GEFS and UK partners are looking to build a biorefinery under two Department for Transport programmes to provide alternative fuels for transport and aviation. The project will take waste wood category B and C and ligno cellulosic waste from composting operations. This material is unsuitable for normal combustion and must be treated in WID compliant biomass plant and we propose also in MECC biorefinery process producing diesel.
The question is would the scope and definition of the project fall under National Infrastructure Planning either as a stand alone project or as an adjunct to an existing biomass waste recycling and/ energy facility and or an oil storage and refinery facilities. The answer would clearly impact on the location of any project and the timeframe predicated by DfT.
Project definition
The Project is to provide a MECC biorefinery processing waste wood into drop in fuel as part of licenced materials recycling facility incorporating
• Waste materials handling
• Biomass CHP plant providing all heat and electricity
• MECC 4/600 or MECC 8/1200 conversion process from organic material to synthetic fuel MSF
• Hydrotreating or Na-DSF process to upgrade fuel to drop in diesel MSF-D
Project Boundaries
Single site, in or over the fence supply of WID designated waste ligno cellulosic (LC) feedstock
Road transport supply of waste lubricating oil
Biomass WID compliant CHP plant
On site conversion of feedstock into Biofuels and Bitumen’s
Small scale fuel upgrading (hydrotreater) to en590
Fuel distribution
Feedstocks
Wood waste fines sawdust B/C 0-10
Wood waste unsuitable for other uses i.e. contaminated.
Waste lubricating oil
Bio-refinery processes.
1/ Feedstock preparation
• Sorting and size screening
• Metal and inorganic separation
• Feedstock selection for CHP or MECC lines.
• Drying and particle size reduction
• Conveyance and storage
• Feedstock induction without O2 into MECC.
2/ Biomass Heater and Rankin cycle CHP plant SUGIMAT-TURBODEN.
• Inputs 12000 tons biomass producing…..
• 950kwh electricity providing all electricity and work for MECC conversion process
• 3.8 mw heat to be utilised in reducing moisture of feedstocks to nominal 10%
3/ MECC conversion process
1. Induction of feedstock into mixing circuit of hot waste oil which is used to transport the feedstocks and catalyst at 180C < 1barm
2. Transfer from mixing circuit into the reactor circuit at 370C 1.5 bar
3. Splitting of molecular structures where decomposition progress is optimized by temperature, mechanical shearing forces and catalyst
4. Solid components are transformed into a gaseous phase
5. Resultant fuel gas immediately leaves the reaction zone
6. Regulation and fractionation of the gaseous fuel
7. Condensation / Liquefaction
8. Separation of solid process remains to be further processed into MSF & Carbon Black or Bio-bitumen.
Conversion Efficiency based on mass/energy balance
Process-related conversion losses, H2O and CO2 = 11,3%
Process and plant parasitic energy load = 11,6 %, (energy provided by CHP plant)
4/ Hydrotreating scaled fuel upgrading facility;
• Secondary distillation to remove residual water
• Reduction of Sulphur from +/- 200ppm to > 10ppm
• Control of aromatics
• Enhance oxidation stability
Final product, MSF-D, meets EN590 diesel standard for fossil fuels
Whilst capacity for initial project would be a single module MECC 4, the final economic model would be double the size a MECC 8
The biomass unit would utilise 1200tons and each MECC module 12,000 tons. Producing 4 mw heat, 1 mw electricity and 5 or 10ml of fuel. So the headline figure could be 36kton of feedstock and 10ml of fuel.
Appreciate your help as I cannot find the exact definitions that might apply to our pathway and project scope.

Thank you for your email. The definition of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, which require Development Consent, is found in Section 14 of the Planning Act 2008. It includes:
• generating stations that meet certain criteria set out in Section 15 (notably, that when constructed or extended they generate more than 50 megawatts if in England); and,
• hazardous waste facilities that meet the criteria in Section 30 (notably that they are in England, are not landfills or deep storage facilities, and can process more than 30,000 tonnes per annum, or an additional 30,000tpa if the proposal is the alteration of an existing facility).
Whether or not your proposal would be a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project may depend upon what the quantity of waste capable of being processed in your proposed facility would be, whether it would classed as hazardous and/or what the facility’s maximum generating capacity would be. In any case, we would not be able to advise you on whether or not your proposed facility represents an NSIP, because this would be legal advice that we cannot provide.
I suggest that you seek your own legal advice if you are unsure as to the correct consenting route for your proposed scheme. If you have any questions about the process by which applications for Development Consent are considered, please do not hesitate to contact me.