MU replaces coal boiler with biomass
The MU Power Plant will have one of its five coal-burning boilers replaced with one that burns biomass, resulting in 100,000 tons annually of clean, sustainable biomass fuel used to supply energy for MU.
MU Power Plant Superintendent Gregg Coffin said MU was in need of a new boiler, so variables such as fuel, equipment cost and long-run cost were weighed when researching replacement boilers.
“As we looked at the options, we realized we could utilize biomass energy cost effectively,” Coffin said.
Campus Facilities’ energy management department is partnering with researchers in agriculture, agricultural engineering, engineering, university extension and MU’s forestry department to assist in the project and help develop information on burning sustainable biomass.
“This is the first sizable wood-based bio-energy project in the state,” forestry professor Hank Stelzer said. “We have the responsibility to do it right.”
The biomass to fuel the new boiler will come from four main sources: sawmill residues, urban wood waste, harvest residue and dedicated energy crops.
The forestry department and the MU Center for Agroforestry are creating plots of dedicated, short-rotation, woody crops, such as willow and hybrid poplar.
“The power plant is a business,” Stelzer said. “They have a need. It creates the market. It creates the demand. (The crops) will help area farmers develop a sustainable supply chain to the MU energy plant.”
Obtaining the biomass locally is an added economic and environmental benefit.
Coffin said much of the coal being used is bought from surrounding states. The woody biomass will cut down on transportation, in turn cutting down on fossil fuel use and energy dollars.
The project should also result in more economic development for Missouri, Stelzer said. It will provide incentive for landowners to grow trees as a source of potential income through carbon trading and will produce other “green jobs.”
Stelzer said by growing the industry here, the power plant would be able to create jobs.
“On the larger landscape level, these woody crops have the potential to positively impact the area’s air and water quality in addition to being a fuel source for the power plant,” Stelzer said.
The crops also provide an opportunity for students to get involved within the forestry department through management and research of the crops.
“It will put everything they learn in the classroom into practice,” Stelzer said.
Nicholas Mustoe, a double major in forestry and fisheries and wildlife, said a lot of forestry is about advising landowners. “This becomes another tool in their belt,” Mustoe said.
In addition to these sources of wood fiber, the boiler is also capable of consuming grasses, such as switch grass, and agricultural residues, such as corncobs, Stelzer said.
“A lot of corn is grown in Missouri,” Coffin said. “It may be economically feasible to use the cobs.”
Some organizations have pushed for 100 percent biomass usage from the power plant.
“You can’t do it overnight, a 20 percent reduction is huge,” Stelzer said.
Melissa Vatterott, Coal Free Mizzou treasurer and spokesman, said the biomass developments of the university are excellent and the organization is excited to see what other research is being done.
“We hope to be allies with the university through future energy use to advance the university’s sustainable efforts,” Vatterott said.
In the future, 100 percent biomass use is not completely out of the question.
“Technology can change and modify over the time,” Coffin said. “We could consider biomass for (other boilers) as well.”
Vatterott said the university is committed to creating a timeline to become carbon neutral, and Coal Free Mizzou is hoping to see a deadline.
Replacing just one of the boilers with biomass is a groundbreaking feat for the state and will bring about a great variety of benefits.
“This is going to put Mizzou on the map,” Stelzer said.
-Megan Swieca
