bioCRACK technology

In the patented bioCRACK process, solid biomass (e.g. wood or straw) is converted into short-chain hydrocarbons by liquid-phase pyrolysis, using a hot carrier oil at temperatures up to 400°C and under atmospheric pressure. Due to the interaction between biomass and heat transfer oil, hydrocarbons with a high hydrogen saturation are produced, which originate both from the carrier oil itself and from the biomass.

This innovative approach only gains economic importance through a decisive technical detail: In the bioCRACK process, a low-cost intermediate product from the petroleum refinery (Vacuum Gas Oil – VGO) is used as heat carrier oil. Normally, VGO is converted only to a small extent into diesel fuel and increasingly into short-chain gasoline, which cannot be sold in this quantity in Europe and must therefore be exported.

The bioCRACK technology additionally achieves a significant advantage in increasing diesel production from VGO. We offer this unique, patented technology for petroleum refineries to generate second-generation biofuels.

Significant advantages:

– Realization with minimum technical effort and cost-effective operation
– High raw material flexibility and fast implementation
– Direct feed of the end product into the refinery
– Direct sales of the produced fuel via existing sales channels
– Greenhouse gas (GHG) savings of up to 85 percent according to a study by Joanneum Research (2015)
– Energy recovery or further processing into valuable by-products such as lean gas and pyrolysis products (pyrolysis oil, coal)