Biomass station with process

. , The energy conglomerate Shell has developed a new biofuel which

steam extraction
\ :,")

• is intended to reduce the competition between bioenergy and food
production. Most current biofuels use plants as a source of sugar, starch
and oil, but these products are also needed in the food industry. Shell has
now developed a process using lignocellulose, the material found in the cell
walls of woody plants. Using a simple acid hydrolysis, a well-tested stand-
ard technique in the chemical industry, cellulose can be used to produce
levulinic acid. This can be used in a newly developed process to manufac-
ture valeric acid, which can then be turned into biopetrol or biodiesel using
esterification. In the initial tests, conventional, unmodified vehicles were
able to drive 250,000 km with a 15 vol% mixture of the valeric fuel, without
any negative effects being measurable.
~ In Great Britain, the Norwegian company Aker
Solutions is building a large biomass-fired com-
bined heat and power station with process steam extrac-
tion. Siemens Energy will supply a steam turboset for the
50 MW power station. The Siemens delivery includes a
type 5ST-800 steam turbine and the generator.
The power station's operator will be the British utility
company RWEnpower. From the end of 2012 onwards, the
power station will supply a paper factory in Scotland with
energy, economically and with low CO2 emissions. It will
also supply process steam to the factory.

Opening of European Biomass Conference & Exhibition

. . . . . ... . . .. ... . . . . . . ..... , ..... .... . .

~\:' The 18th European Biomass Confer-
a',,- ence & Exhibition opened its
doors, focusing on the developments in the
biomass sector at all levels, from research
and technology to industry, markets, and
policies. This year's European Biomass Con-
ference and Exhibition was held in Lyon,
France, at the beginning of May. The confer-
ence attracted about 1,500 participants
from more than 70 countries.
High-ranking international personalities
discussed the role of biomass in today's
and future renewable energy policy. Josef
Spitzer, Chairman of lEA (International
Energy Agency) Bioenergy Implementing
Agreement, requested in his speech: "The
renewable energy share of the global ener-
gy mix is only 13 % and bioenergy has a
share of 77 % of the total renewables. The
challenge is to increase the renewable ener-
gy part to a dramatically higher percentage.
Wolfgang Palz, Chairman Europe WCRE-
World Council for Renewable Energy - high-
lighted the fact that bioenergy today repre-
sents the lion's share among all the renew-
able energies and stated: "Because of its
enormous potential and its many attrac-
tions, biomass will playa key role in the
energy scenarios of the future."

Chempolis starts production of biofuels Tax credits for biomass-based

~ The Finish Chempolis Oy, engaged in the development and deliv-
~>l'. ery of environmentally sustainable biorefining technologies, has
expanded its biorefinery and R&D centre in oulu, Finland, to the produc-
tion of bioethanol. According to Matti Sundberg, Chairman of the Board of
Chempolis oy, the 3G formico technology represents the next step in the
expansion of the company's product line. The new production concept is
ready for use and can now be implemented in practice at the oulu plant.
Investments in the biorefinery and R&D Centre totalled approximately
€ 20 million. The biorefinery functions as a development and marketing
centre where customer-sourced raw materials are tested and sample
batches of papermaking fibres, bioethanol and biochemicals are pro-
duced for customers. The annual rated capacity of the plant is 25,000 tons
of non-wood and non-food raw material.
heating in the USA
~ Four US senators have introduced a bill that
~ would pave the way for tax credits for the instal-
lation and operation of biomass-fired systems for heating
and cooling. The bill, called the American Renewable Bio-
mass Heating Act 2010, follows the tax credit schemes
already in force for other kinds of renewable energy. It
provides allowances of up to 30 % of the investment costs
for systems in commercial or industrial use. It is planned
that the law will initially remain in force until 2013. It
would be the first nationwide support scheme for
biomass-based renewable heating systems.

',~, The Finish government has agreed on cornerstones for the

.', \'l expansion of renewable energy. Under the present situa-
tion the government will primarily support solid biomass and on-
shore wind energy. The use of solid biomass is already relatively
widespread in Finland due to the large forest areas. According to the
Finish Economics Ministry, the utilization of biofuels and heat
pumps will also help to increase the proportion of renewable ener-
gies in the end consumption to 38 % by 2020. Plans being dis-
cussed include the introduction of feed-in tariffs for wind energy
and biogas, a CO2 certificate system and the support of smaller
combined heat and power plants. The details must, however. be