ETI seeking partners for new biomass pre-treatment project
Energy Technologies Institute
The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) wants to hear from organisations capable of developing and demonstrating a biomass pre-treatment system that incorporates biomass chipping, screening, washing and drying.
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Expressions of Interest sought from organisations capable of providing biomass feedstock improvement processes and technology for commercial scale biomass to operate within energy conversion plants or fuel supplier applications
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Expressions of interest (EoI) should be submitted to the ETI by 2pm on 31 May 2016
The ETI has issued an EoI for the bioenergy feedstock improvement process project.
Providing it can identify suitable delivery partners through this EoI process, the ETI intends to then procure a semi-commercial scale technology demonstration project involving pre-treatment operations.
This anticipated project will seek to identify the costs and benefits of applying feedstock improvement processes to a set of biomass feedstock types. It will also aim to highlight the opportunities and challenges involved in any scale-up and commercial deployment of the process.
Biomass, including waste wood, aboricultural and forestry residues, and purpose-grown biomass feedstocks such as Miscanthus, often contains undesirable contaminants, picked up for example during harvesting, transport or storage. This pre-treatment process should reduce their concentrations and so deliver downstream operational benefits and value.
EoIs are sought from participants with experience in this field, who can demonstrate they have the right skills and competencies. They should also be able to demonstrate that they have access to the required feedstocks, to a waste site with appropriate waste handling permits and to appropriate test facilities.
Respondents to the EoI will need to set out how their technology and process will deliver cost savings and performance improvements by reducing key minor constituents from biomass and waste feedstocks. They will also need to show how they would design, supply, install, commission and test the process and technology over course of the 12-18 month long project.
Geraint Evans, ETI Bioenergy Programme Manager said:
“The ETI believes it has identified an opportunity to accelerate the demonstration of a biomass and waste wood feedstock improvement process.
“We therefore want to identify and understand both the opportunities and challenges involved in scaling up such improvement processes to commercial deployment.
“The improvement process should be based on a complete system involving screening, comminution, washing, and drying. It is likely that it will involve commercially viable technologies that have not yet collectively been commercially deployed in the UK in a biomass or wood waste feedstock improvement system environment.”
The Expression of Interest for the bioenergy feedstock improvement process project will close at 2pm on 31 May 2016. It can be viewed at www.eti.co.uk/category/proposals
