Ensyn produces a biocrude from forest and agricultural residues using its proprietary thermal technology. Ensyn's biocrude has been in commercial production for over 25 years for the generation of food ingredients, natural chemicals and heating fuels. Ensyn is now building out its production capacity for a broader commercialization of heating and cooling fuels and for the production of low carbon feedstocks for petroleum refineries in an application known as Refinery Co-processing.
Refinery Co-processing involves the use of Ensyn's biocrude as a low carbon feedstock in Fluid Catalytic Cracker (FCC) units in existing refineries for the production of ASTM specification gasoline and diesel. Refinery Co-processing represents a massive-scale opportunity for the deployment of Ensyn's commercially-proven technology. Ensyn has established an impressive array of strategic alliances with industry leaders for the broad commercial deployment of this application.
Ensyn owns and operates a commercial production facility in Ontario, Canada from which it sells biocrude to industrial and commercial heating customers in the U.S. and Canada. The Ontario facility has been qualified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) program. These biocrude shipments to heating clients in the U.S. are generating D7 Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) under the RFS program.
Additional biocrude production capacity is under development in Port Cartier, Quebec; Aracruz, Brazil; and in Dooley County, Georgia. The Quebec project reached financial close in June, 2016 and is now under construction.
Strategic Relationships
Ensyn works closely with industry leaders in each step of the value chain. These include companies related to fiber supply, technology and equipment supply, heating & cooling and refinery offtake, project development and finance. Ensyn's strategic relationships include Honeywell UOP, Fibria Celulose, Chevron Technology Ventures, Tesoro Corporation, Roseburg Forest Products, Arbec Forest Products and Kerry Group.
Ensyn’s patented RTP® technology is a commercial thermal conversion process that produces high yields of valuable biocrude from renewable cellulosic biomass, typically wood-derived feedstocks. The biocrude is used directly as a renewable fuel oil (RFO) for heating and cooling purposes, as a refinery feedstock to produce renewable ‘drop-in’ gasoline and diesel, and as a chemical feedstock to produce food flavorings and fragrances. Liquid biocrude yields are typically 70 to 75 wt% from dried wood residues.
Byproduct combustible gas and char make up the balance and are used as an energy source to run the plant and dry the biomass feed material. Ensyn's RTP process is the leading technology, worldwide, for the commercial production of liquids from wood biomass using fast thermal conversion.
Ensyn has been applying its core RTP technology for more than 25 years for the production of food ingredients, chemicals and heating fuels. It has designed and commissioned 15 RTP facilities for various applications and feedstocks, at different scales, and six RTP facilities are currently in commercial operation. Ensyn is now in the process of increasing production capacity to meet the increasing demand for its liquid fuels.
RTP is an elegantly simple processThe Ensyn RTP process is based on the rapid thorough contact of hot flowing sand with biomass, which quickly fragments the solid feedstock into vapors, gases and char. The vapors are rapidly quenched, or cooled, and recovered as a free-flowing light biocrude, while the gases and char flow together to a second vessel where the sand is reheated and recirculated back to the conversion unit. Heat is recovered from the gas and char, and used to supply heat for various RTP process applications.
The by-product gas is used as a fuel for complementary applications such as biomass drying, or electrical power generation, while the char is typically consumed in its entirety in the reheater to provide the heat required to drive the process. Excess thermal energy, in the form of flue gas, is available for biomass drying or may be directed to a heat recovery unit such as a steam generator. The conversion of biomass to biocrude occurs in less than two seconds.
The RTP process does not require expensive complex catalyst systems, hydrogen, or high pressure. These factors, coupled with very short processing time, translate to attractive capital and operating costs. Over twenty-five years of commercial operation and process development has led to processing equipment that is simple, robust and reliable.
RTP represents a close analogue to equipment used in refineries worldwideThe RTP process is similar to Fluid Catalytic Cracking, or FCC, a common and mature process used by the old industry in most refineries to convert petroleum feedstocks to gasoline, diesel and other products. FCC systems circulate catalyst in a closed loop between two key vessels, a conversion unit and a catalyst regenerator, while transforming petroleum into transportation fuels and petrochemicals. Ensyn uses a similar mechanical process, but circulates an inert sand heat carrier, instead of catalyst, to convert wood residues to high yields of a free-flowing liquid biocrude.
Ensyn's RTP is protected by a robust patent portfolio
Ensyn’s RTP technology is supported by a portfolio of patents on a variety of significant aspects of the process. Ensyn’s patent strategy aligns with Ensyn’s business focus on continuous development. As innovations and improvements emerge, new patents are filed. Ensyn’s current patent portfolio consists of 17 patents granted and 18 patent applications pending in the U.S. and 18 patents granted and 79 patent applications pending outside of the U.S.
Technology Alliance with Honeywell UOPEnsyn's extensive experience with the RTP technology is now complemented by a broad technology alliance with Honeywell UOP, a global leader in developing and commercializing technology for the oil refining, petrochemical, gas processing and hydrogen industries. This alliance includes licensing and supply of RTP equipment (carried out through Envergent Technologies) and commercialization of Refinery Co-Processing.
FeedstocksEnsyn’s RTP efficiently converts a wide range of “woody” biomass feedstocks to valuable liquid fuels and chemicals. These can include:
- hardwoods and softwoods, with or without bark
- mill and forest residues
- agricultural residues, including cellulosic residues from palm oil production and sugar/energy cane operations
ENVIRONMENT
Powerful Environmental Benefits
Ensyn's biocrude is a low carbon product that helps to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by displacing fossil fuels in heating applications and lowering emissions associated with fossil fuels.
Using Ensyn’s biocrude in a refinery or in an industrial boiler reduces GHG emissions by 70-90% compared to conventional fossil fuels on a lifecycle basis. These figures were verified by the California Air Resources Board as a result of Ensyn’s completion of an extensive GHG life cycle analysis as part of its pathway application under the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
The production of Ensyn’s biocrude also helps to reduce the wildfire risk to forests by providing an economic incentive for the sale of low value forest residuals – the feedstock for the biocrude. Creating a new market for low value residuals enables timber owners to economically manage their holdings and enhance their sustainable forest management practices.
Ensyn's Biocrude & the U.S. Regulatory Framework
Ensyn has received regulatory approval under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for the use of its biocrude for both heating and Refinery Co-processing applications. Ensyn has been granted Part 79 regulatory approval for its renewable gasoline and renewable diesel and Ensyn's Renfrew facility has been granted part 80 approval. Ensyn is a leading generator of cellulosic credits under the RFS program (Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs) through the sale of biocrude for heating purposes.
Ensyn has also been granted approval by California’s Air Resources Board (ARB) for Refinery Co-processing in California pursuant to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). Ensyn, Chevron U.S.A., Inc. and Tesoro Corporation were co-applicants in this process.
The regulatory approvals received from California's ARB covers the production of both gasoline and diesel via the co-processing of Ensyn's biocrude in specific California refineries using biocrude produced at Ensyn’s facility in Ontario from forest residues. The carbon intensity of the resulting renewable gasoline and diesel was determined to be in the range of approximately 20-25 g CO2e/MJ, or approximately 70% less than traditional petroleum-based fuels. Ensyn expects that biocrude produced at locations closer to the California refineries will have reduced carbon intensity due to lower transportation impacts.
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