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Title:
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ECN System for MEthanation (ESME)
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Author(s):
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Published by:
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Publication date:
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ECN
Biomass & Energy Efficiency
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15-6-2015
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ECN report number:
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Document type:
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ECN-M--15-028
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Conference Paper
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Number of pages:
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Full text:
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8
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Download PDF
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Abstract:
The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) has developed and patented a novel concept for the methanation of gas from biomass gasification. The ECN System for MEthanation (ESME) is especially designed for gas from fluidized bed gasifiers such as Bubbling Fluidized Beds, Circulating Fluidized Beds and allothermal gasifiers such as the ECN MILENA process or the FICFB process developed by the Technical University of Vienna. Producer gas from the gasifier must be first compressed to approximately 6 bar (in case of atmospheric gasification) after tar and water removal. The ESME concept is unique because of the smart sequence and the operating conditions of the different units. ESME allows the efficient conversion of producer gas to SNG because the hydrocarbons contained in the producer gas (e.g. benzene, toluene) are not removed but converted, thus being available to be converted to methane. The prereformer catalyst simultaneously reforms aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g. benzene) and produces methane, which has a positive consequence on the heat balance of the prereformer, since the heat released in the exothermic methanation reactions is supplied to the endothermic reforming of aromatic hydrocarbons. Other advantages of ESME include reduced compression cost and no need for gas recycling in the methanation units.
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