Wood Bioenergy | a Hatton-Brown publication

Metso will supply Vaskiluodon Voima Oy in Vaasa, Finland, with a 140-megawatt bio-gasification plant. Vaskiluodon Voima’s total investment is about 40 million Euros, over half of which is attributable to Metso’s delivery. The bio-gasification plant is scheduled for commissioning in December 2012. Metso’s full-scope solution includes fuel handling, a drying plant and a circulating fluidized bed gasifier, modification work on the existing coal boiler, and automation and IT systems.

The bio-gasification plant will be constructed as part of the existing coal-fired power plant. The plant will be fueled primarily with wood-based biomasses, particularly forest residue, and the produced gas will be combusted along with coal in the coal boiler. The delivery includes the drying plant where biomass will be dried to the proper level for gasification. As a result of the new solution, close to 25-40% of the coal can be replaced with renewable energy, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 230,000 tons per year. This is the first global occurrence of a biomass gasification being adopted on such a large scale.

“Metso has a great opportunity to offer a solution that includes biomass drying technology and gasification. This provides the possibility for a diverse range of biofuels and a significant share of biomass in the combustion process. At the same time, our cost- and eco-efficient solution provides an opportunity to significantly increase the use of biofuel. The size class of the delivery makes this delivery interesting to large coal-fired power plants around the world,” explains Juhani Isaksson, Metso’s manager responsible for gasifiers and pyrolysis systems.

“The fact that Metso is a full-scope supplier of bio-gasification plants and is capable of combining the power plant process, biomass drying, modification of the existing coal boiler, and the automation into a functional and competitive package supported the decision to start collaboration with Metso. A significant advantage of Metso’s gasification solution is the diversity of the fuel selection; it gives us flexibility in acquiring biomass,” says Mauri Blomberg, Managing Director, Vaskiluodon Voima.