Pyrolysis and Gasification

Our Expertise
Juniper is the leading independent consultancy advising on Pyrolysis and Gasification Technologies worldwide. We have conducted over 100 different projects on pyrolysis and gasification for both public and private sector clients.

Our report ‘Pyrolysis and Gasification of Waste: A Worldwide Business and Technology Review’, authored in 1997 and regularly updated until 2001, was acknowledged as the industry standard for this subject. This review is no longer available, but we now offer self contained process reviews and comparative ratings from our www.WasteReports.com website, in addition to consulting projects such as feasibility studies, market studies, risk assessments and due diligence exercises.

Pyrolysis and Gasification
Pyrolysis and gasification turn wastes into energy rich fuels by heating the waste under controlled conditions. In contrast to incineration, which fully converts the input waste into energy and ash, these processes deliberately limit the conversion so that combustion does not take place directly. Instead, they convert the waste into valuable intermediates that can be further processed for materials recycling or energy recovery i.e. syngas, oils and char.

Pyrolysis	Thermal degradation of waste in the absence of air to produce char, pyrolysis oil and syngas. For example the conversion of wood into charcoal
Gasification	Breakdown of hydrocarbons into a syngas by carefully controlling the amount of oxygen present. For example the conversion of coal into town gas

Please take a look at our fact sheet to learn more about Pyrolysis & Gasification

Pyrolysis and gasification processes have attracted a lot of attention as potentially attractive ways of recovering value from waste. Juniper continually monitors progress on the commercialisation of these technologies and the status of their reference projects throughout the world. As part of our consulting work, we provide an overview of the current situation and consider, from an independent perspective, whether such new systems offer advantages versus alternatives. We review the operational experience, environmental performance and economics of these systems. Our analysis is from the perspective of an independent adviser, impartial of any particular equipment maker or interest group.

Juniper’s database contains details of about 150 gasification and pyrolysis suppliers with more than 80 evaluated processes which have entered the market in recent years. With this data we have developed a model for monitoring and forecasting the trends in the worldwide Pyrolysis and Gasification market. This information provides a unique foundation for market research and consultancy projects to help our clients. Juniper’s existing knowledge and experience enables the client to get 'value for money' instead of financing basic research efforts. Due to our ongoing research and close contact with the market, we have gained a reputation for specialist knowledge in this rapidly evolving field. Today Juniper is recognised as the leading source of specialist market analysis within the rapidly evolving field of Pyrolysis and Gasification.

Geographical distribution of Gasification & Pyrolysis Suppliers for MSW Applications

The majority of the systems under development are based upon gasification in combination with either pyrolysis or combustion. Juniper continues to receive new processes submitted for review and for potential inclusion in the database that we compile. We have carried out independent reviews of many of these systems, focussing not only on the thermal conversion process itself, but also on analysing in-depth the feedstock preparation requirements and the various technologies to convert the intermediate products into energy or valuable products such as activated carbon, bio-oil and chemical precursors.

Classification of novel thermal treatment processes currently being promoted

The new technologies have the potential to play an important role in an Integrated Waste Management policy and to make a significant contribution to Renewables policy, but they are significantly less proven than conventional solutions. Our research indicates that some systems have had problems during plant commissioning or operation. Some of the reported technical difficulties are merely ‘teething problems’ that will be dealt with as operational experience is gained; others point to more fundamental issues with the process design.

Public policy makers have been interested in whether these systems are a more attractive option than incineration, particularly because they see such solutions as less controversial in terms of public acceptance. Private developers are attracted by the commercial possibilities of a new growth sector in the waste management industry. Managers responsible for organising and operating waste management infrastructure have been concerned by the short track record of many of these systems and, therefore, the increased potential operating risk. Recently, venture capital funds and banks have shown interest in this sector and also pay particular attention to the potential technology risk associated with these types of system.

In general terms, pyrolysis and gasification are reasonably proven. Our database, which focuses on applications for several waste types includes more than 110 sites in over 20 countries; this figure rises higher when plants that are gasifying coal and oil residues are included.

Clients of Juniper typically ask us ‘How do the capital and operating costs of pyrolysis and gasification compare with incineration?’ The only answer that we can give is: ‘that depends on the process, the application, the scale, the site.’ For some specific projects one of the novel processes may be cheaper than a conventional incinerator but for another project the situation may be reversed. However, the great variety of process concepts being offered, from complex systems that employ large pyrolysis chambers and high temperature oxygen gasification through to small scale batch processes, means that the underlying costs for systems vary sharply. In addition, the commercial policies of particular vendors may differ – we are aware that several companies have quoted low turnkey costs to obtain a reference plant order.

For examples of our projects in pyrolysis and gasification, please refer direct to our representative projects web page, or read the more specific pages in this section which give examples of case studies for particular aspects of our work in this area. For more information about our off-the-shelf reports, please refer to the Publications web pages. You can use the links below to get more information about the types of consulting help we can provide on Pyrolysis and Gasification, such as Market Studies, Technology Reviews, Bid & Tender Appraisal and Due Diligence Reviews.

THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED FEBRUARY 2009