There are approximately 3,000ha of energy crops planted in Ireland, but much of this is without a market as a result of several proposed projects failing to get planning consent or financial backing. Some farmers have given up on growing biomass and ploughed land back into arable crops.
The tide may be turning now for biomass growers because CPL Ireland is planning to build a smokeless fuel plant at its new site in Foynes, Co Limerick. It plans to use 80,000t of biomass in its fuel.
Niall McGuinness, managing director of CPL Ireland, said: “We have sought planning permission from Limerick County Council and, subject to planning, we hope to have the first phase of the project up and running by autumn 2015.”
The plant in Foynes will, to begin with, import biomass such as olive stone shell and blend it with coal to produce a product that is smokeless and 50% more carbon neutral than traditional coal products.
The second phase of the project will see the use of new technology – torrefaction – which will allow Irish biomass products, such as miscanthus and timber, to be used. Prior to this new technology, biomass products were not mixable with coal.
CPL wants to work with key stakeholders in the biomass sector to quantify the amount of growers available to produce biomass for the plant. The plant will have a need for approximately 80,000t of a 10% moisture content biomass when in full production. This would be the equivalent of 7,000ha if CPL used energy crops alone.
According to the Department of Agriculture, there are over 1,000ha of miscanthus in the vicinity of the port in Foynes (Figure 1). The company will import biomass to begin with but is keen to reduce the amount imported by using Irish-produced biomass.
CPL CEO Tim Minett believes Irish farmers will benefit from the new plant:
The combined policies of a smokeless Ireland (ie banning of smoky coal), combined with carbon tax exemption for biomass fuels and blended fuels (ie fuels containing fossil fuels and biomass) should be seen as positive as it provides the basis for developing a significant industry in Ireland, producing advanced, low-carbon, solid fuels. The scale of this industry could be significant in my view, with at least two plants built (CPL being one), producing 400,000t of fuel and consuming 150,000t of biomass (dry). This industry clearly provides significant jobs for Ireland (over 300) and can produce an export industry to northern Europe, where carbon taxes similar to those in Ireland are being implemented.The application of technologies such as torrefaction means that a range of biomasses can be used in these fuels. This provides significant opportunities for Irish farmers to grow a range of energy crops to potentially use some by-products to supply this new industry.The above not only provides potentially significant growth for Irish farmers but also allows farmers to support the achievement of Ireland’s 2020 objectives for the use of renewable energy and the reduction of CO2.CPL is committed to making an investment in Ireland at the port of Foynes, provided that the policies outlined above are put in place. The CPL investment alone will produce 140 jobs and the plant would require 80,000t of biomass in the first phase and approximately 140,000t in the second phase.On the basis of the above, we ask Irish farmers to support a smokeless Ireland initiative which Minister Hogan has put forward and the exemption for biomass fuels from the carbon tax.How torrefaction works
Torrefaction means ‘‘roasting’’ in French. When biomass is wet, it tends to rot if stock is piled in wet conditions and is hard to transport. Torrefaction and densification is an innovative way of getting the best use out of biomass products, creating an energy-dense product, making it easier to transport and far less susceptible to rotting or degrading in storage. On a recent trip to Lille in France, I got to see how torrefaction works.
The plant in Lille was drying fresh spruce pulpwood from in excess of 55% moisture to 20% moisture content prior to torrefaction (roasting). The drier was powered by the poorer quality pulp wood.
The dried pulp wood then moved on to the torrefying plant, where gas at a temperature of over 200oC was passed through the timber in anaerobic conditions until the moisture content was less than 2%.
The gas used from the outside line was minimal because, during the process of torrefaction, the reactor creates its own gas from the torrefying biomass and this gas is recycled back into the process.
The torrefaction process has to happen with the exclusion of oxygen. If oxygen was to come in contact with the biomass heated at over 200oC, combustion would occur.
When the torrefied biomass comes out, it is cooled by water to 47oC and it is then put through a crusher, which condenses the product. Wood chip has a bulk density of 170kg/m3, while torrefied biomass had a bulk density of 1,070kg/m3. This dense product is a lot cheaper to transport.
Torrefied material is hydrophobic, enabling it to be stored outdoors without rotting.
The plant in Lille had a machine on site, which briquetted the torrefied timber and packaged it into a ready-to-use fuel for households.
CPL plans to build a torrefaction unit at its new Foynes plant, which will be able to handle a variety of biomass fuels.
It will also mix these fuels with coal to make a hybrid fuel that has high heat output and a longer burning duration.
CPL has a coal manufacturing plant in Britain, where it is carrying out R&D with a prototype torrefaction machine, using different types of biomass materials.
CPL plans to use this type of technology in the second phase of its operation in Foynes to use biomass products, such as miscanthus, willow, short rotation forestry, etc, which it claims will be bindable to coal using molasses.
At present, CPL has a product on the market that is smokeless and made from 50% renewable material, while the rest is made up of coal. It is called Ecoal50 and it produces 40% less CO2 than traditional coal. Traditional coal emits 394g of CO2 per kWh, while Ecoal50 emits 226g/kWh.
Asthma
“More than 8,200 lives have been saved since the Dublin smoky coal ban in 1990,” according to the Asthma Society of Ireland.
The society believes that more than 2,000 lives could be saved annually with the implementation of an all-island ban on the sale and distribution of smoky coal.
Asthma sufferers claim to have direct negative health impacts, such as asthma attacks, when they are in daily contact with burning smoky coal.
Biomass
in Ireland
Wood energy crops can provide a rapid source of sustainable wood fuel and enable more efficient use of resources.
Barry Caslin, Teagasc bioenergy specialist, said: “Energy crops can produce a high output from a relatively small area. Our calculations suggest that it is possible to produce 39% of the 2020 renewable heat target from just 2.5% of Ireland’s grassland area (67,000ha). This is based on achievable yields of 9.4 oven-dry tonnes per hectare per year and it assumes best practice on good agricultural land.”
The Tillage Sectoral Energy Crop Development Group was established to develop specific recommendations at both policy and industry level, so as to optimise the development of energy crops in Ireland.
The development group agrees that Irish agriculture is capable of generating more of its annual electricity, heating and transport fuels from renewable resources.
“Ireland has excellent resources for wind, wave tidal, biogas and solar energy and through the Greener Homes Scheme and Reheat Scheme has already instigated the deployment of biomass heat installations,” explained Barry.
He said: “Ireland has, however, been slow to embrace woody energy crops as a potential woodfuel resource. Growing woody energy crops, such as Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and miscanthus, is essential to continue the upward trend in biomass heat and electricity installations to boost the economy and provide additional environmental benefits.”
The Government is committed to producing 16% of our total final energy consumption, which includes a renewable heat target of 12%, from renewable sources by 2020. These are very challenging targets and achieving them will require significant uptake in renewable technologies.
Barry believes that energy cropping uptake will have to be accelerated to meet the targets set out:
Planting 2.5% of our grassland area pasture, silage and hay land (67,000ha) with energy crops. This could produce 629,800 oven dry tonnes of woodchip per year.Equivalent to 39% of Ireland’s 2020 renewable heat targets.Growing energy crops on 2.5% of Ireland’s grassland area could offset 675,462t of CO2 equivalent per year.Barry says that there is no mechanism in place to stimulate the development of supply chains within the agricultural sector to encourage the movement from grassland to energy crops.
Infrastructure is badly lacking to move harvested material from the field to the furnace as efficiently as possible. A renewable heat incentive similar to that introduced in Britain would stimulate the deployment of biomass boilers. CPL’s plan to build a torrefaction plant in Foynes is very much welcome but it is yet to be clarified if coal, combined with bio feedstock, would be required to meet the 12% heating target as per the renewable energy requirements.
There are approximately 3,000ha of energy crops planted in Ireland, but much of this is without a market as a result of several proposed projects failing to get planning consent or financial backing. Some farmers have given up on growing biomass and ploughed land back into arable crops.
The tide may be turning now for biomass growers because CPL Ireland is planning to build a smokeless fuel plant at its new site in Foynes, Co Limerick. It plans to use 80,000t of biomass in its fuel.
Niall McGuinness, managing director of CPL Ireland, said: “We have sought planning permission from Limerick County Council and, subject to planning, we hope to have the first phase of the project up and running by autumn 2015.”
The plant in Foynes will, to begin with, import biomass such as olive stone shell and blend it with coal to produce a product that is smokeless and 50% more carbon neutral than traditional coal products.
The second phase of the project will see the use of new technology – torrefaction – which will allow Irish biomass products, such as miscanthus and timber, to be used. Prior to this new technology, biomass products were not mixable with coal.
CPL wants to work with key stakeholders in the biomass sector to quantify the amount of growers available to produce biomass for the plant. The plant will have a need for approximately 80,000t of a 10% moisture content biomass when in full production. This would be the equivalent of 7,000ha if CPL used energy crops alone.
According to the Department of Agriculture, there are over 1,000ha of miscanthus in the vicinity of the port in Foynes (Figure 1). The company will import biomass to begin with but is keen to reduce the amount imported by using Irish-produced biomass.
CPL CEO Tim Minett believes Irish farmers will benefit from the new plant:
The combined policies of a smokeless Ireland (ie banning of smoky coal), combined with carbon tax exemption for biomass fuels and blended fuels (ie fuels containing fossil fuels and biomass) should be seen as positive as it provides the basis for developing a significant industry in Ireland, producing advanced, low-carbon, solid fuels. The scale of this industry could be significant in my view, with at least two plants built (CPL being one), producing 400,000t of fuel and consuming 150,000t of biomass (dry). This industry clearly provides significant jobs for Ireland (over 300) and can produce an export industry to northern Europe, where carbon taxes similar to those in Ireland are being implemented.The application of technologies such as torrefaction means that a range of biomasses can be used in these fuels. This provides significant opportunities for Irish farmers to grow a range of energy crops to potentially use some by-products to supply this new industry.The above not only provides potentially significant growth for Irish farmers but also allows farmers to support the achievement of Ireland’s 2020 objectives for the use of renewable energy and the reduction of CO2.CPL is committed to making an investment in Ireland at the port of Foynes, provided that the policies outlined above are put in place. The CPL investment alone will produce 140 jobs and the plant would require 80,000t of biomass in the first phase and approximately 140,000t in the second phase.On the basis of the above, we ask Irish farmers to support a smokeless Ireland initiative which Minister Hogan has put forward and the exemption for biomass fuels from the carbon tax.How torrefaction works
Torrefaction means ‘‘roasting’’ in French. When biomass is wet, it tends to rot if stock is piled in wet conditions and is hard to transport. Torrefaction and densification is an innovative way of getting the best use out of biomass products, creating an energy-dense product, making it easier to transport and far less susceptible to rotting or degrading in storage. On a recent trip to Lille in France, I got to see how torrefaction works.
The plant in Lille was drying fresh spruce pulpwood from in excess of 55% moisture to 20% moisture content prior to torrefaction (roasting). The drier was powered by the poorer quality pulp wood.
The dried pulp wood then moved on to the torrefying plant, where gas at a temperature of over 200oC was passed through the timber in anaerobic conditions until the moisture content was less than 2%.
The gas used from the outside line was minimal because, during the process of torrefaction, the reactor creates its own gas from the torrefying biomass and this gas is recycled back into the process.
The torrefaction process has to happen with the exclusion of oxygen. If oxygen was to come in contact with the biomass heated at over 200oC, combustion would occur.
When the torrefied biomass comes out, it is cooled by water to 47oC and it is then put through a crusher, which condenses the product. Wood chip has a bulk density of 170kg/m3, while torrefied biomass had a bulk density of 1,070kg/m3. This dense product is a lot cheaper to transport.
Torrefied material is hydrophobic, enabling it to be stored outdoors without rotting.
The plant in Lille had a machine on site, which briquetted the torrefied timber and packaged it into a ready-to-use fuel for households.
CPL plans to build a torrefaction unit at its new Foynes plant, which will be able to handle a variety of biomass fuels.
It will also mix these fuels with coal to make a hybrid fuel that has high heat output and a longer burning duration.
CPL has a coal manufacturing plant in Britain, where it is carrying out R&D with a prototype torrefaction machine, using different types of biomass materials.
CPL plans to use this type of technology in the second phase of its operation in Foynes to use biomass products, such as miscanthus, willow, short rotation forestry, etc, which it claims will be bindable to coal using molasses.
At present, CPL has a product on the market that is smokeless and made from 50% renewable material, while the rest is made up of coal. It is called Ecoal50 and it produces 40% less CO2 than traditional coal. Traditional coal emits 394g of CO2 per kWh, while Ecoal50 emits 226g/kWh.
Asthma
“More than 8,200 lives have been saved since the Dublin smoky coal ban in 1990,” according to the Asthma Society of Ireland.
The society believes that more than 2,000 lives could be saved annually with the implementation of an all-island ban on the sale and distribution of smoky coal.
Asthma sufferers claim to have direct negative health impacts, such as asthma attacks, when they are in daily contact with burning smoky coal.
Biomass
in Ireland
Wood energy crops can provide a rapid source of sustainable wood fuel and enable more efficient use of resources.
Barry Caslin, Teagasc bioenergy specialist, said: “Energy crops can produce a high output from a relatively small area. Our calculations suggest that it is possible to produce 39% of the 2020 renewable heat target from just 2.5% of Ireland’s grassland area (67,000ha). This is based on achievable yields of 9.4 oven-dry tonnes per hectare per year and it assumes best practice on good agricultural land.”
The Tillage Sectoral Energy Crop Development Group was established to develop specific recommendations at both policy and industry level, so as to optimise the development of energy crops in Ireland.
The development group agrees that Irish agriculture is capable of generating more of its annual electricity, heating and transport fuels from renewable resources.
“Ireland has excellent resources for wind, wave tidal, biogas and solar energy and through the Greener Homes Scheme and Reheat Scheme has already instigated the deployment of biomass heat installations,” explained Barry.
He said: “Ireland has, however, been slow to embrace woody energy crops as a potential woodfuel resource. Growing woody energy crops, such as Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and miscanthus, is essential to continue the upward trend in biomass heat and electricity installations to boost the economy and provide additional environmental benefits.”
The Government is committed to producing 16% of our total final energy consumption, which includes a renewable heat target of 12%, from renewable sources by 2020. These are very challenging targets and achieving them will require significant uptake in renewable technologies.
Barry believes that energy cropping uptake will have to be accelerated to meet the targets set out:
Planting 2.5% of our grassland area pasture, silage and hay land (67,000ha) with energy crops. This could produce 629,800 oven dry tonnes of woodchip per year.Equivalent to 39% of Ireland’s 2020 renewable heat targets.Growing energy crops on 2.5% of Ireland’s grassland area could offset 675,462t of CO2 equivalent per year.Barry says that there is no mechanism in place to stimulate the development of supply chains within the agricultural sector to encourage the movement from grassland to energy crops.
Infrastructure is badly lacking to move harvested material from the field to the furnace as efficiently as possible. A renewable heat incentive similar to that introduced in Britain would stimulate the deployment of biomass boilers. CPL’s plan to build a torrefaction plant in Foynes is very much welcome but it is yet to be clarified if coal, combined with bio feedstock, would be required to meet the 12% heating target as per the renewable energy requirements.
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