Carbon-negative bioenergy is here: GreatPoint Energy to build biomass gasification pilot plant with carbon capture and storage
The transition towards radically carbon-negative energy is happening faster than expected. Today, GreatPoint Energy, Inc., a developer of technology to convert coal, petroleum coke and biomass into clean natural gas while enabling the capture and sequestration of CO2, announced plans to build a US$25 million pilot-scale gasification plant to be located in Brayton Point at the research and development center of energy utility Dominion. Dominion is the largest power generating facility in New England. GreatPoint Energy has secured a grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to test biomass in its facilities.
By coupling biomass gasification to carbon capture and storage (CCS), yet another step towards carbon-negative bioenergy systems is being taken - the most effective type of energy with which to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change (earlier post and here). The plant in Massachusetts will use wood chips, corn stover, and switchgrass as a feedstock to make natural gas. These biomass sources store CO2 from the atmosphere. When they are gasified they release CO2, which is then captured and sequestered permanently in geological sites. The end balance: negative emissions. Only energy systems based on biomass can become carbon-negative - that is, they take emissions from the past out of the atmosphere. All other renewables are carbon-neutral at best, slightly carbon-positive in practise (previous post; and schematic, click to enlarge).
GreatPoint has developed a technique for converting different feedstocks - coal, petroleum coke, or biomass - into methane, or natural gas, through a catalyst-based gasification process - the 'bluegas' process. It says this allows it to produce natural gas that costs less than current market prices, while at the same time the process can be easily coupled to CCS. This combination of factors has attracted the attention of top-flight venture capitalists and other industrial companies. Last month, it announced an additional $100 million investment led by Dow Chemical, Suncor Energy, AES, and Citi division Sustainable Development Investments (earlier post).
The bluegas gasification system is an optimized catalytic process for combining coal, steam and a catalyst in a pressurized reactor vessel to produce pipeline-grade methane (99 percent+ CH4) instead of the low quality syngas produced by conventional gasification shown below. The first step in the bluegas process is to feed the coal or biomass and the catalyst into the methanation reactor. Inside the reactor, pressurized steam is injected to 'fluidize' the mixture and ensure constant contact between the catalyst and the carbon particles. In this environment, unlike conventional gasification, the catalyst facilitates multiple chemical reactions between the carbon and the steam on the surface of the coal or biomass. These reactions catalyzed in a single reactor generate a mixture predominately composed of methane and CO2 (schematic, click to enlarge):
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: climate change :: gasification :: carbon capture and storage :: bioenergy with carbon storage :: carbon negative ::
The proprietary catalyst formulation is made up of abundant, low cost metal materials specifically designed to promote gasification at the low temperatures where water gas shift and methanation take place. The catalyst is continuously recycled and reused within the process.
As part of the overall process the bluegas production facility recovers most of the contaminants in coal as useful by-products and, in addition, roughly half the carbon in the coal is captured as a pure CO2 stream suitable for sequestration.
In addition, unlike many conventional gasifiers, the bluegas process is ideally suited for lowest cost feedstocks such as Powder River Basin (“PRB”) coal and petroleum coke from the Canadian oil sands (a waste-product produced in the upgrading process) as well as a number of biomass feedstocks. The result is a disruptive technology with dramatically improved economics and an environmental footprint equivalent to that of natural gas, the most environmentally-friendly fossil fuel.
GreatPoint Energy and Dominion will be hosting a ceremony today with Governor Deval Patrick to commemorate the agreement in Somerset, Massachusetts. GreatPoint Energy plans to create more than 100 new jobs and invest more than $25 million in the demonstration plant and R&D Center of Excellence.
Upon the completion of construction of the demonstration plant and research complex, which is expected to take twelve months, GreatPoint Energy intends to develop full-scale facilities around North America. The company will then transport its bluegas product to New England residents by pipeline at a cost that is less than drilled or imported natural gas.
GreatPoint Energy plans to locate its commercial gasification facilities in locations where the carbon removed from the biomass and fossil fuel feed can be sequestered in geological formations or used for enhanced oil recovery.
References:
GreatPoint Energy to Build Leading-Edge Research Center and Clean Energy Demonstration Plant at Dominion's Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, Mass. - October 25, 2007.
Biopact: GreatPoint Energy closes $100 million capital raise for gasification and CCS technology - September 24, 2007
Biopact: Growth in carbon emissions accelerating; exceeding worst case scenario - October 23, 2007
Biopact: A quick look at 'fourth generation' biofuels - October 08, 2007
Euractiv: 'Carbon-capture trials safest way forward' - Laurens Rademakers, Biopact - April 3, 2007.
Abrupt Climate Change Strategy group: overview of studies on carbon-negative bioenergy and its potential to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels.
Article continues
By coupling biomass gasification to carbon capture and storage (CCS), yet another step towards carbon-negative bioenergy systems is being taken - the most effective type of energy with which to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change (earlier post and here). The plant in Massachusetts will use wood chips, corn stover, and switchgrass as a feedstock to make natural gas. These biomass sources store CO2 from the atmosphere. When they are gasified they release CO2, which is then captured and sequestered permanently in geological sites. The end balance: negative emissions. Only energy systems based on biomass can become carbon-negative - that is, they take emissions from the past out of the atmosphere. All other renewables are carbon-neutral at best, slightly carbon-positive in practise (previous post; and schematic, click to enlarge).
GreatPoint has developed a technique for converting different feedstocks - coal, petroleum coke, or biomass - into methane, or natural gas, through a catalyst-based gasification process - the 'bluegas' process. It says this allows it to produce natural gas that costs less than current market prices, while at the same time the process can be easily coupled to CCS. This combination of factors has attracted the attention of top-flight venture capitalists and other industrial companies. Last month, it announced an additional $100 million investment led by Dow Chemical, Suncor Energy, AES, and Citi division Sustainable Development Investments (earlier post).
The bluegas gasification system is an optimized catalytic process for combining coal, steam and a catalyst in a pressurized reactor vessel to produce pipeline-grade methane (99 percent+ CH4) instead of the low quality syngas produced by conventional gasification shown below. The first step in the bluegas process is to feed the coal or biomass and the catalyst into the methanation reactor. Inside the reactor, pressurized steam is injected to 'fluidize' the mixture and ensure constant contact between the catalyst and the carbon particles. In this environment, unlike conventional gasification, the catalyst facilitates multiple chemical reactions between the carbon and the steam on the surface of the coal or biomass. These reactions catalyzed in a single reactor generate a mixture predominately composed of methane and CO2 (schematic, click to enlarge):
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: climate change :: gasification :: carbon capture and storage :: bioenergy with carbon storage :: carbon negative ::
The proprietary catalyst formulation is made up of abundant, low cost metal materials specifically designed to promote gasification at the low temperatures where water gas shift and methanation take place. The catalyst is continuously recycled and reused within the process.
As part of the overall process the bluegas production facility recovers most of the contaminants in coal as useful by-products and, in addition, roughly half the carbon in the coal is captured as a pure CO2 stream suitable for sequestration.
In addition, unlike many conventional gasifiers, the bluegas process is ideally suited for lowest cost feedstocks such as Powder River Basin (“PRB”) coal and petroleum coke from the Canadian oil sands (a waste-product produced in the upgrading process) as well as a number of biomass feedstocks. The result is a disruptive technology with dramatically improved economics and an environmental footprint equivalent to that of natural gas, the most environmentally-friendly fossil fuel.
GreatPoint Energy and Dominion will be hosting a ceremony today with Governor Deval Patrick to commemorate the agreement in Somerset, Massachusetts. GreatPoint Energy plans to create more than 100 new jobs and invest more than $25 million in the demonstration plant and R&D Center of Excellence.
Upon the completion of construction of the demonstration plant and research complex, which is expected to take twelve months, GreatPoint Energy intends to develop full-scale facilities around North America. The company will then transport its bluegas product to New England residents by pipeline at a cost that is less than drilled or imported natural gas.
GreatPoint Energy plans to locate its commercial gasification facilities in locations where the carbon removed from the biomass and fossil fuel feed can be sequestered in geological formations or used for enhanced oil recovery.
References:
GreatPoint Energy to Build Leading-Edge Research Center and Clean Energy Demonstration Plant at Dominion's Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, Mass. - October 25, 2007.
Biopact: GreatPoint Energy closes $100 million capital raise for gasification and CCS technology - September 24, 2007
Biopact: Growth in carbon emissions accelerating; exceeding worst case scenario - October 23, 2007
Biopact: A quick look at 'fourth generation' biofuels - October 08, 2007
Euractiv: 'Carbon-capture trials safest way forward' - Laurens Rademakers, Biopact - April 3, 2007.
Abrupt Climate Change Strategy group: overview of studies on carbon-negative bioenergy and its potential to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels.
Article continues
Thursday, October 25, 2007
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food to call for a 5-year moratorium on first generation liquid biofuels
Over the past month, Biopact has been corresponding with Mr Ziegler's staff to discuss some of the findings contained in the report, which is now publicly available, here [*.pdf; note: if the link doesn't work, check under 'annual reports' on this page and click the document with the code: A/62/289]. We agree with most of the rapporteur's heavy criticisms of first-generation biofuels, especially when it comes to fuels made from crops on which populations in the developing world depend (corn, wheat, palm oil).
But we do hope he also includes several of the theoretical points made throughout the last year by a myriad of organisations who see major chances for the poor to get out of poverty by participating in the biofuels market. These perspectives were not included in the report. We think they are important. Some leading organisations, including the UN's very own FAO, the UNCTAD, the UNIDO as well as the WorldWatch Institute, have said biofuels could help end global hunger(previous post, here and here). But this will require a major overhaul of trade rules, an active effort to engage small farmers and poor rural communities in the sector, and a rethink of the massive biofuel subsidies paid to wealthy farmers in the EU and the US (say the IEA, the OECD, the Global Bioenergy Partnership, alongside a host of other major think tanks and renowned experts).
Moreover, high oil prices can be truly catastrophic for poor countries, and are actually killing people: according to the UN's latest inter-agency report on biofuels, some of the least developed countries are already forced to spend 6 times as much on imported oil than on health care, with obvious tragic consequences for those who need this most basic of services. Biofuels could make an end to this disaster.
Many poor countries have a very large potential to produce sustainable biofuels that do not impact food security negatively. On the contrary, in a free biofuels market, these countries would stand to benefit massively from their comparative advantages which would allow them to boost incomes with which to strengthen their food security (earlier post and here). But again, to make this happen, trade reform and an end to subsidies in the EU/US are a minimal requirement. The Biopact has also called for a more courageous EU foreign aid policy aimed at helping developing countries tap their large biofuels potential, via tech transfers, agricultural expertise and investments in infrastructure.
For the rest, we strongly agree with Mr Ziegler's entire argumentation:
- as long as such trade and market related reform measures and tech transfer efforts are not in place
- as long as social and environmental sustainability criteria for biofuels are not agreed on
- as long as more efficient second-generation biofuel production processes that allow us to use any type of biomass instead of food crops are not available
- and as long as it is not entirely clear whether biofuels are pushing up food prices (the UN and the EU think they don't, but most other analysts think they do play a role)
then the precautionary principle should come into effect. Hence, a temporary moratorium on first-generation biofuels made from food on which the poor depend is entirely legitimate.Sadly, we feel the rapporteur's call will not have any major effect on the rush towards food-based biofuels. The subsidies and protectionist measures in the US and the EU are large and strong enough, and oil prices high enough, to make first-generation fuels commercially attractive and to continue the massive investments into the sector. Moral imperatives do not make much of an impression on those who profit from the current situation.
In any case, we will keep you posted on the rapporteur's presentation, which can be viewed live over at the UN Webcast [entry ends here].
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: food security :: agriculture :: subsidies :: tariffs :: United Nations ::
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posted by Biopact team at 9:29 PM 7 comments links to this post