[Gasification] 3 injured in Fortum bio-oil plant explosion

[thomas reed]

Tom Taylor

You bring back old memories of my working at Thermogenics long ago.

Sad story about the acid hydrolysis.  Gasification is also dangerous, so we
can only express our condolences.

Tom Reed

On Friday, March 28, 2014, <linvent at aol.com> wrote:

>  Several decades ago, I was being funded by a group out of Houston that
> later acquired the International harvester stratified downdraft gasifier
> that Tom Reed knows the group, and a couple of weeks after I received the
> initial funding, I received an urgent phone call from the liasion person
> and was told that one of their funded projects had an explosion and two
> people were killed and the system destroyed and farm houses nearby were
> either obliterated or destroyed. They were working on acid hydrolysis that
> is still being pursued today and a pressure relief valve stuck and blew up
> the concentrated sulfuric acid reaction tank.
>  I have become more familiar with the acid hydrolysis process as a plant
> was built in Caserta, Italy that Thermogenics supplied a gasifier to take
> the char residue and convert to livulenic acid. The concentrated sulfuric
> acid cellulose mix is very caustic and the only material that can contain
> it is vanadium, a refractory metal that is very difficult to work with. A
> 4" motorized vanadium ball valve costs $65,000, and only one fabricator in
> the US at that time could make them.
>  Anyhow, none of the acid hydrolysis processes I am aware of have seen
> commercial success, including one group out of New Jersey that was
> determined to make it work, but licensing, energy, system costs and other
> complications have kept them from going forward.
>  Vinod Kholsa funded one group and it went bankrupt some time later, but
> any information on the technical reason is not readily available. Anyone
> have any additional information?
> Sincerely,
> Leland T. "Tom" Taylor
> Thermogenics Inc.
>
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: thomas reed <tombreed2009 at gmail.com>
> To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification <
> gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org>
> Sent: Fri, Mar 28, 2014 9:44 am
> Subject: Re: [Gasification] 3 injured in Fortum bio-oil plant explosion
>
>  Dear Tom Miles and All
>
>  I used to love the name, Bio-Oil, suggesting  my two passions, Biomass
> and Energy.
>
>  However,
>
>  Biomass condensed vapors are highly oxygenated, and hardly an "oil".
>  The term attracts the unwary.
>
>  Auto-pyrolysis (at 500-600C) of biomass produces a relatively clean gas
> from the cellulose,
>
>    C6H10O5 (cellulose) + 1/2 O2 ===> 6 CO + 5 H2
>
>    Good for cooking and driving cars/trucks
>
>    Plus Biochar, excellent for improving the ground and atmosphere (by
> its absence).
> <><><>
>   But externally heated pyrolysis units produce a witches brew of
> chemicals, some useful       when pure (methanol, vanillan, acetic acid)
> but in low concentration, and better made more directly.
> <><><>
>
>  Am I missing something?
>
>  Tom Reed
>
> On Friday, March 28, 2014, Tom Miles <tmiles at trmiles.com> wrote:
>
>  The industry is not without risk.
>
>
> http://www.finlandtimes.fi/national/2014/03/28/5723/3-injured-in-Fortum-bio-oil-plant-explosion
>
> 3 injured in Fortum bio-oil plant explosion<http://www.finlandtimes.fi/national/2014/03/28/5723/3-injured-in-Fortum-bio-oil-plant-explosion>
> FTimes-STT Report, March 28
>
> [image:
> http://www.finlandtimes.fi/assets/images/news_images/2014/03/28/for_details/image_5723_0.jpg]<http://www.finlandtimes.fi/assets/images/news_images/2014/03/28/for_details/image_5723_0.jpg>
> *The office of energy company Fortum in Espoo. Photo- Lehtikuva.
> <http://www.finlandtimes.fi/assets/images/news_images/2014/03/28/for_details/image_5723_0.jpg>*
> Three people were wounded in an explosion in Fortum's bio-oil plant in
> Joensuu on Thursday.
>
> Two of them, who sustained burn injures, were taken to a hospital while
> one was injured less severely, sources at the company said.
>
> Operations at the bio-oil plant were halted and it was likely to remain
> closed for several days, according to plant manager Timo Partanen.
>
> The rescue department received alarm at around 2pm. The gas explosion
> happened after the workers had gone to inspect a tank.
>
> The injured workers managed to flee the scene of explosion by themselves.
>
> The plant was commissioned last year to produce bio-oil from wood-based
> raw materials.
> - See more at:
> http://www.finlandtimes.fi/national/2014/03/28/5723/3-injured-in-Fortum-bio-oil-plant-explosion#sthash.Y3gnQ442.dpuf
>
>
>
>
> --
> NOTE:  PLEASE CHANGE MY ADDRESS TO TOMBREED2010 at GMAIL.COM
>
> Dr. Thomas B. Reed
> The Biomass Energy Foundat
>
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>
>

-- 
NOTE:  PLEASE CHANGE MY ADDRESS TO TOMBREED2010 at GMAIL.COM

Dr. Thomas B. Reed
The Biomass Energy Foundation
BEF, BEC, BER
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