[Gasification] [biochar] ICM gasifier project comes to a close

Tue Dec 25 21:45:00 CST 2012

Dear Ron

I have been following your Emails with Bert with interest, having been involved in many failed gasification projects, and a few that have succeeded (Community Power Corporation in Littleton).  

<><><>

Biochar adds a new dimension to practical gasification projects.  If there was a strong positive demand from agriculture for Biochar, we could be home free, but that has yet to be established and may not occur in our lifetimes.  

There are still unanswered questions about Biochar and I hope to get answers this Spring. 

<><><>

The easiest method of making Biochar is to take a dense pyramidal pile of dry wood ( for instance chopped up tree brush after a tree is felled) and light it on top.  As charcoal forms in the first layer, it ignites the cellulose volatiles coming up for the second layer.... and eventually the whole pile (or stove or can) is full of charcoal.  

This could be called "AutoPyrolysis", since it is the heat from burning the cellulose in each chip that converts the lignin in the chip to charcoal.   And it also leaves a clean, combustible gas as a by product which should be converted to electric power.  

I have measured the charcoal production rate for wood chips at various conversion rates and moisture contents.  It can be as high as 25% with bone dry chips,  but 20% is a safe number for 15% MC chips.  

<><><>

This charcoal is low in volatiles, since the need for a flame limits the lowest temperature practical to about 500C.  Is that good or bad?  

What is the most effective size for charcoal in soil?  Wood chips make a convenient size, but the product is friable and possibly 1/4 " or smaller could be better for growing plants.

<><><>

I hope to test a number of these questions this spring.

Your pal, Tom Reed

(I wish we could play Racketball 1-2 times a week.  I'm rusting out!)

Thomas B Reed 
280 Hardwick Rd
Barre, MA 01005

508 353 7841

On Dec 24, 2012, at 4:03 PM, rongretlarson at comcast.net wrote:

> Bert etal
> 
>     Thanks for the update.  It is good to hear that your facility will be started up again.  Probably would have been possible in Kansas, if we accurately accounted for the social costs of natural gas.
> 
>     For others,  EPC means Engineering, Procurement, and Construction.
>   
>     Please let us know when and where we can follow - after you are up and running again.
> 
> Ron
> 
> From: "Bert Bennett" <Albert.Bennett at ICMINC.com>
> To: rongretlarson at comcast.net, biochar at yahoogroups.com, "Tom Miles" <tmiles at trmiles.com>
> Cc: "biochar-policy" <biochar-policy at yahoogroups.com>, gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org, "Jon Orr" <Jon.Orr at ICMINC.com>, "Monique Pope" <Monique.Pope at ICMINC.com>
> Sent: Monday, December 24, 2012 12:32:10 PM
> Subject: RE: [biochar] ICM gasifier project comes to a close
> 
> Tom, Ron, Lists,
>  
> As our friends have noticed, ICM is planning to decommission our demonstration facility over the next six months.  And although we are sad to see that part of our development come to an end … it also marks the completion of our “first phase” efforts to successfully demonstrate ICM’s Gasification and Biochar Production Technology.  The good news for ICM and future customers is that we are planning to move much of the demonstration gasifier to our first fully commercial biomass-to-energy project.  ICM and its international EPC partner have now begun to actively engineer that facility, which will be based in a region with incentives that promote renewable energy and combined heat and power applications (and do not have access to low cost natural gas).  We are working very hard to fast track our first commercial plant and plan to be back online by early 2014.
>  
> To add to Tom’s comments, it is not easy to finance first-of-its-find biomass-to-energy projects, no matter how good the technology may be.  When we first began construction of our Harvey County facility in 2009 we had hoped to eventually be able to move that unit to Harvey County’s nearby Transfer Station.  The goal was to eventually provide a waste-to-energy solution for Harvey County, plus provide a dedicated platform that could, on a regular basis, switch to biomass and continue supporting biochar research and production efforts.  Unfortunately, very low cost natural gas has made it very difficult to negotiate a power purchase agreement that could support the financial requirements associated with a first commercial deployment.  We are confident, however, that after we have deployed multiple units that we can once again be able to return to our friends in Harvey County with a scalable solution that meets their needs and that traditional financial institutions will readily support.
>  
> As a friend of Harvey County’s very progressive Commissioners, County Supervisor and Transfer Station Superintendent, I cannot say enough to express ICMs gratitude for their support and vision …
>  
> Bert
>  
>  
>  
> From: rongretlarson at comcast.net [mailto:rongretlarson at comcast.net] 
> Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2012 4:44 PM
> To: biochar at yahoogroups.com; Tom Miles; Bert Bennett
> Cc: biochar-policy; gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org
> Subject: Re: [biochar] ICM gasifier project comes to a close
>  
> Tom, Lists, Bert
> 
>     Because this sounded pretty bad news for biochar,  I have done a little looking around.   I eventually talked to the key individual at ICM -  Dr.  Bert Bennett, who has agreed to comment on your news story below.
> 
>    Bert gave a very informative plenary about this specific ICM plant at Sonoma.  Anyone can watch a  good 15 minute video found at:
>         http://2012.biochar.us.com/conference-videos
> 
>    I also found a shorter similar 5 minute audio from 2011
>         http://domesticfuel.com/2011/05/10/icm-spotlights-biomass-gasification-at-conference/
> 
>     There are also plenty of news releases on the facility - all I saw were very complementary.
> 
>    Because Bert has agreed to give some more background,  I won't say more except to say this should be by no means the end of the biochar story from this 350 person company, that is operating worldwide.
> 
> Ron
> From: "Tom Miles" <tmiles at trmiles.com>
> To: biochar at yahoogroups.com, "Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification" <gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org>
> Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2012 11:08:46 AM
> Subject: [biochar] ICM gasifier project comes to a close
> 
>  
> The article below demonstrates how difficult it Is to convert urban residues to heat, power and biochar in today’s economy.
>  
> I observed that technically the ICM gasifier worked very well. The ICM gasifier can take wood, straw or corn stover and convert it to gas and biochar in various proportions. It makes a good quality biochar that has been tested in various locations. I was impressed by the fuel flexibility.
>  
> The economic challenges are manifold: if it is not feasible to generate and sell heat or power and biochar at one location then you can’t generate the cash flow necessary to run the plant.  We hope that Bert Bennett and his team at ICM can find a suitable customer.  
>  
> Tom
>  
> ICM gasifier project comes to a close
> By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan
> December 20. 2012 11:00AM
> www.thekansan.com/article/20121220/NEWS/121229996
>  
>  
> The decommissioning of ICM's prototype gasifier at the Harvey County Transfer Station marks an end — or at least a postponement — of the county's vision of a viable waste-to-energy system.
> At Monday's county commission meeting, officials announced the project would be coming to a close, and within six months, all the equipment will be taken down.
> 
> "It would bring to a halt our hopes ... of what would be a waste-to-energy facility," said John Waltner, county administrator.
> ICM’s Biomass Gasification System, also known as a “gasifier,” burns trash and converts it to synthetic gas, which can be used to generate power in industrial and commercial settings. ICM tested thousands of tons of different types of waste, which are referred to as “feedstocks.” Feedstocks tested included wood chips, wheat straw and refuse-derived fuel (this includes junk mail, cardboard and other paper products thrown away).
> 
> Using a gasifier to convert Harvey County trash into energy had once appeared to be a possibility. The Harvey County facility likely would have needed to burn 90 tons of trash per day, a number officials had thought the county could reach.
> ICM plans to try to market the technology in a different area, perhaps overseas.
> Despite the county's disappointment the project wasn't ultimately viable here in Harvey County, they said their experience working with ICM was positive.
> 
> "It really has been just a terrific exercise for us," Waltner said.
> 
> Commission chair Marge Roberson agreed."It feels really good that Harvey County had the tenacity to push to take a good, hard look at doing something with trash other than putting it in the ground," she said. "I absolutely do not regret any moment we've spent with this partnership."
> 
> Waltner does believe the technology will be prove to be viable in the future.
> 
> "They're going to be successful," he said of the company. "This is something that's going to happen."
>  
>  
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