Increasing the amount of biomass cofired with coal at power plants seems to be a relatively simple way to reduce emissions of CO2 from power generation. However, cofiring does raise a number of issues:
> What happens if higher percentages of biomass are cofired?
> How can the quality of biomass be improved and standardised, by processes such as torrefaction?
> How does increasing the rate of cofiring influence the composition and use of ash?
> What cofiring is actually happening at power plants?
> How is the biomass sourced and certified - what are the sustainability issues?
> What is the future for biomass cofiring?
These issues and others will be discussed at the 2nd International Workshop on Cofiring Biomass with Coal organised by the IEA Clean Coal Centre, with assistance from IEA Bioenergy Task 32 and VGB.
Ronald van Eijk will present the paper "Cofiring and Ash Quality in the Netherlands".