He Biorefinery and Bioenergy Center (BIO2C) is a semi-industrial pilot-scale testing facility where CENER develops processes and technologies as an intermediate stage between the laboratory and industrial scaling.
The energy crisis currently gripping Europe is causing energy costs for both electricity and natural gas to skyrocket for both industries and individuals. This makes the development of [something] increasingly urgent. Decarbonization technologies, necessary for the energy transition, thus reducing our dependence on fossil resources.
To achieve this, one of the fundamental pillars is the use of biomass, widely used as firewood, wood chips or pellets, and with high potential as a raw material for the production of renewable gases and advanced biofuels that can be used both for direct injection into the grid and for use in mobility, through technologies such as pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, gasification and others.
Gasification unit available for collaborative projects
Gasification is a partial oxidation process at high temperature (700-1500 ºC) through which biomass is transformed into synthesis gas, primarily composed of CO, CO2, H2, CH4, and C2Hx. Synthesis gas can be catalytically converted into high-value-added products such as biofuels and chemicals, or into hydrogen. This process allows for the production of a variety of synthetic liquid and gaseous biofuels from the gasification of lignocellulosic biomass: synthetic natural gas via methanization, or biomethanol, or, via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, biodiesel, biogasoline, and biokerosene.
Biomethane, for example, has a chemical composition very similar to that of natural gas, so it is possible to inject it into the gas network we currently have, and it is also compatible with the use of vehicles that use natural gas.
To this end, CENER has the Gasification Unit at BIO2C where tests are carried out for industry demonstrative level. This unit is a unique demonstration plant at the national level, both for its size of 2 MWt of bubbling fluidized bed, as well as for its operation with a wide range of biomass (such as wood chips, straw, forest residue, pruning waste…) at temperatures between 650-1000 ºC, and both with air and with mixtures of steam and oxygen as a gasifying agent.
After gasification, the synthesis gas produced must clean and condition For catalytic conversion, it contains tars and other contaminants, such as H2S, COS, HCl, particulate matter, and nitrogen species (NH3 and HCN), which must be removed before catalytic synthesis processes. This is why, in this BIO2C Gasification Unit, a gas purification system of pilot-scale synthesis that will treat 10% of the generated syngas, according to the specifications of the synthesis processes.
Today, andThis facility is available for collaborative projects with companies for the development and demonstration of hydrogen generation technologies or synthetic biofuels from synthesis gas, with which CENER aims to provide new technological solutions, necessary for a sustainable energy transition, thus contributing to the fight against climate change.
Latest experiences in gasification
Among the latest experiences developed by CENER, the following stand out: gasification of forest residue and cereal straw, carried out within the framework of European research project Horizon 2020 BRISK2.
The operational To carry out this type of demonstration test, it is based on, first, preparing several tons of raw material in terms of chopping, chipping, grinding or pelletizing, depending on the type of biomass to be tested in the Pretreatment Unit, also located in the BIO2C. In addition, it characterize the raw materials according to its elemental composition: sulfur, chlorine, moisture content, ash content and composition, density, and calorific value. If necessary, other analyses are also performed. cold tests of the feed for each type of biomass to characterize its behavior, adjust the control parameters and ensure proper feed control during gasification tests.
These are then carried out essays, using either air or an oxygen/steam mixture as the gasifying agent. Currently, industrial-scale gasification is carried out with air which, containing nitrogen, generates a combustible gas with a lower calorific value, but suitable for thermal applications in industry (for example, in industrial furnaces).
That is why CENER also works at a pre-industrial scale in gasification, with mixtures of steam and oxygen, thus obtaining a synthesis gas not diluted with nitrogen and suitable for the production of hydrogen or the synthesis of biomethane. During these gasification tests, the following are recorded: operating parameters in each case, such as: reactor temperature, biomass flow, synthesis gas flow, etc… In addition, it is carried out the analysis of the composition of the synthesis gas produced for each experimental point, as well as measurements of the particle and tar content therein.
Thus, this biomethane or biohydrogen from gasification It can be injected into the network and used in all types of domestic and industrial applications, or be transported to a gas station/hydrogen refueling station for its use in vehicles (liquefied and compressed), thus replacing natural gas. This is why it is presented as a key pillar in the decarbonization of the industries and in the energy security, which, moreover, through waste valorization, is a clear example of circular economy.
Goizeder Barberena
Head of Biomass Business Development at CENER