Torrefaction of wood pellets offers substitute to coal

Torrefaction of wood pellets offers substitute to coal

Torrefaction of wood pellets offers substitute to coal

, December 3, 2011
The new plant, which will be built by a joint venture of RWE Innogy and torrified pellet manufacturer Topell Energy, will initially have a yearly production capacity of 60,000 tons of pellets. The plant will be operational by 2011. The goal is that the new plant becomes a solid basis for the commercialisation of a new process that could guarantee efficient production of second generation bio-fuels deriving from raw materials that cannot be used for food. This process is called torrefaction and involves ‘a thermo-chemical treatment of biomass that removes water and volatiles…and ultimately produces a solid fuel that resembles coal’. Essent will be the first company to use the produced pellets to be fired alongside coal in its Amer plant for the first 5 years of production. The Essent coal-fired power plant has been tested to be capable of up to 50% biomass co-firing. This was ‘the first time that a coal-fired power plant has achieved this level of substitution’ according to the CEO of Essent, Peter Terium. Further investments will be carried out to achieve this level permanently in the next few years.

Dec 2011

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  • 03/12/2011 | Torrefaction of wood pellets offers substitute to coal read more...

Sep 2011

  • 03/09/2011 | Testing to get enough news in the list read more...

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