THE 800 KWTH ALLOTHERMAL BIOMASS GASIFIER MILENA

ECN is developing an ind ir ectly heated (allothermal) biomass gasification process (MILENA), optimized for the production of Substitute Natural Gas (SNG). The MILENA gasification technology has a high cold gas efficiency and high methane yield, making this technology extremely suitable for SNG production. A lab-scale MILENA gas ifier has been in operation since 2004. The lab-scale installation is connected to the lab- scale gas cleaning section and methanation section. Several duration tests were done with good results. The lab-scale MILENA gas ifier was extended with an automated biomass feeding system, which makes it possible to do tests without operators. The gasifier is now ready for long duration Bio-SNG production tests. The MILENA gas ification technology is scaled up from 30 kWth to 800 kWth. The construction of the MILENA pilot plant is finished. The first functional tests showed that some minor adjustments to the installation (flue gas cooler) and start up procedure are required. The functional and operational tests will be continued in the summer of 2008.