Biomass Waste EFW: Difference between revisions

Line 28:

EfW plants that operate using only biomass as a feedstock can be considered as producing renewable energy<ref>Defra, 2014. [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284612/pb14130-energy-waste-201402.pdf Energy from waste A guide to the debate February 2014 (revised edition).] London.</ref>. 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<ref name='bio5'>Office for National Statistics, 2019. [https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/articles/aburningissuebiomassisthebiggestsourceofrenewableenergyconsumedintheuk/2019-08-30 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].</ref>. Biomass is the largest source of renewable energy in the UK<ref name='bio5' />.

==Biomass ~~EfW~~==

==Biomass EFW==

In 2017, there were 39 operational Biomass EfW facilities in the UK with an electrical output exceeding 2.5 MW; the total biomass capacity of these plants is 5.73 Mt (excluding fuel imported by Drax), and these plants combined produced 4,226 GWh of power. The biomass capacity of UK EfW plants is generally increasing. From 2016-2017 the amount of biomass being processed by UK facilities increased by 6.9%<ref name='bio1' />.

An example of a Biomass EfW facility in the UK is [[Welland Bio Power]] in [[Northamptonshire County Council|Northamptonshire]], accepting 72,000 tonnes of [[Waste Wood|waste wood]] per year, and producing 10.6 MWe (gross) of low carbon electricity. [[Welland Bio Power]] utilises [[Nexterra]] [[Gasification]] technology and was developed by [[CoGen Limited]]<ref>CoGen, 2019. [https://www.cogenuk.com/projects Projects — CoGen. [online] CoGen.] [Accessed 14 Nov. 2019].</ref>.

==Residual Waste ~~EfW~~==

==[[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. Moreover, the amount of biogenic content relates to landfill cost saved by diverting this waste away from landfill<ref>WRAP, 2019. [http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/WDF_Classification_6P%20pdf.pdf. A Classification Scheme to Define the Quantity of Waste Derived Fuels. Wrap.org.uk.] [online] [Accessed 1 Nov. 2019]</ref>. 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<ref>LCCC, 2019. [https://www.lowcarboncontracts.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Contracts%20for%20Difference%20-%20Generator%20Guide%20Feb%202019.pdf Contracts for Difference Generator Guide. Low Carbon Contracts Company.] London.</ref>.

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<ref>Waldheim, 2018. [https://www.ieabioenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IEA-Bioenergy-Task-33-Gasification-of-waste-for-energy-carriers-20181205-1.pdf Gasification of waste for energy carriers. A review. IEA Bioenergy], [online] ISBN 978-1-910154-56-4. p.16. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2019].</ref>.

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<ref>Waldheim, 2018. [https://www.ieabioenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IEA-Bioenergy-Task-33-Gasification-of-waste-for-energy-carriers-20181205-1.pdf Gasification of waste for energy carriers. A review. IEA Bioenergy], [online] ISBN 978-1-910154-56-4. p.16. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2019].</ref> and lead to more stringent control systems to ensure compliance with the [[Industrial Emissions Directive]].

[[File:Tolvik Biomass Map.jpg|800px|center|Tolvik Biomass Map]]

@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 EfW plants that operate using only biomass as a feedstock can be considered as producing renewable energy<ref>Defra, 2014. [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284612/pb14130-energy-waste-201402.pdf Energy from waste A guide to the debate February 2014 (revised edition).] London.</ref>. 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<ref name='bio5'>Office for National Statistics, 2019. [https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/articles/aburningissuebiomassisthebiggestsourceofrenewableenergyconsumedintheuk/2019-08-30 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].</ref>. Biomass is the largest source of renewable energy in the UK<ref name='bio5' />.
-==Biomass EfW==
+==Biomass EFW==
 In 2017, there were 39 operational Biomass EfW facilities in the UK with an electrical output exceeding 2.5 MW; the total biomass capacity of these plants is 5.73 Mt (excluding fuel imported by Drax), and these plants combined produced 4,226 GWh of power. The biomass capacity of UK EfW plants is generally increasing. From 2016-2017 the amount of biomass being processed by UK facilities increased by 6.9%<ref name='bio1' />.
 An example of a Biomass EfW facility in the UK is [[Welland Bio Power]] in [[Northamptonshire County Council|Northamptonshire]], accepting 72,000 tonnes of [[Waste Wood|waste wood]] per year, and producing 10.6 MWe (gross) of low carbon electricity. [[Welland Bio Power]] utilises [[Nexterra]] [[Gasification]] technology and was developed by [[CoGen Limited]]<ref>CoGen, 2019. [https://www.cogenuk.com/projects Projects — CoGen. [online] CoGen.] [Accessed 14 Nov. 2019].</ref>.
-==Residual Waste EfW==
+==[[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. Moreover, the amount of biogenic content relates to landfill cost saved by diverting this waste away from landfill<ref>WRAP, 2019. [http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/WDF_Classification_6P%20pdf.pdf. A Classification Scheme to Define the Quantity of Waste Derived Fuels. Wrap.org.uk.] [online] [Accessed 1 Nov. 2019]</ref>. 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<ref>LCCC, 2019. [https://www.lowcarboncontracts.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Contracts%20for%20Difference%20-%20Generator%20Guide%20Feb%202019.pdf Contracts for Difference Generator Guide. Low Carbon Contracts Company.] London.</ref>.
-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<ref>Waldheim, 2018. [https://www.ieabioenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IEA-Bioenergy-Task-33-Gasification-of-waste-for-energy-carriers-20181205-1.pdf Gasification of waste for energy carriers. A review. IEA Bioenergy], [online] ISBN 978-1-910154-56-4.  p.16. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2019].</ref>.
+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<ref>Waldheim, 2018. [https://www.ieabioenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IEA-Bioenergy-Task-33-Gasification-of-waste-for-energy-carriers-20181205-1.pdf Gasification of waste for energy carriers. A review. IEA Bioenergy], [online] ISBN 978-1-910154-56-4.  p.16. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2019].</ref> and lead to more stringent control systems to ensure compliance with the [[Industrial Emissions Directive]].
 [[File:Tolvik Biomass Map.jpg|800px|center|Tolvik Biomass Map]]