Alternative energy projects are getting large investments by the US government and venture capitalists as our country struggles with how to deal with global warming and dependence on foreign oil. Using biomass waste to generate power reduces the need for environmentally unfriendly energy sources such as coal.
One US alternative energy company has developed a pressurized combustion process that takes wood product waste and uses it to generate electrical and thermal energy. The high pressure/high temperature combustion gas is used to drive a gas turbine that generates electricity. Their standard systems are designed to produce from 1 to 10 MW of power that can be used at the site or even sold to the local grid. In additon, the high temperature turbine exhaust gas can be used for drying product, generating steam, or producing more power with the use of a steam turbine. They recently installed their first system and used a FKI cyclone to help make it work.
The level of ash particles exhausting from the combustor must be reduced in order to protect the turbine blades so that power generation can be dependable. The exhaust gas is hot and at a high pressure. The ash is very fine. It is not a simple dust collection application. Fisher-Klosterman was asked to submit their recommendations and a proposal to reduce the ash loading. Thy noted that high temperature ceramic filters are undependable and very costly and that wet scrubbing was not an option since the heat could be lost in the water. Using a XQ Series high efficency cyclone was the only viable solution. FKI designed a cyclone and exhaust duct system that coud handle the high pressure, account for the thermal stresses, prevent refractory particles from entering the turbine, and reduce the ash concentration to an acceptable level for the turbine.
We hope this is one of many systems this company will sell as they do their part in helping America rely more on renewable energy resources.