Being evaluated at its West Jefferson, Ohio facility, the new Battelle system, in its current configuration, transforms one ton of pine chips, shavings and sawdust into up to 130 gallons of wet bio-oil per day, which will be then upgraded by hydro-treatment into a gas/diesel blend or jet fuel.
Battelle claims that Bio-based gasoline produced by its unit emerged as another alternative to be blended with existing gasoline following extensive testing and the new formulation would help fuel producers meet their renewable fuel requirements.
Battelle’s bio-oil can also be converted to a bio-polyol to be substituted in chemical manufacturing for polyols derived from petroleum.
The new system represents the culmination of Battelle’s second-stage development of the mobile pyrolysis technology, while Battelle developed a bench-scale machine to convert 50-pounds of woody waste per day in the first stage, which took place over the past four years.
Battelle researchers are currently using mainly pine waste in the transportable pyrolysis unit, which can also use other types of unwanted agricultural field residue known as stranded biomass, including corn stover, switch grass and Miscanthus.
The researchers are considering proper management of bi-products such as liquid, solid and gas from the unit. The liquid waste stream can be safely recycled or disposed of, the solid char contains in-organics that can be used in fertilizers and the venting gas is monitored for safety, Battelle claims.
