ThermoChem Recovery: 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy candidate profile

ThermoChem Recovery International (TRI)
Based in: Maryland
2008-09 ranking: Unranked

Business: Steam reforming gasification. TRI’s medium-BTU syngas can be converted into a wide range of downstream biofuel and biochemical products.  Since 2003, a TRI gasifier has been in commercial-scale operation at Norampac’s Trenton (Ontario) containerboard mill, gasifying black liquor (solid biomass equivalent: 500 dry tons per day).  Currently, TRI is the gasification technology provider for two separate DOE-funded biorefinery projects which will convert TRI syngas to Fischer-Tropsch waxes and diesel for market sale, and provide tailgas to offset natural gas use in the lime kiln.

Model: TRI licenses its proprietary gasification technology and provides specialized equipment and engineering services to integrate biorefineries with energy hosts like pulp and paper mills.

Past milestones:

1. Award of NewPage Corporation’s DOE Biorefinery grant, with TRI as main technology provider
2. Award of Flambeau River BioFuels DOE Biorefinery grant, with TRI as main technology provider
3. Successful launch of state-of-the-art proprietary 4 dry ton per day Process Demonstration Unit (PDU) in Durham, North Carolina

Future milestones:

1. Ground-breaking on NewPage project
2. Ground-breaking on Flambeau River BioFuels project
3. Project close on RDF-to-fuels project

Metrics: TRI’s steam reformer vessel design accommodates 500 – 2,000 dry tons per day with a single gasification system.

TRI quotable quotes: “TRI’s main competitive advantages come from three key attributes of its proprietary technology:  1.) an ability to successfully gasify a wide range of feedstocks (woody biomass, agricultural residues, Refuse Derived Fuel, lignite, subbituminous coal, etc.) into a consistent and reliable medium-calorific (300-350 BTU/dscf) syngas; 2.) a proven ability to “dial in” the ideal hydrogen to carbon monoxide (H2:CO) ratio required by the specific downstream GTL conversion process; and 3.) a highly-scalable steam reformer vessel design such that project sizes from 500 – 2,000 dry tons per day can be accommodated by a single gasification system.  TRI can handle a wide range of different feedstocks coming in, and can reliably supply syngas capable of producing a wide range of different energy products.”

“TRI has been commercial on black liquor, a liquid biomass, since 2003 and is currently at demo scale on solid biomass, entering into commercial scale.”

The Hot 50 for 2009-10 will be released Tuesday, 12/1. Between now and then, you’ll see profiles of potential candidates in the Digest, and you’ll have a chance to vote for your favorites. Reader response will count for 50 percent of a company’s overall score in the preparation of the rankings. The remaining 50 percent is voted by a panel of experts.

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