POWERICE | Organic Rankine Cycle Cogeneration Plant of one-farm size using rice straw as single fuel

Summary
Rice straw has been treated as by-product without any economic value out of ground burning. Actually, Europe produces 3,350 Ktons/year of rice straw that can be used by co-generation plants to produce energy. Now, the time has taken its course and these spin-offs have turned to a commodity more than a choice, due to EC regulations regarding to rice cropping and competence from outside Europe, especially from Asia. However, the co-generation industry cannot produce energy when the need is below 200kWe due to technical and economical bias.
POWERICE co-generation plants use rice straw as unique fuel, and will be dimensioned on a single farm basis. The deep knowledge of rice sector in Italy (EU strongest producer), and a wide expertise in supply chain logistics of FORENERGY, the applying SME (IT), will be gathered with the reputed engineering competences in straw burning by KEM (DK) and ENERTIME (FR).

The project will overcome challenges of a scaling down process, justified by the booming perspectives of the European potential market. Each step of the overall process will be analysed in order to increase efficiency, namely as a simplified and robust fuel storage, reliable handling and feeding systems, simplified boiler operating conditions (pressure, temperatures, medium quality requirements), and reduction of specialized alloy metals in the boiler design to lower general costs of the heat source when using small ORC turbines. The main technical drawback of current rice power plants derived from the high silica content of ashes is overcome by an innovative method that limits burning temperature, and with a dedicated coating for inner boiler surface.

Since high quality silica is the natural outcome of rice straw combustion, its value chain will be deepened in order to transform it a marketable commodity. POWERICE will overtake subdued feed-in tariff regimes along EU, by increasing x2 rice farmers' incomes (€210K annual additional revenues for a 100 ha rice farm).
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/745062
Start date: 01-01-2017
End date: 31-03-2017
Total budget - Public funding: 71 429,00 Euro - 50 000,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

Rice straw has been treated as by-product without any economic value out of ground burning. Actually, Europe produces 3,350 Ktons/year of rice straw that can be used by co-generation plants to produce energy. Now, the time has taken its course and these spin-offs have turned to a commodity more than a choice, due to EC regulations regarding to rice cropping and competence from outside Europe, especially from Asia. However, the co-generation industry cannot produce energy when the need is below 200kWe due to technical and economical bias.
POWERICE co-generation plants use rice straw as unique fuel, and will be dimensioned on a single farm basis. The deep knowledge of rice sector in Italy (EU strongest producer), and a wide expertise in supply chain logistics of FORENERGY, the applying SME (IT), will be gathered with the reputed engineering competences in straw burning by KEM (DK) and ENERTIME (FR).

The project will overcome challenges of a scaling down process, justified by the booming perspectives of the European potential market. Each step of the overall process will be analysed in order to increase efficiency, namely as a simplified and robust fuel storage, reliable handling and feeding systems, simplified boiler operating conditions (pressure, temperatures, medium quality requirements), and reduction of specialized alloy metals in the boiler design to lower general costs of the heat source when using small ORC turbines. The main technical drawback of current rice power plants derived from the high silica content of ashes is overcome by an innovative method that limits burning temperature, and with a dedicated coating for inner boiler surface.

Since high quality silica is the natural outcome of rice straw combustion, its value chain will be deepened in order to transform it a marketable commodity. POWERICE will overtake subdued feed-in tariff regimes along EU, by increasing x2 rice farmers' incomes (€210K annual additional revenues for a 100 ha rice farm).

Status

CLOSED

Call topic

SMEInst-09-2016-2017

Update Date

27-10-2022
Geographical location(s)
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EU-Programme-Call
Horizon 2020
H2020-EU.2. INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP
H2020-EU.2.1. INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
H2020-EU.2.1.1. INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
H2020-EU.2.1.1.0. INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - ICT - Cross-cutting calls
H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017
SMEInst-09-2016-2017 Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for a low carbon and efficient energy system
H2020-SMEINST-2-2016-2017
SMEInst-09-2016-2017 Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for a low carbon and efficient energy system
H2020-EU.2.3. INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
H2020-EU.2.3.1. Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017
SMEInst-09-2016-2017 Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for a low carbon and efficient energy system
H2020-SMEINST-2-2016-2017
SMEInst-09-2016-2017 Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for a low carbon and efficient energy system
H2020-EU.3. SOCIETAL CHALLENGES
H2020-EU.3.3. SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy
H2020-EU.3.3.0. Cross-cutting call topics
H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017
SMEInst-09-2016-2017 Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for a low carbon and efficient energy system
H2020-SMEINST-2-2016-2017
SMEInst-09-2016-2017 Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for a low carbon and efficient energy system