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Aerospace Research Corporation
(ARC) is a manufacturer of renewable energy producing systems using biomass.
Located in Roanoke, VA, the company consists of the most talented energy systems
engineers. With the knowledge that gas turbines are more efficient than steam
turbines, the ARC engineers succeeded in using biomass (derived from wood, crop
residues, processed solid wastes, etc) in the same manner as a liquid or gaseous
fuel to be converted to energy by the gas turbine.
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ARC became
the first company to advance the concept that wood can fuel large power plants
more efficiently than coal. ARC has over 20 years of experience with solid
combustion energy turbines using renewable fuel sources and has a patented
system. The ARC system and efficient versus traditional coal and steam powered
systems. This is because
with coal, slagging occurs and ash removal can be a problem and with an ash
content about one-tenth that of coal, wood presents less problems than coal as
an alternate fuel. |
In a
project funded by the US Department of Energy (USDOE), the ARC initiated a
program to develop biomass as an alternative fuel for gas turbines. Government
reports (USDOE OSTI ID: 5685622; DE91012129) concluded that the ARC
system successfully operated with delivery of power to the Tennessee Valley
Authority. Emissions meet or exceed EPA requirements with no erosion of the
turbine detected in over 760 hours of operation. The system, was deemed by the
USDOE to be ready for development of a commercial version. |
