Agri-Therm - Canadian Carbonization Research Association

Canada’s New Bio-Oil & Bio-Char
Company
&
Feeding Technology Description
www.agri-therm.com
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
The depletion of fossil fuel reserves ( oil prices)

Global demand for renewable fuels and green chemicals

Demand for increasing utilization of agricultural and
industrial by-products/wastes (process intensification)

Reduce GHG Emissions

Job creation
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Selfsufficient in
energy
Converts crops,
waste & other
Biomass sources
into Bio-Oil
through a
process called
Fast Pyrolysis.
No
competition
with food
Compact,
mobile,
easy to
operate:
No need to
transport
biomass
Reduces
chemical
fertilizers
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The Problem: Converting Biomass into
alternative fuel is limited by
transportation costs/seasonality.
 Labour costs must also be minimized.


The Solution: Mobile Pyrolysis, the
Agri-Therm MPS200
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Hydroxyaceto
ne
Levoglucosan
CELLULOSE
Formic
Acid
Glyoxa
l
Hydroxyacetaldehyde
Methyl Glyoxal
Acetic
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Slow pyrolysis: only char
Fluidized bed technology
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10
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Conclusions
N2 Pulse
N2
continuous
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Conclusions
Bio-oil vapours and
permanent gases
leave the reactor
toward condensers.
4) An hot filter traps the small fraction
of fine particles elutriated from the
bed, avoiding contamination of the
bio-oil.
3) The char stays in the bed.
1) The biomass is injected into the bed.
2) It mixes with the hot sand and reacts.
N2 or Recycled pyrolysis permanent gases for Fluidization

Mobile Pyrolysis System:
◦ Brings the Plant to the source (10 tonnes biomass/day)
◦ Converts Biomass to Bio-Gas, Bio-Oil and Bio-Char.
◦ Bio-Oil: ~30 MJ/kg, or 70% energy content of oil
◦ Bio-Char: Carbon Sequestration and Soil Amendment
◦ 1 tonne Bio-Char sequesters
3 tonnes of CO2
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Opportunities
Wine Grape
Wine
Grape Skins and Seeds
12.2 million tonnes
worldwide
Corn
Bio ethanol
Dried Distiller’s Grains
35 million tonnes in
North America
Sugarcane
Sugarcane Juice
Sugarcane Bagasse
500 million tonnes
worldwide
Forest Resources
Pulp and Paper
Forestry Residue
280 million tonnes
worldwide
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

Canada
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Forestry residues
Tobacco
Distillers’ grains & corn stover
Chicken litter
Apple pomace
Grape residues
Flax straw
Food waste
Coffee grounds
Wastewater treatment plant sludge
Rest of world
◦ Sugarcane plant and bagasse
◦ Rice straw
◦ Coffee husks
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Forestry
Agri-Therm
MPS
Equipment
Sales
Agriculture
Government
Municipalities
Universities
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Globally 1.4B tpa
1% of Global market, 5400 MPS units
Canada
42M tpa
1% of Canadian market, 200 MPS units
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Cetane Energy
2 M gal/y
New Generation Biofuels
5 M gal/y
Biojet
200 M gal/y
10 units
25 units
1000 units
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Mobile
Capacity
(tonnes/day)
Technology
$/tpd
processed
Agri-Therm
YES
5-10
Fluidized bed
$75k
3 Seconds to
Oil
NO
30
Fluidized bed
$90k
~YES
1
Auger
unknown
NO
30
Auger
unknown
ABRI with
ZWES
Best Pyrolysis
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1 metric ton of forestry residue (dry basis)
= $60
produces:
600 kg of BioOil (~ 18 MJ/kg) @ $ 0.22/kg (1)
= $132
200 kg of BioChar (~ 28 MJ/kg) @ $ 0.6/kg (2)
= $120
carbon credits for BioChar @ $ 0.07/kg (3)
= $14
Total Product Value
= $266
Net Product Value per t of residue processed
= $206
5 day week, 20% down (182$/t x 5t/d x 208 d/yr) = $214,240
$600K capital expense with 10% maintenance & operations cost
simple payback = 600,000/(214,240-60,000)
= 3.8 years
(1)
Sharp biofuels forward contract for biooil purchase at $0.22/kg
(2)
Horticultural Char TIME (Dec. 2008)
(3)
EU Carbon Trading (www.pointcarbon.com)
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1 metric ton of Ag Waste
= $0
produces:
300 kg of BioOil (~ 18 MJ/kg) @ $ 0.22/kg (1)
= $66
500 kg of BioChar (~ 28 MJ/kg) @ $ 0.65/kg (2)
= $325
carbon credits for BioChar @ $ 0.07/kg (3)
= $35
Total Product Value per tonne of residue processed= $430
5 day week, 20% down (414$/t x 5t/d x 208 d/yr) = $447,200
$600K capital expense with 10% maintenance and operation cost
simple payback = 600,000/(447,200-60,000)
= 1.55 years
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
◦
◦

◦

◦
Phase I Demonstration
5 units in select target market/uses
Currently seeking customers for pilot project MPS200
Phase II Partnerships
Manufacturing/Distribution, Service Providers, Oil
Co’s
Phase III Expansion
Expanded product lines, expanded uses (e.g. tires,
waste)
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Conclusions

Technology proven at 200 kg/hr scale

Prototype tested for long term operation

First two sales secured (client experiment projects)

Second generation unit nearing completion/testing

Demonstrations planned for various national and international
companies

Marketing plan under development

Research in progress on upstream and downstream processing
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