Process schematic of how biomass works at the Grand Prairie Ecopower® Centre

Wood waste, in the form of bark and sawdust from the lumber mill, are supplied to the steam boiler.  The heat from the combustion of the wood waste is used to generate high temperature and high pressure steam.  The energy in the steam is used to drive a turbine, which is connected through a rotating shaft to the generator.  The electricity for the generator is supplied to both the sawmill and the electrical grid.

The steam looses both temperature and pressure in the turbine and is now suitable for use in the kilns that dry the lumber at the sawmill.  Dry lumber has more economic value than wet lumber and natural gas is commonly used to fire the kilns.  Displacing natural gas consumption improves both the economical and environmental performance of the sawmill.

Because the heat for the kilns is provided by the biomass process, cogeneration or combined heat and power are terms used to describe the facility.  Surplus heat, in the form of high temperature hot water, is available after the drying kilns.  This heat can be supplied to any commercial or institutional facility that is close to the power plant.

To learn more about our biomass plants, pleave visit Biomass Power Plants.