REVE — a new industrial technology for biomass torrefaction: pilot studies

• A new industrial technology for biomass torrefaction is presented.
• Four types of biomass have been torrefied and analyzed.
• Economic target of 250–300 °C for 5–30 min has been reached.
• Continuous torrefaction is validated at 300 °C and 40 kg/h with the pilot unit.
• Torrefaction gases are not diluted by any carrier gas.

Torrefaction is a well-known biomass pretreatment. However, some technical challenges still remain in terms of industrial development. With its origins in the food industry, the REVE technology is a very interesting potential solution which can meet some of these challenges such as achieving uniform treatment using the plug flow characteristics of the machine, the possibility of treating a wider range of input materials using vibrational transport techniques and benefiting from Revtech's process upscaling expertise. Using the same pilot unit, four types of biomass (wood chips, olive pips, pine barks and straw) have been torrefied at different temperatures (240 °C to 300 °C) for up to 30 min. A large range of torrefied products, including biochar, have been produced and analyzed (elemental analysis, heating values and grindability), validating the flexibility of REVE technology. Preliminary continuous runs with wood chips at 40 and 80 kg/h up 310 °C for 10 min have also been performed. With this pilot unit, wood chips can be continuously torrefied at 300 °C and 40 kg/h. Techno-economic aspects are finally discussed with a focus on energy consumption.