HM3 Energy, Inc.
Torrefied Biomass Features
In appearance, TorrB™ torrrefied biomass briquettes are dark brown and pack the energy equivalent of coal with the added effect that they burn very cleanly. Our TorrB™ process is unique in that the energy required to dry the feedstock when necessary, perform pretreatment, and produce briquettes is supplied by a small portion of the inexpensive feedstock (wood waste and agricultural residue) and by volatile chemicals produced in the processing of the feed stock.
HM3 Energy's TorrB™ torrefied biomass briquettes are specifically designed for coal-burning power plants to immediately reduce their CO2 and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by replacing coal. As a renewable alternative to coal that is CO2 neutral, it is a clean burning high BTU biomass fuel that can be mixed in any ratio with coal. When the life cycle of biomass based fuel is taken into account, the fuel is carbon neutral. The results of replacing ten or twenty percent coal would result in an immediate reduction of CO2 generated by coal emissions by that percentage. Higher substitution rates would yield corresponding decreases in emissions. In addition, since torrefied biomass does not contain significant amounts of sulfur or mercury, emissions of these pollutants are also reduced in the coal power plant. High blend rates also eliminate the need for expensive scrubbers and the disposal of scrubber residue.
Torrefied biomass briquettes have much lower ash content than coal, less than 3%. We successfully completed several test burns with TorrB™ processed biomass in Western Research Institute's coal-fired boiler. These tests have all successfully determined that a 50/50 coal/TorrB™ blend up to 100% TorrB™ biomass had no negative impacts on boiler functions. We also demonstrated proportionate reductions in both SO2 and mercury emissions, indicating cleaner combustion of the coal.
