Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Organization for Programs on Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.
Waste Manag. 2024 Dec 1;189:219-229. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2024.08.020. Epub 2024 Aug 30.
This research aims to evaluate the techno-economic viability and commercial potential of biomass gasification across different capacities. Sensitivity analysis was conducted based on an established downdraft gasifier model using Aspen Plus. Results underscored the significant impact of gasification temperature and equivalence ratio (ER) on syngas composition, low heating value (LHV), and cold gas efficiency (CGE). Among the feedstocks tested, coconut shell emerged as a feasible feedstock, yielding syngas with an LHV of 8.93 MJ/Nm and achieving a CGE of up to 71.12 %. Optimal gasification temperatures ranged between 750 °C to 1,000 °C, with peak ER falling within 0.1 to 0.3. Economic analysis revealed that smaller-scale operations like Plant A resulted in a negative net present value of - US$0.63 million, indicating unfavorable investments. The internal rate of return notably increased from 9.53 % for Plant B compared to -2.56 % for Plant A (20 kW). Plant D, with larger capacity of 20 MW, showed an impressive payback period of less than two years (1.69 years). Medium to large-scale plants such as Plant C (2 MW) and Plant D demonstrated greater economic resilience, with Plant D achieving a significantly lower levelized cost of electricity of US$ 0.19/kWh compared to Plant A at US$ 0.86/kWh. It was noted that the impact of capital costs, operating expenses, and revenue variations is less pronounced at larger scales. The findings from this study shed light on the feasibility of biomass gasification for power generation as a viable option, thereby unlocking the potential for its large-scale commercialization.
本研究旨在评估生物质气化在不同规模下的技术经济可行性和商业潜力。通过使用 Aspen Plus 对已建立的下吸式气化器模型进行了敏感性分析。结果强调了气化温度和当量比 (ER) 对合成气成分、低热值 (LHV) 和冷煤气效率 (CGE) 的重大影响。在所测试的原料中，椰子壳是一种可行的原料，其产生的合成气 LHV 为 8.93 MJ/Nm，达到了高达 71.12%的 CGE。最佳气化温度范围在 750°C 到 1000°C 之间，峰值 ER 在 0.1 到 0.3 之间。经济分析表明，像 Plant A 这样的小规模运营导致负的净现值为-630 万美元，表明投资不利。内部收益率从 Plant B 的 9.53%显著增加到 Plant A 的-2.56%（20kW）。容量为 20MW 的 Plant D 表现出令人印象深刻的投资回收期不到两年（1.69 年）。像 Plant C（2MW）和 Plant D 这样的中型到大型工厂表现出更大的经济弹性，Plant D 的平准化成本电价为 0.19 美元/千瓦时，明显低于 Plant A 的 0.86 美元/千瓦时。值得注意的是，在较大规模下，资本成本、运营费用和收入变化的影响不太明显。本研究的结果表明，生物质气化用于发电是可行的选择，从而为其大规模商业化开辟了潜力。
