Chemrec

Chemrec has 20 years of experience in the field of black liquor gasification. Its headquarters are in Stockholm and the development plant in Piteå, Sweden.

(Chemrec. 2012) The company provides a process that turns traditional pulp mills into biorefineries. The installed Chemrec technology, a gasifier and a motor fuel plant, only need power and black liquor to produce motor fuels and chemicals.

The Chemrec technology provides green liquor and steam back to the pulp mill part of the biorefinery. (Chemrec. 2010. p. 1)

The Chemrec process provides a way to convert low-value biomass into high-value renewable automotive fuels or chemicals. The highly efficient, integrated process provides 30-50% additional revenue for the mill. The Chemrec process

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can also help in increasing power generation and reducing fossil fuel use.

(Chemrec. 2010. p. 1)

The process can significantly increase the cash flow and profitability of the pulp mill by enabling it to become a biorefinery. The Chemrec’s black liquor gasification technology opens up new markets for mills, producing sustainable, low-carbon chemicals and fuels. (Chemrec. 2012) The products are produced efficiently and economically and they are nearly CO₂-neutral. Also the land use efficiency is higher than for most biofuels. The process can utilise forestry, agricultural or municipal waste streams. (Chemrec. 2010. p. 2)

7.2.1 Chemrec conversion process

The Chemrec process is based on high temperature, entrained flow gasification of black liquor. The product of this process is cooled high quality raw syngas which can be used to manufacture a number of different biofuels. (Chemrec. 2010. p. 2)

The components of Chemrec system are: an oxygen plant, a black liquor gasifier and gas cooler/steam generator, a plant for removing carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide from the raw syngas, a fuel synthesis plant, and a distillation plant. In the fuel synthesis plant the liquid fuel is synthesised from the syngas and in the distillation plant the fuel is purified. (Macdonald, C. 2009. p. 58)

Black liquor is a suitable biomass feedstock for biorefining because it is a liquid and it is available at existing industrial sites in large quantities. Because black liquor is a liquid it can be easily pumped into the pressurised gasifier. Liquid black liquor is also easily atomised into a fine mist that reacts very fast in the gasifier. The gasification of black liquor char is also faster than for other feedstock as its inherently high sodium and potassium content acts as a catalyst.

(Chemrec. 2012)

Because of the characteristics of black liquor, the high temperature, entrained

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flow gasification principle can be applied for the process. The advantages over alternative gasification technologies include that it is rapid with low reactor volume, it needs less syngas clean-up, the carbon conversion is complete and has no tar formation and low methane content. (Chemrec. 2012)

Black liquor is such a great biomass feedstock for biorefining that in Chemrec system it is not burned in the conventional Tomlinson-type recovery boiler, even though the biomass boiler remains in the system to provide steam for the pulp mill process. The feedstock of the conventional boiler is switched to any kind of low-grade biomass and the black liquor is used for the production of biofuel.

(LeBlanc, R. J. 2009. pp. 49-50)

The Chemrec process provides the pulp mill with the needed black liquor recovery capacity at the same time as it produces syngas for biofuel production.

The infrastructure of the pulp mill guarantees the raw material supply, utilities, and provides the opportunity for net energy cost reduction. (Chemrec. 2012) For mills producing as little as 500 tons of black liquor solids per day it can be commercially viable to be turned into biorefineries with the Chemrec system. At the minimum capacity size a biorefinery mill would generate at least 32 million litres of green motor fuels a year. (Macdonald, C. 2009. p. 58)

7.2.2 BioDME -project

The BioDME -project consists of eight work packages and is financed by the participants, the EU and the Swedish Energy Agency. There are many companies involved from different industries. Chemrec and Haldor Topsøe have developed and built a dimethyl ether (DME) plant in Piteå. Other functions in the project are the development and building of DME trucks by Volvo Trucks and development of fuel injection systems for the trucks by Volvo Trucks and Delphi. Total is responsible for fuel and lubricant specifications and Preem for the distribution of the BioDME and the building of fuel stations in Sweden. The Energy Technology Centre in Piteå has assisted by providing technical expertise in the project.

(BioDME. 2012)

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Dimethyl ether has many applications such as propellant, power generation, fuel for heating and cooking or as transportation fuel. DME can be used as a fuel for the highly efficient diesel process. It has low exhaust emission and reduces noise levels of the vehicles it is used in. (BioDME. 2012) The BioDME pilot facility in Smurfit Kappa paper mill in Piteå, Sweden, was completed in 2010. The production capacity of the facility is 500,000 gallons per year. The produced BioDME is used in specialty converted trucks and operated by DHL, Green Cargo and Poten Logistics. (Sims, B. 2010)

The beauty of the BioDME-project is in the co-operation between companies in different stages of the life-cycle of the product. As many projects only focus on the development of production methods or on the attributes of the product or its use in a particular application, the BioDME-project entails all these aspects. It is a large scale project with large expectations but it also creates valuable links between organisations and that might be even more valuable for the participants than the objectives of the project.