Gasification Unit Research Articles

Development and techno-economic assessment of a new biomass-assisted integrated plant for multigeneration

In this paper, a novel renewable power-assisted multigeneration system is introduced for useful commodities such as cooling, hydrogen, heating, drying, hot water, and power generations. The biomass energy is preferred as a renewable power source. The proposed plant is including the biomass gasifier unit, gas turbine cycle, Kalina cycle, reverse osmosis unit, proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, absorption cooling cycle, dryer and heat pump subsystem. The primary purpose of this paper is to analyze a biomass assisted combined plant in terms of thermodynamic and economic viewpoints. In this regard, the thermodynamic performance, exergy destruction rate and economic examination are performed according to the various parameters. Results demonstrated that the whole energy and exergy efficiencies of the examined plant are 63.84% and 59.26%, respectively. Furthermore, the total irreversibility and hydrogen production rates are found as 53,406 kW and 0.072 kg/s. The overall purchase cost rate of the suggested cycle is about 2000 $/s.

Gasification of wet microalgae to produce H2-rich syngas and electricity: A thermodynamic study considering exergy analysis

In this work, a novel integrated gasification system was developed for wet microalgae to produce hydrogen-rich syngas and electricity. The proposed system consists of six major stages: (i) in-situ drying of wet microalgae, (ii) pyrolysis of dried microalgae, (iii) conversion of tar (produced in the pyrolysis stage), (iv) gasification of pyrolysis products, (v) combustion of biochar producing electricity, and (vi) post-treatment of syngas to remove CO2. The proposed gasification was modeled by thermodynamic simulation using Aspen Plus®. The developed thermodynamic model was first validated against experimental data concerning product composition and yields of the pyrolysis stage under the same operating conditions. Then, performance of the developed system was evaluated for gasification of Porphyra under various operating parameters, including moisture contents, gasifying agent (O2/steam) flow rates, and biochar distributions between gasification and combustion units. Syngas quality, cold gas efficiency (CGE), and overall energy and exergy efficiencies were considered as the performance metrics. Finally, it was found that under certain operating conditions, moisture content is beneficial to syngas composition, while adverse trends are found for CGE, and overall energy and exergy efficiencies. A proper adjustment of O2 flow rate can improve both syngas composition and energy performance.

Modelling and optimization of a pilot-scale entrained-flow gasifier using artificial neural networks

This paper explores the construction and validation of an artificial neural network (ANN) in order to accurately and efficiently predict the performance of a pilot-scale gasifier unit. This ANN model consists of multiple sub-networks that individually predict each of the desired gasifier outputs as a function of key system parameters. The ANN was trained using data generated for a large set of randomly-generated input conditions from a pilot-scale gasifier reduced order model (ROM) developed previously. The fully-trained ANN was validated by comparing its performance to the aforementioned ROM model. The validated ANN model was subsequently implemented into two optimization studies in order to determine the operating conditions necessary to maximize the carbon conversion under different limitations for the peak temperature of the gasifier and to determine the ideal input conditions of maximizing both the carbon conversion and production of hydrogen gas which are two conflicting objectives. This case study further showcases the benefit of the ANN, which was able to obtain accurate predictions for the gasifier results similar to the results generated by the ROM model at a much lower computational cost.

Methanol production from Refuse Derived Fuel: Influence of feedstock composition on process yield through gasification analysis

Currently the production of methanol from Refuse Derived Fuel, a derived product of Municipal Solid Waste, can be deemed as an excellent example of circular economy, by representing a promising alternative both to conventional methods of waste disposal and methanol production from fossil resources. High-temperature conversion of waste in syngas is the main step of the Waste-to-Methanol process. Unfortunately, produced syngas does not directly comply with the requirements for methanol synthesis, in that syngas purification and conditioning steps are required. Moreover, waste, due to its heterogeneous nature, presents a variable composition, leading to the production of variable syngas flowrate and composition. A thermodynamic equilibrium model of gasification unit has been developed in Aspen Plus environment and applied to analyse the effects of feedstock variability; RDF composition has been characterized considering as main parameters: ash, moisture and combustible fractions, carbon to hydrogen and carbon to oxygen ratios, and Lower Heating Value. Then, a simplified simulation of downstream process has been introduced to evaluate the influence of waste composition on overall methanol production. The present study allows the identification of the main parameters affecting the syngas and, accordingly, overall process yield, consumptions and emissions.

Utilization of CO2 in renewable DME fuel production: A life cycle analysis (LCA)-based case study in China

This work aimed to evaluate the environmental performance of single-step dimethyl ether (DME) production system through CO2-enhanced gasification of gumwood. The proposed CO2-enhanced gasification based bio-DME production process was compared systematically with the conventional approach in terms of life cycle assessment (LCA) impacts by using SimaPro software. Overall, the LCA results revealed that bio-DME fuel produced from CO2-enhanced process significantly reduced the burden on climate change, toxicity and eco-toxicity by at least 20%. This decrement was mostly attributed to low feedstock consumption, high-energy recovery and CO2 utilization in the CO2-enhanced process. Over 53% contribution in all impact categories were contributed by the gasifier unit, mainly due to its high energy intensity (over 60% of the total energy requirement). Moreover, the effect of replacing diesel by bio-DME or diesel/DME blend as an automotive fuel was assessed in this study. The scenario of using pure DME resulted on significant reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, by 72%, and of its impact on both human health and ecosystem (by 55% and 68%, respectively). The reduction of GHG emissions were caused by the carbon neutrality of bio-DME. Utilization of DME also limited the emissions of carcinogenic particulate such as diesel soot and therefore, decreased the toxicity of traffic emissions. The second scenario was to utilize DME15 (15% DME by wt in diesel) as an automotive fuel. However, only minor decreases, up to 7%, of the environmental impact were observed for DME15 compared to those estimated for pure diesel. Thus, the present study demonstrated that the CO2-enhanced process could greatly reduce GHG emission and environmental burden of DME production compared to the conventional method. Furthermore, bio-DME utilization as fuel for automotive applications can significantly decrease the hazard caused by traffic emissions.

Novel configuration of supercritical water gasification and chemical looping for highly-efficient hydrogen production from microalgae

This study proposes a novel system to efficiently produce hydrogen from microalgae, based on supercritical water gasification and syngas chemical looping, and its conversion to methylcyclohexane. The process consists of a gasifier, a syngas chemical looping reactor, and a methylcyclohexane synthesis reactor as the main units. Microalgae are converted to syngas in the supercritical water gasification reactor. Thereafter, the produced syngas is introduced into the syngas chemical looping module to produce pure hydrogen and a separated carbon dioxide stream. The hydrogen is then reacted with toluene through the hydrogenation reaction to produce methylcyclohexane as a hydrogen carrier. The heat released from the methylcyclohexane synthesis module and chemical looping combustor is utilized to sustain the thermal balance of the supercritical water gasification unit. The system performance is observed under different feed moisture contents, operating temperatures in the supercritical water gasification unit, and operating pressures in the syngas chemical looping unit. A steady-state process simulation of Aspen Plus software is used for this purpose. The proposed integrated system exhibits of approximately 13.7%, 45.3%, and 59.1% for power generation efficiency, hydrogen production efficiency, and total energy efficiency, which demonstrates an efficient process of hydrogen production. The preliminary economic assessment shows that more than half of the operating cost accounts for microalgae production. This indicates the microalgae feedstock is one of the critical cost drivers in the microalgae-to-hydrogen production system.

Integration of a selected district heating system with an installation for cogasification of coal and biomass

The article presents a topic related to generation of heat and power in small and medium size coal power units which are able to comply with the emission benchmark of 550 g of CO2/kWh through utilization of biomass. The concept for coal and biomass cogasification installation is based on GazEla reactor, which has been developed by Institute for Chemical Processing of Coal. Authors also present a discussion on issues related to technological scheme of the gasification unit which has been integrated with a selected district heating system. The system has been set up for generation of hot technological water and electrical power. Focal point of the installation is a fixed bed gasification reactor. For the system to provide means enabling cogeneration of heat and power, downstream from the generator a high-temperature gas dedusting system, a unit for recovery of heat from process gas coupled with separation of tar contaminants as well as a gas engine were proposed. A sorted chart presenting historical data for annual demand for heat together with the most important assumptions used during the analyses are discussed. Finally authors present results of calculations for the integrated unit that are further broadened by sensitivity analyses for change of gasification reactor’s efficiency, as well as engine’s efficiency for heat and power generation.

Integration into a citrus juice factory of air-steam gasification and CHP system: Energy sustainability assessment

This study analyzes the energy sustainability of citrus residues conversion and valorization through fluidized bed gasification plant. An energy analysis of the integration into a real citrus juice factory of a combined heat and power system (CHP), coupled with a citrus residues air-steam gasification unit, is presented. Energy and biomass assessments are estimated by matching the gasification unit performance with the syngas request of the CHP unit through an integrated simulation model.Results show that the integration of a gasification-CHP system into the juice industrial cycle could supply 7,875 MWh/year of electricity, corresponding to 88% of the factory’s demand. About 82% of the heat produced in the CHP unit is used to dry the citrus residues, while about 1,086 MWh/year are available for the heat request of the juice production process. This allow saving 27,906 MWh/year of non-renewable primary energy, reducing the specific non-renewable primary energy consumption of about 46% the factory’s carbon dioxide impact could be decreased of about 45%.

Study on distribution, chemical states and binding energy shifts of elements on the surface of gasification fine ash

Using feed coal as a reference, a series of modern advanced analysis and measurement technologies such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction have been used to analyze the gasification fine ash obtained from a pulverized coal gasification unit. The results show that the fine ash mainly consists of elemental carbon, oxygen, silicon, and aluminum. The elemental carbon distributes primarily on the foams structure, while the spherical particles mainly consisted of silicon and aluminum are embedded in the foams structure. The C1s spectrum is composed of five components in which the content of graphitized carbon is up to 38.36%, and the content of aromatic C–C or C–H, the main existing form on coal surface, is only 25.75%. The 67.31% of elemental silicon is combined with bridging oxygen (Si–O) and 32.69% of that connected to non-bridging oxygen (Si–O2). The existence of aluminum is in the form of aluminum oxides with two coordinated modes ([AlO6] and [AlO4]), and the content of [AlO6] group is nearly double that of [AlO4]. Simultaneously, the binding energies of silicon and aluminum increase by approximately 3 eV, while that of carbon almost no change because of the number of carbon atoms is significantly higher than that of other elements. The silicon atoms and aluminum atoms are surrounded by masses of carbon atoms for the special microstructure of FA. The different chemical states of carbon with higher electronegativity along with the role of high temperature and pressure make the binding energies of silicon and aluminum changed dramatically.

Thermodynamic and techno-economic analysis of coal to ethylene glycol process (CtEG) with different coal gasifiers

Coal gasification unit, one of the most important units of the coal to ethylene glycol (CtEG) process, determines the amount and composition of syngas and is crucial to the overall performance of the CtEG process. Thus, the effect of coal gasifiers on the thermodynamic and techno-economic performance of coal to ethylene glycol (CtEG) process is analyzed and compared in this study. A rigorous steady-state modeling and simulation of the CtEG process with three different gasifiers (GSP, Shell and Texaco) is firstly performed and validated with literature data. Then the CO2 emissions, thermodynamic and economic performance of three cases of CtEG process with GSP, Shell and Texaco are detailed analyzed and compared. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis of the effect of economic parameters on the production cost of the CtEG process with different gasifiers is investigated. Results show that the exergy efficiency of the Case GSP is the highest, 43.98%, followed by Case Shell, 41.61% and Case Texaco, 39.22%. The capital cost of Case Shell is the highest, 2904.38 $/t-EG, followed by Case GSP, 2642.08 $/t-EG, and Case Texaco 2418.75 $/t-EG. The total production cost of Case Texaco is highest, 717.25 $/t-EG, followed by Case Shell, 705.05 $/t-EG, and Case GSP, 666.09 $/t-EG. The internal rate of return of Case GSP, Shell and Texaco are 18.01%, 14.24% and 17.72%, respectively. The CO2 emissions of Case GSP is the largest, 3.27 t/t-EG, followed by Case Shell, 3.12 t/t-EG and Case Texaco 2.89 t/t-EG.

Process analysis of hydrogen production from biomass gasification in fluidized bed reactor with different separation systems

Gasification is one of the most effective and studied methods for producing energy and fuels from biomass as different biomass feedstock can be handled, with the generation of syngas consisting of H2, CO, and CH4, which can be used for several applications. In this study, the gasification of hazelnut shells (biomass) within a circulating bubbling fluidized bed gasifier was analyzed for the first time through a quasi-equilibrium approach developed in the Aspen Plus environment and used to validate and improve an existing bubbling fluidized bed gasifier model. The gasification unit was integrated with a water-gas shift (WGS) reactor to increase the hydrogen content in the outlet stream and with a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit for hydrogen separation. The amount of dry H2 obtained out of the gasifier was 31.3 mol%, and this value increased to 47.5 mol% after the WGS reaction. The simulation results were compared and validated against experimental data reported in the literature. The process model was then modified by replacing the PSA unit with a palladium membrane separation module. The final results of the present work allowed comparison of the effects of the two conditioning systems, PSA and palladium membrane, indicating a comparative increase in the hydrogen recovery ratio of 28.9% with the palladium membrane relative to the PSA configuration.

Techno-economic and environmental analyses of a biomass based system employing solid oxide fuel cell, externally fired gas turbine and organic Rankine cycle

This paper presents a techno-economic and environmental assessment of a biomass gasification based power plant integrating a solid oxide fuel cell module, an externally fired gas turbine and an organic Rankine cycle. The proposed biomass based system is nonparallel with the conventional biomass based power generation system because of biomass gasification, solid oxide fuel cell, externally fired gas turbine, organic Rankine cycle have been combined in a single system. The thermodynamic and economic performances of the plant have been investigated under the varying operating and design parameters. The maximum energetic and exergetic efficiencies of the system are computed to be 49.47% and 44.2%, respectively. Exergy analysis predicts that the biomass gasifier unit contributes highest amount of exergy destruction (38.91%) in terms of total exergy destruction of the system, followed by solid oxide fuel cell (21.24%) and secondary heat exchanger (13.11%). Economic analysis forecasts that the minimum levelized unit cost of electricity would be 0.086 $/kWh. A performance comparison with other conventional biomass based power generation systems shows that the proposed system exhibits better efficiency and cost of electricity than others. Environmental analysis predicts that the maximum CO2 emission reduction potential is computed to be 3564 t CO2/year compared to the fossil fuel based power plant.

A chemical equilibrium model for biomass gasification. Application to Costa Rican coffee pulp transformation unit

The present study considers the establishment of a biomass gasification model using for its validation, experimental data obtained in a 15–20 kg/h coffee pulp downdraft gasifier unit, operated at ICAFE-Costa Rica. The gasification model proposed considers a heterogeneous “downflow” central section and a homogeneous “upflow” exit section, both operating at chemical equilibrium. Each of the sections includes a number of relevant independent chemical reactions. Biomass is incorporated into the model using its elemental composition as well as its water content. Different reaction paths are examined in order to analyze the applicability of the various assumptions considered. The established model accounts for biochar thermodynamic properties as well as gasifier operating temperatures in the homogenous “upflow” section, using a numerical fitting method. With this approach, the proposed model successfully predicts the molar fractions of various syngas components, most notably, the CH4 and H2 fractions via the CO2 hydrogenation reaction, as well as the carbon converted. It is anticipated that the developed model will provide a valuable simulation and design tool for scaled-up downdraft biomass gasifiers.

Process simulation and integration of IGCC systems for H2/syngas/electricity generation with control on CO2 emissions

IGCC is a pre-combustion technology that can be effectively used to produce both hydrogen and electricity while reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Two process models are developed in Aspen Plus® software and are compared techno-economically. The conventional design of IGCC process is taken as case 1, whereas, case 2 represents the conceptual design of sequential integration of reforming model with the gasification unit to enhance the syngas yield. The case 2 utilizes the steam generated in the gasification process to sustain the methane reforming process which consequently enhances both the H2 production capacity and cold gas efficiency. It has been analyzed from results that case 2 can enhance the process performance by 4.77% and economics in terms of cost of electricity by 5.9% compared to the conventional process. However, the utilization of natural gas in the case 2 is considered as a standalone fuel so the process performance of NGCC power plants has been also incorporated to ensure the realistic analysis. The results also showed that case 2 design offers 3.9% higher process performance than the cumulative (IGCC + NGCC) processes, respectively. Moreover, the CO2 specific emissions and LCOE for the case 2 is also lower than the case.

Multi-aspect evaluation of integrated forest-based biofuel production pathways: Part 2. economics, GHG emissions, technology maturity and production potentials

Promoting the deployment of forest-based drop-in and high blend biofuels is considered strategically important in Sweden but many aspects of the overall performance of the foremost production technologies are as yet unexamined. This paper evaluates the technology maturity, profitability, investment requirements, GHG performance and Swedish biofuel production potential of six commercially interesting forest-based biofuel production pathways.Significant heterogeneity in technology maturity was observed. Lack of technical demonstration in industrially representative scales renders the liquefaction-hydrotreatment route for drop-in biofuels less mature than its gasification-catalytic upgrading counterpart. It is a paradox that short-term priority being accorded to pathways with the lowest technology maturity. Nth-of-a-kind investments in (a) gasification-based methanol, (b) hydropyrolysis-based petrol/diesel, and (c) lignin depolymerization-based petrol/diesel were profitable for a range of plant sizes. The profitability of pulp mill-integrated small gasification units (<100 MW) goes against the common perception of gasification being economically feasible only in large scales. New low-cost options for debottlenecking production at recovery boiler-limited kraft mills appear worth investigating. GHG emission reductions ranged from 66 to 95%; a penalty was incurred for high consumption of natural gas-based hydrogen. Swedish biofuel production potentials ranged from 4 to 27 TWh/y but a more feasible upper limit is 12–15 TWh/y.

Innovative power-to-gas plant concepts for upgrading of gasification bio-syngas through steam electrolysis and catalytic methanation

Several plant concepts for synthetic compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production using different water electrolysis and methanation technologies are compared in terms of power-to-methane efficiency, cooling water requirements, net water requirements, and carbon valorization. In these concepts, both oxygen and hydrogen produced in the electrolysis unit are valorized. Pure oxygen is used in the gasification unit, which allows a compact autothermal unit design and an efficient syngas production. Electrolytic hydrogen is fed to the catalytic methanation unit, thus improving the carbon utilization compared to state of the art plants with water-gas shift units. Pinch analyses were performed using an in-house MATLAB® algorithm to evaluate the thermal requirements of each plant concept and determine the maximal theoretical plant efficiencies. Plant efficiencies were then evaluated more accurately in static regime using full integrated Simulink® plant models. Calculated efficiency values are very close to the maximal theoretical ones, which validates the relevance of the implemented thermal integrations from an energy standpoint. Investigated plant concepts with solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) units present a significantly higher overall efficiency (in the range of 78.5–81.8% higher heating value (HHV) according to the end-products) compared to the reference case with liquid water electrolysis units (64.9% HHV for synthetic natural gas (SNG) or 64.4% HHV for CNG), thus highlighting the potential of the solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology for power-to-gas/liquids applications. The plant efficiency values are then verified, discussed, and compared with previous literature values. The techno-economic feasibility of several options for residual heat valorization is then discussed, e.g. power production or coupling with a district heating network.

A Model of Optimal Gas Supply to a Set of Distributed Consumers

A better design of gas supply chains may lead to a more efficient use of locally available resources, cost savings, higher energy efficiency and lower impact on the environment. In optimizing the supply chain of liquefied natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG) or biogas for smaller regions, the task is to find the best supplier and the most efficient way to transport the gas to the customers to cover their demands, including the design of pipeline networks, truck transportation and storage systems. The analysis also has to consider supporting facilities, such as gasification units, truck loading lines and CNG tanking and filling stations. In this work a mathematical model of a gas supply chain is developed, where gas may be supplied by pipeline, as compressed gas in containers or as LNG by tank trucks, with the goal to find the solution that corresponds to lowest overall costs. In order to efficiently solve the combinatorial optimization problem, it is linearized and tacked by mixed integer linear programming. The resulting model is flexible and can easily be adapted to tackle local supply chain problems with multiple gas sources and distributed consumers of very different energy demands. The model is illustrated by applying it on a local gas distribution problem in western Finland. The dependence of the optimal supply chain on the conditions is demonstrated by a sensitivity analysis, which reveals how the model can be used to evaluate different aspects of the resulting supply chains.

Bark as feedstock for dual fluidized bed gasifiers-Operability, efficiency, and economics

The demand for biofuels and biochemicals is expected to increase in the future, which will in turn increase the demand for biomass feedstock. Large gasification plants fueled with biomass feedstock are likely to be a key enabling technology in a resource-efficient, bio-based economy. Furthermore, the costs for producing biofuels and biochemicals in such plants could potentially be decreased by utilizing inexpensive low-grade residual biomass as feedstock. This study investigates the usage of shredded tree bark as a feedstock for the production of biomethane in the GoBiGas demonstration plant in Gothenburg, Sweden, based on a 32 MWth industrial dual fluidized bed gasification unit. The plant was operated with bark feedstock for 12 000 hours during the period 2014 to 2018. Data from the measurement campaign were processed using a stochastic approach to establish the plant's mass and energy balances, which were then compared with operation of the plant with wood pellets. For this comparison, an extrapolation algorithm was developed to predict plant performance using bark dried to the same moisture content as wood pellets, ie, 8%w.b. Plant operation with bark feedstock was evaluated for operability, efficiency, and feedstock-related cost. The gas quality achieved during the test period was similar to that obtained for operation with wood pellets. Furthermore, no significant ash sintering or agglomeration problems were observed more than 750 hours of operation. The calculated biomass-to-biomethane efficiency is 43% to 47% (lower heating value basis) for operation with wet bark. However, the predicted biomass-to-biomethane efficiency can be increased to 55%–65% for operation with bark feedstock dried to 8% moisture content, with corresponding feedstock costs in the range of 24.2 to 32.7 EUR/MWh; ie, a cost reduction of about 40% compared with wood pellets.

Saudis claim success at investor conference

Saudi Arabian firms claimed success at the country’s controversial Future Investment Initiative, held last week in Riyadh. A few firms, including JPMorgan Chase and Bloomberg, boycotted the event to punish the Saudi government over its alleged responsibility in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi early this month in Turkey. National oil company Saudi Aramco says it signed 15 memoranda of understanding worth a total of $34 billion. However, many of the announced projects, such as a petrochemical complex with France’s Total and a gasification unit with Air Products & Chemicals, were already ongoing. Saudi chemical maker SABIC signed a deal with the German photovoltaics firm Schmid to build a $430 million silicon plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. SABIC also said it will spend nearly $1 billion to provide raw materials to a polyethylene terephthalate complex the Chinese firm Pan Asia PET is building in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco is

Biomass residue characterization for their potential application as biofuels

A detailed understanding of chemical composition and thermal degradation behavior is very important for a biomass before processing it into a pyrolysis or gasification unit for energy production. In the present work, the physico- and thermo-chemical characterization of four different types of walnut shells (PSW, TSW, MSW and HSW) is carried out to evaluate their application as furnace oil. The thermal degradation behavior during the thermal decomposition of different walnut shells (WS) samples is studied using thermogravimetric analysis at three different heating rates (5, 10 and 15 °C min−1). It is observed that the complete moisture removal is below 152 °C, and the degradation of lignocellulosic biomass is occurred between ≈ 250 to ≈ 400 °C in the oxidizing atmosphere. For all different WS samples, the heating values are observed in the range of 13.8–18.4 MJ kg−1, which is comparable to the wood waste and lignite coal. The cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and extractives in walnut shell are found to vary from 32.3 to 34.5, 21 to 27, 39 to 43 and 1.4 to 1.7%, respectively. The functional characterization of different WS is carried out using FTIR, and the most prominent FTIR band peak has been found at wave numbers of 3400, 2931, 1420 and 1050 cm−1, which is due to the stretching vibrations of –OH, CH–, aromatic C=C, and aliphatic ether and alcohol groups, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy analysis indicated the rough texture and heterogeneous structures of biomass. Further, the X-ray diffraction analysis showed the crystalline structure, which is due to the presence of cellulose. Therefore, it can be concluded that the walnut shell is a potential candidate for energy generation through thermo-chemical conversion.