This course focuses on the opportunities and potential for biomass and waste to contribute to the production of renewable heat and electricity. 

The aim of the course is to provide you with an advanced knowledge of the sources of biomass and waste, and the range of technologies available for their conversion into bioenergy, particularly focused on thermochemical conversion. As a practical course, you will gain significant practical experiences through lab sessions, computer simulation and industrial site visits.  

At a glance

Course structure

This course is delivered through a balanced combination of lectures and practical sessions. It includes a field trip to a relevant industrial site. All delegates will receive a Certificate of Attendance upon completion of this course.

What you will learn

On completion of this short course attendants should be able to:

  • Evaluate and select the most appropriate biomass and waste materials for energy conversion application,
  • Critically review the principles and technologies for biomass conversion into bioenergy and compare to fossil fuel technologies,
  • Design and assess appropriate energy conversion systems for bioenergy production from biomass and waste,
  • Develop and apply analytical skills to carry out mass balance and thermodynamics calculations for bioenergy conversion systems.

Core content

Biomass and Waste Resources

  • Practical skills of chemical and physical properties and characteristics of biomass and waste as a fuel,
  • Analytical methods for characterising biomass and wastes,
  • Energy crops for bioenergy production and related ethics/sustainability issues.

Thermochemical conversion processes

  • Principles and reaction mechanisms of Gasification, pyrolysis and Combustion,
  • Design principles of thermochemical processes and appropriate full energy system integration (e.g. steam cycle, CHP unit and syngas/bio-oil upgrading).

Practical and process design experiences

  • Material characterisation (elemental analysis, calorific value, thermal decomposition (TGA) and analytical skills for fuel products characterisation),
  • Process and full energy system design based on material characteristics,
  • Complex chemical and thermal process modelling using ASPEN Plus.

Upgrade to a professional qualification

Ten points can be accrued towards your MSc.

Who should attend

The course is of interest to process, project and consultant engineers new to biomass conversion into heat and power, and interested in enhancing their knowledge on current and future technologies. The course is also of benefit for researchers, and managers who want to understand technical issues to aid decision making in the bioenergy sector.


Accreditation

This course is module from the following two full-time MSc courses Energy from Waste and Biofuels Process Engineering.

Speakers



Concessions

10% discount applies if booked eight weeks in advance. 10% discount for third and subsequent delegates from the same company/site. Discounts can be combined.

Accommodation options and prices

This is a non-residential course. If you would like to book accommodation on campus, please contact Mitchell Hall or Cranfield Management Development Centre directly. Further information regarding our accommodation on campus can be found here.

Alternatively you may wish to make your own arrangements at a nearby hotel.

Location and travel

Cranfield University is situated in Bedfordshire close to the border with Buckinghamshire. The University is located almost midway between the towns of Bedford and Milton Keynes and is conveniently situated between junctions 13 and 14 of the M1.

London Luton, Stansted and Heathrow airports are 30, 90 and 90 minutes respectively by car, offering superb connections to and from just about anywhere in the world. 

For further location and travel details

Location address

Cranfield University
College Road
Cranfield
Bedford 
MK43 0AL

Read our Professional development (CPD) booking conditions.