View source for Isle of Wight gasification facility

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The '''Isle of Wight gasification facility''' is a [[municipal waste]] treatment plant in [[Newport, Isle of Wight|Newport]], [[Isle of Wight]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.letsrecycle.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=37&listcatid=217&listitemid=9193|title=Construction start for Isle of Wight incineration plant|website=www.letsrecycle.com|date=18 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213102106/http://www.letsrecycle.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=37&listcatid=217&listitemid=9193|archive-date=13 February 2010}}</ref> It entered the commissioning phase in autumn 2008,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islandpulse.co.uk/b2/island-gasification-plant-powers-up/|title=Island Gasification Plant Powers Up|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091215031909/http://www.islandpulse.co.uk/b2/island-gasification-plant-powers-up/|archive-date=2009-12-15|work=Island Pulse|date=12 November 2008}}</ref> and was replaced by a moving grate incinerator in 2019.<ref name=iw_drops_gas>{{cite web|url=https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/isle-wight-drops-gasification-moving-bed-facility/|title=Isle of Wight drops gasification for moving bed facility|website=Letsrecycle|date=31 May 2017}}</ref>

The facility has been funded as part of [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|Defra]]'s [[New Technologies Demonstrator Programme]] and is one of the first and only facilities in the [[United Kingdom]] to be classed as a gasification system employed for the combustion of [[refuse derived fuel]] originating from municipal waste. The plant is operated by Waste Gas Technology UK Ltd, part of the [http://www.energ-group.com ENER·G group], and utilises the Energos technology; Energos is also part of the ENER·G group. The Energos system was [[retrofitted]] into a small conventional incinerator plant<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.greenlaneecopark.com/pdf/qna2%20.pdf|title=Green Lane Eco Park Community Meeting 25 January 2010|access-date=22 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711124841/http://www.greenlaneecopark.com/pdf/qna2%20.pdf|archive-date=11 July 2011|url-status=dead }}</ref> and combust an estimated 30,000 tonnes of refuse-derived fuel per year. Originally estimated at £8 million,<ref>{{cite news|date=16 May 2007|title=Island to open gasification plant|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/6661383.stm|access-date=2009-10-14}}</ref> the retrofit cost £10 million to commission, £2.7 million of which was funded by [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|DEFRA]].

==Temporary suspension of operation, 2010==
Due to increased dioxin emission levels detected in March 2010 exceeding 8 times the legal limit,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greenlaneecodump.org/?p=284|title=Energos Isle of Wight Plant Fails Dioxin and Furan Emissions Tests|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726131900/http://www.greenlaneecodump.org/?p=284|archive-date=2011-07-26}}</ref> operation was temporarily suspended spring 2010. The [[flue gas]] cleaning system of the old incinerator was reused in the retrofit, and ENER·G reported this system to be the cause of the problem.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islandpulse.co.uk/b2/energy-plant-temporarily-suspends-waste-processing/|title=Energy Plant Suspends Waste Processing|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609213717/http://www.islandpulse.co.uk/b2/energy-plant-temporarily-suspends-waste-processing/|archive-date=2010-06-09|work=Island Pulse|date=31 May 2010}}</ref> Following modifications and several startup attempts, it has been operating again since October 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/waste-management/isle-of-wight-gasification-plant-achieves-compliance|title=Isle of Wight gasification plant achieves compliance|website=letsrecycle.com|date=April 1, 2011|first=Chris|last=Sloley}}</ref>

In June 2011, the Isle of Wight council decided to make radical efforts to lessen its dependence on the gasification facility with reference to its history of limited reliability.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/isle-of-wight-seeks-to-reduce-use-of-unreliable-gasifier/|title=Isle of Wight seeks to reduce use of 'unreliable' gasifier|website=letsrecycle.com|date=June 22, 2011|first=Chris|last=Sloley}}</ref>

== Permanent closure 2017 ==
The facility was permanently closed in 2017 after repeated breakdowns and breached emissions levels, and replaced by a conventional grate-fired waste-to-energy facility. 
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/16107123.end-of-the-line-for-gasification-plant/|title=End of the line for gasification plant|website=Isle of Wight County Press|date=June 17, 2017}}</ref><ref name=iw_drops_gas></ref>

==Energos technology==
The Energos system includes a close coupled combustion stage which, as configured, uses all the [[syngas]] in the combustion stage. It is thus not able to produce syngas for external use and therefore sometimes categorized as two-stage combustion. The process enables improved control of the combustion to minimise the formation of combustion related emissions such as [[Nitrogen oxide|oxides of nitrogen]] (NOx), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Total Organic Carbons (TOC). Operating plants achieve average annual NOx emissions of 25 – 30% of the EU limit using just process control and without the need for either [[Selective Non Catalytic Reduction]] (SNCR) or [[Selective Catalytic Reduction]] (SCR), whilst at the same time achieving very low CO and TOC emissions.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}

The energy in the combustion is converted into steam. Energos plants produce steam at lower temperature and pressure than modern [[incineration|waste incinerators]], and thus achieve low energy-efficiencies compared to incinerators. As a [[Cogeneration|CHP]] or heat delivery plant, the cycle efficiency is approaching 85%. One such example is the recently constructed Sarpsborg 2 plant, which provides process steam to the Borregaard Chemical Plant, directly displacing heavy fuel oil.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}

The Isle of Wight plant was intended to debut a new furnace design for the Energos process aimed at increased [[combustion efficiency]], dust removal and enabling less interruptions and downtime than the earlier design.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2921|title=MSW Spells Self-Sufficiency for Isle of Wight Residents|work=Biomass Magazine|date=August 2009|first=Lisa|last=Gibson}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|England|Energy}}
* [[Incineration]]
* [[Gasification]]
* [[Gasifier]]
* [[Pyrolysis]]
* [[Thermal treatment]]

==References==
<references />

{{South East powerstations}}
{{Incineration in the United Kingdom}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isle Of Wight Gasification Facility}}
[[Category:Bioenergy in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures on the Isle of Wight]]
[[Category:Thermal treatment]]
[[Category:Waste power stations in England]]