Proceedings - Biomass South 2008

Rich Abrams, Vice President, Babcock Power, Inc.

Richard F. Abrams is Vice President – Renewable Energy at Babcock Power (BPI) in Worcester, Mass. In this role, he is responsible for BPI’s renewables products including the biomass boilers, emissions control systems, and solar boilers. Mr. Abrams has been involved in the design, development, and business development for environmental systems throughout his career. These systems have been used for air pollution control, hazardous waste destruction, and radioactive waste management. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, holds seven patents and is the inventor on the RSCR system patent.

Air Pollution Control Systems for Biomass Boilers

This presentation will cover the uncontrolled emissions from biomass boilers and discuss control technologies used to control the emissions, including their efficiencies. The emissions from biomass boilers will be compared to the emissions from coal fired boilers. In addition, the impact of cofiring biomass in coal fired boilers on the air pollution control systems in the plant will be covered.

Slide Presentation in PDF format (will open in new window)

Notes:

Market trends for biomass
Biomass vs coal emissions – emissions control important
Emissions is key negative point for biomass; CO and NOx are pollutants of concern
Controlled-emissions are low in coal while biomass higher when uncontrolled
Biomass power plants avg. 20-50 MW - revenue from power sales and REC’s
New England RPS programs require low NOx to qualify for class 1 REC’s
Boilers: stokers, bubbling/fluidized bed, gasifers
Particulate matter – electrostatic precipitator (ESP) handles biomass sparks and has low emissions
- Fabric filters < high pressure drop, bags may burn and melt
Options to reduce NOx – selective Non-catalytic (SNCR) 30~50% reduction
- SCR reaction: NOx + NH3 + N2 > 70% reduction
Biomass ash has high potassium and sodium
15-20% biomass before degradation of SRC system when co-firing
Burlington electric 54MW with very low emissions

Key Quotes

"New technologies work where conventional technologies may not work."
"With proper control technologies biomass power plants can be as clean if not cleaner than coal."

Summary

There are technologies to make biomass emissions low and competitive with coal

Thanks to Sarah Ashton, Rachel Cook, Lindsey Hannum, James Jeuck, Liwei Lin, James McCarter, Susan McIntyre, and Mark Megalos for providing notes and summaries for presentations.

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