From fossil fuel to bioenergy

Biomass power from waste wood

MES group works comprehensively on biomass power plant from construction, operation and maintenance of the plant to supply control of fuel

Biomass power generation

This plant is to generate electricity firing fuel made from demolished house wood and house organic waste, etc. In Japan about 330 biomass generation plants are in operation at the end of October 2008.

Green Power Ichihara Co. Ltd. An MES’s subsidiary company, constructed biomass power plant in the premises of Chiba Works of MES aiming to mainly use demolished house wood together with refuse paper and plastic fuel (RPF) gathered from Tokyo metropolitan and its surrounding prefectures.

Power generation capacity of the plant is 49,900 kW and power transmission capacity is 43,800 kW, which are the largest scale in Japan as the biomass generation plant. The wood chip fuel and RPF are supplied by recycle Sources Company, established by MES and New Energy Supply Company, under supply control where temporary storage as necessary and timely supply of the fuel are made.

Approx. 350 thousand tons of CO2 (equivalent to about 100 thousand kl of crude oil) can be decreased in a year by this power plant.

The fuels for the biomass power plant

As mentioned above the fuels are recycled wood chips and RPF. The wood chips are made from demolished houses and wood remainder materials after lumbering by refining removing impurities. Other fuel used is RPF. It is the high-calorie solid fuel made from waste paper and plastics, which are difficult to be recycled to paper and plastic.

Biogas, electricity, heat source, liquid manure, etc. from human excreta, garbage, etc.

MES had been tackling the development of disposal plant for human excreta, sludge from the waste water treatment facility, household garbage, etc. for several decades, and has constructed many plants in the past. In the recent years in line with the enhancement of social consciousness for preservation of environment, such treatment facilities to be newly constructed are changing from mere treatment facility to the facility to the recycle such waste to valuable things as biogas, electricity, heat resource, fertilizer, etc.

One of such facility is recently constructed in Oki Town, Fukuoka Prefecture in western part of Japan. The facility named “Oki Recycling Center Kururun” was born as a Framework for Biomass Town, availing subsidy of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. In this facility human excreta, sludge from waste water treatment and household garbage are mixed and fermented to make liquid manure, which is recycled to farmland. Further, biogas made in the process of fermentation is utilized to generate power to be used for the electricity required for operation of the facility.

Biogas, electricity, heat source, manure from garbage

Another plant MES would like to introduce is the waste treatment facility named “Recyclean” constructed in Nakasorachi, Hokkaido, located in the northern part of Japan. This plant is largest class garbage disposal facility in Japan and can treat 55 tons (nominal capacity) of garbage gathered from 40 thousand households and offices in the Nakasorachi area in a day. The garbage is fermented to biogas to be used for power generation and as boiler fuel. The electricity made is used for operation of the facility and the surplus electricity is sold to electricity Company. Further, heat produced by generator and boiler is used to heat methane fermentation tank and road heating. In addition, sludge after methane fermentation can be utilized as the high quality farmyard manure, since the gathered garbage in collecting bags is made to pure garbage by removing the collecting bags and metal materials in the preliminary treatment process.

Source: MES Bulletin 64, 2009