Bioenergy expert: torrefaction may be biggest biomass market

Biomass Power & Thermal
By Anna Austin December 22, 2010

University of Minnesota Professor Doug Tiffany has been researching biofuels and biomass electricity for the last 15 years, and believes that blending torrefied biomass with coal represents the biggest potential market for biomass in the U.S.

A production economist in U of M’s extension service, Tiffany has immersed himself in renewable energy process economics, particularly those of running ethanol plants, producing biodiesel and wind energy, and using biomass to generate power.

Throughout his studies, one technology has continued to find its way into the economic equation—torrefaction. “I had an opportunity to look at torrefaction for some subcontract work that we did at the U of M to determine whether a torrefaction plant set up right next to an existing ethanol plant would be a good fit in terms of a business model,” Tiffany explained. “What happens in torrefaction is that a certain amount of volatile gases are driven off as the biomass is roasted, and those gases can be combusted to make steam. We determined that there would be sufficient steam from a good-sized torrefaction unit to supply about 69 percent of the thermal energy an ethanol plant would need.”

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