Foster Wheeler Atmospheric Gasification

Technology:
Development and Latest Experiences
Brief Summary

Matti Hiltunen
Foster Wheeler Energia Oy
Finland
 Topics
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

• Update of recent projects

– Lahti plant, Finland
– Corenso plant, Finland
– Ruien plant, Belgium

• Gasification of recycled fuels

– Clean gas production
– Lahti Slip Stream Tests
 Lahti Gasification Plant
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004
 Lahti Fuels
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004
 Lahti Operating Experiences 1998-2003
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

• Operation of the gasifier and the gas burners has been stable
• Stability of the steam cycle and coal burners good
• No deposit formation or high temperature corrosion observed on
the heat transfer surfaces

• Operating data 1998 - 2002

– Operating time 27 000 hours
– Energy produced 1700 GWh
– Fuels gasified 498 000 ton
– Availability of the gasifier 97.5 %
 Gasifier Effect to Main Boiler Emissions
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

NOx Decrease by 10 mg/MJ (= 5 to 10 %)

SOx Decrease by 20 - 25 mg/MJ
CO No change
HCl Increase by 5 mg/MJ , base level low
Particulates Decrease by 15 mg/m3n
Heavy metals Increase in some elements, base level low
Dioxins, etc. No change
 Corenso Design
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

Original design
Gasifier Boiler
40 MW 40 MW product gas
68 MW HFO

Reject consumption 18 000 ton/a

Energy produced 165 GWh/a
Substituting 16 500 ton HFO/a
Aluminium recovered 2 100 ton/a

Increased effect
The effect of the gasifier was increased to 50MW.
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004
 Corenso Fuel
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004
 Corenso Operating Experience
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

• Commercial operation since autumn 2001

• Operating hours appr. 12 500 h
• Feeding of light reject into dense fluidized bed
• Aluminium handling: operating windows are ensured
• FW spring hammers as a solution to keep the furnace clean
• Cl emissions in control
• Availability equal to normal power plant availabilities
 Ruien Design
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

• Biomass gasifier producing “green electricity” in co-combustion with coal in

an existing PC boiler

• Using of renewable fuels to cut CO2 emissions

• Design 50 MWth with 50 % fuel moisture (86 MWth with 20 % fuel moisture)

• Electric efficiency 34 % (Boiler 36 %, gasifier 98 %)

• Produced “green” electricity 17 MWe

• Annual production 120 GWh

 Ruien Gasifier
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

BRYSSEL

RUIEN
 Ruien Fuels
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

• Bark
• Demolition wood

• Crushed wood based

boards, chip boards, etc.

• Moisture 25-30 %
 Ruien Process Performance
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

The gasifier in operation since May 2003

Environmental benefits
– NOx & SOx reduced
– CO & dust emission about the same or slightly reduced
– Trace metals & dioxins no change
– CO2 reduction 120.000 t/a, substituting of coal 50.000 t/a
 Clean Gas Concept
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

Recycled Main
fuels boiler
Bed feed
materials water

Flare
Fuel feed
system
Gas
cooler
boiler Pulsing gas

CFB
Gasifier

Filters
Main
boiler
furnace

LP Steam

Cooling Fly
water ash
 Lahti Slip Stream Tests
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

• To demonstrate the performance of the Clean Gas Concept, a long term

product gas cooling and filtration tests including product gas combustion tests
for different fuel mixtures was arranged

• Connected to the commercial 70 MWth CFB gasifier in Lahti firing a blend of

wood and wastes

• In the slip stream plant 5% of the syngas produced in the CFB gasifier was
cooled and filtered

• The long term testing was stopped in April 2004, after more than 3300 hours
of operation.
 Lahti Slip Stream Tests
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

LLV Slip stream unit Filter by-pass line

Sorbent feeder

Pulsing N2
Syngas duct from gasifier

Filter

Ash discharge
systems

Syngas cooler

Combustion air Syngas combustor

 Lahti Slip Stream Tests
Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, May 10, 2004

In the Lahti slip stream tests it was demonstrated that

• By cleaning the waste derived product gas before the boiler, the amount of
harmful components in the gas (heavy metals, alkalies, chlorine, dust, etc.) can
be reduced significantly.

• The cleaned product gas can be safely burned in a high efficiency

boiler with high steam temperatures

• The combustion of the cleaned gas was also environmentally safe: e.g.the
emissions of heavy metals and dioxines were clearly below the WID limits