Fuel production system
The fuel production system includes a CH 4 recoverer, an electrolyzer, a liquid fuel producer, a steam reformer that performs steam reforming of the methane and produces hydrogen, and a controller. The controller includes: a heat amount determiner that determines whether or not an amount of heat required to increase a temperature in the gasification furnace to a temperature required to gasify the biomass feedstock is less than a predetermined threshold; a H 2 production rate determiner that determines whether or not a production rate of hydrogen produced by the electrolyzer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; and a steam reforming controller that controls the steam reformer to perform the steam reforming, and introduces the hydrogen produced, into the gasification furnace, in a case where the heat amount determiner determines that the required amount of heat for the gasification furnace is less than the predetermined threshold, and the H 2 production rate determiner determines that the production rate of hydrogen is less than the predetermined threshold.
1 . A fuel production system for producing a liquid fuel from biomass feedstock, comprising:
a gasification furnace configured to gasify biomass feedstock to produce a syngas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide;
a methane recoverer configured to recover methane generated as a byproduct in the gasification furnace;
an electrolyzer configured to produce hydrogen with electric power generated using renewable energy;
a liquid fuel producer configured to produce a liquid fuel from the syngas produced in the gasification furnace;
a steam reformer configured to perform steam reforming of the methane recovered by the methane recoverer to produce hydrogen; and
a controller programmed to control the methane recoverer and the steam reformer,
wherein the controller is further programmed to include:
a heat amount determiner that determines whether or not an amount of heat required to increase a temperature in the gasification furnace to a temperature required to gasify the biomass feedstock is less than a predetermined threshold;
a hydrogen production rate determiner that determines whether or not a production rate of hydrogen produced by the electrolyzer is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; and
a steam reforming controller that controls the steam reformer to perform the steam reforming, and introduces the hydrogen produced, into the gasification furnace, in a case where the amount of heat required is less than the predetermined threshold, and the production rate of hydrogen is less than the predetermined threshold.
2 . The fuel production system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a carbon dioxide recoverer configured to recover carbon dioxide generated when the syngas is produced in the gasification furnace;
a carbon dioxide tank configured to store the carbon dioxide recovered by the carbon dioxide recoverer; and
a dry-reformer configured to perform dry reforming of the methane, and produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide,
wherein the controller is further programmed to further include:
a carbon dioxide amount determiner that determines whether or not a storage amount of the carbon dioxide in the carbon dioxide tank is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; and
a dry-reforming controller that controls the dry-reformer to perform the dry reforming, and introduces the hydrogen and carbon monoxide produced, toward the liquid fuel producer, into a syngas discharging region where the syngas is discharged from the gasification furnace in a case where the amount of heat required is less than the predetermined threshold, the production rate of hydrogen is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, and the storage amount of the carbon dioxide is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold.
3 . The fuel production system according to claim 1 , wherein
the controller is further programmed to further include a heating controller that uses the methane recovered by the methane recoverer as a heat source for the gasification furnace in a case where the amount of heat required is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold.
4 . The fuel production system according to claim 2 , wherein
the controller is further programmed to further include a heating controller that uses the methane recovered by the methane recoverer as a heat source for the gasification furnace in a case where the amount of heat required is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold.