Market Assessment of a novel fluidized bed biomass torrefaction and densification technology

加拿大东海岸和西海岸地区每年生产200多万吨木球，主要出口到欧洲，以取代燃煤用于发电厂和住宅/地区供暖。第二代球团(Torrefined球团)是从经过热处理的生物质中生产的，具有更高的能量密度和疏水性，使其更适合在安大略省和艾伯塔省等燃煤发电厂完全取代煤炭，并在高炉中取代焦炭用于炼铁。我们发明了一种集成的高能效燃烧和致密化工艺，将森林生物质残留物转化为强化颗粒，使用新型沸腾床燃烧反应器和低成本高效粘结剂。然而，在投入技术和资金努力扩大和展示拟议的新技术之前，需要进行市场评估。在这个I2I项目中，我们将聘请外部咨询公司对该技术进行市场评估，以确定市场机会，指导未来的开发工作，以提供所需的性能交付成果，并确定该技术进入市场的最可行途径。

More than 2 million tonnes wood pellets have been produced annually in East and West coast regions of Canada, which are mostly exported to Europe for replacing coal for co-firing in power plants and residential/district heating. The 2nd generation pellets, torrefied pellets, are produced from thermally pre-treated biomass, which have a higher energy density and hydrophobicity, making them more suitable for replacing coal completely in coal-based power plants, like those in Ontario and Alberta, and replacing coke in blast furnaces for iron/steel making. We have invented an integrated energy-efficient torrefaction and densification process for converting forest biomass residues to torrefied pellets using a novel fluidized bed torrefaction reactor and low-cost effective binders. A market assessment, however, is needed before technical and financial efforts are invested in scaling and demonstrating the proposed novel technology. In this I2I project, we will engage an external consulting firm to carry out a market assessment of the technology to identify market opportunities to guide future development work to provide the required performance deliverables and determine the most feasible path to market for the technology.