Gasification

Gasification is a process whereby carbon materials are heated in a controlled, partial oxygen environment. The aim is to convert as much of the carbon in the feed material as possible to carbon monoxide, which has valuable chemical energy. Incineration, by contrast, is a process in which wastes are fully combusted using excess air to produce carbon dioxide. 

 

The oxygen-blown gasification technology used in the INEOS Bio process suppresses the formation of dioxins and furans thanks to the reducing environment in the gasifier, and destroys any dioxins and furans formed through exposure to high temperature and residence time in the upper part of the gasifier. In addition, the carry-over of volatile metals into the syngas is minimized. This clever front-end design reduces the burden on, and cost of, the syngas clean-up stage.

 

It is the use of the thermo-chemical gasification step, which gives the whole process its feed flexibility. It is this feed flexibility that enables almost any biomass material almost anywhere in the World to be converted to syngas for onward, high yield conversion by the INEOS Bio biocatalyst to bioethanol.