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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number EP/P024823/1
Title SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub Extension
Status Completed
Energy Categories Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Other bio-energy) 20%;
Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Applications for heat and electricity) 20%;
Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Production of other biomass-derived fuels (incl. Production from wastes)) 20%;
Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Production of transport biofuels (incl. Production from wastes)) 20%;
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts) 20%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (Biological Sciences) 40%;
BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science) 30%;
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 30%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 60%;
Systems Analysis related to energy R&D 10%;
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions) 10%;
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Other sociological economical and environmental impact of energy) 20%;
Principal Investigator Prof P (Patricia ) Thornley
No email address given
Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
University of Manchester
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 01 August 2017
End Date 30 September 2018
Duration 14 months
Total Grant Value £756,074
Industrial Sectors Energy
Region North West
Programme Energy : Energy
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Prof P (Patricia ) Thornley , Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester (99.993%)
  Other Investigator Dr MC McManus , Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath (0.001%)
Professor M Pourkashanian , Energy Resources Research Unit, University of Leeds (0.001%)
Dr JM Jones , Energy Resources Research Unit, University of Leeds (0.001%)
Professor A Williams , Energy Resources Research Unit, University of Leeds (0.001%)
Professor AV Bridgwater , Sch of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University (0.001%)
Dr M Roeder , Sch of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University (0.001%)
Dr I (Ian ) Shield , Plant and Invertebrate Ecology Division, Rothamsted Research (0.001%)
  Industrial Collaborator Project Contact , Coppice Resources Ltd (0.000%)
Project Contact , Terravesta (0.000%)
Project Contact , Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (0.000%)
Web Site http://www.supergen-bioenergy.net/
Objectives
Abstract Every year the UK produces millions of tonnes of waste which is landfilled. There are over over ( )Mt waste wood alone produced in the UK each year. In addition there are large areas of land (e.g. disused landfill sites, coal-mines and water treatment facilities where energy crops could be grown to add remediation and improve land quality. It is well known that fast growing species such as willlow are efficient at sequestering heavy metals and other contaminants from the ground. When the crops are harvested the contamination is effectively transformed from a dispersed contamination on land to a much more concentrated form in the crop. Energy can then be extracted from the crop and the residues from the conversion process are easier to manage than the original dispersed contamination. However, care must be taken to ensure that the contaminated components are sequestered rather than being released to air, water or land in a way that could have negative environmental impacts.This work will study existing and new plantations of energy crops to evaluate their utility in remediating land and the net environmental impact of this approach. We will also monitor the behavrour of the envrionmental contaminants in a range of different conversion processes to establish the pathway they take under different conditions. This is important for evaluating the environmental impact of the system but it also provides useful information for engineers charged with designing the conversoin plant, so that they know how to adjust process conditions, materials and predict any changes in performance associated with the waste fuel. The focus of this work is energy crops grown on contaminated land. However, its application is much wider than that. The UK has a limited amount of land that can be used to provide renewable bioenergy. However, a vast quantity of wastes are produced that could sustainably deliver energy. In order to do this sustaianbly and effiiciently it is impmortant that engineers have access to data on how the contaminants in waste behave during conversion and this proejct will provide that, allowing more efficient design, lower environmental impact and supporting industrial deployment of these facilities
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 11/02/19