Biogenic & Renewable Fuels: Case Studies & Testimonials

Three separate biomass conversion projects focused on materials that were the “waste” of a different process, such as 1) Turning the empty “baskets” from sustainable palm oil processing, where these materials had no apparent value, so they were stockpiled adjacent to the processing facilities, gradually getting moldy and waterlogged, generating methane … a nasty mess that needed to be cleaned up anyway. By first pelletizing this material, squeezing out excess moisture, they were then fed into a carbonizer (a type of slow pyrolysis, technically, pyrolytic gasification) to produce energy, high-quality biochar and residual heat (thermal energy) that served to improve the project’s operating efficiency. 2) Certain agricultural crops, some at considerable scale, can be afflicted with a disease that ruins the crop for that growing region, such as the case with citrus trees in a location we are asked to keep confidential. This biomass, with grinding into particle sizes suitable for conversion, also produces excellent biochar. The supply of these trees are limited to 8-10 years, but the equipment is semi-mobile so the project owners intend to repurpose it to the next feedstock such as forests afflicted by climate change. 3) Horses and certain livestock use bedding that soaks up biogenic materials that become high-value compost plus fertilizer as well as residual energy used the power the conversion systems.

Why we prefer feedstocks from waste rather than purpose-grown resources

Although feasible technically, various feedstocks can be converted into a variety of usable fuels, we don’t usually support purpose-grown crops used for biofuels. Waste-based materials, whether biogenic (like biomass) or fossil (such as the calories embodied in plastics) or a mix (such as in rubber tires that contain quite a lot of natural rubber), better to rely on recovering resources than using land for generating crops for industrial purposes. Such use (exceptions are rapeseed/canola for diesel, perhaps miscanthus, giant reeds, sugarcane, and jatropha, but certainly not GMO corn), when operating at appropriate scale, often compete with land use decisions for arable cropland as food production. Until the planet is food secure, this practice is not recommended.