Feed Pre-Treatment

Cellulosic biomass can be an important energy source for a sustainable energy economy. However, cellulosic biomass tends to be very low density (bulky), high in moisture, and irregular in size. These negative features have limited the use of cellulosic biomass in fuel production. The SGT feed pretreatment process is a form of thermal treatment used as an initial step in the gasification of cellulosic biomass which results in a higher density, higher fuel value feedstock. During the process, the undesirable water contained in the biomass, as well as volatile chemical components are removed from the biomass and the resulting gases are utilized in other parts of the bio‐refinery. The basic biomass constituents (cellulose, hemi‐cellulose and lignin), are partially decomposed in the process making the biomass much more friable. This significantly reduces the energy required to grind the biomass to a particle size which is easily handled with proven solids handling methods. This material also has the benefit of being more stable for storage than virgin biomass. The final pre-treated biomass, is a dry, granular material which is an ideal fuel for the SGT high pressure gasifier.

SGT has optimized and integrated the pre-treatment process into overall bio‐refinery in a way that actually improves the energy and carbon efficiency of the overall process, increasing liquid product yields and improving overall bio‐refinery economics.