Bioenergy

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) engaged Sinclair Knight Merz Limited
(SKM) to review a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of rapeseed biodiesel undertaken by CRL Energy
Limited (CRL) for Solid Energy New Zealand Limited.

New technology is turning sludge from waste water into valuable bio-fuel with environmental and financial benefits for a Southland meat processing plant.

It's a bubbling fluidised bed boiler, well-proven overseas for its ability to handle low quality fuels. The 8.5MW unit was installed at Silver Fern Farms' Finegand plant by Energy For Industry under a build, own, operate agreement.

With its future at stake, New Zealand Foam Latex needed an economically viable and environmentally friendly fuel to produce steam needed to manufacture their products - all made from foam.

Coal was cheap, from $6.10/GJ. But emissions and the costs of mitigating them ruled it out. Diesel and LPG would cost over $30/GJ.

Wood was cost-effective and clean-burning. A variety of sources helped assure reliable supply - forestry hoggings, timberyard residues, left-over pallets and demolition, even dunnage reclaimed from shipping.

A 50kW wood pellet-fired boiler is proving considerably cheaper than electricity for heating the Bay of Plenty‘s 30 bed Titoki Healing Centre.

Fully automated and fed by a 3-tonne hopper topped up by the truckload, the system operates virtually hands-free.

Installation cost around $80,000. That compared more than favourably to the other main option, heat pumps, at around $90,000. Running costs are even more competitive at about $4,400 annually, almost a third of the costs estimated for running heat pumps.