Techno-economic assessment of a dual-fluidized-bed system for biomass gasification driven by concentrated solar energy
Xiaoxia Yang, M. Nasir Khan, Zhong Dian, Kuo Zeng, Haiping Yang, Hanping Chen
Abstract
Solar gasification of biomass enhances biomass conversion for synthetic fuel production , while intermittency is addressed using a solar dual fluidized bed system. This work aims to technically and economically assess the implementation and viability of the proposed 50 MW th gasification plant. For the best-case scenario of Lhasa in China under solar multiple 2.5, optimized TES of 16 h is obtained from further evaluation and around 19 % of the total annually produced char is enough to meet the rest of heat demand. The levelized cost of fuel production is 9328.97 CNY/ton. The project demonstrated economic viability with a payback period of 9.94 years and positive net present value of 1523.078 × 10 6 CNY and an internal rate of return of 11.642 % surpassing the discount rate of 5 %. Further sensitivity analysis shows char value and production capacity have most impact economic performance followed by capital investment, tax and biomass cost.