The quest to develop a ‘green’ alternative to coal to reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels is now hotting up. Liverpool-based green energy company, Sea2Sky Energy UK Ltd has brought its R&D operations to the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Innovations Technology Access Centre (I-TAC) at Daresbury, United Kingdom to develop the technology in a co-operative effort with STFC to produce a low-carbon alternative to coal that could fuel existing coal-fired power stations.

It is a well known fact that coal-fired power stations and fossil fuels in general contribute significantly to global warming and a long term solution is high on the world’s agenda.

Using the £3m high tech equipment available at I-TAC, that would normally only be available to academics and large budget companies, start up company Sea2Sky Energy UK is refining an existing technology known as torrefaction. This technology can be used to convert organic waste, such as roots, branches, leaves, in fact any biomass that would decompose and release greenhouse gases in the process after a tree has been cut down, to produce a biocoal that could either completely replace the coal used in existing power stations or at least be used alongside coal to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used. Either way, the existing coal-fired power station infrastructure would still be utilised, but in a much cleaner way.

Torrefaction is a highly complex process which involves the thermochemical treatment of biomass at 200 to 300 °C, carried out under atmospheric conditions and in the absence of oxygen. During the process the biomass partly decomposes, giving off various types of gas. The final product is a remaining solid, known as the torrefied biomass.

As a technology, torrefaction, though not widely understood has been proven on a small scale by several Scientists, however any previous attempts to design a commercially viable device that would turn waste wood into biocoal using this process have so far been unsuccessful. However, combining the analytical capabilities provided by I-TAC and the on-site expertise from Daresbury Laboratory’s leading scientists, Sea2Sky is able to analyse, tweak and perfect the process stage by stage, overcoming all the problems and hurdles that have presented themselves in the past. Furthermore Sea2Sky is able to recycle and reuse the gasses emitted during the torrefaction process to fuel the device, which is being designed and built by Daresbury’s Laboratory’s Technology division. Daresbury’s computational scientists are also considering that it might be possible to model the fluid dynamics process of torrefaction on supercomputers. This would mean performing high resolution simulation to an accuracy and magnitude that has not been done before for this kind of technology, giving Sea2Sky a unique and valuable insight to the process.

Richard Walton, Managing Director at Sea2Sky said "Sea2Sky recognises the world’s need for alternative fuels and more ‘carbon neutral’ heat and power sources. It is our mission to identify and develop the best technology to address this issue. Using managed forests the world has a sustainable and environmentally responsible supply of biomass for the technology we are developing, and any waste from the process can even be recycled to fertilise these forests. Daresbury Laboratory’s I-TAC has given us access to an unrivalled range of equipment and specialists that would not have otherwise been available to us."

Managed by STFC, one of the world’s largest multi disciplinary scientific organisations, I-TAC provides start up businesses and researchers from across the UK, with affordable and flexible access to cutting edge scientific equipment, backed up with scientific support from STFC’s own scientists. Participating companies also benefit from the wider business support services and collaborative R&D, networking and innovative opportunities offered by Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus. Businesses can make full use of the wide range of facilities available at the Centre including leasing their own exclusive-use, ‘lock and leave’ laboratories. Companies not located at the Centre are also able to access a number of multi-user laboratories that are available on an hourly basis.

Paul Vernon, Founder of I-TAC said: "I-TAC provides the perfect environment to perform high tech and development work such as that being carried out by Sea2Sky. The combination of services and facilities provided by I-TAC, STFC at Daresbury Laboratory and by the wider campus in general can enable businesses to discover, develop and prove their own technology and achieve that competitive edge necessary to succeed in tomorrow’s global economy. We wish Sea2Sky all the very best in their quest to provide a viable alternative energy solution for the power generation industry in its drive to stop global warming."

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