The Thermochemical Process Development Unit (TCPDU) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a half-ton per day pilot plant that can be used to study and collect data on a variety of biomass feed-stocks and is capable of producing a variety of products ranging from pyrolysis oils to syngas to hydrogen-rich gas. Process gas slipstreams can be diverted to various smaller reactor systems to evaluate fuel synthesis and gas clean-up methods.

Since the start of operations in 1996, the TCPDU has evolved mechanically (biomass feed system, char collection), chemically (catalytic reforming, gas scrubbing), analytically (MBMS tar measurement, GC heteroatom measurement), and in terms of process control and automation.

The lessons-learned over the last eleven years and the current capabilities of the TCPDU will be discussed.