Federico Berruti

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
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SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO
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
~40,000
Undergraduate
Students (U.G.S.)


1,300 Eng U.G.S
~5000 Graduate
Students (G.S.)

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~650 Eng G.S.
$250 million in
Research Revenue
(University-Wide)
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
$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
Director of
Research and
Development
Franco Berruti
Director
(General)
Charles Xu
NSERC-FP Innovations
Industrial Research
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
Fluidized
sand-bath
reactor
system
Stirred bath reactors
(autoclave reactors)
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
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In-House Design
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Industrial Partners
Aduro Energy Inc.
Agri-Therm
Arclin Canada
Chemtex
Dynamotive
Syncrude
Total
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada
FPInnovations
Imperial Oil
ExxonMobil
Lignol
Wood Ash Industries
E-Plywood
Gudgeon Thermofire
Siliken
Ellsin Environmental
Iron Ore Company of Canada
Del Monte
Molson Breweries
Tire King
American Science and
Technology Corporation
Canmet Energy
Sand Plains Community
Ontario Bio-Lamp
Sherritt
Whitecrest Mushrooms
Canadian Agra Corporation
Altranex
Char Technologies
Airex
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” UKCanada 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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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 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
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
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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
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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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
Project-1
Polyols
(NSERC/FPInnovations)
Bio-oil Platform
Forest
Biorefinery
Catalytic
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
from the
reactor
Gas-Sampling
Filter
ESP
Cyclonic Condensers
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Opportunities
Bio-oil Vapours
and
permanent
gases enter
the condenser
Persistent
aerosols and
permanent
gases
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
Fraction 1
Bio-Oil
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
bio-oil
yield, wt%
50
40
char
30
20
gas
10
0
440
460
480
500
520
540
560
o
Reactor temperature, C
580
600
620
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Opportunities
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Opportunities
Energy Balance and Sustainability vs. Temperature
OPTIMAL RANGE
Energy (MJ) Contained per kg MBM Feed
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Product Gas
Bio-Oil
Bio-Char
Total Reaction Energy
Raw MBM Feedstock Energy
Total Energy Input
10
91% Total
Practical Energy
Yield Obtained at
550°C
5
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…
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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…
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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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