The EU has the world's largest regional energy market and accounts for one fifth of the world's energy use. European power companies have been mandated to cut carbon dioxide emissions by twenty percent by the year 2020.
The obvious renewable energy solution is torrefied bio-coal. Europe's biomass resources are relatively small and unable to provide the necessary woody biomass to meet the mandate. North America is the prime, readily available source for certifiably sustainable and socially responsible bio-coal.
"The first step in marketing our product is to allow clients to do laboratory testing," said Michael K. Molen, Chairman/CEO of Vega Biofuels, Inc. "We are now able to provide the necessary samples of our product to perspective clients for testing. This is a huge step for our Company. Once the lab testing is completed, the next step is to provide enough product to be processed through their existing fossil coal handling chain."
Torrefaction is a partial carbonization process that takes place at temperatures between 475 - 575º in a low temperature environment which makes the physical and energetic properties of the biomass much more comparable to traditional coal.
The biomass is then compressed into briquettes to be sold to the end user. Torrefaction has the added benefit of reducing or eliminating undesirable volatiles, such as nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxides and is considered carbon neutral to the environment. Existing coal-fired power plants do not need to retrofit their existing plants to accommodate the torrefied bio-coal.
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