Technology

We use a patented process combining hydrothermal treatment and catalytic conversion to convert agricultural and forestry material into useful, high value products. The hydrothermal treatment and the catalytic conversion take place in the same reactor. Hydrothermal processing requires water at 380 degrees C. To keep the water from turning into steam a high pressure must be maintained during processing.

The first step is feed preparation. Here, the feed material is modified into a suspension that can be pumped at high pressures. This feed material is then pumped into the reactor where the heated water depolymerizes the organic polymers that make up the feed. Once the polymers are broken up the chemicals and fuels can be formed using appropriate catalysts.

The reactor unit uses a series of heat exchangers at the entrance and the exit to maximize energy efficiency. In this way, the feed is heated up by the hot products. The result is a highly energy efficient system that requires only a small amount of heating to maintain the temperatures required in the reactor.

The next step is to separate the chemicals and fuels from the water. This is done by solvent extraction, which avoids the large energy input that would be needed to remove the water by distillation.

The last step is to send the products to final processing. This utilizes conventional chemical processing technology to separate the products from each other and to then take the final steps needed to meet the customers product requirements.