Profile: Hephaestus – Modular AgriBioEnergetic Districts

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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
Fontanella
Villanova del Ghebbio
Calto
Feedstock
Agricultural waste from locally harvested selected sorghum (total: 200,000 tons).
Products and production capacity
5 Ml/year of ethanol
5 Ml/year of ethanol
15 Ml/year of ethanol
- 25 MW electric energy.
- Fertiliser.
- Other outputs: thermal power, animal feed, human food (flours).
Economic impact
- 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.
Timeline
- 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.
Key points
- 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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