Industrial gases
35 – 40% of all fossil gas produced is used as input for industrial purposes, like burners and feedstock for chemical uses to produce products like fertilizers and plastics. The use of natural gas and other fossil feedstocks typically result in massive emissions of fossil CO2 into the atmosphere. This fossil feedstock can in many cases be replaced with renewable gases from gasified biomass.
Rendering of a 25 MW HFB gasifier for thermal gasification of biomass. At the center is the gasifier, with the dual feeding and pressurization systems on each side of the gasifier..
Syngas content from the HFB gasifier. Content with steam is the content fed to the Top Cycle gas turbine in the BTC plant.
Gasified biomass in the HFB gasifier developed by Phoenix produces a synthesis gas, or Syngas, that is made up of Hydrogen, Methane, Carbon monoxide, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen ash and pollutants. This gas is combustible and can be used directly as a burner gas to replace propane or methane in industrial burners. The Syngas may also be reformed into higher value gases like Hydrogen. Approximately 60% of the energy in biomass can be converted into Hydrogen, so 100 MWh (22.5 tons) biomass can be converted into around 60 MWh of Hydrogen, or approx. 1.8 tons.
In parallel with syngas from gasified biomass can be reformed into Hydrogen, , other gases are also possible to produce, like green CO2. This CO2 can be used for industrial purposes to create green carbohydrates or it could be sequestered for carbon-negative Hydrogen production. Just imagine, not only are we replacing fossil, but we are also addressing the sins of the past!
