Advanced Biomass Gasification Technology
- $4.16m Funded by ARENA
- $7.32m Total project cost
Summary
The Advanced Biomass Gasification Technology project constructed and demonstrated an innovative biomass gasification technology that converts biomass, such as agricultural waste and mallee crops, into a clean gaseous fuel that can be used to generate electricity.
Area of innovation
Researchers in Curtin University’s Fuels and Energy Technology Institute have developed a new technology that converts mallee crops into gas (using a process called gasification) for electricity generation. Key features of this award-winning technology have been shown to work at small scale in a pilot plant.
The Advanced Biomass Gasification Technology project takes the technology to the next stage by building and operating a larger version of the gasifier.
The technical information obtained during the project was used in the design of the first full-scale gasifiers to use this technology in the future.
The advanced biomass gasification technology featured a new gasifier design that integrates the biomass gasification with gas cleaning. The final product is a clean gas with high heating values, meaning that it is very efficient when used in a gas engine to generate electricity.
Learn more
Report: Advanced Biomass Gasification Technology
Renergi Pty Ltd undertook a project to construct and demonstrate an innovative biomass gasification technology that converts biomass, such as agricultural waste and mallee crops, into a clean gaseous fuel that can be used to generate electricity.
Video: Advanced Biofuel and Bioenergy Technologies
The Curtin University team headed by Professor Chun-Zhu Li is creating a number of commercial biofuel technologies.
Benefit
Once shown to be effective and affordable, this new biomass gasification technology could significantly increase the amount of green electricity generated to meet Australia’s energy needs.
Unlike other competing technologies the innovation has a compact design. This makes it ideal for small-scale applications such as generating electricity in remote areas that are away from the electricity network but close to biomass sources such as wheat straw and mallee crops to fuel the generator.
The new technology will also help to improve the economic viability of cultivating mallee crops as an effective means to combat dry land salinity to achieve significant environmental benefits.
