Scientists, Naperville unveil alternative energy source
Naperville is moving closer to being able to ditch traditional gas for grass to operate its vehicles.
The city is at the forefront of an effort by area scientists and engineers working to turn bio-waste into environmentally friendly fuels.
"We've got a breakthrough technology that can create green jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy," said Peter Schubert, senior director for space, energy and education research at Naperville-based Packer Engineering.
Experts working on the new technology joined elected officials Wednesday to activate a prototype device called a gasifier they hope in the next few years will be used at a new "green fuels depot" in Naperville. If all goes well, the technology will be used to produce fuel for the city's vehicle fleet.
The project is a partnership among Packer Engineering, Argonne National Laboratory, Naperville and the College of DuPage. Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois-Chicago also are assisting.
Councilman Robert Fieseler, who has been on board with the concept since its inception about two years ago, said it promotes responsible use of energy, protects environmental resources, furthers education and helps the economy.
The team's 12-foot gasifier, dubbed the Stalk Stoker, uses products such as switch grass, wood chips and leftovers from crops. That bio-waste is converted into carbon monoxide and hydrogen, then undergoes a series of heat exchanges to become a mixture called syngas.
Now that they have produced syngas, the team will spend two years working on using the gasifier to create three types of environmentally friendly fuels - bioelectricity, hydrogen and ethanol - that would be used in the green fuels depot.
"Naperville has always been on the cutting edge and we're looking forward to being on the forefront of the latest and greatest," Mayor George Pradel said.
In addition to being good for the environment, Pradel touted the cost savings it will provide, saying the city is "cutting costs by cutting grass."
The team of experts will need $7.8 million - expected to come through government grants and private funding - to create the green fuels depot.
U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert is working to secure $1.5 million for the project. She was at Wednesday's christening of the gasifier, shoveling the biomass into the apparatus and pushing the "cycle start" button before hitting a balloon shaped like a champagne bottle against it.
"This is something Packer has developed that is going to take us far in reducing our dependence on foreign fuels, so it's really an exciting day," said Biggert, a Hinsdale Republican.
The current prototype is not large enough to offer the alternative fuels to the general public but the group hopes other municipalities will use the same model and its scale will be increased in the future.
In the meantime, the engineers plan to market the gasifier to farmers and small factories by mid-2010. The device produces heat and power so it can be used in both settings as an alternate source of energy.
The gasifier project received $1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, $160,000 from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and $80,000 from Growth Dimensions, an economic development group in Belvidere.