Biocarbon for Power Generation: A Renewable Coal Alternative
High-energy-density biocarbon fuel, produced through torrefaction, for power plants and industrial boilers, lab tested and engineered alongside your plant to meet your combustion and handling specs.
Coal-Fired Power Still Runs on Fossil Carbon
Coal remains a major fuel source for power generation and industrial boilers, and plants face growing pressure to co-fire or convert to a lower-carbon fuel without costly capital upgrades. Biocarbon, produced through torrefaction, offers a renewable, biogenic substitute, but raw biomass falls short of coal on energy density and handling, it takes real engineering to close that gap.
High Performance, Built Alongside Your Plant
Biogenic Carbon Displacement
Every ton of biocarbon fuel burned in place of coal represents a direct, measurable reduction in fossil (Scope 1) emissions.
Lab Tested for Performance
Engineered and lab tested for energy content, moisture, and handling characteristics your plant requires, verified against your target specs.
Support Where You Need It
Share your boiler type and current fuel spec, and we’ll assist with trial planning and application guidance.
Designed With Your Plant
We don’t ship a one-size-fits-all product. Our team works directly with your engineers to hit the specific combustion and handling properties your plant needs.
Engineered and Lab Tested to Your Specs
Raw biomass burns differently than coal, lower energy density, higher moisture, harder to mill and store. Torrefaction closes much of that gap, but getting a torrefied fuel to actually perform alongside or in place of coal takes real engineering. We work directly with your team, testing against your specs rather than shipping a generic product.
Higher Heating Value Through Torrefaction
Torrefaction, a mild thermal process that roasts biomass at roughly 200 to 300°C in a low-oxygen environment, raises energy density well beyond raw biomass. Published research shows heating values climbing from roughly 14.6 MJ/kg to over 20 MJ/kg after torrefaction. We lab test our biocarbon fuel against your target energy content.
Milling & Storage Compatibility
Published research on torrefied biomass shows grindability comparable to coal, meaning it can potentially be co-milled without costly equipment changes. We test milling and handling characteristics against your plant’s equipment.
Low Sulfur, Low Heavy Metals
Because it’s sourced from trees rather than geologic coal, our biocarbon starts with inherently lower sulfur and trace heavy metal content, helping reduce SO2 and other emissions at the stack.
A Cleaner Source, By Nature
Coal forms underground over millions of years, concentrating sulfur and trace heavy metals from the surrounding geology. Biomass doesn’t carry that baggage. Published co-firing research has also shown reduced NOx and SO2 emissions when torrefied biomass replaces a portion of coal in combustion.
Tunable to Your Specs
Torrefaction severity, the temperature and duration of the process, can be adjusted to shift energy density, moisture resistance, and grindability. We work with your team to dial in the severity that optimizes the biocarbon for your specific plant and combustion requirements.
From America’s Forests to Your Plant
We’re utilizing America’s forests to source biomass, then torrefying and engineering it into a fuel lab tested for your process.
Trees Capture It
As forests grow, trees pull CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and store it as carbon in wood and biomass.
Torrefaction Engineers It
Torrefaction and densification convert that biomass into biocarbon, engineered and lab tested for energy density and handling.
Your Plant Runs On It
Biogenic carbon displaces a portion of fossil coal in combustion, cutting fossil emissions with a fuel designed for your plant.
Built to Scale, Anywhere Power Is Generated
Biocarbon is made from readily available biomass, forestry and agricultural residues found in nearly every region of the world. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates the U.S. alone can sustainably supply more than a billion tons of biomass a year. That means supply isn’t the constraint, it can scale to millions of tons and reach power and industrial boiler operations of any size.
A Fuel Formulated to Your Plant
We supply engineered biocarbon fuel, produced through torrefaction and tunable to your specs. Your team keeps full control over plant operation and co-firing rate.
Tailored Particle Size & Density
Sized and densified to match your combustion system and fuel handling equipment, whether pulverized co-firing or dedicated boiler use.
Consistent Supply
Quality-checked from batch to batch, with energy content, moisture, and ash verified against your specification.
Application & Trial Support
Our team works alongside your plant engineers to test co-firing rates against your equipment and emissions targets.
Common Questions From Plant Engineers
What is torrefaction?
Torrefaction is a mild thermal process that heats biomass to roughly 200 to 300°C in a low-oxygen environment, driving off moisture and volatile compounds. The result is torrefied biomass, which we produce and supply as biocarbon, a fuel with higher energy density, better grindability, and improved storage stability than raw biomass, closer to coal in overall performance.
Can the properties of the biocarbon be adjusted?
Yes. Torrefaction severity, the temperature and duration of the process, can be tuned to shift energy density, moisture resistance, and grindability. We work with your team to dial in the severity that optimizes the biocarbon for your specific plant and combustion requirements.
Can biocarbon really replace coal in power generation?
Yes, in part. Biomass co-firing is an established practice at coal plants worldwide, typically in the range of 5 to 20% by fuel input, and engineered biocarbon can substitute for a portion of coal without major equipment changes.
Will it perform the same as coal in my boiler?
That’s what we lab test for. Raw biomass burns differently than coal, we formulate and test our biocarbon fuel against the energy content, moisture, and handling targets your plant needs, working directly with your team along the way.
Does biocarbon introduce contamination risk?
Generally less than coal, not more. Coal concentrates sulfur and trace heavy metals from millions of years underground. Biocarbon starts cleaner because it’s sourced from trees, not geology, which can also help reduce SO2 emissions at the stack.
How do you make sure it will meet our specs?
We lab test each formulation against your target energy content, moisture, ash, and handling characteristics before it ever runs in your plant, and we adjust the formulation, including torrefaction severity, based on trial results with your team.
Can you help us run a trial?
Yes. Share your boiler type, current fuel spec, and goals, and we’ll help design a trial program.
Let’s Build the Future Together
Talk to our team about a biocarbon fuel engineered for your plant.
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