Torrefaction, a process commonly used to dry and roast coffee beans, may soon become mainstream, as traditional biomass and coal may soon be playing second string to torrefied feedstocks.
The process involves using extreme heat on biomass, during which volatile organic compounds, water and hemicellulose are separated from the cellulose and lignin. These changed properties produce a fuel that is easier to transport and store and is carbon neutral.
This process improves the characteristics of woody biomass, making it a much better feedstock to co-fire with coal, and producing superior pellets and briquettes to use in gasifier operations.
Now on the brink of commercialization, the thermochemical treatment process has the potential to serve as a substantial upgrade for coal and biomass combustion, co-combustion and gasification applications.
Several companies say they will soon achieve commercialization. One of those companies is South Carolina-based Agri-Tech Producers LLC, which expects to have a torrefaction technology commercialized within the next year.
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