Biomass

An estimated 91% of the world’s population had access to electricity in 2020, marking substantial progress toward goals to ensure universal access to power. Still, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 733 million people remain unserved. Off-grid and decentralized energy systems may be emerging as an alternative to facilitate energy access and resilience, […]

Geothermal Plant Planned in Colombia. Colombian petroleum company Ecopetrol in December announced plans to build a 250-kW geothermal power plant in the Apiay oil complex in Meta, Colombia. The power plant will

January 9, 2023 — Valmet will deliver boiler conversions and emission reduction solutions for Veolia Group’s Hungarian subsidiary CHP-Invest Kft at its power plant in Oroszlány, Hungary. The order includes the conversion of two coal-fired boilers to bubbling fluidized bed combustion to enable the boilers to run mainly on biomass fuel. The order is included […]

The two Samson® Material Feeders ordered from AUMUND Ltda in São Paulo, Brazil, by first-time customer ComBio Energia S.A. are also the first machines of their kind to be operated for biomass handling in energy generation in South America. ComBio develops projects using biomass for generation of steam and cogeneration of electrical energy for customers […]

Qatar Inaugurates the Country’s First Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant. With Essa bin Hilal Al-Kuwari, president of Qatar General Electricity & Water Corp. (Kahramaa); Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi

Sulfur oxides (SO x ) have several harmful effects both to the environment, and to human and animal health. Much of the SO x in the atmosphere comes from the burning of fossil fuels by power plants and other

President Biden recently laid out a detailed plan to strengthen America’s forests. Renewable wood energy—that is, biomass energy produced from wood that is not suitable for higher-value products—is an

The rise and rapid adoption of the circular economy—a systems solution framework that seeks to keep materials, products, and services in circulation for as long as possible—is triggering an interesting

The Polish company FAKOP – world-renowned for high-quality steam boilers for more than a hundred years – uses a towering CMT cladding system from Austrian welding technology specialist Fronius for the cladding of twelve-meter-high membrane walls. The plant has two welding elevators and can accommodate two huge membrane walls, each 1.6 meters wide. Welding is […]

President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) should provide further impetus for growth of U.S. renewable energy, coming on the heels of a report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that installations of solar and wind power accounted for more than two-thirds of new domestic utility-scale generation in the first six months […]

While only one commercial power plant equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) remains in operation today, the momentum for CCS appears to have picked up dramatically over the past year. According to a database curated by the Global CCS Institute, more than 30 power generation CCS projects are under construction or in various stages […]

A 2021 Prewin Network unplanned shutdown survey revealed that equipment failures in waste-to-energy (WtE) and biomass plants were responsible for a total of 22.9 days of unplanned shutdowns in 2021. It also found that 43% of equipment failure classifications were boiler related (Figure 1). Furthermore, boilers alone were responsible for an average of 9.9 days […]

Emerson Involved in Coal-to-Biomass Switch. Albioma, a French independent energy provider, is working with Emerson, a global technology and software company, on the transition of the Bois Rouge 108-MW

Refractory maintenance, though vital, can often be a logistical and financial burden. This is especially true for power plants, cement plants, and other large facilities that rely on boilers, kilns, coolers, preheater towers, and risers for day-to-day operation. These facilities stand to lose many thousands of dollars a day in production if their refractory can’t […]

Proceeds will be used for the development of commercial production facility in Ashland, Maine LUMBERTON, N.C., March 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Active Energy Group (AIM:AEG), producer of CoalSwitch™, a new clean energy pellet, announced it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Phoenix Investors LLC for its Lumberton Site (“Lumberton”) in North […]

When it comes to hydrogen energy, the industry typically differentiates the final product in classes that correspond to the carbon intensity with a focus on “the colors of the rainbow,” such as gray, green, purple, and blue. According to The New York Times, the oil and gas industries are promoting blue hydrogen because (at the […]

Researchers in China have published the results of a study that the group said provides an efficient catalytic approach to directly transfer solid biomass into natural gas, while enabling the gas to have a low-carbon footprint. The researchers said bio-natural gas produced from the hydrogen combined with lignocellulosic biomass could be used at power plants, […]

Low-carbon, clean energy pellet also outperforms “white” pellets in terms of heating value ASHLAND, Maine, Feb. 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Independent testing of CoalSwitch, the novel clean energy pellet from Active Energy Group (AIM:AEG) demonstrates that the fuel burns cleaner and produces fewer pollutants than coal while outperforming other “white” pellets. “This testing confirms […]

Many bioenergy industry proponents put forth carbon neutrality as a basis for their support. However, the claim may not hold up under scrutiny. By some accounts, biomass power plant emissions including those

Valmet will supply a Valmet DNA Automation System to Turun Seudun Energiantuotanto’s biomass-fired heating plant in Oriketo, Finland. The new system will replace the existing automation system that has reached the end of its life cycle. The system will also provide a remote-control connection to the central control room at the company’s Naantali power plant. […]

Valmet will deliver automation to the Baltics’ first biogas plant fired with household and commercial biowaste. Built by BioWOIMA Finland Oy in Tallinn, Estonia, it will produce biomethane for the natural gas network and fuel for compressed natural gas-powered vehicles. Biofertilizer for land improvement is also produced as a by-product. The order is included in […]

While 2021 unfolded with some relief from the chaotic global pandemic that jolted the world in 2020, the year may be remembered for its extraordinary series of energy crises. After a cold snap prompted mass

Water and steam are the lifeblood of a power plant, but contamination in a water system can lead to corrosion, scaling, and pitting on critical equipment including turbines, boilers, pipes, and heat exchangers. Controlling high purity water treatment requires accurate analytical measurements of a wide range of analytics, including conductivity, dissolved oxygen, sodium, silica, and […]

Proper water chemistry has always been important for dependable steam plant operation, but it may be even more critical today due to changes in operating routines and increased plant cycling. Failure not only

The 628-MW Pego power station was shut down on Nov. 20, 10 days ahead of schedule, marking the end of coal-fired power generation in Portugal. The country joins Belgium, Austria, and Sweden, as the fourth European nation to discontinue the use of coal. “Portugal is the perfect example of how once a country commits to […]

A digital twin designed for the Atikokan biomass power plant uses science-based Bayesian machine learning methods combined with surrogate models developed from a suite of validated, multi-physics simulations

Power stations work under a contract to deliver energy to the grid, which is dependent on a consistent supply to ensure the local population and businesses can have a reliable supply of electricity. Short

An innovative European Union–funded Arbaflame project is aiming to produce 70,000 tonnes of biomass-based combustibles per year to enable clean power generation. The biomass pellets are made of wood and can be used as a 100% sustainable alternative to coal in power plants to produce carbon-neutral power. Sulzer Chemtech’s separation equipment will play a key […]

There is no doubt that the energy industry is moving toward decarbonization and renewable sources. But, despite the $2.7 trillion spent on renewables over the past decade, that future is still a long way off. It all comes down to the economics. It’s cheaper to operate an existing fossil fuel plant than build new renewable […]