RICHLAND, WA – The Department of Energy has awarded a $750,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract (PDF, 368KB) to develop a biomass based power plant. The Company will use its proprietary catalytic reactor technology with a solid oxide fuel cell to generate distributed power in the range from 3 to 30 kW. The bio-oil that will be used in the proposed process is made from agricultural and forestry residues such as wood saw dust through the fast pyrolysis process.
During Phase I work, InnovaTek proved the feasibility of converting pyrolysis oil to hydrogen using its proprietary reforming catalyst. “The integrated power system that will ultimately be developed from this project provides an opportunity to reduce the burden on the current electrical distribution system through greater availability of localized power generation from renewable sources”, said Dr. Quentin Ming, InnovaTek’s Principal Investigator for the project. The use of bio-derived fuels in distributed generation applications would reduce the growth in the demand for natural gas, as well as enhance grid stability.
Distributed generation of hydrogen from renewable fuels provides a strategy to help meet emissions standards and address fuel availability concerns. “Replacing petroleum-based fuels with renewable non-toxic biofuels will help our nation become more secure through reduced reliance on foreign sources of energy and safer from the environmental impacts of petroleum-based products and conventional combustion-based technologies”, said Dr. Patricia Irving, InnovaTek CEO. Alternative energy sources must be sought to meet energy demand for our growing economy and to improve energy security while reducing environmental impacts.
Biomass is a sustainable and renewal feedstock for energy production and its use does not create net CO2 emissions to the atmosphere that contribute to the growing global warming effect on our planet. To avoid competing with food supplies bio-fuel feedstocks must come from agricultural and forestry residues. The conversion of bio-oil from non-food based biomass to hydrogen for fuel cells would allow significant expansion in the uses of renewable feedstocks for energy production.
About InnovaTek, Inc.
InnovaTek, Inc. creates technologies for environmental safety and sustainable power. InnovaTek is a leader in portable fuel processing technology and advanced catalysts for hydrogen production from petroleum and renewable fuels. For more information, visit www.tekkie.com.