IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v12y2019i3p494-d203475.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Techno-Economic Analysis of a Small-Scale Biomass-to-Energy BFB Gasification-Based System

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Porcu

    (Sotacarbo S.p.A., 09013 Carbonia, Italy)

  • Stefano Sollai

    (Sotacarbo S.p.A., 09013 Carbonia, Italy)

  • Davide Marotto

    (Sotacarbo S.p.A., 09013 Carbonia, Italy)

  • Mauro Mureddu

    (Sotacarbo S.p.A., 09013 Carbonia, Italy)

  • Francesca Ferrara

    (Sotacarbo S.p.A., 09013 Carbonia, Italy)

  • Alberto Pettinau

    (Sotacarbo S.p.A., 09013 Carbonia, Italy)

Abstract

In order to limit global warming to around 1.5–2.0 °C by the end of the 21st century, there is the need to drastically limit the emissions of CO 2 . This goal can be pursued by promoting the diffusion of advanced technologies for power generation from renewable energy sources. In this field, biomass can play a very important role since, differently from solar and wind, it can be considered a programmable source. This paper reports a techno-economic analysis on the possible commercial application of gasification technologies for small-scale (2 MW e ) power generation from biomass. The analysis is based on the preliminary experimental performance of a 500 kW th pilot-scale air-blown bubbling fluidized-bed (BFB) gasification plant, recently installed at the Sotacarbo Research Centre (Italy) and commissioned in December 2017. The analysis confirms that air-blown BFB biomass gasification can be profitable for the applications with low-cost biomass, such as agricultural waste, with a net present value up to about 6 M€ as long as the biomass is provided for free; on the contrary, the technology is not competitive for high-quality biomass (wood chips, as those used for the preliminary experimental tests). In parallel, an analysis of the financial risk was carried out, in order to estimate the probability of a profitable investment if a variation of the key financial parameters occurs. In particular, the analysis shows a probability of 90% of a NPV at 15 years between 1.4 and 5.1 M€ and an IRR between 11.6% and 23.7%.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Porcu & Stefano Sollai & Davide Marotto & Mauro Mureddu & Francesca Ferrara & Alberto Pettinau, 2019. "Techno-Economic Analysis of a Small-Scale Biomass-to-Energy BFB Gasification-Based System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:3:p:494-:d:203475
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/3/494/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/3/494/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pio, D.T. & Tarelho, L.A.C. & Matos, M.A.A., 2017. "Characteristics of the gas produced during biomass direct gasification in an autothermal pilot-scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 915-928.
    2. Sgroi, Filippo & Di Trapani, Anna Maria & Foderà, Mario & Testa, Riccardo & Tudisca, Salvatore, 2015. "Economic assessment of Eucalyptus (spp.) for biomass production as alternative crop in Southern Italy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 614-619.
    3. Mahrokh Samavati & Andrew Martin & Massimo Santarelli & Vera Nemanova, 2018. "Synthetic Diesel Production as a Form of Renewable Energy Storage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-21, May.
    4. Chang, C.T. & Costa, M. & La Villetta, M. & Macaluso, A. & Piazzullo, D. & Vanoli, L., 2019. "Thermo-economic analyses of a Taiwanese combined CHP system fuelled with syngas from rice husk gasification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 766-780.
    5. Motta, Ingrid Lopes & Miranda, Nahieh Toscano & Maciel Filho, Rubens & Wolf Maciel, Maria Regina, 2018. "Biomass gasification in fluidized beds: A review of biomass moisture content and operating pressure effects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 998-1023.
    6. Ahsanullah Soomro & Shiyi Chen & Shiwei Ma & Wenguo Xiang, 2018. "Catalytic activities of nickel, dolomite, and olivine for tar removal and H2-enriched gas production in biomass gasification process," Energy & Environment, , vol. 29(6), pages 839-867, September.
    7. La Villetta, M. & Costa, M. & Massarotti, N., 2017. "Modelling approaches to biomass gasification: A review with emphasis on the stoichiometric method," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 71-88.
    8. Baruah, Dipal & Baruah, D.C., 2014. "Modeling of biomass gasification: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 806-815.
    9. Calin-Cristian Cormos, 2018. "Techno-Economic Evaluations of Copper-Based Chemical Looping Air Separation System for Oxy-Combustion and Gasification Power Plants with Carbon Capture," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, November.
    10. Antonio Molino & Vincenzo Larocca & Simeone Chianese & Dino Musmarra, 2018. "Biofuels Production by Biomass Gasification: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-31, March.
    11. Zio, E., 2018. "The future of risk assessment," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 176-190.
    12. Tola, Vittorio & Pettinau, Alberto, 2014. "Power generation plants with carbon capture and storage: A techno-economic comparison between coal combustion and gasification technologies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1461-1474.
    13. Arena, Umberto & Di Gregorio, Fabrizio, 2014. "Energy generation by air gasification of two industrial plastic wastes in a pilot scale fluidized bed reactor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 735-743.
    14. Michel Noussan & Roberta Roberto & Benedetto Nastasi, 2018. "Performance Indicators of Electricity Generation at Country Level—The Case of Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-14, March.
    15. Se-Won Park & Sang-Yeop Lee & Yean-Ouk Jeong & Gun-Ho Han & Yong-Chil Seo, 2018. "Effects of Oxygen Enrichment in Air Oxidants on Biomass Gasification Efficiency and the Reduction of Tar Emissions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-13, October.
    16. Pettinau, Alberto & Ferrara, Francesca & Tola, Vittorio & Cau, Giorgio, 2017. "Techno-economic comparison between different technologies for CO2-free power generation from coal," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 426-439.
    17. Jan H. Miedema & Henny J. Van der Windt & Henri C. Moll, 2018. "Opportunities and Barriers for Biomass Gasification for Green Gas in the Dutch Residential Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-20, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Safarian, Sahar & Ebrahimi Saryazdi, Seyed Mohammad & Unnthorsson, Runar & Richter, Christiaan, 2020. "Artificial neural network integrated with thermodynamic equilibrium modeling of downdraft biomass gasification-power production plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    2. Lo, Shirleen Lee Yuen & How, Bing Shen & Teng, Sin Yong & Lam, Hon Loong & Lim, Chun Hsion & Rhamdhani, Muhammad Akbar & Sunarso, Jaka, 2021. "Stochastic techno-economic evaluation model for biomass supply chain: A biomass gasification case study with supply chain uncertainties," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    3. Parrillo, Francesco & Ardolino, Filomena & Calì, Gabriele & Marotto, Davide & Pettinau, Alberto & Arena, Umberto, 2021. "Fluidized bed gasification of eucalyptus chips: Axial profiles of syngas composition in a pilot scale reactor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    4. Seo, Su Been & Go, Eun Sol & Ling, Jester Lih Jie & Lee, See Hoon, 2022. "Techno-economic assessment of a solar-assisted biomass gasification process," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 23-31.
    5. ABM Abdul Malek & M Hasanuzzaman & Nasrudin A Rahim & Yusuf A Al–Turki, 2021. "Energy, economic, and environmental analysis of 10-MW biomass gasification based power generation in Malaysia," Energy & Environment, , vol. 32(2), pages 295-337, March.
    6. Hameed, Zeeshan & Aslam, Muhammad & Khan, Zakir & Maqsood, Khuram & Atabani, A.E. & Ghauri, Moinuddin & Khurram, Muhammad Shahzad & Rehan, Mohammad & Nizami, Abdul-Sattar, 2021. "Gasification of municipal solid waste blends with biomass for energy production and resources recovery: Current status, hybrid technologies and innovative prospects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    7. Sahar Safarian & Runar Unnthorsson & Christiaan Richter, 2020. "Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessment of Power Supply Chain by Using Waste Biomass Gasification in Iceland," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 1-13, June.
    8. Gabriele Calì & Paolo Deiana & Claudia Bassano & Simone Meloni & Enrico Maggio & Michele Mascia & Alberto Pettinau, 2020. "Syngas Production, Clean-Up and Wastewater Management in a Demo-Scale Fixed-Bed Updraft Biomass Gasification Unit," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, May.
    9. Dovichi Filho, Fernando Bruno & Lora, Electo Eduardo Silva & Palacio, Jose Carlos Escobar & Venturini, Osvaldo José & Jaén, René Lesme, 2023. "An approach to technology selection in bioelectricity technical potential assessment: A Brazilian case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    10. Porcu, Andrea & Xu, Yupeng & Mureddu, Mauro & Dessì, Federica & Shahnam, Mehrdad & Rogers, William A. & Sastri, Bhima S. & Pettinau, Alberto, 2021. "Experimental validation of a multiphase flow model of a lab-scale fluidized-bed gasification unit," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    11. Ferraz de Campos, Victor Arruda & Silva, Valter Bruno & Cardoso, João Sousa & Brito, Paulo S. & Tuna, Celso Eduardo & Silveira, José Luz, 2021. "A review of waste management in Brazil and Portugal: Waste-to-energy as pathway for sustainable development," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 802-820.
    12. Ribó-Pérez, David & Herraiz-Cañete, Ángela & Alfonso-Solar, David & Vargas-Salgado, Carlos & Gómez-Navarro, Tomás, 2021. "Modelling biomass gasifiers in hybrid renewable energy microgrids; a complete procedure for enabling gasifiers simulation in HOMER," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 501-512.
    13. Sahar Safarian & Seyed Mohammad Ebrahimi Saryazdi & Runar Unnthorsson & Christiaan Richter, 2021. "Artificial Neural Network Modeling of Bioethanol Production Via Syngas Fermentation," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-13, March.
    14. Ling, Jester Lih Jie & Oh, Seung Seok & Park, Hyun Jun & Lee, See Hoon, 2023. "Process simulation and economic evaluation of a biomass oxygen fuel circulating fluidized bed combustor with an indirect supercritical carbon dioxide cycle," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sérgio Ferreira & Eliseu Monteiro & Paulo Brito & Cândida Vilarinho, 2019. "A Holistic Review on Biomass Gasification Modified Equilibrium Models," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-31, January.
    2. Tejasvi Sharma & Diego M. Yepes Maya & Francisco Regis M. Nascimento & Yunye Shi & Albert Ratner & Electo E. Silva Lora & Lourival Jorge Mendes Neto & Jose Carlos Escobar Palacios & Rubenildo Vieira A, 2018. "An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Gasification of Miscanthus Briquettes in a Double-Stage Downdraft Gasifier: Syngas, Tar, and Biochar Characterization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-23, November.
    3. Pio, D.T. & Tarelho, L.A.C., 2020. "Empirical and chemical equilibrium modelling for prediction of biomass gasification products in bubbling fluidized beds," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    4. Kartal, Furkan & Özveren, Uğur, 2020. "A deep learning approach for prediction of syngas lower heating value from CFB gasifier in Aspen plus®," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    5. Ramos, Ana & Monteiro, Eliseu & Rouboa, Abel, 2019. "Numerical approaches and comprehensive models for gasification process: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 188-206.
    6. Cormos, Calin-Cristian, 2023. "Green hydrogen production from decarbonized biomass gasification: An integrated techno-economic and environmental analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    7. Vakalis, Stergios & Moustakas, Konstantinos, 2019. "Modelling of advanced gasification systems (MAGSY): Simulation and validation for the case of the rising co-current reactor," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 526-533.
    8. Ruivo, Luís & Silva, Tiago & Neves, Daniel & Tarelho, Luís & Frade, Jorge, 2023. "Thermodynamic guidelines for improved operation of iron-based catalysts in gasification of biomass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    9. Ascher, Simon & Watson, Ian & You, Siming, 2022. "Machine learning methods for modelling the gasification and pyrolysis of biomass and waste," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    10. Cormos, Calin-Cristian, 2020. "Energy and cost efficient manganese chemical looping air separation cycle for decarbonized power generation based on oxy-fuel combustion and gasification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    11. Monteiro, Eliseu & Ramos, Ana & Rouboa, Abel, 2024. "Fundamental designs of gasification plants for combined heat and power," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    12. Pio, D.T. & Tarelho, L.A.C. & Pinto, P.C.R., 2020. "Gasification-based biorefinery integration in the pulp and paper industry: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    13. Zhao, Ying-jie & Zhang, Yu-ke & Cui, Yang & Duan, Yuan-yuan & Huang, Yi & Wei, Guo-qiang & Mohamed, Usama & Shi, Li-juan & Yi, Qun & Nimmo, William, 2022. "Pinch combined with exergy analysis for heat exchange network and techno-economic evaluation of coal chemical looping combustion power plant with CO2 capture," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    14. Safarian, Sahar & Unnthorsson, Runar & Richter, Christiaan, 2020. "The equivalence of stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric methods for modeling gasification and other reaction equilibria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    15. Mukherjee, C. & Denney, J. & Mbonimpa, E.G. & Slagley, J. & Bhowmik, R., 2020. "A review on municipal solid waste-to-energy trends in the USA," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    16. Peter Viebahn & Emile J. L. Chappin, 2018. "Scrutinising the Gap between the Expected and Actual Deployment of Carbon Capture and Storage—A Bibliometric Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-45, September.
    17. Karl, Jürgen & Pröll, Tobias, 2018. "Steam gasification of biomass in dual fluidized bed gasifiers: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 64-78.
    18. Ajorloo, Mojtaba & Ghodrat, Maryam & Scott, Jason & Strezov, Vladimir, 2022. "Modelling and statistical analysis of plastic biomass mixture co-gasification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    19. Ku, Xiaoke & Wang, Jin & Jin, Hanhui & Lin, Jianzhong, 2019. "Effects of operating conditions and reactor structure on biomass entrained-flow gasification," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 781-795.
    20. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Al-Ansari, Tareq & Inayat, Muddasser & Sulaiman, Shaharin A. & Parthasarathy, Prakash & McKay, Gordon, 2020. "A critical review on the influence of process parameters in catalytic co-gasification: Current performance and challenges for a future prospectus," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:3:p:494-:d:203475. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.