CORE BioFuel Inc. (CORE), a Canadian biofuel company that is commercializing an advanced biomass to gasoline production process, announced July 29 the engagement of RECAT Technologies (RECAT) to complete a pilot of CORE's gasoline production reactors. Upon completion of the planned pilot activities, CORE will have demonstrated the critical gasoline production steps in the company's MKS Process. The data from the pilot process will provide the specifications for the catalysts to be used in CORE's gasoline production process as well as the design parameters required by the company's equipment fabricators to design and build the gasoline reactors needed for the company's production facilities. The facility will address the production of bio-gasoline by using wood waste feedstock from Pine Beetle damaged trees, forestry slash and mill residues in British Columbia.

                The MKS Process begins with the preparation of the selected feedstock. The incoming biomass is chipped and dried to the desired moisture content. The dried wood chips are fed into a gasifier where they are converted to a syngas and inert ash. The syngas is then processed through a series of catalytic steps, with the end products being gasoline and distilled water. Conventional heat exchangers and steam turbines are used throughout the plant to produce sufficient electricity to operate the facility.

Siemens has been awarded a front-end engineering contract for the power block and coal gasification technology for the Texas Clean Energy Project near Odessa, Texas, Powergen Worldwide reported July 19. Siemens will provide the gasification island technology, which includes two SFG-500 gasifiers, the SGT6-500F gas turbine, modified to operate on high H2 syngas, the Siemens SST-900RH steam turbine, air cooled generators and Siemens SPPA-T3000 process controls. Siemens will work with Fluor and Linde during the project's engineering and design phases. The modified gas turbine will allow the plant to maintain a carbon capture rate of three million tons/year. The Texas Clean Energy project is a 400 MW IGCC project currently in the design stages. The plant will also produce urea for the fertilizer industry. The project has received US$350 million in federal funding under the Clean Coal Power Initiative to demonstrate large-scale IGCC with CO2 capture and geologic sequestration. The project is expected online in 2014.

China National Petroleum Corporation began construction on China’s first carbon, capture and storage (CCS) project, ChinaCSR.com reported July 8. The project is located on the site of Shenhua Group’s coal-to-liquids project in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China. The CCS project will be operational by the end of the year with a total investment of US$31 million. Initially, the project will capture 100,000 metric tons per annum (MTA) of CO2. In subsequent phases the capacity will be increased to 1 million MTA and then 3 million MTA. The Chinese government stated November 2009 its intention to reduce the radio of China’s CO2 emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 to 45 percent of the level in 2005.

Carbon Sciences Inc. announced July 1 the filing of a patent application for a breakthrough reactor configuration. This is the second of a series of patent applications for the company’s highly scalable, clean-tech CO2-based gas-to-liquids (GTL) fuel technology for transforming a combination of natural gas and carbon dioxide (CO2) directly into gasoline, the company said.

"This novel reactor configuration speaks directly to the commercial feasibility of our technology and its environmentally friendly approach," stated Byron Elton, CEO, Carbon Sciences. "Current GTL processes rely on energy intensive downstream processing to separate fuel from raw product mixture, which produce and emit significant amounts of CO2. In contrast, our process uses CO2 as a feedstock which mitigates enormous quantities of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere," added Elton.

Carbon Sciences estimates that they can produce 138 billion gallons of gasoline a year (the annual amount used in the U.S.) with 23 tcf of natural gas and 586 million tons of CO2 without competing with current natural gas consumption.

"This novel catalytic membrane reactor combines reaction and separation in a single unit operation, increasing per pass product yields beyond equilibrium limitations and reducing plant investment costs through process intensification," added Dr. Naveed Aslam, Chief Technology Officer for Carbon Sciences.

Clean Global Energy reported June 28 that negotiations are at an advanced stage with a Chinese investment group to fund the entire US$30 million required for development of a 7 PJ underground coal gasification (UCG) syngas plant in Inner Mongolia, China. AuSino Energy Limited has decided to fund Stage 1 of the proposed commercial plant in Inner Mongolia via a pre-Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing capital raising. Stage 1 of the project would see a 7 PJ Enriched Air UCG Syngas plant constructed and commissioned and generating revenue by mid to late 2011. 

Following the successful commissioning of the Stage 1 commercial plant, AuSino Energy intends to go back to the market to raise additional capital to scale up the plant to approximately 30 PJ. AuSino Energy is currently reviewing an opportunity to acquire its own coal lease in Inner Mongolia. A detailed analysis of the extensive geological and hydrology data provided by the vendor coal company has confirmed a resource of 300 million tons of coal that appears highly suitable for UCG.

Nexterra Systems Corp. (Nexterra) announced June 23 that Catawba County’s Board of Commissioners has voted to proceed with a new biomass-fuelled combined heat and power system (CHP System) developed by Nexterra in conjunction with GE Power & Water’s gas engine division. This new CHP System, located at Catawba County’s EcoComplex, will produce 2 MW of clean, cost-effective green electricity for sale to a local utility. Waste heat from the engines will be used to dry biosolids produced at a new waste water treatment facility. This unique bioenergy system will be the first of its kind in the United States.

Wood waste diverted from Catawba’s landfill will be gasified and converted into syngas using Nexterra’s proprietary gasification technology. The syngas will be directly fired into a GE gas engine. The system will be capable of providing very high net efficiencies - up to 65 percent in CHP mode - which makes it economic at small scale, the company said.

"This new CHP System represents a paradigm shift away from large, centralized biomass plants to a network of decentralized, smaller and more efficient biomass plants ideally suited for counties and municipalities," said Barry Edwards, Director of Utilities and Engineering for Catawba County. "We are delighted to move forward on this project with Nexterra and GE. Not only will the system generate additional revenue for the County, but it will also reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, stimulate local economic development and extend the life of our landfill."

Catawba County already produces 2.5 MW of electricity from landfill gas using GE Jenbacher gas engines. The new biomass CHP System will complement the existing landfill gas power system. It will use a similar Jenbacher gas engine except that it will operate on syngas produced by gasifying wood waste instead of landfill gas.

"Catawba County is a great example of how the Nexterra/GE CHP solution can help local governments achieve their energy and sustainability goals," said Jonathan Rhone, President and CEO of Nexterra. "For Catawba, green energy is an economic development priority. The County has access to its own supply of wood fuel and already produces electricity using gas engines. We look forward to working with Catawba to demonstrate this new standard of small scale distributed biomass power generation."

Clean Global Energy (CGE) announced June 16 that its exploration license application with the Victorian government for a coal exploration area in Victoria’s Gippsland coal basin has been granted. The area known as EL5270 is approximately 900 square kilometers and contains numerous exploration and other wells. CGE intends to fast track its Victorian Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) project on EL5270. EL5270 represents a strategic position in the Victorian energy corridor being in close proximity to power generators and other potential clients who could benefit from CGE’s UCG syngas, the company said.

CGE is focusing on utilizing its proprietary Linear CRIP UCG technology to generate a range of UCG-Syngas products. CGE’s Victorian UCG project will see an initial 5 petajoule commercial syngas plant commissioned within the next 2 years. This plant is planned to be expanded up to 20 petajoules by 2015. Design, pre-engineering and other works have already commenced on the plant and the company will shortly be lodging development applications and works programs with the Victorian Government. CGE has commenced discussions with a number of power generators and has already exchanged a Confidentiality Agreement with an existing power generator.

CGE’s UCG CRIP method (Controlled Retractable Injection Point) creates dedicated in-seam boreholes, using drilling and completion technology adapted from oil and gas production. The key feature of the process is a moveable / retractable injection point. The method is combined with directional inseam drilling, and generally uses oxygen or enriched air for gasification. This process produces a uniform syngas composition due to better control of gasification chamber growth and movement and keeping the position of the ignition point relatively close to the fresh coal seam.

Diagram illustrating CGE’s Linear CRIP UCG process. Courtesy Clean Global Energy.

Solid Energy plans to build and commission, by the beginning of 2011, a US$22 million Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) pilot plant in Waikato, New Zealand. The successful application of the UCG process will open up access to coal seams which would otherwise be nearly impossible to mine using conventional mining technology. UCG complements traditional mining because it works best where conventional mining does not – in deep, difficult-to-reach coal seams.

Solid Energy will shortly lodge the necessary consent applications to build and operate the UCG plant which will convert up to 30,000 tons of coal into syngas.  The pilot will operate for up to two years on private property within the company’s existing Huntly West Coal Mining Licence area.  Work will begin on the proposed plant once consents are granted.

For the pilot plant, Solid Energy plans to drill up to seven wells about 25 to 50 meters apart into an underground coal seam 400 meters below the surface.  The company is also installing a number of other wells on site to gather process and environmental data.  The surface plant, including wells, is expected to be contained within an area measuring 300 meters long and 150 meters wide.

The pilot plant will yield process, technical and geological information, and verify modeled environmental effects.  Once the required information has been gathered, Solid Energy will shut down the pilot plant.  Results from the pilot will determine whether Solid Energy takes the project further to a commercial operation.

The project builds on an earlier UCG trial undertaken in 1994 by the then Electricity Corporation of New Zealand (ECNZ) in partnership with Glencoal Energy and Energy International. The ECNZ trials were abandoned because UCG did not prove cost-effective at that time.  Increasing energy prices and further advances in UCG technology, however, make UCG a viable energy option again.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne successfully completed the first in a series of performance tests on its compact gasifier, which is designed to help reduce the cost of coal gasification, provide a clean alternative fuel source, and strengthen U.S. energy security. The tests, conducted using Illinois coal, each lasted 12 to 37 hours at the pilot plant in Des Plaines, Ill., and established the gasifier's performance and stable operation under a range of operating conditions.  Additional testing will be conducted throughout 2010 using Illinois coal, petroleum coke and sub-bituminous coal.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has teamed with ExxonMobil Research and Engineering (EMRE), which is sharing development costs, and with Alberta Innovates – Energy & Environmental Solutions (AIEES) and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunities (DCEO) to develop and commercialize this technology.  Zero Emission Energy Plants, Inc. (ZEEP) has a global license with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne to market the compact gasifier system.  

Compact gasification is a higher-efficiency and lower-cost alternative to current gasification systems.  The capital cost to build a commercial-scale compact gasification plant using Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's technology is estimated to be 10 to 20 percent less than conventional gasification plants.  Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's compact gasifier is also expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 10 percent compared to standard gasification technologies.

Mississippi Power will formally accept the terms of a Mississippi Public Service Commission order allowing for the construction of a state-of-the-art power plant in Kemper County, Mississippi. "After a comprehensive review of yesterday’s order, we have determined the stringent conditions that the commission imposed will still allow us to move forward to finance and construct the plant,” said Tommy Anderson, Mississippi Power vice president of Generation Development. “While this was not what was requested, we view this order as one we can accept and it will allow us to be able to unlock the tremendous value the Kemper County IGCC Project brings to our customers.”

The proposed 582-megawatt plant is expected to come online by 2014 and will use lignite, a low-cost energy source found in Mississippi. This energy source will be added to Mississippi Power’s existing fuel mix of natural gas and coal and will allow the company and its customers to avoid the volatility and growing costs associated with other fuels. Mississippi Power is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company. Mississippi Power provides retail electric service to approximately 200,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. In addition, it sells wholesale power to multiple electric power associations and cooperatives in Mississippi.