In the United States (US), biomass gasification technology developer Frontline BioEnergy LLC has announced that it has achieved a breakthrough in syngas quality for biomass gasification at its new pilot facility located in Nevada, Iowa (IA).
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According to the company, its innovative technology, called “TarFreeGas”, has achieved the ultimate goal of biomass gasification: ultra-clean biomass-derived synthesis gas.
Age-old challenge
Gasification of biomass was discovered more than 400 years ago, but syngas from gasified biomass contain numerous hydrocarbons, also called tars, which are detrimental to process equipment and can be hazardous to human health.
Although research has tested a wide variety of methods from filters to absorbers to exotic systems involving plasma, a practical solution to managing these tars has remained elusive.
My thought was, we did it. We were thrilled when our results began to show non-detectable levels of all tars leaving the catalytic gas converter. We insisted that our solution be economic, scalable, reliable, and practical, and we wouldn’t settle for anything less than meeting each and every goal. It has required a lot of resources and effort over the last 15-plus years, but we did it. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the energy industry, said Dr T.J. Paskach, Chief Technology Officer at Frontline BioEnergy.
Frontline engineers started working on the tar problem at the company’s inception more than 15 years ago as part of their mission: to be a global leader in waste and biomass gasification solutions for renewable energy, renewable fuels, and products.
Our TarFreeGas technology makes synthesis gas without harmful tars, and that promises to unlock the absolutely huge potential in the biomass conversion sector, said Dr Paskach.
Significant potential
Biomass holds lots of carbon, which is made from atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) by photosynthesis.
Not only do farms produce crops and forests produce wood products, but the plants and trees act as millions of free, natural solar cells that store energy while at the same time capturing CO2 from the atmosphere as carbohydrates, fat, and protein that make up the plant matter.
Up until now, that stored energy has been lost to decomposition. Now we have a practical and super-clean way to convert that wasted potential into renewable fuels and chemicals. The US creates more than one billion tons of biomass annually that could be converted through our TarFreeGas process. That’s enough energy to replace 50 percent of our country’s natural gas usage, ended Dr Paskach.
