ICFAR,

Mobile Pyrolysis System (MPS200),

LPS100, MFR & Feeding Technology,
Pyrolyis Future Outlook

Federico M. Berruti
BESc, HBA, PhD Candidate
Vanier CGS Scholar 2010-2013
Vice-President, Agri-Therm Inc.
fberrut@uwo.ca
www.agri-therm.com 1
SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO

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 ~40,000
Undergraduate
Students (U.G.S.)
 1,300 Eng U.G.S
 ~5000 Graduate
Students (G.S.)

 ~650 Eng G.S.

 $250 million in
Research Revenue
(University-Wide)
 $30 million Eng

 95 Eng Faculty

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 Our People
• 3 Full Members (Professors)
• 12 Associate Members (Professors)
• 4 Visiting Professors (in 2011-2013)
• 40 Graduate Students (Master and PhD)
• 5 Summer Students (Undergrad)
• 4 International Visiting Students in 2011
• 3 Senior Research Scientists/Engineers
• 7 Post-Doctoral Fellows
• 3 Administrative Staff
• 2 Technicians
 The Faculty Members

Cedric Briens Franco Berruti Charles Xu

Director of Director NSERC-FP Innovations
Research and (General) Industrial Research
Development Chair

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Laboratory

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Pilot Plants

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 Bench Top Equipment
75 mL
100 mL

Flow-type
supercritical reactors

Stirred bath reactors

Fluidized (autoclave reactors)
sand-bath
reactor
system
500 mL

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Analytical Equipment

30 L/min 40 L/min 50 L/min 60 L/min

a)

b)

0 rpm 500 rpm 1000 rpm

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1500 rpm 2000 rpm 2500 rpm
 Analytical Equipment (cont’d)

Agilent 3000 Micro-GC Shimadzu GC-FID 2010

500 mL

Waters
HPLC/GPC

Brookfield
Viscometer Mettler Toledo DSC 12
In-House Design

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 Industrial Partners
Aduro Energy Inc.
Iron Ore Company of Canada
Agri-Therm
Del Monte
Arclin Canada
Molson Breweries
Chemtex
Tire King
Dynamotive
American Science and
Syncrude
Technology Corporation
Total
Canmet Energy
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Sand Plains Community
Canada
Ontario Bio-Lamp
FPInnovations
Sherritt
Imperial Oil
Whitecrest Mushrooms
ExxonMobil
Canadian Agra Corporation
Lignol
Altranex
Wood Ash Industries
Char Technologies
E-Plywood
Airex
Gudgeon Thermofire
Siliken
Ellsin Environmental
 Networks
• ICFAR led the national $ 8.7 M Agricultural Biorefinery
Innovation Network (ABIN)

• ICFAR leads the $ 5.2 M NSERC LIGNOWORKS

Strategic Research Network

• ICFAR coordinates the “Central Platform” of

BioFuelNet Canada, a National Network of Centres of
Excellence (led by McGill University, Dr. Don Smith)

• ICFAR is a partner in “Biochar for Carbon Capture” UK-

Canada Network (Leverhulme Trust)
 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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 Self-
sufficient in
energy

No
Converts crops, competition
waste & other with food

Biomass sources
into Bio-Oil
through a
process called
Compact,
Fast Pyrolysis. mobile,
easy to
operate:
No need to Reduces
transport chemical
biomass fertilizers

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 The Problem: Converting Biomass into
alternative fuel is limited by
transportation costs/seasonality.
 Labour costs must be minimized.

 The Solution: Mobile Pyrolysis, the

Agri-Therm MPS200

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 Mobile Pyrolysis System: SEE WEBSITE!
◦ Brings the “Plant” to the “Source”
◦ 5-10 tonnes dry biomass/day

◦ Converts Biomass to Bio-Gas, Bio-Oil and Bio-Char.

◦ Bio-Oil: ~30 MJ/kg
◦ Bio-Char: Carbon Sequestration and Soil Amendment
◦ 1 tonne Bio-Char sequesters
3 tonnes of CO2

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Opportunities

Wine Grape Corn Sugarcane Forest Resources

Wine Bio ethanol Sugarcane Juice Pulp and Paper

Grape Skins and Seeds Dried Distiller’s Grains Sugarcane Bagasse Forestry Residue
12.2 million tonnes 35 million tonnes in 500 million tonnes 280 million tonnes
worldwide North America worldwide 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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Globally 1.4B tpa

1% of Global market, 5400 MPS units

Canada
1% of Canadian market, 200 MPS units
42M tpa

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 Cetane Energy 2 M gal/y 10 units

New Generation Biofuels 5 M gal/y 25 units

Biojet 200 M gal/y 1000 units

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 Phase I Demonstration
◦ Unit MPS200 cold testing underway
◦ Currently seeking partners/financing for pilot project
MPS200 & Company Growth Opportunities
 Phase II Partnerships & Growth
◦ Manufacturing/Distribution, Service Providers, Oil
Co’s, Upstream/Downstream Processing
Improvements
 Phase III Expansion
◦ Expanded product lines, expanded uses (e.g. tires,
waste)

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Our Approach (NSERC/FPInnovations)

Project-1
Bio-oil Platform
Forest
Biorefinery

Catalytic
Polyols hydrolysis

Polyurethane
Project-2

Project-4
Project-3
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Opportunities

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Opportunities

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Opportunities

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Opportunities

Vapours
Gas-Sampling
from the
reactor

Filter
ESP

Cyclonic Condensers

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Opportunities

Bio-oil Vapours Persistent

and aerosols and
permanent permanent
gases enter gases
the condenser exit

The “Cyclonic Effect”

enhances heat transfer and
facilitates droplet collection

Collected
liquid

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Opportunities

 1-10 kg/hr fluidized bed fast pyrolysis pilot

plant.

 Highly instrumented to control all critical

reaction parameters (such as T & P)

 Safe & Easy to Operate (1 operator required).

 Ideal for Research Facilities

 Optional Inconel reactor can be purchased for

higher temperature gasification reactions.

 Product bio-gas can be recycled for

fluidization.

More Technical Specifications on Web-site!

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Small Scale Batch (0.5 kg) Mechanically
Fluidized Reactor (MFR) Pilot Plant

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Mid-Scale (0.7 t/day) Mechanically
Fluidized Reactor (MFR) Pilot Plant

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 Demo-Scale (2.5 t/day) Mechanically
Fluidized Reactor (MFR) Mobile Plant
Biomass Feed

Gas

Bio-Carbon Bio-Oil Bio-Oil

Fraction 1 Fraction 2

Currently under design and construction (expected completion: Dec. 2013)

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

Conclusions

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Conclusions
FUNDAMENTALS BEING STUDIED:
• Design criteria & scale-up
• Effect of particle size & properties
(avalanching machine & Hausner Ratio)
• Slug Chamber Geometries
• Slug characterization (length, mass,
speed, spreading) – using lasers
• Straggler detection (mass of stragglers)
• Modeling
• Effect on Fluid Bed Mixing & Stability

LASERS
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Opportunities

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Opportunities

Product yields: Kraft lignin

0.4 s vapor residence time
60

50 bio-oil

40
yield, wt%

char
30

20

10
gas
0
440 460 480 500 520 540 560 580 600 620
o 45
Reactor temperature, C
Opportunities

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 Opportunities

Energy Balance and Sustainability vs. Temperature

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OPTIMAL RANGE
Energy (MJ) Contained per kg MBM Feed

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Product Gas
Bio-Oil
Bio-Char
10 Total Reaction Energy
Raw MBM Feedstock Energy
Total Energy Input

5
91% Total
Practical Energy
Yield Obtained at
550°C
0
450 500 550 600 SUSTAINABLE!
Temperature (°C)
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 Conclusions
 This is a CHALLENGE!
 Oil Industry > 100 years to Standardize
 Bio-Oil Upgrading Challenges/Economics
 Possible Steps:
 Demonstrate: Heat + Power Generation + Bio-Oil + Char
 Develop upgrading capabilities/create conventional products
 STABILIZE & STANDARDIZE PRODUCTS & FUELS

 Develop successful business operating models (scale, labour, raw

materials, etc.)
 AND… 48
 Conclusions
 TEAM UP!
 Biomass residue prep, drying, transportation
 Pyrolysis Technology & Research: Reactor Design, Feeders,
Condensation, Upgrading, Scale-Up
 Bio-Char Characterization: Handling, Pelletization,
Transportation, and Safe Utilization
 Bio-Oil Characterization: Stabilization, Upgrading, Handling,
Transportation, and Safe Utilization
 Business: management, financing, securing resources and
contracts, partnerships, designing business models, connecting
the dots… 49
Conclusions

Federico M. Berruti
BESc, HBA, PhD Candidate
Vanier Canada Scholar 2010-2013
Vice-President, Agri-Therm Inc.
fberrut@uwo.ca
www.agri-therm.com

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