[Gasification] Emissions fines

[linvent at aol.com]

Dear Tom,
      In comparing the Kruger Products installation to the ones which 
received fines, one might be tempted to say that a fixed bed is better 
than a fluidized bed, but one would have to compare emission standards 
between the two jurisdictions to firmly make this claim. The Nexterra 
design has a relatively high tar yield.
      The word gasification in my opinion is still misapplied unless the 
gas can be cleaned and transported across a jurisdictional boundary for 
use, otherwise, it is still a dual stage combustor.
Sincerely,
Leland T. "Tom" Taylor
President
Thermogenics Inc.
www.thermogenics.com
505-463-8422

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Miles <tmiles at trmiles.com>
To: 'Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification' 
<gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org>
Sent: Sun, Feb 20, 2011 8:24 pm
Subject: Re: [Gasification] Emissions fines

Pulp and Paper Canada (Feb 2011) reporting on a gasifier-boiler 
application: 
http://www.pulpandpapercanada.com/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000402062 
Kruger's Biomass Gasifier Fuels Customers' Need for GreenBiomass 
gasification has quantifiable environmental benefits to show customers: 
fewer GHG emissions, less fossil fuel, better air quality.By: By Tony 
Kryzanowski


n investment by Kruger Products L.P. in a biomass gasification system 
at its New Westminster, B.C. tissue mill is giving the company a 
competitive advantage, as well as greater assurance that it will be 
allowed to continue to do business with its more environmentally 
sensitive retail customers."It is becoming the price of entry," says 
Kruger Products vice-president of technology, Frank van Biesen. "The 
Walmarts of the world are creating scorecards and rigorous metrics 
around supplier performance, leading to their own environmental and 
sustainability position, whether it is carbon footprinting, package 
reduction, etc."He adds that it is literally impossible now to play in 
that retail market space, which also includes companies like Costco, 
unless, as a supplier, you are able to demonstrate that you are doing 
something constructive, measurable, and meaningful regarding 
environmental impact reductions or improvements.A life-cycle assessment 
confirms that the biomass gasification technology provided by Nexterra 
Energy Systems Corp. for the New Westminster site fits the bill for 
constructive, measurable environmental benefits.The syngas produced by 
Kruger's twin gasifier system heats about 65% of the tissue mill's 
process steam needs in summer and 45% in winter, saving the company 
more than $1 million annually in natural gas costs.LCA confirms benefit 
of biomassThe project delivers a number of environmental dividends that 
the company anticipates will gain the attention of its customers. 
FPInnovations conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) study of the 
project to help validate the environmental benefits of this technology 
compared with the old fossil fuel-based energy system."LCA was a 
disciplined approach to really look at the whole cradle to grave life 
cycle," explains FPInnovations vice-president, Alan Potter. "You can 
very easily create a strong environmental case just by looking at one 
part of the cycle, but by looking at the whole life cycle of the 
installation, you have a more realistic sense of what the impact of 
switching to biomass gasification is."The LCA study determined that by 
converting to syngas generated by the biomass gasifier, the mill's 
greenhouse gas emissions dropped by about 22,000 tonnes of carbon 
dioxide equivalent annually. Because British Columbia has a carbon tax, 
Kruger estimates that this emissions reduction saved the company about 
$380,000 in provincial emission taxes in 2010 alone, increasing 
annually to $580,000.By generating a portion of its energy needs from 
syngas, Kruger is consuming about 40,000 bone dry tonnes of woody 
biomass annually that would have ended up in landfills.The project has 
also significantly improved the air quality emanating from the tissue 
mill, which is important considering that it is located right in New 
Westminster. FPInnovations has determined that particulate emissions 
 from the mill are now practically zero, and carbon dioxide and volatile 
organic compounds emissions are also exceptionally low."There is 
definitely a marketing advantage, especially in the consumer products 
business, when there is a story to be told and there is concrete action 
which we can demonstrate," says van Biesen. "While you can't go out 
into the marketplace and command a greater price for having done so, 
you can certainly strengthen and/or cement customer relationships with 
these types of initiatives."A first for gasification in paperKruger 
Products is the first Canadian pulp and paper company to install a 
commercial biomass gasification system with the direct syngas firing 
technology supplied by B.C.-based Nexterra Energy Systems Corp. The 
project involved a consortium of Kruger, Nexterra, and FPInnovations, 
with funding support from Natural Resources Canada, Western Economic 
Diversification Canada, and the province of British 
Columbia."Ultimately, this project will take biomass technology one 
step closer to market, which will benefit the western Canadian economy 
overall and create jobs for Canadians, all while providing clean 
renewable energy options to business," says Minister of State for 
Western Economic Diversification (WD), Lynne Yelich.The biomass 
gasification installation is catching the attention of many other 
Canadian and international forest companies. Dozens of company 
representatives attended a recent open house hosted by the consortium 
that showcased the installation. Both Kruger and Nexterra continue to 
receive regular inquiries about the system.Andrew Goodison of 
FPInnovations is a project manager with the Canadian forest industry's 
Future Biopathways Initiative. He says he is not surprised by the 
amount of interest being shown by industry in the Kruger 
installation."Demonstration and validation of these types of projects 
really help reduce some of the risk factors to commercially acceptable 
levels; allowing the industry to further invest in implementing this 
type of technology," he says. "It helps to reduce the technology risk 
and it allows us to stress-test some of the economics associated with 
these technologies."The Future Biopathways Initiative was launched by 
FPInnovations, the Canadian Forest Service and the Forest Products 
Association of Canada in 2009 to help provide industry with better 
baseline information on making inroads into the bio-economy and with a 
framework to support decision making. While helping industry understand 
the tradeoffs, information gathered as part of the Initiative is also 
helping to identify and fill knowledge gaps so that individual 
companies can select the right pathways for their specific 
circumstances.Goodison emphasizes that it is important for each company 
to conduct a detailed analysis to determine if adopting biomass 
gasification technology makes economic sense for them because each 
province treats such issues as the management and disposal of forestry 
biomass and carbon taxes differently. He adds that the short- to 
medium-term price for natural gas is one of the key drivers in how 
quickly companies will be prepared to invest in alternative energy 
projects like biomass gasification.Project gains worldwide honoursBoth 
Kruger Products and Nexterra are gaining attention from a variety of 
organizations eager to recognize technological advances that lighten 
industry's footprint on the environment. Kruger Products has been 
nominated for a United Nations 'Champions of the Earth' Award, a Pulp & 
Paper International Award for Green Energy & Biofuels, and a Platts 
Global Energy Award for Green Energy Efficiency. Van Biesen also won a 
2010 Canadian Award for Environmental Innovation sponsored by the Royal 
Canadian Geographical Society and 3M Canada, and Kruger Products 
received a 2010 Applied Energy Innovation Award from the Canadian 
Institute for Energy. Nexterra received the Best Application of 
Technology Award from the BC Technology Industry Association for the 
system it designed and installed in New Westminster.Nexterra co-founder 
and CEO, Jonathan Rhone, believes this type of recognition will 
contribute to proliferation of the technology."These awards provide 
another source of validation and credibility that Nexterra's 
technologies and products are doing what we say they are supposed to 
do," says Rhone. "It creates confidence with other customers, helps to 
create awareness, and creates interest from new customers as 
well."Because of the many other business benefits that Kruger Products 
has achieved by switching to biomass-generated syngas, van Biesen says 
the company has no regrets about making the switch despite the current 
low price for natural gas."I don't lose a moment of sleep over the 
subject because in the long term, I am sure that the price of natural 
gas will increase," he says. "But these days, with companies being 
short on capital, it's not easy to make decisions based on long term 
pricing trends. The tendency is to try to deliver shorter term 
paybacks."Van Biesen agrees that having validation is critical if the 
objective is to achieve greater use of this technology within the pulp 
and paper sector, given the nature of the industry."This industry has 
long been based on a tendency to not adopt technology unless it has 
already shown to be advantageous or proven," he says. "It's not a high 
tech business where risk taking is common. This business is too tight 
on margins, and too cost-oriented or commoditized. So if you are 
talking about investments and cost reduction investments, you want to 
know in advance that it is going to work."Given the nature of the 
industry, the level of continued interest has been 
encouraging."Independent of the Open House, we have had countless 
visits, tours and demonstrations to single entities who have requested 
entry for the purposes of seeing what's going on, how it works, and 
evaluating the benefits and challenges," says van Biesen. "That's the 
acid test for me as to what level of interest there is."Kruger Products 
is considering the installation of similar technology at its other 
facilities where the economics can be justified, and is currently 
evaluating various approaches. To satisfy a changing market with an 
increasing number of environmentally sensitive retail customers, 
alternative technologies such as this are quickly becoming the price of 
entry. PPC _______________________________________________
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