Assessment of Conversion Technologies for Bioalcohol Fuel ...

have been run for a sufficient time period to ensure that mass and energy
conversion efficiencies have not degraded with time.
Demonstration–The objective of the demonstration plant is to fully establish
and develop specifications as necessary for the construction of a commercial
full-scale plant. This demonstration plant should be able to process more than
20-25 tons/day of biomass on an annual basis. Its design includes the
incorporation of on-line chemical and physical sensors and control systems to
run the plant continuously for several days as a totally integrated system. The
hardware for recycle loops is included so that recycling process can be fully
evaluated. The demonstration plant is used to help determine the potential
robustness of each unit process and component for the full-scale production
plant.
Deployment–This final stage includes the engineering and design of a
commercial scale plant within the expected capital costs. The operating and
maintenance costs are within due diligence estimates, as determined after the
plant has been running for 329 days/year, 24 hrs/day for at least 1 calendar
year (preferably two calendar years). The energy and/or fuel production yields
are within anticipated design specifications.
Energy Efficiency (E2)
E2 compares the energy efficiencies for the production of bioalcohol fuels, and any
merchantable co-products such as electricity. Energy efficiency of the fuel production
process is also one of the key determinants of the relative greenhouse gas
contribution of the full fuel cycle. The criteria for the production of alcohol fuels are as
follows:
Excellent:
Good:
Fair:
Poor:
Not Acceptable:
>45% thermal energy efficiency
40-45% thermal energy efficiency
30-35% thermal energy efficiency
25-30% thermal energy efficiency