Real time control of gasifiers to increase tolerance to biomass variety and reduce emissions
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Engineering
Abstract
The UK has enormous biomass resource which it currently underutilises, it is estimated that there is 10-14 million tons of sustainable biomass which could be used to generate electricity and heat pa. A recent report concluded that biomass can provide nearly 50% of the UK's energy needs by 2050, with the advantage that it is secure and provides power and energy on demand. Problems of utilising this is the accessibility of the biomass, the biomass variety and current processing options. Gasification is a process where biomass can be turned into its constituent components and produce hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane, which can be used to drive a combustion engine or turbine to produce electricity, with heat being produced as part of the gasification process. Gasifiers are currently not meeting performance expectations primarily due to tar production (impacting syngas quality), biomass variability and lack of standards over pretreatment methods. This research seeks to overcome these technical and economic barriers by focussing on the energy requirements for biomass harvesting, developing better models of gasification processes for different biomass varieties and experimentally determining impacts of biomass variance and pretreatment options on gasifier performance. Importantly, instrumentation and control to minimise the tar formation and optimise the gasification process will be developed and coupled with techno-economic indicators of the systems. The research is composed of 7 interconnected work packages.
1) Develop mathematical models of the gasification process to predict the impact of biomass variety and its pretreatment on the gasification performance and allow optimal gasifier design.
2) Design a small, modular test-bed gasifier to allow development and testing of robust and inexpensive instrumentation and control strategies, to optimise the performance of the gasifer for different biomass and treatment options.
3) Develop gasifier instrumentation for 2) and for larger, fluidised bed gasifiers. Evaluate methods of real time tar detection that will provide a method to control the gasifier, by minimising the tar output and producing cleaner gas.
4) Assess the biomass characteristics of some indigenous UK species to allow selection and blending to reduce biomass variance, leading to improved gasification. Quantify the energy requirements for unlocking stranded forestry assets and the impact of various pretreatments on the feedstock potential.
5) Using the characterised biomass, the gasification efficacy will be measured for small and large gasifiers by assessing thermal, syngas and tar outputs. The impact of the control systems on performance will be evaluated.
6) The greenhouse gas emissions and sustainability of these processes will be determined using life cycle analysis and techno-economic investigations.
7) Using the available technical, environmental and economic data - from 1) to 6) - and strategies towards improved gasification process performance for biomass varieties and pretreatment will be identified for the UK and internationally. The potential of gaseous liquefaction and fuel storage will be identified.
This is a multidisciplinary project that focusses on the issues impacting poor, current gasification performance and will provide greater understanding of the role that biomass and its pretreatment has on gasification efficiency and emissions. Solutions will be researched to control the gasifier and reduce the tar formation and allow gasification of a broader selection of biomass. This will provide benefit to users around the world, allowing reduced tar formation, less downtime, and increased feedstock opportunities. This has significant socio-economic potential to impact sustainable energy and power production in the UK and around the world, with global population benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions from using sustainable biomass resources.
1) Develop mathematical models of the gasification process to predict the impact of biomass variety and its pretreatment on the gasification performance and allow optimal gasifier design.
2) Design a small, modular test-bed gasifier to allow development and testing of robust and inexpensive instrumentation and control strategies, to optimise the performance of the gasifer for different biomass and treatment options.
3) Develop gasifier instrumentation for 2) and for larger, fluidised bed gasifiers. Evaluate methods of real time tar detection that will provide a method to control the gasifier, by minimising the tar output and producing cleaner gas.
4) Assess the biomass characteristics of some indigenous UK species to allow selection and blending to reduce biomass variance, leading to improved gasification. Quantify the energy requirements for unlocking stranded forestry assets and the impact of various pretreatments on the feedstock potential.
5) Using the characterised biomass, the gasification efficacy will be measured for small and large gasifiers by assessing thermal, syngas and tar outputs. The impact of the control systems on performance will be evaluated.
6) The greenhouse gas emissions and sustainability of these processes will be determined using life cycle analysis and techno-economic investigations.
7) Using the available technical, environmental and economic data - from 1) to 6) - and strategies towards improved gasification process performance for biomass varieties and pretreatment will be identified for the UK and internationally. The potential of gaseous liquefaction and fuel storage will be identified.
This is a multidisciplinary project that focusses on the issues impacting poor, current gasification performance and will provide greater understanding of the role that biomass and its pretreatment has on gasification efficiency and emissions. Solutions will be researched to control the gasifier and reduce the tar formation and allow gasification of a broader selection of biomass. This will provide benefit to users around the world, allowing reduced tar formation, less downtime, and increased feedstock opportunities. This has significant socio-economic potential to impact sustainable energy and power production in the UK and around the world, with global population benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions from using sustainable biomass resources.
Planned Impact
The direct beneficiaries will be the Project Partners; for academics, their high quality publications and for industrial partners, the potential to benefit commercially from the work and to secure their investment. There is a fine balance between open source access to the results and systems design, and commercial exploitation. This will be addressed at the first management meeting, with the ultimate aim to impact society and make gasification work for the world. The open source dissemination is attractive and recently exemplified by Tesla Motors releasing its patent portfolio to reduce the time to market for electric cars (Telegraph, 20th June, 2014), and still maintaining a commercial edge by benefiting from the market push from their newly engaged global developers. Gasification already has significant worldwide appeal, and end users stand to benefit from improved performance, being able to use different biomass types and controlling their systems to reduce tar formation, which will impact on the system's servicing requirements and reduce emissions by replacing fossil fuel with sustainable biomass feedstocks.
Integrating the knowledge, processes and technology from the project i.e. instrumentation, gasifier improvement, being able to process multiple biomass types and pretreatment optimisation, into societal benefit and impact is of paramount importance for the project. Societal benefits will be significant. Providing energy security for countries, and removing reliance away from fossil fuels, allowing countries to meet their CO2 reduction targets and opening up other opportunities for liquid fuel production, fertilizers and chemicals; significantly impacting farming and production capability. All of this, and it is sustainable. Within 15 years, these technologies and processes will have the potential to impact the quality of life of most people on the planet, providing electricity and thermal energy, for heating or cooling. Allowing the development of new technologies in remote areas, providing a level of comfort that only a fraction of the world currently enjoys, unsustainably and at the expense of high CO2 emissions. Even that can be eliminated, providing a world with less reliance on fossil fuels and impacting climate change.
The policy driven side of the research, linking with the modelling and experimental work, will provide strong evidence for the viability of biomass gasification, and a true measure of its likely impact on society. This will consider small and large scale gasifiers and UK and international perspectives. The contrast at present is the large "Drax" scenario, with biomass imported and government subsidies, compared with smaller, rural deployment of gasifiers in other parts of the world, that use locally sourced and sustainable biomass. The project considers the different scenarios, and will impact policy makers, allowing rational policy development based on the LCA and technological advance on biomass utilisation and gasification methodologies, with potential impact on the UK and global strategies for power and energy generation.
The potential to develop the systems and use know how from the research for commercial benefit to the UK, will result in fostering global collaborations with end users and increasing the UK's economic competitiveness by leading the research programme and commercialisation strategy, with significant aspirations for biomass and gasification. The problems are addressed at source, from the biomass to the gasifier to the output to economic assessment, providing significant understanding and market lead.
Organisations and commissions around the UK and world e.g. Forestry Commission, Biomass Energy Centre, Gasification Technologies Council, Underground Coal Gasification Association, Gasification Technologies Research Council of India will all benefit from this research providing a technical and economic framework for the future of biomass gasification.
Integrating the knowledge, processes and technology from the project i.e. instrumentation, gasifier improvement, being able to process multiple biomass types and pretreatment optimisation, into societal benefit and impact is of paramount importance for the project. Societal benefits will be significant. Providing energy security for countries, and removing reliance away from fossil fuels, allowing countries to meet their CO2 reduction targets and opening up other opportunities for liquid fuel production, fertilizers and chemicals; significantly impacting farming and production capability. All of this, and it is sustainable. Within 15 years, these technologies and processes will have the potential to impact the quality of life of most people on the planet, providing electricity and thermal energy, for heating or cooling. Allowing the development of new technologies in remote areas, providing a level of comfort that only a fraction of the world currently enjoys, unsustainably and at the expense of high CO2 emissions. Even that can be eliminated, providing a world with less reliance on fossil fuels and impacting climate change.
The policy driven side of the research, linking with the modelling and experimental work, will provide strong evidence for the viability of biomass gasification, and a true measure of its likely impact on society. This will consider small and large scale gasifiers and UK and international perspectives. The contrast at present is the large "Drax" scenario, with biomass imported and government subsidies, compared with smaller, rural deployment of gasifiers in other parts of the world, that use locally sourced and sustainable biomass. The project considers the different scenarios, and will impact policy makers, allowing rational policy development based on the LCA and technological advance on biomass utilisation and gasification methodologies, with potential impact on the UK and global strategies for power and energy generation.
The potential to develop the systems and use know how from the research for commercial benefit to the UK, will result in fostering global collaborations with end users and increasing the UK's economic competitiveness by leading the research programme and commercialisation strategy, with significant aspirations for biomass and gasification. The problems are addressed at source, from the biomass to the gasifier to the output to economic assessment, providing significant understanding and market lead.
Organisations and commissions around the UK and world e.g. Forestry Commission, Biomass Energy Centre, Gasification Technologies Council, Underground Coal Gasification Association, Gasification Technologies Research Council of India will all benefit from this research providing a technical and economic framework for the future of biomass gasification.
Organisations
- University of Glasgow (Lead Research Organisation)
- Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) (Collaboration)
- NCF Assets Limited (Collaboration)
- Terravesta Ltd (Collaboration)
- Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) (Collaboration)
- E ON (Collaboration)
- Origin Oil, USA (Collaboration)
- GF Consulting (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Argent Energy (Collaboration)
- Scripps Research Institute (Collaboration)
- ALP TECHNOLOGIES LTD (Collaboration)
- Government of Scotland (Collaboration)
- North Linc Bio Fuels Limited (Collaboration)
- IBioIC (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF YORK (Collaboration)
- Wyse Group (Project Partner)
- E.ON (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- OriginOil (Project Partner)
Publications
Watson, I.,
(2016)
Engineering microalgal systems
Donnison IS
(2016)
Diversification and use of bioenergy to maintain future grasslands.
in Food and energy security
Watson, I.
(2016)
Developing microalgal derived biofuel in the shipping industry
Watson, I.
(2016)
Improving the global viability of biomass gasification
Khan, Z.
(2016)
Bioenergy Research at the University of Glasgow
Description | The tar detection systems utilsing a sensitive detector (Photomultiplier) for a fluorescent system and flame colour analysis systems have been built and are currently being tested. Preliminary results indicate that they are successfully working. They are currently being installed in the gasifier system. The different Miscanthus genetic varieties behave differently which will likely impact planting and exploitation behaviour. |
Exploitation Route | We are currently talking to companies that manufacture gasifiers with the objective of evaluating our detection and control systems on their gasifiers. An investor has been found and new ideas developed to expand on the research. We are using the test rig in other work to identify the impact of feedstock (e.g. MSW, plastic deriviatives etc). We are keen to further develop the control systems and implement the tar detection systems in larger scale gasifiers. This led to work on pyrolysis of waste water solids and waste streams from biofuel production and developing control systems, from the feedstock variety perspective. |
Sectors | Energy |
Description | The work from this research has impacted gasification companies perspective of the importance of control. The work is still in progress but it is anticipated that there will be some commercial spin-out from this work as well as additional follow on applications to EPSRC to further develop these concepts. There is continued interest in the tar detection work and using the gasifier test rig for evaluating the potential of other feedstocks, especially waste and plastic derived ones. Work is ongoing with various companies in this respect. This work as evolved into investigating pyrolysis systems for different feedstocks, which fits the feedstock variety in the project. Embedded control systems remain a common and expanding theme. Recently, money was awarded from BEIS (Automated planting, weeding and harvesting of Miscanthus in harsh environments, exploiting complementary microalgal production for increased revenue options (2021), BEIS Feedstock Innovation Programme, £200k; this could not be entered as BEIS was not on the list of Funders) to investigate automated Miscanthus farming. This work is a direct result of the collaborations formed during the RTCOG project where aspects of the BEIS funded work were first conceived and discussed, in particular expanding Miscanthus farming into harsher environments and the benefits of Miscanthis washing and torrefaction. |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | Bionenergy Stakeholder Event, Edinbugh, Scotland, UK. 2017. |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
Description | Consultation with the Scottish Government on their Bioenergy Strategy |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | Membership of Expert Advisory Group on bioenergy for Committee of Climate Change |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
Impact | The Biomass in a Low Carbon Economy report was used by and cited in the main CCC Net Zero report. The Net Zero report has resulted in the UK making its commitment to achieve Net Zero GHG emissions by 2050 which included secondary legislation to the 2008 Climate Change Act. |
URL | https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Biomass-in-a-low-carbon-economy-CCC-2018.pdf |
Description | Participation in Review of Scottish Bioenergy Policy and Practice |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
Description | Steps to scaling up UK sustainable bioenergy supply a workshop held by the Centre of Ecology & Hydrology in London on behalf of the Climate Change Committee to support their report on the role of Biomass in a low-carbon economy. |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
URL | https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/steps-to-scaling-up-uk-sustainable-bioenergy-supply-ceh/ |
Description | Alternative Fuel |
Amount | £250,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Government of the UK |
Department | Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2019 |
End | 09/2019 |
Description | Energy Catalyst - Mid stage, Full stage |
Amount | £918,244 (GBP) |
Organisation | Innovate UK |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2017 |
End | 12/2018 |
Description | Removing bottlenecks from microalgal processing for demand-led whole algal partitioning for nutritional and biofuel end-use |
Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Manchester |
Department | SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 04/2022 |
Description | Supergen Bioenergy Hub |
Amount | £4,999,507 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/J017302/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2018 |
End | 10/2022 |
Description | Three C: Creating and Sustaining Charcoal value chains to promote a circular carbon economy |
Amount | € 3,370,170 (EUR) |
Organisation | European Union |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 01/2020 |
End | 12/2022 |
Title | Downdraft Gasifier and instrumentation |
Description | A new gasifier has been built using a design where the throat can be changed. The system is currently being developed and is currently not operational. Two tar detection systems have been breadboarded but not yet fully completed. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | Please see earlier comment, this work is not yet completed. |
Title | Data underpinning article "CFD and experimental studies on a circulating fluidised bed reactor for biomass gasification" |
Description | |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Description | ALPTechnologies |
Organisation | ALP Technologies LTD |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We are working together on new proposals to further the gasification control and tar detection systems. |
Collaborator Contribution | Partner on proposals e.g. to the Green Economy Fund and SUPERGEN Biofuel Call. |
Impact | Partner on proposals e.g. to the Green Economy Fund and SUPERGEN Biofuel Call. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Argent Energy Biofuel Production using Thermochemical Processing |
Organisation | Argent Energy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We are using the gasifier system developed under the EPSRC funding in RTCoG to investigate biofuel production and CCS methods that can be scaled for Argent's processing plant. |
Collaborator Contribution | Argent are supplying FOGS and rags feedstock. Consulting and joint proposals. e.g. Greeneconomyfund, SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub call, Fuel Switching Initiative. |
Impact | A new partnership. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | BioPilots UK - The Alliance of Open Access Biorefining Centres |
Organisation | Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | BioPilotsUK is a collaboration created by four established biorefining open-access centres who recognise the importance of partnerships to develop UK bio-based value chains. BioPilots helps to de-risk the commercialisation of bio-based products and processes by trialling new technologies to ensure partners are investing in the right technologies for their business. BioPilotsUK combines the UK's leading expertise and facilities to help businesses develop and scale-up new sustainable processes to commercialise products from biomass, including: plants, algae, by-products and wastes. Due to the varied nature of the raw materials, or feedstocks, there is no one size fits all approach, rather a series of technologies that must be trialled and combined to maximise the opportunity. Together, the BioPilotsUK centres offers the key components required to accelerate and de-risk bio-based projects, through access to: 1) highly-qualified specialists in genetic analysis, industrial biotechnology, green chemistry and chemical engineering; 2) a broad range of discovery to demonstration scale technologies to convert biomass into useful products; and 3) the accompanying analytical services and market awareness to assess viability of an idea. Aberystwyth is contributing to BioPilots through a range of facilities and expertise including the scaling up from the laboratory to pilot facilities using a range of feedstocks including grasses, and biobased waste streams. |
Collaborator Contribution | BioPilotsUK offers a joined up, efficient, easy-access route to business support services to complement the four centres' technical capabilities. The services support the growth of supply chains within a high-value bioeconomy and represent a selection of services that partners can deliver. Centres within BioPilotsUK have process modelling teams, that can apply a number of commercially available software tools to fully understand and improve processes. Process modelling enables efficiency and the results can be used to predict hard to measure parameters, as well as cost estimation of process equipment. This knowledge complements scale-down models and identifies critical equipment design issues, saving time, effort and money prior to scaling up process. BioPilotsUK can support commercial and investment decisions by providing technical due diligence and IP landscaping services. It can provide in-depth techno-economic assessments, enabling the implementation of suitable technology development programmes and identification of value-adding technology partnerships. |
Impact | This is a new venture and impacts of BioPilots as an entity are still under development however the individual partners are involved in many hundreds of collaborative R&D projects with industry. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | BioPilots UK - The Alliance of Open Access Biorefining Centres |
Organisation | IBioIC |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | BioPilotsUK is a collaboration created by four established biorefining open-access centres who recognise the importance of partnerships to develop UK bio-based value chains. BioPilots helps to de-risk the commercialisation of bio-based products and processes by trialling new technologies to ensure partners are investing in the right technologies for their business. BioPilotsUK combines the UK's leading expertise and facilities to help businesses develop and scale-up new sustainable processes to commercialise products from biomass, including: plants, algae, by-products and wastes. Due to the varied nature of the raw materials, or feedstocks, there is no one size fits all approach, rather a series of technologies that must be trialled and combined to maximise the opportunity. Together, the BioPilotsUK centres offers the key components required to accelerate and de-risk bio-based projects, through access to: 1) highly-qualified specialists in genetic analysis, industrial biotechnology, green chemistry and chemical engineering; 2) a broad range of discovery to demonstration scale technologies to convert biomass into useful products; and 3) the accompanying analytical services and market awareness to assess viability of an idea. Aberystwyth is contributing to BioPilots through a range of facilities and expertise including the scaling up from the laboratory to pilot facilities using a range of feedstocks including grasses, and biobased waste streams. |
Collaborator Contribution | BioPilotsUK offers a joined up, efficient, easy-access route to business support services to complement the four centres' technical capabilities. The services support the growth of supply chains within a high-value bioeconomy and represent a selection of services that partners can deliver. Centres within BioPilotsUK have process modelling teams, that can apply a number of commercially available software tools to fully understand and improve processes. Process modelling enables efficiency and the results can be used to predict hard to measure parameters, as well as cost estimation of process equipment. This knowledge complements scale-down models and identifies critical equipment design issues, saving time, effort and money prior to scaling up process. BioPilotsUK can support commercial and investment decisions by providing technical due diligence and IP landscaping services. It can provide in-depth techno-economic assessments, enabling the implementation of suitable technology development programmes and identification of value-adding technology partnerships. |
Impact | This is a new venture and impacts of BioPilots as an entity are still under development however the individual partners are involved in many hundreds of collaborative R&D projects with industry. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | BioPilots UK - The Alliance of Open Access Biorefining Centres |
Organisation | University of York |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | BioPilotsUK is a collaboration created by four established biorefining open-access centres who recognise the importance of partnerships to develop UK bio-based value chains. BioPilots helps to de-risk the commercialisation of bio-based products and processes by trialling new technologies to ensure partners are investing in the right technologies for their business. BioPilotsUK combines the UK's leading expertise and facilities to help businesses develop and scale-up new sustainable processes to commercialise products from biomass, including: plants, algae, by-products and wastes. Due to the varied nature of the raw materials, or feedstocks, there is no one size fits all approach, rather a series of technologies that must be trialled and combined to maximise the opportunity. Together, the BioPilotsUK centres offers the key components required to accelerate and de-risk bio-based projects, through access to: 1) highly-qualified specialists in genetic analysis, industrial biotechnology, green chemistry and chemical engineering; 2) a broad range of discovery to demonstration scale technologies to convert biomass into useful products; and 3) the accompanying analytical services and market awareness to assess viability of an idea. Aberystwyth is contributing to BioPilots through a range of facilities and expertise including the scaling up from the laboratory to pilot facilities using a range of feedstocks including grasses, and biobased waste streams. |
Collaborator Contribution | BioPilotsUK offers a joined up, efficient, easy-access route to business support services to complement the four centres' technical capabilities. The services support the growth of supply chains within a high-value bioeconomy and represent a selection of services that partners can deliver. Centres within BioPilotsUK have process modelling teams, that can apply a number of commercially available software tools to fully understand and improve processes. Process modelling enables efficiency and the results can be used to predict hard to measure parameters, as well as cost estimation of process equipment. This knowledge complements scale-down models and identifies critical equipment design issues, saving time, effort and money prior to scaling up process. BioPilotsUK can support commercial and investment decisions by providing technical due diligence and IP landscaping services. It can provide in-depth techno-economic assessments, enabling the implementation of suitable technology development programmes and identification of value-adding technology partnerships. |
Impact | This is a new venture and impacts of BioPilots as an entity are still under development however the individual partners are involved in many hundreds of collaborative R&D projects with industry. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Control systems for small scale gasification systems |
Organisation | ALP Technologies LTD |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Developing control systems for small scale gasifiers |
Collaborator Contribution | Discussions on developing and modifying tar detection and control systems for small scale gasification units. |
Impact | None yet. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | E.ON Biomass supply and consultation |
Organisation | E ON |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We have had the opportunity to use some of their biomass samples (either prewashed or control unwashed samples) for gasification trails. This work is ongoing. |
Collaborator Contribution | E.ON Technologies have provided biomass samples to Aston and Glasgow for gasification trials as well as invaluable advice during the course of the project so far. |
Impact | This work is still in progress as the project officially started in March 2015. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Exploitation of real time control of gasifiers. |
Organisation | NCF Assets Limited |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | NCF Assets: Currently in negotiations to licence technology on real time control of gasifiers, post-gasification syngas clean-up using the gasification rig, and microalgae growth for CCS |
Collaborator Contribution | NCF Assets are contributing money to develop and commercialise the systems for controlling gasification, including testing the gas-cleanup systems using the gasifier rig and microalgal research for CCS. |
Impact | This collaboration is still in its infancy and NCF are raising money for joint research programmes. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | GF Consulting |
Organisation | GF Consulting |
Country | Australia |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | GF Consulting have regularly attended meetings and consulted over the phone when needed. |
Collaborator Contribution | George Fletcher has attended all of the management meetings and the meeting in July 2015 on gasification, held at the University of Glasgow. He is also arranging a site visit for the SUPERGEN Share meeting in Glasgow in May 2016. This will ultimately depend on the hub requirements. His contribution to the industrial side of the project has been most welcome, with reflection of the benefit of what we are trying to do with tar detection and the potential impact on gasification. |
Impact | This work is still ongoing. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Large Scale Gasification Control Systems |
Organisation | NCF Assets Limited |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Developing large scale gasification systems. |
Collaborator Contribution | We have been discussing large scale gasification systems and implementation and advantages of real time tar detection and control systems. |
Impact | Still in its early phase. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Origin Oil - microalgal separation |
Organisation | Origin Oil, USA |
Country | United States |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | This organisation based in the USA withdrew from the consortium before the project started. |
Collaborator Contribution | None |
Impact | None |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Terravesta |
Organisation | Terravesta Ltd |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Discussion on chain supply logistics |
Collaborator Contribution | Discussion on chain supply logistics |
Impact | Multidisciplinary. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Thermochemical processing and upgrading of waste streams for static electricity generation |
Organisation | North Linc Bio Fuels Limited |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We had the BEIS funding from 20109, looking at themochemical waste streams for biofuel production and static electricity generation. Since then we have continued to work together around this theme, including sensors and control. |
Collaborator Contribution | Engine testing and fuel analysis. It is ongoing work and collaboration. |
Impact | BEIS final report. Fuel samples from the company will lead to future publications (used by one of Watson's PhD student) and proposals (VC and EPSRC in preparation). |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Watson Bioenergy theme Leader for the Energy Technology Partnership |
Organisation | Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Watson became the Bioenergy Theme Leader for the Energy Technology Partnership (from 2016). This is primarily from a Scottish Perspective but he has forged links with the SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub director to facilitate broader UK discussions and made links with the Scottish Government whom are currently reviewing the role of Bioenergy in Scotland. His role is to coordinate the academic strengths in Bioenergy in Scotland and he regularly organises ETP related bioenergy events. |
Collaborator Contribution | ETP CEO Stephen-Mark Williams drives the collaboration with Universities and Industry, Watson liaises closely with him to direct strategy and future direction for bioenergy in Scotland. |
Impact | Numerous academic and industrial facing events, bioenergy theme. Annual events include the ETP annual conference (mainly academic) and Emporium (mainly industrial). Other events include liaising and consulting with Scottish Government over its bioenergy strategy for Scotland. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Working with Scottish Government (SG) to advise on their Bioenergy Action Plan |
Organisation | Government of Scotland |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Watson wrote a series of whitepapers across the bioenergy process chain in response to questions posed by SG to aid in developing their Bioenergy Action Plan. The workshop |
Collaborator Contribution | Not directly part of this work consulation/collaboration, but as reported elsewhere in engagement, Mirjam Roeder (Supergen bioenergy hub) presented at the workshop and engagement activity in October 2019. |
Impact | White papers across the bioenergy process chain, in response to questions posed by SG. These individual outputs have not been reported specifically in the publications. It covers the multidiscplinary nature of bioenergy. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Wyse Group Gasification in Ghana |
Organisation | Scripps Research Institute |
Country | United States |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | They withdrew as the project was started. They are now more focussed on Solar work in Ghana. |
Collaborator Contribution | None |
Impact | None relevant to the project. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Energy Technology Partnership, ETP, Emporium |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Watson organised the ETP emporium in the Bioenergy sector, with presentations from Scottish Government, industry and some academics, with a view to link academia and industry in biomass and bioenergy, with a Scottish and UK perspective. Biorefineries and Gasification were key themes. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Gasification Workshop: Gasification and its potential, University of Glasgow |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | A keynote presentation was given by Professor Kunio Yoshikawa, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. The other talks reflected UK capability with e.g. talks from Glasgow, Leeds, Aston, Manchester, Nottingham and Aberystwyth. Talks from industry were given. A workshop in the latter stages of the day addressed the problems, and potential solutions, with gasification and how the UK could benefit. There were invited guests from Japan and Africa. There was general positive consensus about the meeting, and an event is being planned more specifically on instrumentation and control of gasifiers with a European perspective. Please note the URL below, this was not accepted by the system but is still active. http://www.supergen-bioenergy.net/news/gasification-and-its-potential---workshop-9th-july.htm |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Key Note, Global solutions from biorefineries to mitigate climate chaos |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Keynote at an International conference in Karachi in Pakistan |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Keynote Presentation, Bioenergy Stakeholders Event, Edinburgh, UK. 2017. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Watson, I. (2017). Bioenergy. Bioenergy Stake Holders Event, Keynote, Scottish Government. Presentation on Bioenergy prior to workshop to lead the Scottish Governments plans in this area. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Poster presentation at International bioenergy conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | TBC |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.supergen-bioenergy.net/conference/ |
Description | Poster presentation at the International Bioenergy Conference, Manchester, 2017. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Poster Presentation Zakir Khan, Trevor DiLallo, William O'Sullivan, Ian Watson, Paula Blanco, Tony Bridgewater, John Corton, Jon McCalmont, Iain Donnieson, Steve Croxton "Development of a throated downdraft gasifier test bed for evaluating gasifier control systems" International Bioenergy Conference, Manchester, UK, 22-23 March 2017 (Poster Presentation). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Poster presentation at the International Bioenergy Conference, Manchester, 2017. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Andrew Mackay, Prashant Kamble, Zakir Khan, Ghaith Al-sheikhli, Ian Watson, John Corton, Jon Paul McCalmont, Paula Blanco-Sanchez, Iain Donnieson, Tony Bridgewater, Steve Croxton "Physical and flowability characteristics of Miscanthus pellets" International Bioenergy Conference, Manchester, UK, 22-23 March 2017 (Poster presentation). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Poster presentation at the International Bioenergy Conference, Manchester, 2017. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Alexander Perukarote, Waqar Syed, Sean Capper, Zakir Khan, Ian Watson "Flame photometry as a tar detection system for biomass gasification" International Bioenergy Conference, Manchester, UK, 22-23 March 2017 (Poster presentation). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Presentation at the Applied Energy Conference, Cardiff, 2017. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation Sean Capper, Zakir Khan, Prashant Kamble, Ian Watson, "Progression towards online tar detection systems" 9th International Conference on Applied Energy Energy, Cardiff, UK, 21-24 August 2017. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Presentation at the Applied Energy Conference, Cardiff, 2017. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation Prashant Kamble, Zakir Khan, James Sharp, Ian Watson "Improving downdraft gasifier stability by robust instrumentation and control systems", 9th International Conference on Applied Energy Energy, Cardiff, UK, 21-24 August 2017. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Presentation at the International Bioenergy Conference, Manchester, 2017 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation on the Project: Ian Watson, Zakir Khan, Ellen Turner, Sean Capper, Duncan Carrick, Emmanuel Kombe, Patrick Gifford, John Corton, Jon McCalmont, Paula Blanco-Sanchez, Xi Yu, Iain Donnieson, Tony Bridgewater, James Sharp, Manosh Paul, Nader Karimi, Peter Hastie, Zhibin Yu, Paul Younger "Improving biomass gasification through tar detection and gasifier control" International Bioenergy Conference, Manchester, UK, 22-23 March 2017. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Presentation on the UK Bioenergy Sector and Gasification, Berlin Embassy, Berlin, Germany, 2017. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Watson, I. (2017). SUPERGEN: biomass gasification. British Embassy, Berlin, Germany. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Progressing Bioenergy in Scotland, Workshop with Scottish Government, Industry and Academica, ETP Sponsored. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | The Workshop led on from engagement with the organser (Watson) and Scottish Governement, in his capacity as the Bioenergy Theme Leader for the Energy Technology Partnership, the objective was to help inform the debate on the importance and role of bioenergy within a Scottish, Welsh and UK context, from a political, industrial and academic perspective. Feedback will be provided to the SG. The importance of heat from biomass was recognized as key enabler for reducing UK CO2 emissions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.etp-scotland.ac.uk/NewsandEvents/ProgressingBioenergyinScotland.aspx |
Description | Real-time tar detection and control of gasifiers for improved performance with biomass feedstocks |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The presentation was made to Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT), Qingdao, China, |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Scottish Government 'Towards a Bioenergy Action Plan' Stakeholder Event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | The event focused on all aspects of bioenergy, from policy, farming to technology and outputs (electricity, heat, platform chemicals etc) and LCA. Industry and academics were invited by Scottish Government as part of their development towards their Bioenergy Action Plan. Watson Chaired the event and co-organised the event with ETP and Scottish Government. Mirjam Roeder, from the Supergen Bioenergy Hub (Aston University) gave a presentation on LCA at the event, |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.etp-scotland.ac.uk/NewsandEvents/Events/TowardsaBioenergyActionPlan.aspx |
Description | Talk, Workshop, Challenges towards microalgal biorefineries |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop highlighted UK work and potential problems in microalgae and marine species feedstock |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.supergen-bioenergy.net/event/flexible-funding-series-scoping-a-call-on-algae-and-marine-... |