Autothermal Fixed Bed Updraft Gasification of Olive Pomace Biomass and Renewable Energy Generation via Organic Rankine Cycle Turbine Green energy generation from waste biomass in the Mediterranean region

Abstract

Waste biomass, a renewable resource, is a reasonable choice for green clean power generation using advanced thermal treatment technologies such as gasification. In this research, dried-densified olive pomace residues from olive oil production have been applied as biomass feedstock in a new gasification process for synthesis gas (syngas) generation using a 500 kg h(-1) throughput capacity autothermal modified updraft gasifier system. The product syngas generation rate is found to be approximately 2.5 Nm(3) kg(-1) of olive pomace, with a calorific value (CV) between 5.0 MJ Nm(-3) and 7.0 MJ Nm(-3). More than 85% of carbon in pomace is converted to produced syngas by the gasification system. The gasification reactor generates syngas which passes through a specially designed swirl hot gas burner and is then burned directly in a thermal oil boiler retrofitted to an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) turbine generator. As a result, the produced syngas at around 350 degrees C is directly combusted with tars so that a great deal of chemical energy loss is prevented. The thermal oil heater has a thermal energy capacity of 1.77 MWh. The generated 1.6 MWh thermal energy from the thermal oil heater is transferred to the ORC turbine to generate 240 kW electrical power.