Fultondale, Ala: An Auburn Energy Partner
In the months to come, the City of Fultondale, Alabama will join other municipalities in partnering with the Center of for Bioenergy and Bioproducts at Auburn University to create energy from renewable sources.
Using Auburn University’s Mobile Biomass Gasification Unit, pictured below, the City of Fultondale will work with researchers from AU to turn municipal green waste into energy. Limbs and branches, normally bound for a local landfill will be used as feedstock for creating a synthesis gas. That gas will then be used to power a generator that produces electrical energy.
Working together, the City of Fultondale and the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts will:
- Conduct an analysis of the city’s feedstock (municipal green waste)
- Determine the amount and type of energy that could be produced
- Test the feedstock in AU’s Mobile Biomass Gasification Unit
- Demonstrate the method for converting feedstock to synthesis gas
- Convert the synthesis gas to electricity
This analysis, testing, and demonstration are the first steps in developing an economically viable means to create clean, green energy from renewable resources and in reducing the amount of space needed for city landfills.
Biomass Gasification: Technology for Renewable Energy
Gasification:
- A thermochemical process where heat and oxygen break down biomass into a synthesis gas
- Synthesis gas consists of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, etc.
Synthesis gas is used for:
- Powering internal combustion engines
- Powering boilers, furnaces, driers, or chillers
- Powering gas turbines or fuel cells
- Producing liquid fuels (diesel, gasoline, and aviation fuel)
