The University of Northern British Columbia is officially opening a bioenergy plant on campus today that is making the University a national leader in renewable energy. The UNBC bioenergy plant takes wood waste that is already being produced at a local sawmill and converts it to enough energy to heat the University and reduce fossil fuel consumption by 85%. The new facility joins a wood pellet system on campus, which opened in 2009.
"This is an important development for UNBC, but it's also very important for the local forest industry and the 621 communities across Canada that are reliant on forests. This facility is a showpiece that will serve as a unique platform for education and research," says UNBC President George Iwama. "Biomass is a sustainable, renewable energy source that is critical to the diversification of the forest industry and the communities that rely on it."
Construction of the bioenergy plant involved local companies and was only the 2nd building in Prince George built to LEED Gold Standard. Its architecture features a variety of local wood products.
The bioenergy project has already won a number of awards:
Top North American campus sustainability project (tied with Harvard University) - Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
Northern BC Business and Technology Innovator of the Year
City of Prince George architectural design award
Project Funders:
Knowledge Infrastructure Program
Innovative Clean Energy Fund
Public Sector Energy Conservation Agreement
Community Economic Diversification Initiative
Biomass Gasification System
UNBC is installing a biomass gasification system with Nexterra Energy of BC that will provide heat to the core campus buildings and offset an estimated 85% of current natural gas consumption.This $15 million project is being funded by the federal and provincial governments. The facility is currently being built by IDL Projects of Prince George and will be operational by early 2011. Fuel will be provided by Lakeland Mills, a family-owned sawmill in Prince George.
Goal To displace 85% of natural gas used for core campus heating. To demonstrate syngas production and biomass campus heating
Performance Avoided: 3500 tonnes of CO2 Particulate: less than 10 mg/m3 (contract) Operational: January 2011
Highlights First university owned district heating system using biomass heat in Canada Capacity: 15 MMBtu/hr Fuel: Local wood residue Integrated research laboratory LEED Gold building
Statistics Fuel: 8,000 green tonnes/yr Fuel moisture content: Up to 60% Heat: 61,000 GJ/yr Capital cost: $15.7 M
Components 4.3 m diameter gasifier 4.4 MW flue gas boiler 60 t hog fuel storage Electrostatic precipitator 1400 m2 bioenergy building
Biomass Pellet Project
Since starting operations in May 2009, the Biomass Pellet Project has produced incredibly low emissions that have reached natural gas levels. The system, worth about $500,000, is seamlessly integrated with the building’s existing natural gas heating system and is a platform for applied research, focusing on both airborne emissions and the use of ash as a soil additive.
Goal To examine the commercial and environmental benefits of utilizing biomass for energy production at UNBC
Performance Fuel conversaion efficiency >90% 130 tonnes of fossil fuel CO2 avoided per year Operational: May 2009
Highlights First university owned and operated biomass heating system in Canada Fueled by locally produced wood pellets High temperature particulate filter
Research Energy Balance Material balance Ash as soil amendment* First university owned and operated biomass heating system in Canada Fueled by locally produced wood pellets High temperature particulate filter
Components 400 kW pellet boiler 2500L heat storage tank 50t fuel storage hopper High temperature particulate filter
Step 1: Sawmill residue from Lakeland Mills of Prince George is delivered to the fuel storage area. In a typical year, the UNBC Bioenergy Plant will consume about 6000 Bone Dry Tonnews (BDT) of fuel
Step 2: An auger moves the good to a conveyer, which delivers the fuel to the base of the gasifier through a metering bin
Step 3: Inside the gasifier, the wood is subjected to very hot temperatures (1500-1800 F) but only about 20% of the oxygen required for full combustion. Ash migrates to the bottom of the gasifier and is removed intermittently; the syngas that is created through the gasification process rises to the top and is channeled to the Oxidizer.
Step 4: Syngas exits the gasifier at 400-900 F and moves into the Oxidizer where oxygen is added and the clean-burning syngas is ignited
Step 5: Now 2000 F, the hot gas moves to a boiler that serves to transfer the heat from the syngas to water that is used to heat the campus. The Bioenergy Plant is connected to the rest of the campus by two pipes: one brings hot water to the campus; the other brings water back from the campus to the Bioenergy Plant. Water leaves the Bioenergy Plant at 240 F
Step 6: After transferring most of its heat to water, the gas moves to an electrostatic precipitator where the last of the emissions are cleaned before the gas is vented to the outdoors. Remarkably, the particulate emission from the UNBC Bioenergy Plant are equivalent to heating systems that burn natural gas.
The Building of UNBC that hosts the the Bioenergy Plant is 1400 sqare meters and houses a control room and research laboratory in addition to the gasification technology. The construction cost was about $15.7 million. The Plant is UNBC`s first building certified as LEED gold. The points accomplished with regards the LEED Points are:
Natural landscape
Water efficiency of the building
Building Energy Efficiency- HVAC and electrical Green Power
Construction waste recycled
Recycled content of materials in building
Regional materials used
Low VOC materials in building
Use of natural light
Green housekeeping
Greenguard furniture
Education program –brochure, display and video
Additionally UNBC Bioenergy project produces around 63,640 CJ of energy a year
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