RETC is managed jointly by the Renewable Energy Institute International (REII) and Technikon

It was established to provide industry with an independent “Underwriters Laboratory (UL)” type facility for evaluating and validating the performance of renewable energy and renewable fuels technologies with respect to robustness, safety, energy efficiency, environmental effectiveness and other key performance specifications.

Renewable Energy Testing Center (RETC)

Renewable Energy Testing Center (RETC)McClellan Park, CA

Partnerships and Collaborations

• REII brings together broad expertise and collaboration in the energy and environmental fields

• Technikon has years of experience managing government contracts for DOD and operating industrial testing facilities– Technikon’s major contract – the Casting Emission

Reduction Program (CERP) is a successful model for testing and validation that will be applied to RETC

• RETC collaboration members also includes: DOD, CEC, DOE, DRI, California EPA, US EPA, USCAR (auto industry), U.S. Forest Service, USDA, several Northern California Universities and the Asian Biomass Center (Thailand).

• RETC will contribute to regional and national efforts to become a renewable energy technology marketplace

Conversion Technologies

- Thermochemical Conversion- Biochemical Conversion- Direct Combustion Over 450 Identified Technology Providers with Processes Representing 15 TechnologyCategories

RenewableBiomass

Products- Agriculture- Forest

Residues- Agriculture- Forest- Municipal- Industrial

RenewableEnergy Products

Fuels− Alcohols− Diesels− Hydrogen

Electricity & Heat

Biomass Conversion Technologies for Testing and Validation

DimethylEther (DME)

CNG/H2Mixtures

Hydrogen

Bio-Diesel

NaturalGas

FT Diesel &Gasoline

Alcohols

RETC Focus Validation of Technologies for the Production ofAlternative and Renewable Transportation Fuels

Propane

The 5E Assessment approach helps determine the commercial viability of a biomass conversion technology with respect to:

Feasibility as determined by an in-depth technology Evaluation (E1)

Energy (E2) efficiency Environmental (E3) impact Economical (E4) viable Socio-Political Effective (E5)

RETC provides a unique engineering center for generating data in support of these 5E assessments

5E Assessment Approach for the Evaluation of Promising Conversion Technologies

Current Technology Testing and Validation Efforts

A 3-4 year DOE/CEC funded study recently concluded that thermochemical conversion systems employing pyrolysis and steam reforming processes under reducing conditions (no oxygen) and integrated with next-generation catalyst and energy conversion technologies for the co-production of bioalcohols and bioelectricity have the current potential of producing bioethanol at $1.50/gallon or less for commercial plants that co-convert 325-1,000 DTPD of renewable biomass to bioalcohols and bioelectricity.

Therefore, the RETC management team has chosen these candidate technologies for current testing and validation.

GrindingMixing

Screening(done offsite)

Alcohols (80% EtOH/15% MeOH)

(80 Gallons/ton)

Diesel (52 Gallons/ton)

BiomassProcessing

BiomassConversion

ThermoConversions

Thermo-Chemical

Conversion

EnergyConversion

SyngasPRF

Synergy 2010Integrated

Fuel/ElectricityProductionTechnology

EnergyProduction*

Electricity (550 KWH/ton)

Heat (Steam)(375 KWH/ton)

To Grid

Buildings,Processes

EnergyUse

Refining, Blending &Distribution

Candidate Bioethanol and Bioenergy Production System

*Energy production data calculated for dry wood @ 8,500 BTU/lb

Technology Evaluation

Evaluated for: Energy

EnvironmentEconomics

Socio-Politically Effectiveness

Current Technology Testing and Validation Tasks

Task 1 – Evaluate the performance of a 325 dry ton/day (dtpd) (dry wood at 8,500 BTU/lb) Thermo Conversions (TC) thermochemical conversion system for the production of clean syngas from biomassTask 2a – Validate a pilot scale syngas to bioalcohol production system developed by Pacific Renewable Fuels (PRF)Task 2b – Validate a 125 dtpd demonstration/production scale integrated syngas to bioalcohol an bioelectricity production systemTask 3a – Develop specifications for the integration and control systems for the 325 dtpd TC and 110 dtpd PRF systems (Integrated Biofuels and Energy Production System - IBEP) Task 3b – Validate the performance and specifications of the IBEP

Current Technology Testing and Validation Tasks

Task 4 – Once this system has been validated, the 325 DTPD TC system will be integrated with two additional 110 DTPD (equivalent) syngas to bioalcohol and bioelectricity production systems. This entire system will then be moved to a commercial production site in the Northern Sacramento valley. There is enough agricultural waste at several sites to provide an average of 350 tons/day of rice straw; 50 tons/day of rice hulls; and 50 tons/day of waste orchard wood/fruit processing plant waste. This 450 ton/day (as received) plant will generate enough energy to sustain its operation with a net co-generation of 7.45 MW of electricity and 8,550,000 gallons of bioalcohol/year.