TAG Members  Tim Townsend, Professor, Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida  John Anderson, CEO Quantera Energy Resourse, Inc.  Brent Wainwright, Principal, Green Team Ventures, LLC  John Kuhn, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, University of South Florida

Previous system  Supply the high temperature steam via combustion of hydrogen and oxygen  Batch type operation with woody biomass as feedstock

Current Experimental Setup Schematic

Steam Generator / Superheater Steam Generator Superheater PumpControler

Gasifier & Cooler Condensate Collector Syngas Cooler Exhaust Sampling Gasifier Steam Injector

Gasifier & Cooler Steam Injector Ceramic Honeycomb Condensate Collector Feedstock

Steam Injector

Feeder Ball Valve Argon Purging Gas Inlet/Outlet Piston

Feedstock Preheater Electric Heating Tape

Experimental Equipment Steam generator Superheater Gasifier Feeder Syngas Cooler Argon Cylinder Gas Sampling Exhaust Condensate Collector

Steam Injector and Base Module

Ceramic Honeycomb Discs

Simulation Results

Current Issues  Conduct Steam Temperature Tests and Measure Temperature Profiles in Gasifier  Finalize Arrangements for Syngas Sampling  Steam to Biomass Ratio Tests with Woody Biomass  Conduct Gasification Runs with MSW, MSW Components and Farm Wastes

Questions andDiscussion ?