TIDMAEG
Active Energy Group PLC
08 February 2016
8 February 2016
Active Energy Group Plc
("Active Energy Group" or the "Group" or the "Company" or
"AEG")
AEG CoalSwitch Reveal Event Attended by International
Audience
from Power Generation Industry, Utah State Government and
Investors;
'Drop-In' Coal Replacement Fuel Technology Exceeds
Expectations
AEG CoalSwitch, the recently-announced renewable energy division
of Active Energy Group Plc (AIM: AEG.L), the AIM-listed supplier of
timberland management and development services, industrial wood
fibre and Biomass coal replacement fuels, has revealed its
revolutionary Biomass fuel manufacturing process to an
international audience of more than thirty representatives of power
generation utilities, government bodies, manufacturing partners and
investment firms at a 4-day event in Utah.
The AEG CoalSwitch technology, which has been heralded as the
world's only 'drop-in' coal replacement or supplement for power
generation and other industrial uses, converts any fibrous- or
wood-based Biomass material into valuable high-energy feedstock via
a pioneering process - protected by 19 international 'greenfield'
patents - which removes the vast majority of minerals, salts and
other contaminants that have prevented renewable Biomass-derived
fuels from entering the energy mainstream.
Uniquely, AEG CoalSwitch Biomass fuel can be utilised in
traditional coal-fired power plants as a direct substitute for coal
- or, more likely, mixed with coal in co-firing operations in
higher concentrations than existing Biomass fuels such as white
pellets or simple/torrified black pellets - in most cases without
requiring any furnace, handling or storage modifications; enabling
existing coal-fired power plant owners to speedily and
inexpensively comply with government legislation, such as the US
Clean Air Act, under which they are mandated to reduce air
pollution levels.
It therefore represents the first viable solution to overcoming
the global problem of coal-fired power plants either having to shut
down or being forced to invest in retrofitting and conversion of
their facilities to meet stringent new regulations curbing carbon
dioxide (CO(2) ) and greenhouse gas emissions, the primary causes
of global warming and climate change; potentially saving plant
operators billions of dollars and enabling them to avoid the only
other likely option: closure.
At the AEG CoalSwitch reveal event, held at the company's
Centerville Research & Development facility in Utah, attendees
witnessed the first live demonstration of an industrial-scale
prototype of the AEG CoalSwitch manufacturing system; in which raw
Aspen wood chip - specifically selected because of the significant
Aspen reserves under the management of the AEG TimberLands joint
venture and elsewhere in Western Canada - was processed in minutes
into high-energy Biomass fuel with a calorific value of over 23
Gigajoules (GJ) per metric tonne... which compares favourably with
industrial coals (which range from a calorific value of 15-32 GJ
per metric tonne).
The high calorific value of AEG CoalSwitch fuel - typically, an
increase of more than 5 GJ per metric tonne above the current
industry-standard white pellet - is accompanied by a materially
higher uplift in bulk density levels, meaning that less space is
required to transport the same volume of energy; resulting in
significantly lower shipping and logistics costs to deliver the
finished fuel to power plants.
The upscaled manufacturing process, which utilises no chemicals
and leaves no damaging waste residues - most of the water produced
is recycled and used within the closed system - exceeded the AEG
CoalSwitch technical team's expectations; surpassing the results
from the two previous smaller-scale prototypes.
The Utah-based team have now twice achieved a ten-fold increase
in the capacity of the systems that it has previously constructed,
and have completed the design specifications for a commercial-scale
reactor that will produce a further eight times more fuel per
cycle. The company's industrial design calls for 32 of these larger
reactors to be installed at a single site, which will be capable of
producing in excess of 40 tonnes of finished fuel per hour from
Aspen raw material.
Along with its increased calorific value and bulk density
levels, the finished fuel's friability properties (its ability to
be ground in a standard coal-fired power plant ball mill into a
form suitable for usage in unconverted furnaces) is expected to be
far superior to existing Biomass fuel products, and equivalent to
coal, due to the removal of the volatiles responsible for mill
fires. Moreover, removing those volatiles will enable AEG
CoalSwitch fuel to be milled alongside coal in the same ball mill
at the same time... another unique feature.
Finally, the team demonstrated a further innovation - the
ability to 'dial in' customised characteristics into individual
batches of AEG CoalSwitch fuel to match those of the specific coal
with which it will be combined at individual power plants, removing
the requirement for plant operators to make costly modifications to
their boilers in order to accommodate Biomass feedstock.
AEG CoalSwitch fuel - which can be compacted into pellets,
granules, briquettes or bales, according to customer specifications
- is, unlike white pellets, hydrophobic (water-resistant); entirely
negating the need for specialist storage or transport. And,
crucially, it possesses very similar thermal and friability
characteristics to coal, enabling it to be immediately integrated
into the processing systems at coal-fired power stations, utilising
their existing handling and storage facilities - something that is
simply not possible with white pellets.
Completion of these vital stages in validating the viability of
the AEG CoalSwitch manufacturing process are being accompanied by a
five-day pilot-scale burn testing of the finished fuel at the
University of Utah's Clean and Secure Energy Institute laboratory;
evaluating its performance in a real-life environment and comparing
the results to those achieved under the same test conditions with
bituminous Illinois coal (which has a calorific value of 27 GJ per
metric tonne), a feedstock typically used for industrial power
generation.
The burn testing, which the event attendees witnessed being
conducted at the University of Utah's 100kW pulverised coal
combustor, evaluates the energy output, stability, furnace
behaviour and emissions of AEG CoalSwitch fuel during combustion;
and the detailed results - which include real-time analysis and
interpretation of its combustion, particle and deposition
characteristics, and compares them to those achieved with Illinois
coal - are expected to be available in early-March.
These significant developments at AEG CoalSwitch - both
confirming the feasibility of upscaling its revolutionary fuel
manufacturing process to produce industrial volumes of
clean-burning Biomass fuel, and directly comparing its performance
to the coal utilised in advanced power plants - represent the next
steps in the company's business strategy.
In a major endorsement of the company's efforts to date - and
confirmation of the considerable worldwide interest that its
initial announcements have generated - the AEG CoalSwitch reveal
event in Utah was attended by high-level experts from the power
generation industry, as well as representatives from the Utah state
government, multinational conglomerates and international
investment firms.
During a keynote speech by Dr Laura Nelson, Director of the Utah
Office of Energy Development, attendees heard about Utah's current
and future power generation plans. Dr Nelson explained that the
state currently relies upon coal-fired power plants for 72% of its
electricity supply; that it exports some 32% of its power
generation capacity to neighbouring states, including California;
and that whilst coal production and power generation will remain an
integral part of Utah's economy, the state government is actively
investigating complementary renewable fuel solutions.
She detailed Utah's investments in alternative energy
technologies to enable it to comply with the recently-announced
President Obama/EPA Clean Power Plan, which has set a goal of a 32%
reduction in its CO(2) emissions by 2023; expressed her excitement
at the potential to co-fire low-emission AEG CoalSwitch Biomass
fuel alongside coal in Utah's power plants, which are already some
of the most efficient power generation facilities in the United
States; and discussed the wide range of financial incentives that
are available to ensure that coal will continue to be used within
the state.
Dr Nelson concluded by explaining that combining AEG CoalSwitch
with locally-produced coal would protect Utah's coal mining
industry and safeguard jobs at coal-fired power plants, by enabling
its existing power generation infrastructure to greatly reduce
emissions and comply with state and federal clean air targets;
setting an important precedent for other coal-producing and
power-generating states across the US.
Dr Andrew Fry, Research Associate Professor and Director of the
Industrial Combustion & Gasification Research Facility at the
University of Utah - an internationally-recognised science and
industry expert - detailed to the audience the technical processes
and sampling methods that will be employed during the five-day
CoalSwitch fuel evaluation process; and explained that the results
will include comparisons to those obtained from Illinois coal under
the same test conditions.
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