Ikelic - Alliance Digital Repository

GENERAL
needs in the next century. The potential benefits
of F-T derived fuels for meeting the environmen
tal requirements of the CAAA have been quan
tified. Further work is necessary to optimize the
production of transportation fuels from F-T syn
thesis.
####
TECHNOLOGY
MTCI INDIRECT GASIFIER SUITED FOR BOTH
IGCC AND CHEMICALS PRODUCTION
Manufacturing and Technology Conversion Inter
national, Inc. (MTCI) and ThermoChem, Inc. have
developed an indirect heated, fluid-bed steam
reformer for biomass gasification which can be
used either for Integrated Gasification Combined
Cycle (IGCC) or for methanol production. The
system was described by M. Mansour and
K. Durai-Swamy
at the 13th EPRI Conference on
Gasification Power Plants held in San Francisco,
California in October.
The MTCI process uses pulse combustion
heaters immersed in the fluidized-bed reformer
for producing medium-BTU synthesis gas (see
Figure 1). The MTCI reformer-based system
does not need a secondary hydrocarbon
reformer, converts about 10 percent more of the
feed carbon to methanol and produces about
30 percent less C02 than oxygen-blown gasrfierbased
systems. The capital and operating costs
are said to be significantly
reformer-based system.
lower for the MTCI
MTCI has tested many biomass feedstocks in its
Pilot Demonstration Unit (PDU). MTCI has a
100 ton per day pilot plant steam reformer in
operation for black liquor at a Weyerhaeuser
Paper Company pulp mill in New Bern, North
Carolina and another small commercial unit for
125 tons per day of distillery spent wash in opera
tion in India.
1-8
Biomass
FIGURE 1
MTCI INDIRECTLY HEATED
Heat Exchange
Tubes
GASIFIER
7/n r\T
Steam
t
Ash
SOURCE: MANSOUR AND DURAI-SWAMY
Gas
ThermoChem has been developing a 450- to 900-
ton per day
coal gasification project under the
Clean Coal Technology Program.
Methanol Production
Instead of burning some of the product gas in the
pulse combustor (which would be the configura
tion for power production), the heat available
from the purge gas from methanol synthesis is a
good match for the heat load of the pulse com
bustor. This lowers overall capital costs, with no
loss in fuel output. As well, due to the low
methane content of the product gas (8 percent
by volume on a dry basis), a separate secondary
reformer is not needed. In the MTCI process the
residual char and tars could be burned in the
pulse combustor to augment the heat available
from the purge gas.
Although pressurized operation is likely to be pos
sible with this gasifier (up to 1.5 MPa)
it has not
THE SYNTHETIC FUELS REPORT, JANUARY 1995