A techno-economic evaluation of an energy conversion park

Abstract

Biomass as a renewable energy source has many advantages and is recognized as one of the main renewable energy sources to attain the target of 20% renewable energy use of final energy consumption by 2020 in Europe. In this paper the concept of a biomass Energy Conversion Park (ECP) is introduced. A biomass ECP can be defined as a synergetic multi-dimensional biomass conversion site with a highly integrated set of conversion technologies in which a multitude of regionally available biomass (residue) sources are converted into energy and materials. A techno-economic assessment is performed to indicate the advantages of this ‘multi-dimensional’ approach in the handling and use of biomass resources. A process flow diagram (PFD) will be generated and the mass- and energy balances will be calculated for each technically feasible ECP concept, including mass and energy exchange between the different concepts. The concepts will be economically evaluated using general investment criteria which can be calculated after applying cost-benefit analysis (CBA). The investment criteria that will be considered are the net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and (discounted) payback period (PBP). The developed techno-economic evaluation method is used to find an optimum biomass ECP concept for the region of Breda (Netherlands) in which composting, digestion (dry and wet) and combustion are the used biomass conversion technologies. The input streams are pig manure, municipal solid waste, wood residues, and residues from the agro- and food industry. The technical and economic advantages of combining different conversion technologies compared to the use of only one conversion technique are demonstrated. Also the potential of upgrading the biogas to biomethane is considered. In this way an answer can be offered to the European Biofuel Directive.