The world’s largest biomass gasification plant was inaugurated on March 11th in Vaasa, Finland. The 140 MWe plant was supplied by Metso.
The technology of the new plant is based on Metso’s long-term development work. Metso’s delivery included fuel handling, a large-scale dryer and a circulating fluidized bed gasifier, modification work on the existing coal boiler and a Metso DNA automation system. The bio-gasification plant was constructed as part of the existing coal-fired power plant, and the produced gas will be combusted along with coal in the existing coal boiler.
“The operational experiences so far indicate that the 140-MW bio-gasification plant functions as planned, and the produced gas burns cleanly in the coal boiler and reduces emissions,” says Mauri Blomberg, Managing Director, Vaskiluodon Voima.
Nearly half of the coal used by the plant can be replaced with gasified biomass. This makes the solution highly environmentally friendly, enables the flexible use of different fuels and significantly extends the life of the current power plant. Coal powered plants can be made greener, and Vaskiluoto’s plant is leading the way,” says Jyrki Holmala, President of Metso’s Power business line. “Coal boilers still account for the majority of power production in the world. Bio-gasification technology of this scale offers a new, cost-effective option for increasing the share of biomass and, consequently, for significantly decreasing the use of and emissions from coal”.
