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Biomass Feasibility Project Final Report - Xcel Energy

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digesters because they contain a lot of liquids whereas poultry manure which is higher in solids is<br />

harder to process. Gas from digesters can heat farm buildings or fuel internal combustion<br />

generator sets (gensets) for electric power. Biogas-fueled gensets convert uncleaned bio-gas to<br />

electricity at an efficiency of 18 to 25% (Schmidt and Pinapati, 2000).<br />

Thermal Gasification<br />

In a way, thermal gasification is just the opposite of combustion: instead of burning biomass in an<br />

oxygen-rich chamber to heat a separate vessel, a gasifier heats biomass to a high temperature<br />

inside an oxygen-lean vessel. Starved of oxygen, biomass, rather than burning, gives off<br />

combustible gasses that can be used as fuel for further processes. In power plants, for example,<br />

bio-gas can fuel simple-cycle or combined-cycle turbines that couldn’t burn straight biomass<br />

because it would foul their blades.<br />

Fuel (Gas)<br />

COMBUSTOR<br />

COMPRESSOR<br />

TURBINE<br />

Electricity<br />

GENERATOR<br />

Intake Air<br />

Exhaust<br />

(Williams and Larson, 1993)<br />

Figure V-4: Simple-Cycle Gas Turbine<br />

Page 60<br />

Identifying Effective <strong>Biomass</strong> Strategies:<br />

Quantifying Minnesota’s Resources and Evaluating Future Opportunities

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