The European Bioenergy Research Insitute (EBRI), based at Aston University, has revealed a range of new bioenergy facilities to support its work in the area.
Unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham on Monday (28 October), the £16.5 million upgrade consists of ‘six research suites, laboratories and technology demonstration facilities’.
UK’s ‘only operational Pyroformer’
At the forefront of the new facilities is the ‘only operational Pyroformer™/Gasifier bioenergy power plant in the UK’. Developed by EBRI Director, Professor Andrea Hornung, the technology converts a wide variety of wastes and residues into fuel, which can then be used to generate power and heating.
Tom Anderson, Business Development Manager at EBRI, told Resource: “The Pyroformer converts waste biomass into fuel by a process of ‘intermediate pyrolysis’; this means that the solid biomass (the ‘feedstock’) is heated in a controlled and oxygen-free environment and is converted into three products: an oil, a gas and biochar. The oil and gas products can be used on CHP [combined heat and power] engines to produce electricity and heat, and the nutrient-rich biochar can be used to improve the quality of soils or used as a solid fuel for combustion processes.”
Unlike some other bioenergy technologies, the Pyroformer does not depend upon crop cultivation for its feedstock. Instead, it uses multiple waste streams including residues from the food and drink sector as well as agricultural wastes such as crop residues, straws, slurries and digestate residues.
Anderson added: “West Midlands-based companies can work with EBRI to provide wastes and residues for the Pyroformer. Companies can bring samples of the their wastes to EBRI and we will test the material on our pilot-scale plant, and if it proves to be a promising material, the wastes can be utilised in the industrial-scale plant.”
With a capacity to process 100 kg of waste every hour, and produce 990 kilowatt hours of power, the new demonstrator plant is being used to provide power, heating and cooling to the building in which EBRI’s new facilities are housed, as well as part of the Aston University campus.
Professor Dame Julia King, Vice-Chancellor of Aston University, said: “We are extremely proud that this magnificent building, teeming with world leading academic and scientific knowledge, is now officially open as part of the University campus.
European Bioenergy Research Institute background
Established in 2008, ERBI is jointly funded by Aston University and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to carry out research and development in all areas of bioenergy.
King explained: “In the UK we have a legally binding commitment to cut carbon emissions by at least 80 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050. Aston University’s strong commitment to cutting emissions is not only evident through our operations but is also reflected in our academic offerings. However, we are aware that the UK will not meet its targets – and at an affordable cost – without new technologies and that is why we established our European Bioenergy Research Institute.”
She added that the new Pyroformer could help the UK become ‘more energy efficient’ and reduce its ‘reliance on fossil fuels, imports, and volatile energy markets’.
She concluded: “We believe that we can take waste such as sewage sludge, industrial waste, green waste from our parks and gardens, and even autumnal leaf fall, and turn it into a power source that by 2050 could be a thermal ring of mini bioenergy power plants around Birmingham. EBRI is therefore a critical component in enabling the UK to become more energy efficient.”
The institute says it hopesthe new facilities will signal the start of further bionergy developments in the West Midlands. As well as collaborating on bioenergy at national and international scales, the ERBI provides free support, advice and consultancy to West Midlands businesses
Hornung commented: “This new building will significantly increase the capacity of our dedicated teams to produce world-class research and knowledge transfer in all aspects of bioenergy and technology development. We can also now provide even more collaboration opportunities for businesses to run trials and tests, evaluate waste sources and consider combinations of bioenergy processes prior to investment.”
Read more about EBRI.
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