GAS-L: Commercial Gasification.

["Graeme Williams" <graeme@powerlink.co.nz>]

Dear Lasse,

Here is a summary and comments of our activity relating to high performance
engine gasifiers for power generation.  This is only to show you what is in
the pipeline, as our development programme is for our own business to enter
the market place as a power producer.  We take all the responsibility of
running the installations and nobody has to buy anything  except the power.

I personally don't know of any gasified engine power generation with a
commercial record of continuous operation in the size you seek, but quite a
few are known to have failed.

Any manufacturer who may have survived  the cost of developing small
gasifiers (30-100kWe) has done so because engines were available, albeit not
really built for producer gas.  When you try to take the next step of
scaling up, then you need substantial financing and there just hasn't been a
market to justify the expense.

Even if we build our larger gasifier, the real test can only be done with an
engine, and if we say gasify 1 tonne/hour, then the engine for that 1 MWe
output costs around A$2 million and is quite large are 10.5 tonne.  When you
get to this size of activity, everything has to be designed, built and
tested, for cooling, cleaning, fuel feeding, waste cleanouts etc. as nothing
comes ready made specifically for gasifiers.  Things don't just have to
work, but prove reliable thousands of kilometres away from the supplier, in
every type of environment.

Then there is the need for testing the gas and emissions, mainly for
authorities and their control over permits.  By the end of this month
(August 2002) our costs for testing will be just on US$100,000 and even
though conducted by certified technicians from registered laboratories,
these tests have to be duplicated at the whim of petty officials.

Currently we have three separate development programmes associated with our
gasification technology in Canada, Northern Ireland, and Germany.  Each of
our associated companies are contributing a diverse range of expertise to
eventually create a power generation package plant, appropriate for our
needs.  In addition to this we are adding other technologies that can be
used in variations to clean up effluent and other waste water including
desalination, and waste treatment to make waste disposal an environmentally
friendly activity.

The ability to produce large quantities of clean tar free gas, also enables
engine and gas turbine development to move forward, and I am pleased to say
we are working with two manufacturers to develop these systems specifically
for producer gas.  Other gasifier manufacturers will benefit from the
availability of these engines if their systems make clean gas.

For gasified power generation to work  in any country, the implementation
programme must be a co-ordinated activity.  Fuel supply and preparation,
operator training, gasifier servicing and stand-by plant, must all be in
place if we seriously mean to set up a new sustainable energy supply using
gasification.  I doubt if any manufacturer can have this type of
infrastructure by selling gasifiers one at a time, and just one badly
operated gasifier would destroy  that manufacturer's reputation.

As far as Australia is concerned, it is on my doorstep and in due course
when we are ready, we will see if it is worth while to set up a business
division.  If and when that happens you can pay us to do your fuel trials on
cotton trash and various straw type biomass.  We have had success with
similar waste trials and you can see some of this work in the Fluidyne
Archive under Eco Puck Briquetter.

Good luck with your survey.

Doug Williams
Fluidyne Gasification
Fluidyne Archive www.fluidynenz.250x.com


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