Torrefied Wood

New Biomass Energy is the global leader of torrefied wood pellet manufacturing. We are currently the largest provider of torrefied wood pellets in the world and the leader of wood torrefaction technology.

What is torrefied wood?

Torrefied wood is a renewable, carbon-neutral energy source that is more energy dense than wood and almost as dense as coal. Torrefied wood is created from biomass material that goes through a process called torrefaction.

What is Torrefaction?

Torrefaction is the roasting of wood or other biomass to remove moisture and low energy volatiles, creating a product that has increased energy density, is easy to handle and transport, and is practical to co-fire in existing coal plants.

The torrefaction process is illustrated by the following chart:

Raw wood chips are processed into the torrefaction reactor. Moisture is removed from the wood chips.

Chips are conveyed to the torrefaction reactor where they are roasted at approximately 300°C. The torrefaction reactor is a low oxygen environment, preventing the wood from being burned. While in the torrefaction reactor, certain volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) and hemicelluloses (“HC”) material is broken down, changing  the chemical composition of the raw material into torrefied wood. The VOCs, HCs and other gases (primarily CO) are captured and recycled to provide all of the energy for the torrefaction process and about half of the heating energy necessary for the drying process. Moisture is removed from the wood chips.

The torrefied wood goes though a cooling unit

The torrefied wood is ground. The ground torrefied wood is processed through a pellet mill with water and binder to create uniform torrefied wood pellets.