Profile: Hephaestus – Modular AgriBioEnergetic Districts
Type of post: PROJECT PROFILE.
Authors: Giacomo Senaldi
(expert in waste valorization and recycling, part of the team that has
developed the Hephaestus project) and Daniel Morán.
Introduction
Hephaestus was the ancient
Greek god of fire. In fact, this epithet was used both by Greek and Roman poets
as synonymous with fire. And, it is also the name of an Italian concept to
produce energy and biofuel from non-food crops. In the words of their
developers (Quare Srl, agroenergetic engineering headquartered in Brescia), it
is the first modular AgriBioEnergetic (ABE) District. It is not just a
production plant, it is a local integrated project “from seed to barrel”.
Website: http://www.bioethanol6g.com/.
Mr. Quaresmini, CEO of Quare,
is one of the best Italian experts on combustion and agri-cleantech. He has
participated in the design and building of several waste-to-energy plants in
Italy and over the world. Moreover, he has developed high-efficient sorghum
crops. His dream is to create a replicable and modular concept which can be
built everywhere in the world. In order to achieve this goal, Mr. Quaresmini
and his team have devoted more than 10 years and 10 M€ on what they consider
the most difficult part: ensuring the right supply chain.
Figure 1. Sorghum crops
The concept
Project Hephaestus simply
takes pieces and orders them in a profitable modular recycling scheme. The key
is to guarantee feedstocks and choose the proper mix. The team has tested
on-site different crops in several places and set agreements with farmers and
local communities. These crops are grown and harvested for feed and food.
The waste is collected and
divided into three different streams by mobile pretreatment machine:
- Water that is returned to
soil;
- Wet fraction (juice) that is
used to produce bioethanol;
- Dry fraction that is used to
produce energy (CHP plant).
In this scheme, the wastes are
used for bioethanol production. Alternatively, they can be used to generate
vegetable fiber (MDF, paper).
Figure 2. Model of the
facility
The projects
The first bankable ABE
districts will be built soon in Northern Italy.
Location
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Fontanella
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Villanova del Ghebbio
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Calto
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Feedstock
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Agricultural waste from locally harvested selected sorghum (total:
200,000 tons).
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Products and production capacity
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5 Ml/year of ethanol
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5 Ml/year of ethanol
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15 Ml/year of ethanol
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- 25 MW electric energy.
- Fertiliser.
- Other outputs: thermal power, animal feed, human food (flours).
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Economic impact
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- 5000 full-time jobs equivalent.
- Over 13 M$ paid for biomass acquisition.
Local farmers can see a second cash crop from the same harvest.
- Over 80 M$ in annual revenue, much of it
paid back to the local community.
- Less agricultural pollution.
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Timeline
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- Investment is expected to be completed within first months of 2019.
- Break ground: 2019.
- Duration of the construction phase: 18
months.
- Duration of the commissioning process: 3-6
months.
- Commercial operations: 2020-2021.
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Key points
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- High-yield selected sorghum for feed, food and fuel.
- Soil natural enrichment.
- Maximum distance 30 km.
- No-burning stock system.
- Bioethanol production without enzymes.
- 460,000 ton/year of CO2 emissions avoided.
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