The Netherlands – GIDARA Energy and TU Delft will collaborate to build a Gasification Innovation Centre in Rotterdam.
The center will have a pilot-scale gasification island where, starting in mid-2023, mutual research on the ‘third generation’ of HTW gasification technology, which can produce biofuels from pure biomass/waste streams, will be conducted.
Gasification is a thermochemical process in which the carbon content of biomass/waste streams is converted into syngas, a pure mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, under thermal conditions. Chemicals like hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and synthetic petrol can be made from this gas.
Gasification, on the other hand, is known as a ‘complicated’ technology, with processes that are difficult to control and maintain, and that frequently involve impurities and even tar. GIDARA, on the other hand, uses High Temperature Winkler (HTW), a modern, clean version of the technology that allows for gasification at high pressure.
In 2019, GIDARA Energy purchased ThyssenKrupp’s HTW technology and further developed it, making it possible to use 100% biomass/waste as feedstock. GIDARA Energy is currently constructing a large commercial biomethanol plant in Amsterdam under the name Advanced Methanol Amsterdam (AMA) to achieve this goal. From 2024, non-recyclable waste equivalent to 290,000 households will be used to produce 87,500 tonnes of biomethanol per year.
Evolution of gasification
“We are also trying to develop an advanced digital platform that will allow us to try out various types of gasification processes, improve operational conditions and overcome potential bottlenecks,” explains Dr. Elyas M. Moghaddam, R&D lead of GIDARA Energy and a PhD graduate of TU Delft.
It is the next step in the evolution of gasification technology, which has become increasingly optimized, efficient, reliable, and safe, and thus has the potential to play a significant role in the circular biobased economy of the future.
