Researchers at Aston University in Birmingham are calling on local businesses to send their waste to be tested in a new bioenergy facility run by the institution.

The European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI), based at the university, has developed a heat generator called a ‘Pyroformer’, which uses multiple waste sources to generate heat and power. It has been tested in the UK, Germany and India, and EBRI says it believes it could benefit firms in business sectors such as construction, consultancy and engineering.

EBRI stated that businesses should contact it if they produce waste such as food and agricultural waste, sewage sludge, manure and biomass (such as wood materials), as well as tall oil from the pulp industry. Firms that have this type of waste in anaerobic digestion, municipal waste, water treatment and food processing plants can also take part.

Researchers also want to work with companies that run pellet mills, milling plants and drying facilities, as well as logistics firms.

Pyroformer technology

According to Aston University, the process offers ‘the potential’ for carbon negative heat and power generation. EBRI’s patented Pyroformer™ technology uses intermediate pyrolysis to pyrolyse and chemically process waste material at around 400-500 degrees Celsius.

Using a ‘dual Archimedes screw system’ and an externally heated jacket, the thermal treatment and chemical reforming process produces a vapour stream that is reportedly ‘free from particulates and tars and eliminates the need for expensive filtrations systems’, such as those needed for incineration.

The Pyroformer™ can be directly coupled with a gasifier to produce gases and can also be used with a Bio Activated Fuels (BAF) Reactor to reclaim the oils in plastics to add to the fuel mix, which researchers say makes the combined heat and power process more efficient.

Other byproducts that can be produced from the process include hydrogen gas, synthetic natural gas, biodiesel and (bio)char.

Bioenergy will generate ‘more than £12 billion’

Tim Miller, Director of Operations at EBRI, said: “You don't have to chop down trees or grow energy crops to generate energy and meet renewable energy targets. Instead energy can be derived from domestic, agricultural and industrial waste and will mean the amount of material sent to landfill will also be significantly reduced.

“The city of Birmingham, for instance, has the potential to power itself using the waste it produces. It is crucial that EBRI is able to source waste products to run and develop our technology without having to transport it long distances and we are keen to source these waste streams from within the West Midlands.”

According to Industrial Biotech Europe’s 2009 report ‘Maximising UK Opportunities from Industrial Biotechnology in a Low Carbon Economy’, the UK bioenergy market could generate £4-12 billion for the UK economy by 2025.

Earlier in 2013, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Technology Strategy Board pledged to contribute ‘up to £10 million’ to encouraging investment in bioenergy technology in Europe. This follows an EU target for member nations to ensure that biomass makes up ‘14 per cent of the EU energy mix and up to 10 per cent of energy demand in transport by 2020’.

Despite bioenergy currently making up the majority of renewable energy produced globally, critics have warned that burning organic materials can produce large quantities of greenhouse gases, and could potentially be ‘dirtier than coal’.

Read more about bioenergy.