Members News

Properties of Torrefied U.S. Waste Blends

Power generation facilities in the U.S. are looking for a potential renewable fuel that is sustainable, low-cost, complies with environmental regulation standards and is a drop-in fuel in the existing infrastructure. Although torrefied woody biomass, meets most of these requirements, its high cost, due to the use of woody biomass, prevented its commercialization. Industrial waste blends, which are also mostly … Read More

New Torrefaction Process Reduces Transportation Costs for Biomass

Researchers at Fraunhofer IGB developed an improved torrefaction process to make use of olive biomass. By LISA ANDERSON on July 9, 2018 Filed in  Business Waste from olive oil production is treated at a pilot plant in Spain that uses a unique torrefaction process to reduce transportation costs for biomass and produces green chemicals as a byproduct. It allows (the treatment of) waste … Read More

Torrefaction yields lighter wood chips that are cheaper to transport

MUNICH, Germany – Because wood is heavy and logs are irregularly shaped, it costs more to  transport, limiting its use as a raw material in industry. In the European Union-funded SteamBio project, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB have teamed up with various partners to change all that, developing a special steam drying technique that could … Read More

Partnership Makes Biofuel Accessible to Everyone

April 20, 2018 — Of all resources used for global energy consumption, 19.3 percent is renewable energy, of which almost three-quarters is generated from biomass, according to the Renewable Energy Network (REN21). For the production of biocoal, at present woody waste residues are mainly used, among others from the wood-processing industry, sustainable forestry and green maintenance. The use of biocoal … Read More

Baltania to invest in an industrial scale torrefaction biocoal plant in Vägari, Estonia

Baltania OÜ, a 100% owned subsidiary of Dutch private equity investment firm Momentum Capital, has made a conditional investment decision to commission an industrial scale torrefaction biocoal plant in Vägari, Estonia. Value of the investment is approximately EUR 45 million. Providing, that all conditions of the investment decision are met, the construction of the biocoal plant will start in Q2 … Read More

EU researchers develop biomass torrefaction process

A new steam drying technique for wood developed through the EU-funded SteamBio project could significantly reduce transportation costs for biomass, according to the German-based Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology. The technique also yields feedstocks that can be used by the chemical industry. The process is currently being evaluated at the pilot scale. Information released by Fraunhofer IGB Institute … Read More

Moving forward on black pellets 

Moving forward on black pellets Neatly tucked away in a workshop in Sundsvall, Sweden is a pilot reactor for producing steam exploded materials. A seemingly inconspicuous piece of kit, it belongs to a Valmet Fibre Technology R&D facility, a division of Finland-headed global forest industry and energy technology major Valmet Oyj. With its novel approach, the company may have cracked the “chicken and egg” market … Read More