September 14, 2007

Purdue takes another step in using biofuel at power plant

Switchgrass grown on six acres at the Throckmorton-Purdue Agricultural Center in southern Tippecanoe County will be baled at about noon today and moved about 2:30 p.m. to the Wade Utility Plant, which supplies electricity, steam and chilled water to Purdue University.

The switchgrass will be burned along with coal in one of the boilers - Wade's Boiler No. 5, a circulating fluidized bed boiler - in tests conducted in 2008 around the boiler's scheduled maintenance shutdown in either April or May or September or October, said Klein Ileleji, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering. He said the switchgrass will generate 5 percent to 10 percent of the energy coming from the boiler during the tests.

Ileleji said researchers are developing a delivery system for the switchgrass since it and the coal will have to be introduced into the boiler separately. He said the switchgrass will be monitored to see how much is used and how much energy it creates. Emissions, pneumatic feeding of biomass fuels and economics also will be considered, among other issues. Robin Ridgway, an environmental engineer at Purdue, said information from the tests will help university officials determine what is needed for a new plant boiler that was recently approved. She said that boiler could be built to burn an alternative fuel source as well as coal.

The boiler that will be used in the testing is a clean-coal boiler that uses combustion technology, which makes it compatible to burn biomass.

Switchgrass is a plentiful, warm-season grass used for grazing by certain animals, landscaping, ground cover for erosion control and forage for livestock. Ridgway said that because it is biomass, switchgrass is "climate friendly" as a fuel, making it more desirable from an environmental standpoint than fossil fuels.

The research project is being sponsored by the Purdue Energy Center at Discovery Park and by Duke Energy. Purdue's Energy Center is a multidisciplinary academic community of more than 75 researchers, scientists, engineers, political scientists and economists. The center's goal is to make significant contributions to the energy solutions needed by Indiana, the country and the world.

Writer: Clyde Hughes, (765) 494-2073, jchughes@purdue.edu

Sources: Klein Ileleji, (765)-494-1198 (office), ileleji@purdue.edu
Robin Ridgway, (765) 412-2433 (cell), rmridgway@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: Photo and interview opportunities will be available at Throckmorton-Purdue Agricultural Center about 1 p.m. Friday (Sept. 14).

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