At the site of the old Bilsthorpe Colliery, a new(ish) idea will be put to use. That is a synthesis gas generator. This plant will collect waste from Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, and surrounding areas to convert it into synthesis gas (also called syngas) via plasma gasification. This gas will then undergo a purification process before using it to generate electricity for exportation into the internal electricity grid. This is an alternative to the more traditional waste-to-energy approach of rubbish incineration (setting fire to piles of rubbish).
This is one of multiple forms of waste-to-energy power plant technologies which have been on the rise.
Artists impression of the Bilsthorpe plant.
Image Credit: Waste2Tricity Website.
This facility will process up to 97,000 tonnes of feedstock annually (feedstock is raw material to be fed into an industrial process), and it can generate 16.6 MW of energy. It can both directly accept feedstock or prepare it itself using the materials recycling facility.
This facility consists of the following key components:
- Materials Reception, Storage and Handling Facilities.
including Material Recycling Facility. - Oxygen Production Unit.
- Plasma Gasification Plant.
- Syngas Processing System.
- Power Generation.
There is a renewable energy option for all countries, including cloudy countries such as Britain, and waste is one such option that is abundant in literally every country on Earth. Countries with cloudy weather can not only enjoy low-emissions power from such power plants, and energy security, but they can divert waste from landfills in the process.
Apart from that, this facility is intended to be fuel cell–ready, and accommodate a 1 MW bank of alkaline fuel cells for AFC Energy. These fuel cells will be powered by hydrogen produced from syngas. Efficiency above 55% is expected. This will be deployed by Waste2Tricity in the future.
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