Some might call it a green dream: a gas turbine that runs on biofuel produced from woodwaste. It could, if turned into a reality, have the potential to change the landscape of distributed energy (DE). And that is exactly what Orenda Aerospace has in mind.

A view from the southeast corner of the plant, with compressors and heat exchangers in the foreground.

Orenda, a Canadian subsidiary of Magellan Aerospace Corporation, has developed the world's first gas turbine fueled by bio-oil. The result of years of development, the biofueled turbine is part of a $12 million project in West Lorne, Ontario, to establish a pilot bio-oil processing facility and 2.5-megawatt combined heat and power plant, using mainly woodwaste from a nearby wood-flooring manufacturer.

According to Brad Martin, commercial manager at Orenda, the company believes the future of DE and alternative fuels are linked because green fuels and the technologies that utilize them lend themselves to smaller power generation in and around the sources of the alternative fuel. "As the need to convert to green power continues and grows, so shall these smaller projects, virtually creating the need for a distributed power philosophy, even in areas where no such philosophy exists now," he says. "In addition, alternate fuel sources will allow fuel to be produced in remote areas that presently would have to transport fuel in."

Orenda considers the project green because it uses renewable sources for fuel and offsets the need to use fossil fuel. "The unit only produces, as a maximum, the same amount of carbon dioxide that the fuel source [trees] took out of the atmosphere in the first place," Martin says. "The fuel is greenhouse-gas neutral. When fossil fuel is burned it produces carbon dioxide and adds this to the atmosphere."

Top: Early progress on main pyrolysis building. Middle: Char collection cyclones are moved into position. Bottom: Orenda OGT 2500 arrives.

The project commissioning is expected to begin by the end of 2004. Because it's a different process, the biofuel reactor has to be commissioned first, and successfully produce oil, in order to commission the genset. "However, the genset and fuel skid were fully tested to full power at 100% bio-oil, here at Orenda before delivery to site," Martin notes.

According to DynaMotive Energy Systems Corporation, whose technology will produce the fuel it calls BioOil, the reactor is expected to process up to 100 tons of biomass per day and to produce 70 tons of BioOil, 20 tons of char, and 10 tons of non-condensable gases on a daily basis. Fifty tons of BioOil per day will fuel Orenda's turbine, the ouput of which will meet the power requirements of Erie Flooring and Wood Products.  The turbine also will produce enough power to export electricity to Ontario's energy grid. Surplus heat generated by the turbine will produce up to 12,000 pounds of steam per hour for Erie Flooring's industrial operations, DynaMotive says.

The Right Site

West Lorne, Martin says, was the right situation for the project. "Two companies side by side. Both having woodwaste-disposal issues. Both with thermal and steam loads compatible with the unit. Both interested in having their own power capabilities, and both having an environmentally conscious vision," he says. "And finally, the project is in close proximity to our facility, which greatly helps the economics of the development project."

Martin says Orenda was aware of the fact that many gas-turbine manufacturers were working to turn wastes into fuel, and the issues always seemed to center around the volume of gas, and that the fuel source had to stay with the engine. "We were also aware that there were companies developing reactors that had the ability to transform biomass into a liquid. As liquid is transportable, one large-scale reactor could be placed in a central location and fuel transported out to multiple generation sites, rather than smaller-scale reactors at each site. In addition, the maintenance costs are not expected to be as high as when utilizing gasification technologies."

A view from the west shows the Orenda unit, BioOil storage tanks, and the electrical and control building.

Another aim of the project, says Ron Tingle, Orenda's sales and business development manager, is to demonstrate the commercial viability of DynaMotive's unique pyrolysis technology, and the use of the resulting green fuel in the generation of electricity and process heat. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, DynaMotive is recognized as a leader in fast pyrolysis technology. Its principal business is the development and commercialization of environmentally friendly energy systems, based on fuels produced from biomass.

Upon completion near the end of 2004, the West Lorne project will be submitted to Canada's EcoLogoM for certification as a low-impact renewable electricity facility. EcoLogoM is a national certification process under Environment Canada's Environmental Choice Program that seeks to identify and certify facilities, products and services that have environmentally superior performance in relation to other similar offerings in the marketplace. EcoLogoM is administered by TerraChoice Environmental Services Inc.

Pennsylvania-based author Robert Gluck writes frequently on energy-related concerns.

DE - November/December 2004