Biobattery - Decentralized Production of Fuel from Forest and Agricultural Waste

Although there are several pyrolysis-based bio-oil technologies, the bio-oil produced from conventional pyrolysis processing has low pH and high viscosity. Most of these technologies focus on large-scale centralized units. The focus of the proposed project is on the development of a decentralized technology at pilot scale through the biobattery concept which includes intermediate pyrolysis of wood chips and straw biomass to produce biojet fuel and char for power generation. The biobattery concept is based on thermo-catalytic reforming (TCR) technology, developed at the Fraunhofer Institute, Germany, for the production of improved quality bio-oil, char, and gases. This project will help commercialize the use of forest and agricultural residue, diversify Alberta’s economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will also create jobs and train highly skilled personnel and develop integration strategic partnership with Germany.