WEBVTT 00:07.550 --> 00:13.130 In the European Union, around 140 million tons of organic waste fall 00:13.130 --> 00:13.310 every year. 00:14.430 --> 00:17.070 But green-cut straw or clear slime are by no means waste. 00:17.570 --> 00:22.130 All these raw materials can be used energetically, by fermenting, 00:22.510 --> 00:24.230 burning or boiling them into bio-coal. 00:26.790 --> 00:29.890 Scientists are concerned with the question of how straw, grass or 00:29.890 --> 00:32.170 fruit peels can be turned into coal in the valuable energy carriers. 00:33.890 --> 00:35.590 One of them is Johannes Steinbrück. 00:35.590 --> 00:39.530 Since 2010, he has been a graduate chemist at the Karlsruhe Institute 00:39.530 --> 00:40.290 of Technology. 00:41.030 --> 00:44.850 He is supported and funded by the Energy Suppliers' Union, Energie 00:44.850 --> 00:48.470 Baden -Württemberg AG and the European Science and Innovation 00:48.470 --> 00:49.910 Community KIK in New England. 00:51.530 --> 00:55.090 We meet Johannes Steinbrück at his pilot facility to learn more about 00:55.090 --> 00:56.230 him and his research project. 01:02.000 --> 01:06.060 Hello, my name is Johannes Steinbrück and in my doctoral thesis I am 01:06.060 --> 01:10.980 working on biomass steam processing, a new process for the coaling of 01:10.980 --> 01:11.340 biomass. 01:12.440 --> 01:15.900 In particular, I am working on the operating parameters that are 01:15.900 --> 01:21.320 necessary to implement different biomass and test the conditions that 01:21.320 --> 01:24.660 are necessary to produce biomass on a larger scale. 01:26.020 --> 01:29.960 In the following, I would like to show you how this works at the pilot 01:29.960 --> 01:30.440 facility designed by me. 01:36.700 --> 01:39.640 Here we are now at the biomass filler nozzle. 01:40.340 --> 01:42.080 This is where the biomass is added to the process. 01:46.650 --> 01:49.010 Here, for example, we use wooden jacks. 01:49.750 --> 01:54.130 The biomass is now transported to the heating zone via a double jack 01:54.130 --> 01:55.710 and through it. 01:56.490 --> 02:01.230 In the reactor, a reaction takes place that is pressure-free under a 02:01.230 --> 02:04.750 water -steam atmosphere at 250 to 400 degrees Celsius. 02:04.750 --> 02:10.050 If you look at the reaction equation of biomass reactions, you often 02:10.050 --> 02:14.670 use the simplified form C6H12O6. 02:15.730 --> 02:19.330 And in our process, mainly water is separated, i.e. 02:19.670 --> 02:20.430 H2O. 02:21.330 --> 02:24.370 And what remains is the carbon, i.e. 02:25.090 --> 02:26.910 C, our coal. 02:26.910 --> 02:34.190 Out of the biomass, six waters are separated and we get six carbon 02:34.190 --> 02:34.730 atoms. 02:35.510 --> 02:40.750 Since biomass chemistry is not that easy, we always get a mixture of 02:40.750 --> 02:41.570 different substances. 02:42.750 --> 02:48.110 The relative carbon content in the coal is in any case greater than in 02:48.110 --> 02:48.970 the initial biomass. 02:49.650 --> 02:53.050 The reaction time can take minutes to a few hours. 02:53.770 --> 02:57.170 And depending on how we set up the process, i.e. 02:57.230 --> 03:01.990 which biomass we use, at what temperature the process takes place or 03:01.990 --> 03:06.250 how long the process takes, we get coal of different properties. 03:07.770 --> 03:12.450 For the BSP process, various biomass can be used, such as plant 03:12.450 --> 03:16.330 residues, green cut or the bioton. 03:16.630 --> 03:21.330 And no matter what biomass we use, we always get an equal amount of 03:21.330 --> 03:21.570 coal. 03:21.570 --> 03:27.190 We have already tried various biomass in this process, e.g. 03:27.650 --> 03:31.310 straw or pellets. 03:33.490 --> 03:35.870 And finally, orange peels. 03:36.610 --> 03:41.150 And every time you see that the structure remains, but the structure 03:41.150 --> 03:42.250 is no longer very stable. 03:42.730 --> 03:44.010 You can just grind it up. 03:45.010 --> 03:49.630 The energy balance of the process is neutral, in some cases even 03:49.630 --> 03:54.450 slightly positive, because the reaction in the reactor releases a 03:54.450 --> 03:55.130 little energy. 03:57.130 --> 04:01.530 Finding the right settings of the various frame parameters is also 04:01.530 --> 04:02.770 part of my doctoral work. 04:03.290 --> 04:07.410 This is not only related to the process, but also to the settings of 04:07.410 --> 04:07.710 the plant. 04:10.290 --> 04:14.210 Our experiments with the pilot plant have also shown that we still 04:14.210 --> 04:17.610 have to optimize the interplay between the feed snail and the pellet 04:17.610 --> 04:17.870 plate. 04:21.350 --> 04:26.970 In addition, I also check the temperature field, so that the reaction 04:26.970 --> 04:28.550 progress can be followed well. 04:29.690 --> 04:37.530 My goal is to have the reactor ready by the end of next year, and then 04:37.530 --> 04:38.050 go to the market. 04:39.250 --> 04:42.830 This plant could also be interesting for municipalities and small 04:42.830 --> 04:45.330 towns, who want to dispose of their organic waste. 04:46.590 --> 04:50.490 For example, you could convert clear sludge into a smell-free raw 04:50.490 --> 04:50.830 material. 04:51.910 --> 04:56.770 Or also the problem of storing biomass, which likes to react further 04:56.770 --> 04:59.390 during storage, by converting it into bio-coal. 05:00.150 --> 05:03.950 So you also get a transportable and storable product. 05:05.110 --> 05:08.390 In addition, this concept can also be implemented in a mobile plant, 05:08.390 --> 05:13.070 so that you can implement the organic waste on site in an energy 05:13.070 --> 05:15.030 -sensible and cost-effective way. 05:15.790 --> 05:19.970 The proposed process shows that organic waste can be more than waste. 05:20.810 --> 05:23.930 Within a few hours, it can be converted into a CO2-neutral energy 05:23.930 --> 05:25.070 carrier, bio-coal. 05:26.570 --> 05:31.490 Biomass steam processing thus makes an important contribution to the 05:31.490 --> 05:34.030 climate -friendly energy production of the future.