Greentech Lead America: GE Power & Water has partnered with PHG Energy, a Nashville-based alternative energy equipment company, to develop a project to produce electricity from waste material by employing gasification technology to power GE’s Clean Cycle heat-to-power generator.
The project uses the Clean Cycle heat-to-power generator manufactured by GE Power & Water that converts waste heat into electricity.
The new system developed by PHG Energy (PHGE) starts with gasification of waste wood chips or other biomass to provide a clean-burning producer gas. That fuel is then combusted in a heating unit which supplies the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) with the thermal source it needs to operate efficiently, producing enough electricity to supply approximately 50 homes.
“This system integrates three proven technologies: GE’s heat-to-power generator, PHG Energy’s gasifier and a standard heat exchanger,” said PHG Energy President Tom Stanzione. “The project is simple and elegant in its straightforward design, capable of operating on multiple and varied waste streams, and offers operating costs far below existing waste-to-energy generation systems in the marketplace.”
The combined GE and PHGE project is being conducted in Gleason, Tenn., at a facility owned by Boral Brick Corporation. Six industrial grade PHGE biomass fueled gasifiers, which were used to offset natural gas consumption in kiln firing, are currently being tasked for research and development by PHGE until the plant re-opens with recovery of the housing industry.
Electricity produced with GE’s heat-to-power generator unit is added to the grid through an agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Configuring such a system commercially is currently underway in Covington, Tenn., where the city has engaged PHG Energy to build a waste-to-energy facility using both wood waste and sewage sludge as its fuel sources. The new plant will provide electric power and simultaneously save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in disposal costs and landfill fees.
From a sustainability standpoint, the new system will not only divert material from a landfill, it also will eliminate the release of more than 450 tons of carbon into the air each year.
PHGE is capable of providing the same technology in larger scale. The company is planning to commercialize a generation plant between one and five megawatts utilizing a recently completed and tested PHGE gasifier that produces eight times the output of the current models.