(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)--ADDS SHARE PRICE-- The technology behind AEG CoalSwitch the renewable energy division of Active Energy Group (LON:AEG) has hailed as an 'outstanding success' following four-day launch event. It was showcased to international audience from utilities government bodies and manufacturing as well as potential investment partners. CoalSwitch is an environmentally-friendly process that cleanses the raw biomass by removing salts minerals and other contaminants that harm the atmosphere and damage power plant furnaces. This converts the material into valuable high-energy fuel feedstock without the low and medium volatiles resident in other biomass-based fuels such as 'white pellets'. Crucially and this is significant it means the fuel can be burned in coal fired power stations or alongside coal – negating the need for an expensive conversion. To put this into context the Drax power station in Yorkshire one of the country's major generating plants made the switch to biomass starting from 2013. The cost of the change to green fuels was in excess of £700mln. AEG reckons CoalSwitch represents the first viable solution to overcoming the global problem of coal-fired power plants either having to shut down or being forced to invest in retrofitting and conversion of their facilities. At the event held at the Centerville Research & Development facility in Utah the first live demonstration of an industrial-scale prototype of the AEG CoalSwitch manufacturing system was given. Raw Aspen wood chip - specifically selected because of the significant Aspen reserves under the management of the AEG TimberLands joint venture and elsewhere in Western Canada - was processed in minutes into high-energy biomass fuel with a calorific value of over 23 Gigajoules (GJ) per metric tonne. This compares favourably with industrial coals (which range from a calorific value of 15-32 GJ per metric tonne). The high calorific value is accompanied by a 'materially higher' uplift in bulk density levels meaning that less space is required to transport the same volume of energy. The result is significantly lower shipping and logistics costs to deliver the finished fuel to power plants. The upscaled manufacturing process which utilises no chemicals and leaves no damaging waste residues exceeded the AEG CoalSwitch technical team's expectations the company said. In fact it surpassed the results from the two previous smaller-scale prototypes. The Utah-based team have now twice achieved a ten-fold increase in the capacity of the systems that it has previously constructed. And they have completed the design specifications for a commercial-scale reactor that will produce a further eight times more fuel per cycle. Along with its increased calorific value and bulk density levels the finished fuel's friability properties (its ability to be ground in a standard coal-fired power plant ball mill into a form suitable for usage in unconverted furnaces) is expected to be far superior to existing biomass fuel products and coal. Detailed results from burn test carried out as part of the event are expected early next month. Philip Scalzo AEG CoalSwitch chief Technology officer said: "The Utah event is shaping up to be an outstanding success confirming that our aim to 'make the unusable usable' - converting low-grade timber residues into high-energy fuel - has not merely been realised but that the AEG CoalSwitch technology is both upscalable and that the finished fuel possesses all the qualities required for its immediate implementation in utility-scale power plants. 'I look forward to receiving the results of the University of Utah tests and my team and I are very grateful for the research facility's advice and encouragement." AEG CoalSwitch is joint-venture with Utah-based Biomass Energy Enhancements or BEE for short. The shares up 12% in the last year advanced a further 9% to 5.62p in late morning trade valuing AEG at £33mln.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.