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ALTERNATIVE FUEL FOR IC ENGINE

FAST PYROLYSIS OF BIOMASS TO BIOOIL FOR GREEN POWER GENERATION (OPEN CYCLE GAS TURBINE)

PRESENTED BY,
C.DUSHYANTH (ph no:9994545146) T.DHIVAHAR V.M.DHINESH(PH NO:9952893208) 2nd YEAR, B.E (SANDWICH) MECHANICAL, (TEAM NAME: ZYROXAXIANZ)

P.S.G COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY, COIMBATORE-641004

ABSTRACT The scientific consensus on global warming is clear. If atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases continue to rise thus it will prove to be a severe threat to human society. It is also a well-established fact that combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas for power generation is a significant contributor to global warming (1;2;3). On the other hand biomass has long been identified as an alternate sustainable source of renewable energy. This paper describes in detail a 'fast pyrolysis' process that has been developed and used to convert biomass to biofuel to be used as a fuel in open cycle gas turbine for power generation. The properties of BioOil produced from both forest and agriculture biomass wastes will be given in detail, particularly in reference to their application as a fuel for gas turbine engines. Economics of a combined cycle power generation plant utilizing pyrolysis liquid (BioOil) from biomass in a gas turbine engine is presented.The nearest term commercial application for BioOil is as clean fuel for generating power and heat from gas turbines and boilers.

1.INTRODUCTION Power generation using a solid fuel has had significant limitations with respect to materials handling requirements and efficient energy conversion. Converting biomass fuel into a liquid addresses these issues and makes possible the use of higher efficiency combined cycle systems for power generation. 'Fast pyrolysis' technology is a unique process that converts these solid biomass waste materials into a relatively clean burning liquid fuel that is carbon dioxide and

greenhouse gas (GHG) neutral. In the sugar production process from cane approximately 30% by weight of the crop becomes a fibrous residue referred to as bagasse. Traditionally, much of this solid waste product has been incinerated in stationary boilers to produce steam for the process. As bagasse contains significant quantities of silica, its application as a fuel creates many operational problems due to a) the glazing (fouling) of spreader stoker equipment and high temperature heat transfer surfaces and b) accelerated erosion of steel tubing exposed to the abrasive particles in the flue gas. As a consequence, disposal of this residue has been problematic, inefficient and expensive to the industry. To overcome this problem we opt for fast pyrolysis of biomass to bio oil. 2. FAST PYROLYSIS' OF BIOMASS Fast pyrolysis (more accurately defined as thermolysis) is a process in which a material, such as biomass, is rapidly heated to high temperatures in the absence of air (specifically oxygen). The biomass decomposes into a combination of solid char, gas, vapors and aerosols. When cooled, most volatiles condense to a liquid referred to as 'BioOil'. The remaining gases comprise a medium calorific value noncondensable gas. BioOil is a liquid mixture of oxygenated compounds containing various chemical functional groups, such as carbonyl, carboxyl and phenolic. BioOil is made up of the following constituents: 20-25% water, 25-30% water insoluble pyrolytic lignin, 5-12% organic acids, 5-10% non-polar hydrocarbons, 5-10% anhydrosugars and 10-25% other oxygenated compounds.

In this particular fast pyrolysis process, biomass feedstock is introduced into a thermolysis reactor having a bed of inert material, such as sand, with a height to width ratio greater than one. The biomass is shredded to sufficiently small dimensions so that its size does not limit significantly the production of the liquid product fraction. Simultaneous introduction of pre-heated, non-oxidizing gas at sufficient linear velocity performs two principal functions: firstly, as a medium for fluidizing the hot sand bed and secondly, to cause automatic elutriation of the product char from the fluidized bed reactor. The process includes removing the elutriated char particles from the effluent reactor stream and rapidly quenching the gas, aerosols and vapors to produce a high conversion yield of liquid BioOil. For maximum yield of liquid, the thermolysis reaction must take place within a period of a few seconds at temperatures ranging from 450C to 500C. The products must then be quenched as soon as possible to prevent cracking of the newly produced BioOil.

3. FAST PYROLYSIS HEAT AND MASS BALANCE Feedstock for the fast pyrolysis process can be any biomass waste material including wood by-products and agricultural wastes. Preparation includes drying the feedstock to less than 10% moisture content to minimize the water in the BioOil and

then grinding the feed to small particles to ensure rapid heat transfer rates in the reactor. When processing wood-derived feedstocks the conversion yield to liquid BioOil, solid char and non-condensable gas is approximately 70%, 15% and 15% by weight, respectively, on an as fed basis. When processing bagasse derived feedstocks (having ash content as high as 10% on an a dry basis), the yields are measured to be 62% BioOil, 26% char and 12% non-condensable gas. These yield rates were identical to those determined previously in laboratory size apparatus using the same operating conditions. The heat required for thermolysis is the total heat that must be delivered to the reactor to provide all the sensible, radiation and reaction heat for the process to proceed to completion. The heat of reaction for the fast pyrolysis process is marginally endothermic. When operating the pilot plant using prepared pine/ spruce as feedstock, the total heat requirement to produce BioOil at a 70% yield rate (including radiation and exhaust gas losses) is approximately 2.5 MJ per kilogram of BioOil produced. The net heat required from an external fuel source, such as natural gas, is only 1.0 MJ per kilogram of BioOil when the non-condensable gas produced in the process is directly injected into the reactor burner. This represents approximately 5% of the total calorific value of the BioOil being produced. 4. BIO OIL ANALYSIS BioOil is a dark brown liquid that is free flowing. It has a pungent smoky odor. BioOil contains several hundred different chemicals with a wide-ranging molecular weight distribution. The following Table I lists the properties of BioOil produced by the BioTherm pilot plant, derived from three different biomass feedstocks Table I: BioOil Properties Biomass Feedstock Moisture wt% Ash Content wt% BioOil Pine/ Spruce 100% wood 2.4 0.42 Pine/ Spruce 53%wood 47% bark 3.5 2.6 2.1 2.9 Bagasse

PH Water Content wt% Lignin Content wt% Solids Content wt% Ash content wt% Density kg/L Calorific Value MJ/kg Kinematic Viscosity cSt @20C cSt @80C

2.3 23.3 24.7 < 0.10 < 0.02 1.20 16.6 73 4.3

2.4 23.4 24.9 < 0.10 < 0.02 1.19 16.4 78 4.4

2.6 20.8 23.5 < 0.10 < 0.02 1.20 15.4 57 4.0

The density of BioOil is high, approximately 1.2 kg/liter. On a volumetric basis BioOil has 55% of the energy content of diesel oil and 40% on a weight basis. The solids entrained in the BioOil principally contain fine char particles that are not removed by the cyclones. As can be seen, the solids in the BioOil have been reduced significantly to levels of approximately 0.1% by weight. The ash content in these solids ranges from 2% to 20%, depending on the ash content in the feedstock Table II: BioOil Composition Feedstock Pine/ Spruce 55% wood 45% bark BioOil Concentrations wt% Water "Lignin" Cellobiosan Glyoxal Hydroxy-acetaldehyde Levoglucosan Formaldehyde Formic acid Acetic acid Acetol 24.3 24.9 1.9 1.9 10.2 6.3 3.0 3.7 4.2 4.8 20.8 23.5 2.2 10.2 3.0 3.4 5.7 6.6 5.8 Bagasse

5. CURRENT BIOMASS CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES The most common biomass conversion technology in use today is combustion

using either stoker fed grates or fluidized bed combustors equipped with a water/steam cooled boiler utilizing the standard Rankine cycle for electric power generation. Nominal conversion efficiency for this conversion technology is approximately 21% based on simple cycle operation and biomass feed supplied at 50% moisture. By adopting a combined cycle system using a gas turbine engine coupled to a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and steam turbine, the conversion efficiency can be increased as much as 40% more than that of a simple cycle system. There have been four main directions of development in utilizing gas turbines for bioenergy applications:
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Direct Combustion: Combusting finely ground biomass in a large combustor Indirect Combustion: Atmospheric combustion of biomass with the heat Gasification + GT: The conversion of solid biomass to a low or medium

and expanding it directly in the turbine.

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introduced to the turbine through a heat exchanger.

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energy gas that is directly combusted in the gas turbine.

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Fast Pyrolysis + GT: The conversion of biomass to a BioOil that is directly

combusted in the gas turbine.

It is this fourth option that shows significant advantages in its ability to maintain high efficiency due to direct combustion and the added benefit in the ability to store the fuel. The advantage of fuel storage is significant since this de-couples the operation of the engine from the reactor, maximizing the overall availability of the power generation plant. Downtime of the reactor will not shut down the engine provided sufficient stores of BioOil are available for continuous operation. As well, this also permits the economic transportation of fuel as it is in a liquid form and has a relatively high energy density compared to solid biomass, which has a significantly lower energy to volume ratio thus making it uneconomical to transport. 6. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Although there are significant technical and logistical advantages to a fast pyrolysis liquid fueled gas turbine system, the economics of such an installation are also important. Budgetary numbers have been produced which show the variation in the cost of electricity (COE) with changing feedstock costs. The flexibility of a gas turbine installation allows for several types of configurations and for this analysis, the three most common configurations are considered:

Simple Cycle: Gas turbine turning a generator Combined Cycle: Configuration 1 + the exhaust heat is used to generate steam which is expanded through a steam turbine providing more mechanical power to produce additional electricity. Co-generation: Configuration 1 + process steam generation for use in industry or a plant. The COE is calculated as the ratio of annual expenses to the amount of

energy produced in a given year. The annual expenses are a combination of operating and maintenance costs and capital costs which are amortized over a 15-year plant life assuming an 8% net present value. The capital cost includes all equipment to take 'as delivered' biomass and convert it to electricity at the generator terminals. For each of the configurations, their expected heat and power outputs and efficiencies are indicated. It is assumed that there are no additional revenues from any charcoal or chemical products which can also be produced from the fast pyrolysis process. Typically fast pyrolysis char comprises 15 to 20% of the feedstock, by weight. The higher heating value is normally in the range of 24 to 28 MJ/kg. From an energy perspective, if this char were combusted and the gases routed through the HRSG then the steam turbine generation rate would add to the overall efficiency of the system.

These examples represent relatively small installations and, therefore, do not achieve the economies of scale one would see in a larger plant. However, the results indicate that the COE is similar to other much larger bioenergy installations. This is the case for a 30 MWe combined cycle installation where a 20 year plant life was assumed with an equivalent feedstock cost of 3-4 $US/tonne and the COE was

estimated to be 0.046 $US/kWhr. As well, there is the potential to reduce the COE further through a revenue stream from carbon credits. Although not yet clearly established, this potential commodity could be a significant income source for such a plant. 7. BIO OIL APPLICATION AS A FUEL IN GAS TURBINE ENGINES As a clean fuel, BioOil has a number of environmental advantages over fossil fuels:

CO2 / Greenhouse Gas Neutral - Because BioOil is derived from biomass (organic waste), it is considered to be greenhouse gas neutral and can generate carbon dioxide credits. No SO x Emissions - As biomass does not contain sulfur, BioOil produces virtually no SOx emissions and therefore, would not be subjected to SOx taxes. Low NOx - BioOil fuels generate more than 50% lower NOx emissions than diesel oil in gas turbines. Renewable and Locally Produced - BioOil can be produced in countries where there are large volumes of organic waste. As BioOil has unique properties as a fuel, modifications. Some it requires of these special consideration are and design in properties presented

Table III: Typical Properties of BioOil Compared to Diesel Fuel

Parameter Calorific Value MJ/kg Kinematic Viscosity cSt Acidity pH

BioOil 15-20 3-9 @ 80 C 2.3 - 3.3 20 - 25 <0.1 <0.02 5 - 100 42.0 2-4

Diesel

@ 20 C 5 0.05 v% (combined) 0.01 <1

Water wt% Solids wt% Ash wt% Alkali (Na + K) ppm

A first generation fuel system and combustion system were designed and

tested, demonstrating the capability to operate a 2.5 MW industrial gas turbine on BioOil These tests not only revealed the feasibility of operation but also demonstrated that similar performance could be achieved for BioOil and diesel. Although CO and particulate emissions were higher than diesel, testing revealed that NOx emissions were about half that from diesel fuel and the SO 2 emissions levels were so low as to be undetectable by the instrumentation. The turbine offers distinct technical advantages over other engines. Unlike aero-derivative engines, it has been designed as an industrial engine with durability being one of the main design criteria and not weight. In addition to the ruggedness, the distinct "silo" type combustion system allows for easy access and modifications to the entire combustion system, which is one of the critical systems for the adaptation of the engine to BioOil.

COE VS COST OF FEEDSTOCK

Figure 5: Application of Pyrolysis Oil to Gas Turbine Operation. BioOil has an energy density approximately half of diesel fuel. Therefore, to meet the same energy input requirement, the flow rate must be double.

Advanced coatings hot corrosion

Design modification Injection system: This requires design changes to the fuel system to be able to control higher flow rates and also modify the fuel nozzle to accommodate this larger flow. This lower energy density also can affect combustion since physically there must be twice as much fuel in the combustion chamber as with diesel. This, however, is another advantage of using an industrial engine in the fact that the combustion chambers are designed with a significantly longer residence time (and therefore a larger volume) for a given power output. Higher viscosity of the fuel reduces the efficiency of atomization which is critical to complete combustion. Large droplets take too long to burn. Proper atomization is addressed in three ways. The fuel system is designed to deliver a high-pressure flow since atomization is improved with larger pressure drops across the fuel nozzle.

The fuel is pre-heated to lower the viscosity to acceptable levels. The most importantly, the fuel nozzle has been redesigned to improve spray characteristics. These design improvements are important for complete combustion and effectively reducing CO emissions.

Water as a remedy for viscosity reduction: Although looked at as a contaminant for diesel fuel, the water content in BioOil has some advantages. Firstly, it is helpful in reducing the viscosity, since it is a relatively low viscosity fluid. As well, it is a factor in lowering thermal NOx

emissions. Material specification: Due to its relatively low pH, material selection is also critical for all components wetted by BioOil. This does not require the use of exotic materials, however, it does eliminate some standard fuel system materials. Typically, 300 series stainless steels are acceptable metallic materials and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or fluorinated HDPE for polymers Turbine wash system: The solids content is a combination of ash and char fines which have carriedover to the liquid part of the BioOil. The effect of these solids is to cause sticking of close tolerance surfaces and secondly, they can result in particulate emissions because of the long residence time required to fully combust. It is important that the solids level in the BioOil is controlled to be less than 0.1 wt%. The ash content in the fuel represents the material that cannot be combusted. Depending on the elements in the ash, it can result as a deposit on the hot gas path components that will reduce the turbine efficiency. This operational problem is a familiar one with the use of low-grade fuel oils, which also have a high ash content. The solution is a turbine wash system. This typically consists of two separate systems in which an abrasive medium is injected during operation to physically 'scrub' off the deposits. This allows turbine cleaning without any downtime. The second system is an offline process which injects a cleaning fluid and allows a soak period to loosen the deposits which are then removed when the engine is started. Within the ash are alkali elements, which can result in hot corrosion of the hot gas path components with sodium and potassium being the most critical elements found in BioOil. These elements form low melting temperature compounds, which, as a liquid, will stick to the hot gas path components and then react and corrode the component. This effect can be mitigated through the use of fuel additives. As with the turbine wash systems, this technology was developed for the use of heavy fuel oils in gas turbines and has been in use for decades. The concept is to inject specific elements, which preferentially react with the alkali metals such that they do not liquefy.

This both reduces the propensity to stick to a surface and also reduces or completely eliminates its rate of attack. In combination with the additives, hot section coatings are being developed specifically for the type of attack that may be associated with BioOil. Ignition modification: Due to the poor ignition characteristics of BioOil, one other key design requirement is a BioOil specific ignition system or process. To overcome this, the turbine system starts on diesel fuel flowing through the primary channel in the fuel nozzle. Following a warm-up period, BioOil is fed into the secondary channel at an increasing rate while the diesel fuel flow is reduced until 100% BioOil flow is achieved. Polymerization is also a key issue with BioOil. This is the growing of molecular chains, which can result in an increase in fuel viscosity. This process is highly dependent on time and temperature. For example, the equivalent change in properties can be achieved in 6 months at room temperature, compared to 8 hours at 90C .Therefore, as part of the fuel and combustion system design, maximum temperatures and fuel re-circulating are carefully controlled to ensure polymerization is maintained at a rate, which is inconsequential to engine operation. 8. GAS TURBINE DEVELOPMENT WORK 'First generation' systems and design modifications have been developed and tested. This has demonstrated both the feasibility and significant benefits in utilizing BioOil for the operation of a gas turbine. Efforts are now being placed on the development of second generation designs to achieve performance and durability levels required for commercial operation. This means providing high efficiencies, maintaining high availability, typical time between overhauls and capital cost comparable with current gas turbine power generating packages. Key to this work is the use of a variety of BioOils to ensure designs accommodate as wide a range of fuel characteristics as possible. This will maximize the applicability of the BioOil gas

turbine system to a variety of bioenergy applications. Technically, this work is proceeding down two main avenues: 1)Performance:
Optimization

of the combustion system and the determination of the improved

engine operating and emission characteristics.

Develop

and test a turbine wash system based on current systems being utilized

on the line of other Mashproekt engines. 2) Durability: and test fuel system equipment and components for long term

Design

operation with BioOil. Develop hot section coatings specific to the BioOil combustion environment.
Develop

a fuel treatment system to upgrade the fuel quality through filtering,

additives injection and alkali removal. This work is now underway and has led to the development of a preliminary specification for BioOil. The purpose of this specification is to define an acceptable envelope of critical fuel parameters such that commercial level operation can be maintained. 9. CONCLUSIONS The use of a gas turbine utilizing pyrolysis oil (BioOil) as a renewable energy source has many significant advantages in both its flexibility in operation and the efficiency that can be achieved. As well, the economics of this type of installation are very competitive with other gas turbine powered bioenergy technologies and further prove its commercial viability. This has provided confidence in the capability of this fuel being utilized for gas turbine applications. This work has also been key in identifying the required development necessary for commercial level operation with the majority of the

required technologies already developed from the use of heavy fuels in gas turbines. Additional testing has been carried out and the development of a secondgeneration gas turbine BioOil system is under way. It is sure that biooil will contribute largely for energy generation. 10. REFERENCES
1.

United Nations Development Program Global Environment Facility, Climate Change Information Kit, http: //www. undp. org/gef/new/ccinfo .htm, updated July 1999.

2.

International Energy Agency statistics on world CO2 emissions, http://www.iea.org/stats/files/key stats/stats_98.htm, 1996. Environment Canada , "The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Outlook to 2020", http://www.ec.gc.ca/climate/fact/greenhou.html, Global Climate Change, November 1997.

3.

4.

J. Yan, P. Alvors, L. Eidensten and G. Svedberg, "Afuture for biomass", Mechanical Engineering, Vol.119/No. 10, Oct. 1997, pp. 94-96. P. Gogolek and F. Preto, "Status and Potential of Energy from Biomass in Canada", Proceedings of Combustion and Global Climate Change, Combustion Canada, May 1999.

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11. ENDNOTES

Ratio of electricity and heat output to BioOil energy input. This type of similar engines are manufactured by Mashproekt in the

Ukraine who has been designing and building industrial gas turbine engines for over 45 years and has a line of engines ranging from 2.5-25 MW. Orenda packages these engines for various industrial needs generation, pumping and bioenergy applications. such as power