Swedish biomass gasification technology developers Cortus Energy AB (Cortus) has announced that it together with the Danish catalyst specialist Haldor Topsoe A/S and RISE – Research Institutes of Sweden has embarked on a project to test the production of renewable biocrude oil by hydrogenation of pyrolysis gas on a small scale on-site in Höganäs, Sweden.
In Cortus’s proprietary WoodRoll process, pyrolysis gas is generated. The combustion of the pyrolysis gas adds the necessary heat to the biomass gasification process in the standard setup.
With this new variant of the WoodRoll process, the pyrolysis gas can instead be upgraded to renewable biocrude oil by hydrogenation – reaction with hydrogen gas.
Cortus has a patented solution for hydrogenation of pyrolysis gas, WoodRoll 6.0. Cortus biohydrogen and pyrolysis gas become, in this new process set up via a catalytic process, a renewable pure bio-hydrocarbon – biocrude oil.
An incredibly exciting test where we test if it is possible in a couple of hours in a WoodRoll process to produce biocrude oil that can replace fossil crude oil that took a million years to form, said Rolf Ljunggren, Founder and CEO of Cortus.
The Swedish research and innovation agency Vinnova has granted the project funding support of SEK 0.5 million (≈ EUR 49 400). The project will start in May 2021 and will end in November this year.
This project holds a promising potential, as it explores the opportunity of producing advanced biofuels with a significantly lower carbon footprint than fossil-based fuels. We are pleased that our catalyst and technology will be put into use, as this project is perfectly in line with our ambition of delivering carbon emission reductions together with our customers, said Kim Grøn Knudsen, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Haldor Topsoe.
The test project is Cortus’ first step in developing its WoodRoll technology towards refineries for the production of bio-based liquid fuels and renewable chemicals. Renewable biocrude oil can, for example, replace the use of fossil crude oil in refineries to reduce climate footprints and meet renewable fuel quotas.
We are taking another important step to exploit the full potential of what Cortus WoodRoll technology can achieve. A successful test result opens further doors to new markets, said Håkan Sigfridsson, CEO of Cortus.
