Pilot of Largest US Biomass Gasification Facility Successful
EarthVision Environmental News
September 6, 2000
BURLINGTON, VT, September 6, 2000 - Atlanta-based Future Energy Resources Corporation (FERCO) has achieved a major milestone in commercializing its SilvaGas™ biomass gasification process by successfully operating its commercial scale demonstration plant in Burlington, Vermont. FERCO designed and built the gasifier, the largest biomass gasification facility in the US, in partnership with the US Department of Energy, who provided technical assistance and funding for facility construction and testing, and the Burlington Electric Department.
According to a news release from the Energy Department's Golden Field Office, the facility attained full operation on August 11, 2000 and converted more than 285 tons of wood chips into SilvaGas, a medium Btu natural gas substitute. The SilvaGas was piped directly to Burlington Electric Department's McNeil Generating Plant, where it produced more than 140 MWh of electric power, enough energy to power 6000 homes.
"This breakthrough, made possible by an innovative public- private partnership, is a significant step forward in establishing a thriving bio-based products and bio-energy industry," said US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson. "Furthermore, electricity generated from biomass will create additional markets for agricultural and forestry products and waste without harming the environment."
FERCO President and CEO, Inge Fretheim, said the success of this initial operation shows combustion and incineration no longer have to be the dominant methods of converting biomass to energy. At the pilot plant, the SilvaGas process was the first to produce electric power directly from biomass in a conventional gas turbine.
"This success demonstrates that the Vermont gasifier produces the same results as those achieved in more than 22,000 hours of operation at the 10 ton per day pilot plant. We may now proceed to the next level in our current negotiations for commercial applications of the technology," said Milton Farris, FERCO Chief Operating Officer.
The SilvaGas process has demonstrated acceptance of a wide range of feedstocks, all of which can be converted into a clean burning medium Btu gas that can be used as a direct substitute for natural gas. The FERCO SilvaGas process coupled with a conventional gas turbine can convert biomass into electric power at twice the efficiency of conventional biomass systems while significantly reducing environmental impact compared to fossil fuel based power plants, including the elimination of net CO2 additions to the environment.