The PolyFlex project visited a conference in China to showcase its work.
New method for developing gasifiers in cogeneration boilers
All over the country, solid fuel boilers produce heat and electricity for society. However, their full capacity is rarely used. Now PolyFlex, a project designed to develop technology for widespread use of the facilities, has come up with a new method that was presented at an international conference in China.
PolyFlex wants to maximize the use of solid fuel plants by co-producing gas together with the heat and electricity that is currently produced at hundreds of plants in Sweden. To succeed, research studies are conducted by doctoral student Guillermo Martinez Castilla at Chalmers University. The purpose is to determine how much gas can be produced without interfering with the original production of electricity and heat.
In the project, a method has been developed to better calculate the capacity of gasifiers integrated with combustion boilers.
“The method enables a more accurate design of gasifiers, explains Christer Gustavsson, from BioShare”, who participates in the project.
This means that it will now be easier to evaluate various alternative reactor designs for gasification that do not jeopardize heat production.
International interest
Guillermo Martinez Castilla presented the research results at the end of May at the 16th edition of the Fluidization Conference in China.
“It was an excellent forum to let leading researchers know what we are doing and hear about all the new ideas we have for the future,” says Guillermo, who adds that the interest was great and that there were many questions.
The next step in the PolyFlex project, after the experimental work on reactor design, is to establish models that simulate the new gasification process and its interaction with the existing production. The models will be in place by the end of the year and will provide additional knowledge about the possibility of converting existing cogeneration plants to flexible plants for co-generation of electricity, heat and gas.
Behind the project, which is financed by the Swedish Energy Agency, stands Chalmers as project owner and BioShare. They are also supported by Karlstad Energy, Övik Energi and Paper Province.
