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Ricardo's heat and power demonstrator
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Community-scale carbon capture
With our consortium partners, Bluebox Energy and Woodtek Engineering, Ricardo has designed, installed and is now operating a combined heat and power demonstrator plant at Holmsted Farm, West Sussex, which is fed by sustainable wood waste to continuously supply clean energy, heat, food-grade carbon dioxide and biochar.
The plant showcases a realistic carbon negative technology that can significantly contribute to net zero targets due to its applicability to several energy-intensive industry sectors as an on-site generator of heat and power.
The consortium is funded by the UK Government through the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) under the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The innovation of the plant lies in the fact that it can capture up to 90% of the carbon in the feedstock, while still producing valuable heat and power outputs.
Annual performance figures for a commercial, single-module based on 8,000 hours of operation are: the processing of 2,600 tonnes of waste woodchip; the generation of 540 tonnes of biochar, 2,300 tonnes of food-grade carbon dioxide, 330 MWh of electricity, 1,200 MWh of heat; showing the potential to capture up to 4,100 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
Josh Dalby, Head of Engineering Technology at Ricardo, who is the Chief Engineer for the demonstrator plant project said:
“Our test results indicate that with this technology, Ricardo is at the forefront of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, providing local industry or businesses with renewable heat and electricity, and delivering national energy security. With our partners Bluebox Energy and Woodtek Engineering we are very encouraged by the results so far from development testing.”
Councillor Joy Dennis, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport:
“We’re proud to be working with Ricardo to explore the potential for using grass cuttings from highway verges to produce biochar that can be used as a material to repair. We have also supplied wood chippings from our ash die back felling works to understand how these could also be used in the process.
“It is wonderful to see how a Shoreham-based company, with a world-leading combined heat and power plant in the heart of West Sussex, is leading the way in using the latest technology to use green waste to create community-scale clean energy.”
Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council and Chair of the Greater Brighton Economic Board:
"Tucked away in the green fields of Sussex, Ricardo are developing trailblazing solutions to our climate crisis. Their development and testing of carbon negative technology to produce power and heat has the potential to make a huge contribution to making British and Global industries sustainable – from food production to construction and housing.
“This summer, Sussex councils and businesses launched Sussex Energy with an ambition to produce locally generated, zero carbon forms of energy for our region by 2040. We’re proud that Ricardo is a partner in this, helping us power the way to a sustainable county, country and world.”
An infographic explaining the demonstrator and its capabilities.
A zip file of high res images for publication: Download
We can aslo provide broadcast quality footage (B-Roll) on request: media@ricardo.com.
The build of the plant in numbers
- The demonstrator plant has a 21m x 29m building footprint
- It has a 10.5m apex
- As a demonstrator plant, it has a quarter sized CO2 system for a single pyrolysis and heat recovery module
- The build of the demonstrator plant included:
- 10 days of lifting operations
- 55 tonnes of equipment
- 500 metres of pipe
- 6500 metres of cable
Annual performance for a commercial, single-module system based on 8,000 hours of operation:
- 2600 tonnes of waste wood chip
- 540 tonnes of biochar
- 2300 tonnes of food-grade CO2
- 330 MWh of electricity
- 1200 MWh of heat
- 4100 tonnes of CO2e captured
How the technology can help other sectors
By taking sustainably sourced waste wood from domestic timber production and then processing it in three ways: producing biochar (a product similar to charcoal); generating heat and power; and capturing carbon dioxide from the exhaust. The technology, therefore, captures around 90% of the carbon content in the wood. It also produces commercially marketable carbon products: the biochar can be used by farmers to enrich soil and add to animal feed to reduce ruminant emissions. The industrial-grade carbon dioxide can either be used for making low-carbon concrete or in the food and drinks industry to replace carbon dioxide derived from industrial processes which rely on imported natural gas. A full-size single-module system will remove 4,100 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from the atmosphere.
Around 50% of the carbon in the waste material is captured in the biochar resulting from the pyrolysis process. The remaining carbon in the feedstock is released as carbon dioxide in the flue gas coming out of the combustor. Around 90% of this remaining carbon can potentially be captured through a chemical absorption system which is driven by the heat and power generated by the turbine, giving an overall CO2 capture efficiency of 95% and thus providing significant negative emission and greenhouse gas removal (GGR) potential in comparison to competitive technological solutions.
The concrete and cement sector intends to go beyond net zero and become net negative: significant carbon reduction will come from carbon capture, usage and storage with biomass considered as a route forwards.
Carbon capture plants can make carbon curing - a highly effective and disruptive technology - affordable, accessible and a mainstream option for the concrete industry. Initially, the Ricardo demonstrator will use sustainably sourced forestry waste, but long term could use other wastes as its feedstock.
Community-scale biomass-based greenhouse gas removal systems can be located closer to the feedstock, significantly reducing life cycle impacts and upstream emissions.
Biochar is also of interest in the construction sector as a colourant for bricks or additive to concrete.
The technology enables the farming, agriculture and horticulture sector to cut emissions and benefit from security of supply and a virtuous circle of production.
The feedstock for the plant can comprise: Sustainably sourced waste wood from domestic timber production, green waste from agriculture or commercial growing or horticultural cuttings, or even animal waste such as poultry litter.
The technology captures a significant amount of the carbon content in the feedstock.
It processes the wood or waste materials to produce biochar (a product similar to charcoal) which can be used by farmers to enrich soil and add to animal feed to reduce ruminant emissions.
Our combined heat and power plant could be located on a farm, be fed by sustainable wood waste from local, indigenous sources at a lower cost than natural gas, and securely and continuously supply clean energy, heat, food-grade carbon dioxide and biochar.
Negative emission cogeneration technology has clear applications for food and drink manufacturers.
The high wholesale price of natural gas and uncertainty over the security of supply of energy and food-grade carbon dioxide mean that globally-renowned food and drinks manufacturers need a solution that can give them reassurance about supply and cost control to ensure that they can keep on making their products.
Our combined heat and power plant could be located at a food manufacturing site, be fed by sustainable wood waste from local, indigenous sources at a lower cost than natural gas, and securely and continuously supply clean energy, heat, food-grade carbon dioxide and biochar – which could be sold to the farmers who might well be producing ingredients for the manufacturers.
