Our Technology

What is gasification?

Gasification is a thermal combustion process which takes place in an oxygen limited, i.e. sub-stoichometric, environment to produce a synthetic gas (syngas). Under stoichiometric conditions fuel is burned completely, all of the carbon (C) is converted to (CO2) and all of the hydrogen (H) to (H2O). Under sub-stoichometric conditions the products of combustion include hydrogen (H2), methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO) which account for the calorific value of the syngas.

ITI's gasification technology

Gasification is a well established technology dating back to the 1850s when it was used to produce gas for street lighting and domestic consumers. During World War 2 over one million vehicles in Europe ran onboard gasifiers to make fuel from wood and charcoal when petrol and diesel were in short supply.

Gasifiers are often described in terms of the point of introduction of air into the reaction vessel in relation to the fuel, e.g. updraft, downdraft and crossdraft. The air quantity and distribution plays a major part in determining the quality and composition of the syngas produced. Over the past twelve years, as a result of our association with the University of Newcastle, ITI Energy has developed a patented gasification system that incorporates elements of up, down and crossdraft technology to produce syngas which is low in tars and oils. ITI Energy has also undertaken a significant amount of work on systems to clean and polish the syngas to make it suitable for use in internal combustion engines and has received performance guarantees from several major suppliers of gas engine powered electricity generation equipment.

Rather than designing bespoke systems ITI has applied a modular approach to its energy from waste gasification plants. A single gasifier module - the reactor and its associated gas clean-up train - will process in the region of 12,000 tonnes of fuel per year. A plant will comprise a number of modules each being made up of the same set of equipment, e.g. cyclones, scrubber, blower. This approach simplifies and standardises the supply chain, minimises the spares that must be held, allows interchangeability of labour betweens sites and aids with planning and permitting.

Energy solutions

The conversion efficiency of the engine and generator sets producing electricity from syngas is approximately 45%. ITI has made a conscious decision not to attempt to recover heat from the gas clean-up train, however heat is available from the engine water jackets and the exhaust stacks which can increase the conversion efficiency to 85%. Heat may be exported from site as hot water or steam and used for district heating as part of a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) scheme, for industrial processes or to enable further power generation from an Organic Rankine Cycle process.

Waste management solutions

ITI Energy's project partners are:

  • Power companies with redundant sites who are looking to utilise existing grid connections
  • Power companies wishing to increase their presence in the renewable energy sector
  • Industrial and commercial companies with high power and/or heat requirements who need to spread their energy supply base and augment their green credentials
  • Waste producers or handlers seeking to convert a business cost into a revenue stream

A gasification plant has five essential requirements: a reliable supply of fuel, internal combustion engines, a grid connection to export the generated power, utilities and the gasification plant itself. Ideally the plant will be adjacent to the fuel supply to minimise the environmental impact and cost of transport however this is not always possible due to the location of the partner's site. In this event the fuel is densified prior to transport to reduce vehicle movements and the footprint of the plant.

Feedstocks

The ITI Energy gasifier has been designed to accept densified combustible solid material (biomass, Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), chicken litter, autoclave floc).ITI has drawn up a feedstock specification to define the acceptable ranges for:

  • the dimensions of the briquettes
  • the bulk density
  • moisture content
  • ash content
  • calorific value
  • a number of contaminant species, e.g. Copper, Mercury, Chlorine and Fluorine

The specification ensures that the feedstock is made up of the correct raw material to enable the production of high quality syngas and that the gas clean-up equipment is correctly scoped.

ITI's preferred material for gasification is Briquetted Fibre Fuel (BFF) which is produced by shredding and densifying the non-recyclable fraction of material that would otherwise be sent to landfill, i.e. the waste of the waste. ITI imposes a gate fee charge on the supplier of the waste. This charge is less than the landfill charge and reflects the cost to the supplier of processing the waste into briquettes.

Engineering Consultants reports.

ITI Energy's business model is based on joint venture projects which are funded through a mixture of debt and equity. As a consequence ITI has been exposed to a great deal of due diligence carried out by independent engineers on behalf of financial institutions and potential partners. Reports may be made available subject to the necessary safeguards of confidentiality being secured.