Modular Biopower System Providing Combined Heat and Power for DoD Installations

摘要

The Department of Defense (DoD) has been mandated to increasingly derive energy from renewable resources. A review of DoD installations revealed that 170 of them had access to significant amounts of woody biomass materials within a 25-mile radius and an interest in alternative energy. It was also recognized that this first prototype system would need continuing technical support from Community Power Corporation (CPC), so a field-test site close to CPC was desirable. It was rationalized that the data generated at one DoD site could be extrapolated to a large number of other DoD sites, taking into account differences in feedstock costs, local energy costs, local labor costs, etc. For these considerations, the selected test site was at Fort Carson, Colorado, which was relatively near to CPC s headquarters and one that had personnel dedicated to increasing the use of alternative energies. Woodchips salvaged commercially from beetle-killed pine were selected as the feedstock. The technology uses a downdraft gasification process to convert the energy trapped in biomass into a synthesis gas that is cooled, filtered and utilized to power gensets, which create electrical and thermal energy. The BioMax 100 system is highly automated, moving feedstock from a walking floor trailer, through the dryer and into the gasifier based upon the electrical load needs of the site. The system can alert the operator of alarm conditions via computer, tablet or smart phone. During the field test, the BioMax 100 had a steadily increasing monthly availability for the system that was approaching the program goal of 80%. The highest monthly availability attained was 74%, occurring in the last month of the field test. On a weekly basis, there were 4 weeks where the availability exceeded 80%, but only two of them were consecutive.