Technical and market analysis of biomass gasification: Case study in Alentejo, Portugal

Alentejo is an extensive Portuguese region dominated by agroforestry and agro-industrial activities that generate significant amounts of biomass waste. These wastes are potential feedstocks that can be converted into new marketable products and therefore contribute to the development of new bioeconomy systems. Regionally, Alentejo has established innovation development policies that target sustainable technologies for waste valorization as one of the bioeconomy areas showing the greatest economic potential. Although these facts stimulate the motivation in developing a regional and more sustainable economy based on the use of energy sources with low carbon emissions, there is still a significant gap regarding technological know-how and attractiveness of technology investors and other stakeholders to the Alentejo region. This work focuses on gasification as one of the technologies to fulfill this competitive potential, in which local waste feedstocks can be processed into renewable biofuels providing answers to current decarbonization challenges and policies. In particular, the market and technology potential of gasification in Alentejo to position this technology in terms of the regional strategy for innovation and development is reviewed. The study revealed that Alentejo has the right spatial and market features for the development of a local bioeconomy based on gasification technologies both in terms of resources and market agents. However, different processes must be combined with gasification to convert the gas into the desired product, such as water-gas shift + pressure swing adsorption (for hydrogen production), methanation (for methane production), and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (for aviation and diesel fuels production). Agricultural residues present the best potential for producing renewable gases and liquid fuels, with estimated amounts of 450 kt/year and 232 kt/year, respectively. Overall, Alentejo presents good conditions to be a regional lead market in terms of sustainable technologies, but the region should focus on establishing its competitive advantage in terms of regulation and technology development. [Display omitted] •Alentejo has rich waste streams that can be converted into valuable fuels.•Alentejo has the potential to create a local bioeconomy from gasification process.•Alentejo has the possibility to be a regional lead market in gasification process.•Alentejo is ready to meet the decarbonization targets recognized in European plans.