Heating and cooling account for about half of the EU’s final energy demand, while biomass currently accounts for more than 90 % of all renewable heat. Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants using biomass represent a promising technology for increasing the share of renewables in the EU. However, the main problems arising from the use of biomass are ash-related problems caused by the ash composition, which limits steam temperatures and consequently the efficiency of the plant. The Biofficiency project aims to enable secure and almost carbon-neutral heat and power generation at the highest possible efficiencies while reducing environmental risks and paving the way for a sustainable development in ash utilisation. This article provides an overview of the project goals, the approach as well as some basics and first results towards a better understanding and more sophisticated handling of ash-related problems for the next generation of highly-efficient and sustainable CHP plants.     «

Heating and cooling account for about half of the EU’s final energy demand, while biomass currently accounts for more than 90 % of all renewable heat. Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants using biomass represent a promising technology for increasing the share of renewables in the EU. However, the main problems arising from the use of biomass are ash-related problems caused by the ash composition, which limits steam temperatures and consequently the efficiency of the plant. The Biofficiency proje...     »