Biomass Waste EFW
The generation of energy from Biomass covers a broad range of input materials and technologies for recovering the energy - from Combustion and ERF of waste based Biomass such as Wood Waste to Combustion of dedicated crops and virgin materials such as wood, and the indirect recovery of energy from Anaerobic Digestion of food and crops. Indeed Residual Waste EFW does itself have an element of Biomass as it contains small amounts of biogenic material i.e. food, paper, cardboard and wood etc.
Overview
Different Biomass can be used as a feedstock for Energy from Waste processes. The table below summarizes the types of Biomass used in 2017 to generate energy (excluding the Biomass content of Residual Waste) in Residual Waste EFW [1]. EfW plants that operate using Biomass as a feedstock can be considered as producing Renewable Energy[2]. Biomass can be considered a renewable fuel because the growth of Biomass removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it in components of Biomass such as soil, plants and trees, acting as temporary carbon storage[3]. Biomass does release CO2 when it is burned but considerably less than fossil fuels.[4] Biomass is the largest source of renewable energy in the UK[3].
Biomass Waste EFW plants, similar to Energy from Waste facilities, can be used to generate base load power as they produce a steady, reliable amount of energy but generally cannot be adjusted to meet peak demands[5].
| Biomass | Overview | Tonnage (mt) '16-'17 | Power Generated (GWh) '16-'17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Waste | There were 23 Wood Waste facilities operating in the UK with another 3 taking a combination of Wood Waste and Virgin Wood and one a mixture of Wood Waste and MBM; 7 facilities were under construction | 1.63 (2.1 '23[6]) | 1273 |
| Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) | There were only two main facilities treating this waste stream with a third due on line | 0.18 | 145 |
| Agricultural Waste | There were four plants in operation treating in the region of 1.0Mtpa with the dominant material being straw (animal bedding/feed) taking up around 80% of supply. Poultry Litter went to three large scale facilities with remaining tonnage sent to AD facilities and used in agriculture as a fertilizer. | 1.37 | 1225 |
| Sewage Sludge | Managed exclusively in the UK as part of waste water integrated treatment process by the Sewerage Undertakers (two plants were operated by Thames Water and a third by United Utilities). The trend in the sector is increasingly to use advanced AD to extract energy from the Biogas generated. | 0.10 | 23 |
| Process Residues | By-products from processing all forms of biomass that have significant energy potential and include kernels, shavings, sawdust, chaff) etc | 0.09 | 45 |
| Liquid Biomass | Also known as Biofuel and is any kind of liquid produced from solid matter | NA | NA |
| Virgin Wood & Energy Crops | There were 15 biomass facilities in operation taking Virgin Wood with another four taking a combination of Wood Waste and Virgin Wood (these figures exclude Drax Power Station); two were under construction | 2.36 | 1516 |
| Total | 5.73 | 4226 |
The Biomass capacity of UK EfW plants is generally increasing, and from 2016 to 2017 the amount of Biomass being processed by UK facilities increased by 6.9%[1]. Analysis undertaken as part of compiling the operational capacity for the year 2018 for WikiWaste showed that 2,047,904 tonnes of Wood Waste went to the listed plants (with some plants not reporting tonnage), and just under 20,000 tonnes went to other facilities (primarily Tunstead Cement Kiln). However, several plants were operating at under design capacity, and if the capacity was considered (including co-firing plants at current rates and dedicated capacity for Wood Waste at design/plated capacity) then the overall capacity is 3,430,537 tonnes. This represents a significant proportion of the total Wood Waste market and it is questionable if all the operational sites that follow will be sustainable with the current availability of Wood Waste in the market.
Operational Biomass EFW
The following table summarizes the number of plants that follow in the second, longer list, which captures all 91 Biomass sites that were operational as of January 2022, (this list includes both virgin Biomass (dedicated) and waste related Biomass EFW). More detailed information can be found on a site/plant by clicking through to the site-specific page (at this stage WikiWaste has focused on the detailed pages for waste-related sites/plants only, including Wood Waste (highlighted green on the map), MBM, Sewage Sludge and Agricultural Waste including poultry litter and straw:
| Material Type | No. of Plants in List |
|---|---|
| Wood Waste | 32 |
| MBM | 5 |
| Sewage Sludge | 2 |
| Agricultural Waste | 7 |
| Non-Waste Biomass | 45 |
Under Construction Biomass EFW
The following list summarizes all Biomass sites that were under construction as of January 2020, and includes both waste and non-waste biomass facilities. Limited summary information is in the table, and more detailed information can be found by clicking through to the site-specific page (at this stage WikiWaste has focused on the detailed pages for waste-related sites only, which in this case are 3 Wood Waste facilities only which are highlighted green on the map):
| ID | Site Name | Main Feedstock | Capacity (MW)
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 95. | Gameslack Farm (resubmission) | Biomass | 17.5 |
| 97. | Merevale & Blyth Estate (Biomass Plant) | Biomass | 2.5 |
| 98. | Port Clarence Biomass Plant | Waste WoodRDF | 40 |
| 100. | Tees REP | Virgin | 299 |
| 105. | Boston Energy Production Facility | Waste Wood/RDF | 11.7 |
| 125. | Hull Energy Production Facility | Waste Wood/RDF | 10 |
Planning Biomass EFW
The following list summarizes all Biomass sites that were in planning as of January 2020, and not just waste related Biomass EFW. Limited summary information is in the table, and more detailed information can be found by clicking through to the site-specific page (at this stage WikiWaste has focused on the detailed pages for waste-related sites only, which in this case are 4 Wood Waste facilities only which are highlighted green on the map)):
| ID | Site Name | Main Feedstock | Capacity (MW)
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 101. | Anglesey Biomass Power Station | Biomass | 299 |
| 102. | Barton CHP Plant | Waste Wood | 0 |
| 103. | Billingham Biomass Power Station | Biomass | 49.8 |
| 104. | Bloomfield Recycling Site | Biomass | 1 |
| 106. | Cardiff Biomass Plant | Biomass | 9.5 |
| 107. | Decoy Farm | Biomass | 1.5 |
| 108. | Drumbare Road | Biomass | 2 |
| 109. | Gibson Lane South biomass plant | Biomass | 3 |
| 110. | Grangemouth Renewable Energy Plant | Biomass | 85 |
| 111. | Hams Hall Energy Centre | Biomass | 14 |
| 112. | Kingspan | Biomass | 10 |
| 113. | Land at Bryn Lane | Biomass | 5.4 |
| 114. | Llynfi Biomass Power | Waste Wood | 25 |
| 115. | Meriden Biomass Plant | Waste Wood | 23 |
| 116. | Old Brick Works (Station Road, Warboys) | Biomass | 1.5 |
| 117. | Reality Energy Centre (Hull) | Biomass | 49.9 |
| 118. | Rosyth | Biomass | 120 |
| 119. | Rover Way | Biomass | 9.5 |
| 120. | Ryburn Multifuel Plant (CHP) | Green Waste | 0 |
| 121. | St Albans Biomass Plant Appspond Lane | Waste Wood | 6 |
| 122. | Thurrock Biomass CHP Facility | Biomass | 9 |
| 123. | Trecwn Biomass Plant | Biomass | 25 |
| 124. | Warboys Landfill Biomass Plant | Biomass | 1.5 |
| 126. | Avonmouth BioEnergy Facility | Biomass | 11 |
| 127. | Clay Cross ERF | Biomass | 12 |
| 128. | Plot Q Kiln Lane | Biomass | 50 |
| 129. | Small Heath Bio Power | Biomass | 35 |
| 130. | New Greenham Park | Virgin | 0 |
Biomass in Residual Waste EFW
Energy from Waste plants that use Waste Derived Fuel (WDF) but do not exclusively accept Biomass will still have a portion of Biomass in their feedstock. Often this is quantified as the amount of the C-14 isotope in the fuel compared to total carbon in the feedstock. This is an important parameter as the heat/electricity produced from an EfW plant that can be classified as renewable (and therefore eligible for subsidies e.g. ROC, RHI) is derived from the biogenic portion of the feedstock. This quantity of biomass in the feedstock also forms the basis of the Renewable Qualifying Multiplier (RQM) to calculate the quantity of payments made to a generator in line with the Contract for Difference (CfD) scheme[7].
The non-biomass portion of waste feedstock (e.g. plastics) produce a similar product gas to biomass-derived gas. Additionally, they both have similar fuel characteristics, like high volatile matter content and low fixed carbon content. Subsequently, this enables similar processing conditions and gas cleaning techniques to be used in waste and biomass EfW facilities. However, significant differences do still exist between these two feedstocks, for example, generally higher ash content and higher content of other contaminants in a mixed waste feedstock and these warrant specific changes in the EfW process[8] and lead to more stringent control systems to ensure compliance with the Industrial Emissions Directive.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tolvik Consulting Ltd, 2017. UK Dedicated Biomass Statistics - 2017. [online] [Accessed 13 Nov. 2019].
- ↑ Defra, 2014 in proportion to the amount of Biomass used in line with the ROC and CFD regimes.Energy from waste A guide to the debate February 2014 (revised edition). London.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Office for National Statistics, 2019. A burning issue: biomass is the biggest source of renewable energy consumed in the UK - Office for National Statistics. [online] Office for National Statistics. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2019].
- ↑ Energy Savings Trust
- ↑ Defra, 2014. Energy from Waste: A guide to the debate February 2014 (revised edition). London.
- ↑ [1] The Wood Recycling Association Annual Statistics reported in July 2023 that this figure was 2.1mt in 2022
- ↑ LCCC, 2019. Contracts for Difference Generator Guide. Low Carbon Contracts Company. London.
- ↑ Waldheim, 2018. Gasification of waste for energy carriers. A review. IEA Bioenergy, [online] ISBN 978-1-910154-56-4. p.16. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2019].