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Report: SuperGen Bioenergy - Biomass, Biofuels and Energy Crops Consortium

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Objectives

The overall aims of the project are:

To undertake leading edge R&D initiatives in the bioenergy chain, from biomass production through conversion to utilisation with a particular focus on interfaces and optimisation of existing schemes and new concepts
To build closer and more selective bridges between the emerging bioenergy industrial sector and the wide-ranging academic research so that rapid implementation and commercial exploitation can take place
To provide a well-qualified pool of high-quality expertise to service the bioenergy sector
To establish a forum to provide industry and academia with an opportunity to learn about new developments in bioenergy nationally and internationally.

The SuperGen project publishes a periodic newsletter known as British Bio-energy News. To subscribe please visit the SUPERGEN website.

Structure

The project foccuses on the interaction between three key themes of a bioenergy system (biomass production, thermal conversion and utilisation of the resultant biofuels) and between each of these areas and the environment in its broadest sense. The work programme is divided into the following six work packages (with the WP leader shown in brackets):

WP1 Process techno-economic and environmental analysis (University of Ulster)

Technically analyse complete bioenergy process options
Integrate components from other WPs, to optimise routes, and highlight areas to maximise performance and economics
Assess economic performance
Assess life cycle performance
Examine socio-economic factors, including social acceptability, land-use, landscape, transport, processing, emissions
Carry out multi-criteria evaluation at technical, economic, environmental and social consequences of an agreed set of options (Case Studies) with stakeholder involvement.

WP2 Fuel specification and matching to conversion processes (University of Leeds)

Relate agronomic practices to biomass composition and characteristics
Evaluate the fate of alkali metaIs in combustion, gasification and pyrolysis,
Study effect of low lignin biomass on pyrolysis liquid composition and characteristics,
Establish relationship between biomass quality technology and product characteristics
Calculate carbon balances for biomass
Produce crops at large scale for testing
Behaviour of metals in combustion and co-firing
Develop screening methods for genotypes
Evaluate grasses for ethanol and hydrogen (H₂ consortium).

WP3 Thermal reactor modelling (University of Sheffield)

Integrate CFD with particle modelling codes and reaction kinetics
Develop reaction pathways and mechanisms for each feed material and each conversion route, particularly relating to tar cracking and secondary reactions in all conversion processes
Derive co-firing and co-processing performance models
Predict deposit formation related to feed characteristics and reactor configuration
Study metals release during combustion.
Derive improved process models of packed and fluid bed reactors and reaction systems

WP4 Minimisation of engineering risk (Cranfield University)

Perform combustion trials on new feed materials with co-firing, blending and additives to control fouling
Critical review of the current status of gas cleaning technologies and specifications for fuels
Combustion, gasification and pyrolysis triaIs on new feed materials and blends with coal
Evaluate fouling potential
Derive RAMO models for combustion and gasification heat exchangers
Overall systems issues - efficiency and RAMO
Evaluate novel gas cleaning for gasification cycles
Derive monitoring and control systems for fast pyrolysis.

WP5 Co-firing and co-processing biomass and biofuels (Aston University)

Evaluate co-firing and co-processing of biomass and coal and study fate of alkali metals
Improve pyrolysis liquid quality by feed selection and process improvement
Develop and validate sub-models for the co-firing of coal -biomass blends and biomass-biomass blends
Derive performance models of fossil fuel combustion with supplementary bio-oil or producer gas
Derive models for techno-economics, life cycle and social criteria analysis of co-firing and co-processing
Evaluate co-firing bio-oil in a coal fired boiler
Evaluate co-firing producer gas in a coal fired boiler.

WP6 Biomass and bioenergy network (Aston University)

Establish a Network - British Biomass and Bioenergy Forum
Develop links with other researchers, companies, and organisations nationally and internationally
Organise open meetings, workshops and seminars for interaction and dissemination
Develop a data base of active researchers and companies
Publish a newsletter and website,
Promote the consortium
Provide support and advice to policy and decision makers.

Keywords

To find similar reports, click on a keyword below:
Agriculture and Forestry : Biomass & Bioenergy : Electricity : Energy Crops : Fuel Cells : Heat/Heating : Liquid Biofuels : Polygeneration : Renewable Energy Sources & Systems : Solid Biofuels