Overview

The BioConversion Technology (BCT) System is truly "disruptive" technology as it obsoletes "conventional wisdom" in a variety of fields. It has a wide variety of applications as well as a dual nature to its beneficial aspects. A more thorough treatment of the the BCT Biomass Conversion Process can be found in the paper prepared for presentation to the Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference.

The BCT Biomass Conversion System consists of two distinct and proprietary components. The first component graphically depicted above is the patented Pyrolytic Steam Reforming Gasifier (PSRG) which features a Staged Temperature Reaction Process (STRP). The second innovation is the Klepper Ethanol Reactor which catalytically converts syngas into ethanol. It features a proprietary, trade secret catalyst. The PSRG with STRP employs an entrained flow principle and features two separate reactors. It was designed to address and overcome many of the observed shortcomings of current technologies and promises the following improvements:

• lower operating costs,


• higher recovery of energy in a flexible, readily available form (medium to high BTU syngas);


• higher operating efficiencies;


• very low to no tar in the produced gas;


• elimination of slag;


• smaller environmental footprint (emissions below detectable levels);


• cleaner syngas;


• smaller volume of more benign ash
  
• work optimally and efficiently with feedstocks having a relatively high moisture level in the neighborhood of 40% to 50%;


• recover more usable energy from a wider variety of biomass feedstocks;


• will operate for extended periods without reactor fouling or system breakdown

Although it is an entrained flow design, it is not particularly sensitive to feedstock particle size. It does not require extensive feedstock preprocessing. It will accommodate irregularly sized particles up to 2 inches in size. Because the process incorporates a separate devolatization reactor and devolatization process it reduces the feed particle size as char is formed. The process is therefore less sensitive to initial particle size.

Custom Tailored Syngas: Power, Liquid Fuels, Hydrogen.

The BCT system has been designed so that the characteristics of the syngas can be easily customized. This is accomplished by varying the steam-carbon ratio and other process reaction variables. A powerful example of this capability can be seen by examining Table 4 below. They represent an analysis of syngas from a single sample of pet coke feedstock. Line 1 represents the syngas composition from running the gasifier in syngas mode. Line 2 represents the syngas composition from running a sample of the feedstock through the gasifier in H 2 (hydrogen) mode.

Table 4
Illustration of the ability of the Klepper PSRG/STRP Gasifier
to vary Syngas Composition.

Environmental Remediation

Because of its breakthroughs in scope and economics, it makes it economically feasible to remediate many different environmental negatives. Problems that were previously difficult or expensive to handle, or both, are now much easier and often profitable to handle. Materials like plastics, diapers and paper can easily be converted to high value products like electric power or ethanol at costs that are more than competitive in today's markets.

Income Generation

Through its ability to take any kind of carbonaceous material, especially low or negative value materials, and convert them to higher value energy products, BCT technology in effect rewrites the definition of biomass to include materials that previously were viewed as pollutants and nuisances. Its unprecedented efficiency makes it possible to take the most problematic of materials and design projects with truly compelling economic return. It literally invents the "New Oil."

Projects

BCT technology makes it possible to do a wide variety of projects that couldn't be done any other way, either because of the economics or the environmental sensitivity. The following examples are illustrative and not exhaustive:

• A Canadian Power Company will utilize the BCT to generate power from wood waste in remote areas where line losses make distributed electric power unreliable and expensive.
  
  
• The United States Forest Service is interested in using a portable version of the BCT to convert "forest slash" to clean fuels while thinning the forests to reduce destructive forest fires



• The United States Department of Defense is interested in a transportable system to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to process the waste generated by the armed forces into clean energy



• Because of the ban on burning rice straw after a harvest, a Rice Growers Cooperative plans to use the BCT to generate ethanol from the rice straw
  

There are many, many more projects and uses for this technology in addition to the few listed above. For more information please visit our information page where you can download much more material. You can also contact us directly.