Biofuel gasification combined heat and power—new implementation opportunities resulting from combined supply of process steam and district heating

The economics of biofuel combined heat and power (CHP) depend on many technical, economic and political factors. The goal of this study is to investigate how combined supply of process steam and district heating can improve profitability of biofuelled CHP plant investments in small to medium-sized applications. Focus is placed on advanced biofuel gasification combined cycle technologies with high electric power production potential, compared to conventional steam turbine technology. The study assesses biofuel CHP options in a Swedish municipality that includes both an industrial process steam consumer and a district heating network. The results show the clear economic advantage of this type of co-operation. Under the assumed conditions for the study, an optimally sized conventional steam turbine CHP unit achieves the lowest cost of electricity. However, gasification-based CHP technologies generate significantly more electricity than conventional steam cycle technology, which results in higher net CHP plant revenue for a pressurised gasification CHP plant.