World’s largest biomass gasification plant announced

Plans, announced today (July 8), reveal a scheme for a €40million plant to be built in Vaasa, Finland, for Vaskiluodon Voima.

The plant, a 140-megawatt monster, will be built by Metso and is scheduled for commissioning in December 2012.

The facility will be constructed as part of an existing coal-fired power plant, owned by Vaskiluodon Voima, and will be fuelled primarily with wood-based biomasses particularly forest residue.

The gas it produces will be combusted with coal and should, the firms claim, lead to a 25 to 40% cut in the amount of coal used, which is a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of about 230,000 tons a year.

Metso’s manager responsible for gasifiers and pyrolysis systems, Juhani Isaksson, said: “This is the first time in the world that biomass gasification is being adopted on such a large scale.

“This provides the possibility for a diverse range of biofuels and a significant share of biomass in the combustion process.

“At the same time, our cost- and eco-efficient solution provides an opportunity to significantly increase the use of biofuel.

“The size class of the delivery makes this delivery interesting to large coal-fired power plants around the world.”

Vaskiluodon Voima managing director, Mauri Blomberg, said: “A significant advantage of Metso’s gasification solution is the diversity of the fuel selection, it gives us flexibility in acquiring biomass.”

Luke Walsh