Airex Energy

MULTIPLE FEEDSTOCK. ENERGY EFFICIENT. COST EFFECTIVE.

CarbonFX technology transforms any type of biomass into value-added green carbon products.

PYROLYSIS

Torrefaction - Carbonization

A broad definition of pyrolysis is the heating of an organic material, like biomass, with little or no oxygen present. The purpose of pyrolysis is to remove moisture and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from raw biomass, thus converting it to a solid, blackened, hydrophobic (water-resistant) material.

Low temperature pyrolysis is called torrefaction. It is carried out under atmospheric pressure at a temperature range of 250-350 °C. Torrefaction optimizes the mass yield of the torrefied biomass obtained. It’s the ideal process for the production of biocoal, a clean and renewable solid biofuel.
Pyrolysis at a higher temperature range of 350-600°C is called carbonization. The carbonization of raw biomass produces a porous, carbon-rich solid residue known as biochar or biocarbon, depending on the characteristics of the final product.

BIOMASS

Biomass is perhaps the oldest source of energy in the world.

Biomass energy is derived from recently living organic matter such as sawmill waste, logging residues, low-grade biomass and agricultural residues.

  • Sawmill waste includes bark, offcuts, planer shavings and sawdust;
  • Logging residues are the non-merchantable parts of trees remaining after a forest harvest operation, such as the tops of trees, limbs, branches and needles/leaves;
  • Low-grade biomass are trees that are low quality for wood products due to shape, size, species or other traits;
  • Agricultural residues comprise sugarcane bagasse, corn stalks, palm kernel shells, and many other crop wastes.

Advantages of Biomass

Renewable – Sustainably-managed sources of biomass can provide fuel indefinitely.

Readily available – A significant amount of biomass is available in most regions of North America.

Biomass and the carbon cycle

The use of fossil fuels releases carbon from ancient pools that cannot be replenished. Biomass, however, contains carbon extracted from the atmosphere. Through photosynthesis, the carbon contained in the atmosphere in a gaseous form is sequestered in a solid form in plants and trees. The carbon is then released again to the atmosphere through the natural decomposition or combustion of the biomass. Therefore, there is no net addition of carbon to the atmosphere when biomass is used as a fuel to produce energy or heat.

What makes biomass renewable?

Biomass must be sourced on a sustainable basis in order to be considered renewable. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), biomass from forest lands is considered renewable if sustainable management practices are undertaken on these forest lands to ensure that the level of carbon stock does not systematically decrease over time.

Biomass feedstock in Canada is certified

Canada has the largest area of third-party certified forests in the world. According to National Resources Canada, as of the end of 2020, Canada had 168 million hectares of independently certified forest land, representing 37% of all certified forests worldwide. Third-party forest management certification complements Canada’s comprehensive and rigorous forest management laws and regulations. It provides added assurance that a forest company is operating legally, sustainably, and in compliance with internationally-recognized standards for sustainable forest management.
CARBONFX
TECHNOLOGY
Airex Energy’s CarbonFX technology allows industrial-scale production of a wide range of value-added green carbon products.

By keeping precise control of both reactor temperature and residence time, CarbonFX delivers end products with unmatched quality, consistency, and homogeneity.
Biocoal
A drop-in replacement for coal used in coal-fired power stations and district heating plants.
Biochar
A sustainable solution for carbon sequestration
Biocarbon
Engineered green carbon product specifically developed to decarbonize the metallurgical industry.
The CarbonFX process

Pre-drying

The biomass fed into the unit is about the size of sawdust. It is pre-dried in an aeraulic loop using residual heat from the combustion gas process. The moisture content of the biomass is then reduced by half.

Conditioning

The conditioning chamber has two endless screws and a double wall. The combustion gases circulate in the double wall and heat the biomass through indirect contact. The moisture contained in the biomass is converted into steam and the biomass is conditioned in a saturated steam atmosphere. The biomass is then circulated by the hot flue gases from the conditioning chamber to the cyclonic reactors.

Cyclonic reactor

Biomass is fed into the top of the reactor and spirals in the reactor following a downward cyclonic path to land at the base of the reactor, at the sustentation ring. The sustentation ring allows the biomass to remain suspended in the reactor, by creating a balance between the centrifugal force of the cyclonic effect, the gravitational force of the bulk material and the pushing effect induced by the sustentation ring.
The CarbonFX technology provides significant advantages over competing offerings.

Multiple feedstock

The CarbonFX can process a large variety of feedstock including sawdust, bark, shavings, wood chips, recycled wood, forestland biomass and agriculture residues.

Homogeneous end products

The highly turbulent flow inside the cyclonic bed reactor allows an optimal heat transfer rate and ensures very homogenous end products that generate very little dust.

Cost effective

The CarbonFX system is simple to manufacture. It doesn’t require pressure vessels, biomass boilers, drum dryers, thermal oil heat exchangers or wastewater treatment systems.

Low operating cost

The CarbonFX operation is fully automated and highly energy efficient as the residual heat from the thermal process is used to pre-dry the biomass feedstock in an integrated system.
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