The collaborative project will be executed between the University of Nottingham (England), the Drax Power company, the Universidad del Valle and Cenicaña.
In order to explore opportunities for the densification of sugarcane waste as a source of renewable energy, Cenicaña will sign an agreement with the University of Nottingham (England), the company Drax Power and the Universidad del Valle.
The agreement is sponsored by the Newton - Caldas Fund and the Royal Academy of engineering (RAEng) and within the framework of this, on March 27, an informative meeting was held with sugarcane Colombian sugar mills to analyze the trends of the world in the thermo-energy use of biomass.
During the meeting Orla Williams, mechanical engineer from the University of Bath and Ph.D from the University of Nottingham, presented the experience of the university and English companies in the densification (pelletizing) and treatment of biomass to replace coal and some of his studies in roasting agricultural residues for energy applications.
“Our interest is first and foremost to share the findings we have made in our experimentation and work with biomass in the UK. By bringing this experience, they will learn from her to further explore this area in energy production, ”said Dr. Williams.
For his part, Professor Juan Manuel Barraza Burgos, from the School of Chemical Engineering of Univalle, highlighted the agreement because it will allow the region to take advantage of “the large quantities of biomass production such as bagasse, sugarcane or bagasse cut waste, in renewable and environmentally friendly energy potentials ”.
Representatives from the Mayagüez, Manuelita, Carmelita, La Cabaña, Maria Luisa and Risaralda mills attended the meeting held in Cenicaña.
The participation of the company Drax Power (United Kingdom) in the agreement is interesting for its experience in the cogeneration of energy with biomass. Drax Power currently generates 7% of the total electricity required by that country and cogenerates with wood pellets, sunflower, peanut shells and canola flour. In addition, it has a wood densification plant in the US to export to the UK and meet the requirements for reducing the use of coal.
