Centre for Research and Technology Hellas

Institute for Solid Fuels Technology and Applications

(CERTH / ISFTA)

Lignite and biomass co-firing:

The case study of Kardia power plant
11th May 2009, Ptolemaida, GR

P. Grammelis, E. Karampinis, M. Agraniotis, Em. Kakaras

+30 210 6501 593, Fax : +30 210 6501 598
E-mail : grammelis@certh.gr, karampinis@certh.gr
 Overview

¾ Co-firing benefits
¾ Relevant Experience in ISFTA
¾ Regional Pole for Innovation in West Macedonia:
Co-firing tests at the Kardia power plant
¾ DEBCO project: Large-scale Co-firing Demo
¾ Related activities
¾ Acknowledgements

2
 Co-firing Benefits
Economic
¾ Reduced costs for the purchase of CO2 credits
¾ Increased lifetime of lignite reserves
¾ Allows the indigenous lignite to remain competitive in spite of increased CO2 costs
¾ Investment of low capital cost

Enviromental
¾ Valorization of the energy content of renewable fuels with zero CO2 balance
¾ Preservation of natural resources – reduced utilization of non-renewables, fossil fuels

Social
¾ Enhanced environmental and social profile of PPC
¾ Strengthening the agricultural sector in West Macedonia, new employment opportunities
in the emerging bio-energy sector
¾ Valorization of residues and utilization of margin lands for cultivation of energy crops

3
 Relevant Projects by ISFTA
Project Title Programme Total Budget (ΕUR)

¾ Low emissions co-combustion of waste wood and lignite EC DGXVII / Thermie A (SF-0264-97)
612.200
derived products

¾ Demonstration of BGL-gasification under optimized EC DGXVII / Thermie A (SF-8-98)

372.100
conditions for the European and Asian markets

¾ Multi Fuel Operated Integrated Clean Energy Process:

EC DG TR-EN/ 5th FP - Energy & Environment
Thermal Desorption Recycle-Reduce-Reuse Technology 485.000
(NNE5/363/2001)
(TDT-3R)

EC DG TR-EN/ 5th FP (ENK5-CT2002-00623)

¾ Energy Wood Production Chains in Europe (ECHAINE) 318.890

¾ Advanced Biomass Gasification for High-Efficiency ΕC DG Research (STREP-019761)

225.960
Power (BiGPower)

¾ Pre-normative research on solid biofuels for improved EC DG Research / FP6 (SES6 / 038644 )
108.438
European standards (BIONORM ΙΙ)

¾ DEBCO – Demonstration of Large Scale Biomass Co- EC DG TREN / FP7 (TREN/FP7EN/218968)

498.000
firing and Supply Chain Integration

Research for SME / FP7 (FP7-SME-2007-

¾ Adaptation of renewable energy solutions for the olive oil
2/218453) 327.630
industry (RESOLIVE)

4
 Regional Pole for Innovation in
West Macedonia (1/9)
Action A3 “Co-Combustion of Secondary Fuels (Biomass) with Lignite in a Power Plant”
(participants: PPC S.A. and CERTH/ISFTA) of the “Regional Pole for Innovation in West
Macedonia” was the first demonstrative initiative for biomass co-firing in West Macedonia:

¾ Lab-scale investigation on biomass / lignite co-combustion

¾ Initial investigation of biomass offer

¾ CFD modelling of the co-firing operation for Kardia Power Plant

¾ Evaluation of environmental and economic impact of co-firing

¾ Co-firing tests with olive kernel at Kardia I PP

¾ Specifications for retrofitting the Kardia PP with more than 10% thermal share of
biomass co-firing

¾ Springboard for more research and demonstrative initiatives on co-firing

5
 Regional Pole for Innovation in
West Macedonia (2/9)

Proximate Analysis Ultimate Analysis

(% by mass, are received) (% by mass, dry) HHV
Sample
Fixed (MJ/Kg)
Moisture Volatile Ash C H N Ο S
Carbon
Olive Kernel A 7,53 67,17 22,91 2,39 51,19 6,06 0,76 39,32 0,09 18,9

Olive Kernel B 7,12 68,38 22,52 1,98 52,44 6,17 1,32 37,85 0,09 19,9

Olive Kernel C 13,5 61,1 16,8 8,7 46,86 5,43 3,23 33,9 0,58 18,1

Cotton Residue 9,99 65,53 18,53 5,95 47,03 5,96 1,79 38,42 0,19 16,9

Forest Residue 7,32 73,96 18,54 0,19 53,16 6,25 0,30 40,0 0,09 19,5

Waste Wood 28,28 52,90 16,46 2,36 45,68 6,07 4,51 40,32 0,13 12,6

Paper Sludge 53,67 22,09 0,58 23,66 23,02 2,78 1,70 21,33 0,10 3,3

Straw 8,0 71,7 15,0 5,3 41,37 6,03 0,47 45,23 0,19 16,5

Wood Pellets 6,98 71,00 20,01 2,01 49,60 6,58 4,19 37,35 0,12 17,8

Cardoon A 8.2 70.0 14.6 7.2 40.6 5.5 0.9 45.0 0.1 13.7

Cardoon B 7.9 71.8 13.4 6.9 43.7 6.0 1.8 40.9 0.05 16.3

Chemical analysis and HHV of Greek biomass fuels

6
 Regional Pole for Innovation in
West Macedonia (3/9)
CFD Simulation of Kardia Power Plant

¾ Boiler Simulation with FLUENT CFD

code for 2% and 10% thermal input
¾ Minor changes to temperature and
oxygen profile
¾ Differentiation of particle burnout
depending on injection point
¾ Decreased burnout of biomass
compared to lignite due to particle
size – potential problems with
increased biomass shares

7
 Regional Pole for Innovation in
West Macedonia (4/9)
Co-firing tests at Kardia I PS
¾ Indicative quantities (per fuel loading):
¾ Olive Kernel: 130 tn
¾ Lignite: 2000 tn
¾ Lignite Substitution: 6% w.t.
(12% of thermal input)
¾ Lignite savings: 300 tn
¾ CO2 reduction: 210 tn

Results
¾ No problems with the feeding and milling system
¾ No decrease in load
¾ Gas emissions
¾ Small decrease of NOx and particles emissions
¾ Slight increase of SO2 emissions

8
Regional Pole for Innovation in
West Macedonia (5/9)

9
Regional Pole for Innovation in
West Macedonia (6/9)

10
Regional Pole for Innovation in
West Macedonia (7/9)

11
 Regional Pole for Innovation in
West Macedonia (8/9)
Current Co-firing techniques in coal-fired power plants

1. Pre-blending of biomass / coal mixture, common milling and feeding

2. Separate milling of substitution fuel, introduction to the main fuel feeding system, usage of existing burners
3. Separate milling of the secondary fuel, installation of new biomass burners
4. Biomass gasification and combustion of the syngas in the boiler

Note: Each of the above alternatives has its own, unique operational requirements and special demands for
fuel quality and characteristics

12
 Regional Pole for Innovation in
West Macedonia (9/9)

The required technical modifications for the co-firing in

lignite-fired PPs are generally limited and focus on the
following issues: Stack

¾ Construction of a shaded space for biomass unloading

¾ Construction of a storage silo and a pneumatic feeding
system
Ventilation
System
¾ Biomass feeding in the boiler can be achieved in one of the Conveyor Belt
following ways:
¾ Feeding through the existing lignite feeding system
¾ Pneumatic feeding and injection of the secondary fuel
in the main lignite pipework before the mills or the burners Silo

Moving Floor
¾ Pneumatic feeding and injection of the secondary fuel Lignite transport
belts
through new burners

Schematic of biomass unloaded area. Source: VGB Magazine,

Co-combustion – The power producer’s point of view, R. Hassa,
H. Breuer Vattenfall

13
 Current Activities: DEBCO (1/5)
Title Demonstration of Large Scale Biomass Co-firing and Supply Chain
Integration ( DEBCO )
Goal Demonstration of biomass and lignite co-firing in large scale power plants
and determination of the specifications for long-term, maximum share
biomass utilization in the fuel mix

Partners PPC S.A. / Kardia Power Station & CERTH/ISFTA + 15 European partners
(utilities, research institutes, manufacturers, etc)
Targets ¾ Development of a reliable and efficient biomass supply chain
¾ Monitoring of technical and environmental aspects of long-term operation
¾ Identification of technical bottlenecks to the implementation of co-firing
¾ Implementation of retrofitting activities
¾ Determination of specifications for continuous operation and
transferability of results for similar projects in other power stations

Budget ~7,1 Mi € - Greek budget ~1,1 Mi€, 50% EU-funded through 7th FP
Duration 48 Months (12/2011)

14
Current Activities: DEBCO (2/5)

15
 Current Activities: DEBCO (3/5)
Technical performance Indicators
¾ Availability of 117,500tn of agricultural residues on annual basis in the Kozani area
¾ Total land for agriculture is 98.600 ha. For the cultivation of energy crops, ~4.5% of available land is required for one
unit.
¾ Potential substitution of lignite with biomass share equals to 5% thermal input enhancing this up to 10% th.i.
¾ Estimated quantities to be co-fired ~90,000tn/yr for at least two biomass species (seasonality)

Environmental performance Indicators

¾ Conservation of lignite resources is amounted to approx. ~250,000tn/yr per unit
¾ CO2 emissions avoidance is estimated to be approx. ~170,000tn/year, while SOx and NOx emissions are
expected to be below the legislative limits
¾ No special permissions for the co-firing implementation are required since the Kardia PP has recently received
Approval of Environmental Conditions

Economic performance Indicators

¾ The total investment cost for biomass co-firing in one 300MWe Unit rises up to 12 Mi€
¾ The income from the conservation of lignite equals to 2.5 Mi€ per unit on annual basis
¾ An additional income from the CO2 credits is estimated to be 2Mi€/year (price of 12€/tnCO2)

16
 Current Activities: DEBCO (4/5)
Current Status Co-firing
CO2 Biomass
CO2
Capacity Total Lignite consumption Avoidance consumptio Savings from Biomass
Unit (MWe) efficiency. (%) (106 ton,/year)
Emissions(10
(106 n(103ton,/ye CO2 (Mi€/έτος) price (€/tn)
Land (ha)
6
ton,/year)
ton,/έτος) ar)

Kardia I 300 31,7 4,8 3,2 0,16 85,3 1,92 64,34 4.265
Kardia II 300 31,2 4,9 3,3 0,17 87,1 1,98 64,57 4.354
Kardia III 300 32,7 5,1 3,4 0,17 90,6 2,04 64,34 4.532
Kardia IV 300 31,5 5,3 3,5 0,18 94,2 2,10 64,13 4.710
Ag. Dimitrios I 300 33,4 4,7 3,1 0,16 81,0 1,86 66,10 4.050
Ag. Dimitrios II 300 33,7 4,7 3,1 0,16 81,0 1,86 66,10 4.050
Ag. Dimitrios III 310 31,9 5,1 3,4 0,17 87,9 2,04 66,35 4.395
Ag. Dimitrios IV 310 32,4 5,0 3,3 0,17 86,2 1,98 66,12 4.309
Ag. Dimitrios V 375 33,9 5,8 3,9 0,20 100,0 2,34 66,55 4.998
Ptolemaida III 125 30,3 1,8 1,2 0,06 36,7 0,72 56,09 1.835
Ptolemaida IV 300 30,4 4,4 2,9 0,15 89,7 1,74 55,86 4.486
Amyntaio I 300 31,9 4,4 2,9 0,15 85,2 1,74 58,85 4.258
Amyntaio II 300 32,8 4,3 2,8 0,14 83,2 1,68 58,61 4.161
Meliti 330 42,45 2,8 1,9 0,10 70,4 1,14 45,73 3.523
Total 4.150 63,1 41,9 2,10 1.158,5 25,14 57.924

¾ Lignite Substitution: 5% thermal share ¾ CO2 cost: 12€/tn

¾ Lignite cost 14,87 €/tn ¾ Biomass yield 20tn/ha
17
 Current Activities: DEBCO (5/5)

¾ The main goal for this period is to establish the biomass supply chain for the
co-firing trials in 2009 and 2010 – Kozani Prefecture to subsidize 400ha for the
cultivation of the energy crop Cynara Cardunculus (Cardoon)

¾ Pilot-scale tests with Greek lignite and cardoon at a 0.5MWth unit in Germany
(University of Stuttgart) – Autumn 2009

¾ Characterization of biomass fuel and ash samples according to CEN 335

¾ Additional CFD simulations of the boiler operation

¾ One-month co-firing trials (5% of thermal input) with extensive monitoring in

one of Kardia’s units - Autumn of 2010

18
 Related Initiatives

¾Standardization of Solid Biofuels according

to CEN 335 and 343

¾Participation in the BIOCLUS FP7: Regions

programme

¾Participation in the Biomass Panel of the

European Technical Platform for Renewable
Heating / Cooling
19
Related Initiatives: BIOCLUS

¾ Total budget: 2.85mi€ /

¾ 530k€ for Greek
participation

Greek Cluster:
¾ CERTH/ISFTA
¾ Prefecture of West
Macedonia
¾ UoWM
¾ Ziogas S.A.

20
 Regional research driven cluster in Western Macedonia
Regional key partner / PA 1 Strategic cooperation, Public Body
Institute for Solid Fuel Technologies Region of Western Macedonia /
and Applications (ISFTA) General Direction of Forests
Basic & Applied Research on Solid Fuels, ERA-NETs (Hy-CO &FENCO) Manages the regional Forests
& Knowledge Clusters, European & Global Networking
Strategic cooperation
PA2, Regional Authority, Public Body Regional SMEs
Region of Western Macedonia (RWM) related to biomass resources:
Plans and implements the regional level of Structural Funds (Regional Biomass suppliers, such as
Operational Program), including R&D and industrial policy foresters, farmers, furniture, etc.
PA3, Business Entity, SME PA4, Research Entity
Strategic cooperation
ZIOGAS S.A. (ZIOGAS) University of Western Public Power Corporation
Wood production, Macedonia (UoWM) (PPC S.A.)
EU Projects, participated in Dpt. of Management
Production of Energy
Knowledge Clusters of Energy Resources
Innovative Actions Programme Research and Educational activities Strategic cooperation
on Energy production, Association of Western
Strategic Cooperation including biomass resources
Regional Innovation Pole Macedonia Industries
Industries operating
(WM RIP) Focusing on Energy in the field of Biomass
Funded by national Innovation Poles programme
Participants energy providers and Energy- Strategic Cooperation
related research, business and public authorities
Technical Educational Strategic cooperation
Strategic Cooperation Institute of Western Regional Development
Regional Wood Cluster Macedonia (TEI WM) Agency of Western
Funded by “K-Clusters” programme Dep. Of Plant production / Macedonia
Participants Wood Industries Florina Branch Implementation of
and R&D dpts Regional development projects
Related Initiatives: ETP-RHC

Structure of the Technology Platform ETP-RHC

22
Related Initiatives: ETP-RHC

Structure of Biomass Panel of ETP-RHC

23
 Acknowledgements

The financial grant of the European

Commission through the DEBCO project
(TREN/FP7EN/218968) is gratefully
acknowledged.

24