September 24, 2008

Energy Quest joins energy-from-waste venture in Romania

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

A Canadian company is helping build an alternative energy production facility in Romania.

Energy Quest Inc. is entering into a joint-venture agreement with an Italian company to construct the facility.

Gasification is a chemical and heat process used to convert a solid material such as coal, biomass and any carbonaceous material into a gas for use as a fuel.

The Edmonton-based company announced that it hopes to join forces with COFAMM of Romentino, Italy for the construction and installation of a 500 tons per day of municipal solid waste to 20 MW power gasification plant.

“We don’t have all the details right now, but we will be involved in the management of construction,” said Wilf Ouellette, president and CEO of Energy Quest.

Construction is slated to start in January 2009.

“The components will be produced in Italy, Canada and Romania, and assembled on site. COFAMM will be building all the recycling and fuel preparation equipment and we will be building the gasifier and putting together all the turbines,” he said.

The company will provide the proprietary technologies, equipment and project management for the complete gasification plant, while COFAMM will provide solutions for waste sorting, which provides refuse-derived fuel (RDF) feedstock for the gasification plant.

RDF is a solid fuel produced by shredding solid municipal waste. Non-combustible materials such as glass and metals are generally removed prior to making it. The residual material is used in shredded form or compressed into pellets, bricks and logs. COFAMM manufactures and constructs machines for separation of all components of household garbage.

The waste sorting line covers steel and non ferrous materials, paper and cardboard, aluminum and steel cans, plastic film and RDF that can be used as fuel to generate the energy the system requires.

“It’s a fairly straightforward process, where solid fuel is converted into a gas and burned in a heat recovery boiler or heater like natural gas,” explained Ouellette.

“The gas heats a fluid to a certain temperature and pressure until it turns into steam or a gaseous state, which is fed across a turbine or turbo expander that in turn rotates an electric generator.”

The main contractor for the project has not been selected, but Ouellette said he has a few reputable firms in mind.

The total cost for the gasification and power generation part of the plant will be about US$56 million.

Following commissioning and start up, anticipated cash flow should reach US$26.6 million annually.

This is the first time that Energy Quest has partnered with COFAMM on its gasification to power system.

Ouellette said he expects this venture to pave the way for additional opportunities with the Italian company.

“We want to provide a standard modular power plant, that could be used with any bio-mass fuel,” he said.

The European Union provides incentives for these types of installations.

Energy Quest intends to build small-scale cookie cutter portable plants, which can be delivered to a fuel supply in a short period of time.

Print | Email | Comment