SunCoal Industries Company Profile Biomass-to-Biocoal Technology

SunCoal Industries Company Profile
Biomass-to-Biocoal Technology
SunCoal Industries offers its customers facilities that refine organic waste into SunCoal ® biocoal with the
patented CarboREN ® technology, for use in generating bio-energy. This biocoal can be used in the decentralized
generation of heat and power, co-firing in existing power plants or for the production of biomassto-liquids
fuels, using “waste” as an efficient energy source. The economic feasibility and positive climate
effect of this innovative technology are impressive: biocoal has an attractive price-point and each ton of
organic waste refined into biocoal can save up to 500 kg CO2-equivalent. SunCoal Biocoal is an affordable
“green” alternative to fossil coal.
The Company
SunCoal Industries is the worldwide technology
leader in the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of
biomass. After the successful development of the
CarboREN technology and several thousand hours
of testing in its pilot plant, SunCoal Industries has
broadened its regional and international business
development. SunCoal offers a wide range of solutions
for municipalities and industrial customers, from
feasibility studies to turnkey plant construction as
well as a host of after-sales services. SunCoal Industries
also carries out testing of customer raw material
at its pilot plant close to the capital Berlin, in
Germany.
CarboREN Technology
The innovative CarboREN technology is based on
the principles of hydrothermal carbonization. The
CarboREN technology utilizes green waste from
municipalities (grass, leaves, etc.) or other organic
waste from industrial processes (wood chips,
bagasse, empty fruit bunches, etc.) to produce dry
and solid SunCoal biofuel, which has similar characteristics
to dry brown coal. The CarboREN technology
is unique in that very damp organic waste can
be used at a high energy efficiency to produce completely
dry biocoal. The resulting biocoal has a very
high quality in comparison to the raw material used
(reduced ash, chlorine, nitrous oxide and sulfur content
and a high ash melting temperature). The only
resulting material from the process besides the biocoal
is wastewater, which can be redirected to a water
treatment facility. Using this process, damp biomass
with up to 80% water content can be converted
to biocoal. This efficient process requires only a minimal
amount of energy (7% of the energy of the produced
biocoal).
CO2-Neutral Biocoal
SunCoal biocoal is a dry biofuel with high energy
density (5.3 to 7.4 MWh/ton LHV), similar to that of
dry brown coal. It can be refined according to the
needs of the customer to pellets (650 kg/m 3 ), powder
SUNCOAL MILESTONES
2012
Winner of the “Germany: Land of Ideas”
Contest
2011
Engineering completed for an industrial-size
project (capacity 60,000 t/a organic waste)
Confirmation of the excellent carbon footprint
from an independent engineering firm
2010
SunCoal Industries moves to larger premises
in Ludwigsfelde, Germany (south of
Berlin)
Expansion and optimization of the pilot plant
for customer demonstration and testing purposes
2009
Approval of extensive funding from the
European Union, Federal Republic of Germany
and the State of Brandenburg
Pre-planning of an industrial-size CarboREN
plant
2008
Launch of the first pilot plant in Königs-
Wusterhausen, Brandenburg, Germany
Winner of the German Business Magazine
„Wirtschaftswoche“ Founder’s Award
2007
SunCoal Industries GmbH founded

or granulate (400 kg/m 3 ). The biocoal can be used
directly as a renewable energy source in existing
power plants and combined heat and power plants,
etc. In addition, biocoal can be processed into syngas
and secondary products, such as secondgeneration
liquid BtL-fuels through gasification
(Fischer-Tropsch-Synthesis). Compared to brown
coal, SunCoal biocoal is a renewable energy source
and its application CO2-neutral. SunCoal only releases
the CO2 that has already been absorbed by
organic material during its growth via photosynthesis.
CarboREN Plant Operation
A CarboREN plant can be constructed according to
the needs of the customer and according to the
amount of organic waste available per year and its
composition. A CarboREN plant becomes economically
attractive with the input amount of 60,000 tons
of raw material per year. Existing biomass processing
sites are ideal for CarboREN plants, as well as
other sites that have synergies for energy use or
biomass processing. A CarboREN plant with continuous
production is highly automated, requiring little
additional personnel.
Economic Feasibility and Carbon Footprint
The high revenues that can be generated from biocoal
contribute significantly to the overall economics
of investing in a CarboREN plant. Organic waste can
be treated in an environmentally friendly manner at a
CarboREN plant with mid-size capacity (60,000 t/a
input) without the need for any additional disposal
cost. The process also produces a positive effect on
the climate, saving about 500 kg CO2-equivalent for
each ton of organic waste processed to biocoal.
History
The SunCoal Industries success story began with the
„re-discovery“ of the process of hydrothermal carbonization.
Friedrich Bergius initially discovered the
process at the beginning of the 20th century. His
process described the carbonization of biomass into
coal in a matter of hours, which in nature would usually
take millions of years. In order to reduce our dependency
on fossil fuels and to reduce CO2 emis-
www.suncoal.com
SunCoal Industries GmbH Tel: +49 3378 88122 10
Rudolf-Diesel-Strasse 15 Fax: +49 3378 88122 19
14974 Ludwigsfelde info@suncoal.com
sions, the founders of SunCoal started to work on
their first attempts at hydrothermal carbonization at
the Technical University in Berlin, Germany. They
there laid the groundwork for the patented
CarboREN technology used today.
Shortly after the successful launch of the first pilot
plant in Königs-Wusterhausen, Germany, in 2008,
SunCoal Industries received the Founder’s Award
from Wirtschaftswoche, Germany’s most influential
business magazine. In 2012, SunCoal was a winner
in the “Germany: Land of Ideas” contest, which
awards especially innovative and forward-thinking
companies. Through the further development of the
CarboREN technology, SunCoal Industries has won
many new business partners in order to provide
customers with the best, most competent service
possible.
Investing in the Future
SunCoal Industries engages with scientific, technical
and business organizations and institutions in further
R&D. For example, SunCoal Industries cooperates in
a joint R&D project sponsored by the German Federal
Ministry for Education and Research with the
Technical University Berlin and the Potsdam Institute
for Climate Research on the development of hydrothermal
carbonization of biomass (see www.htclabs.org).
Additionally, SunCoal Industries was the
founding member of the Federal Hydrothermal
Carbonization Association (Bundesverband Hydrothermale
Carbonisierung e.V.).
Berlin
SunCoal
in Ludwigsfelde