TOPBIO project (Valorisation of wood waste into TOP quality BIOcarbon for sustainable metallurgical industries) is a 2.5-year regional innovation project funded by Regional Research funds (RFF) Vestfold og Telemark. WAI is the project owner with SINTEF Energy Research as the research partner and Eramet Norway as the end-user partner.
TOPBIO project aims to develop and test novel solutions for enabling large scale utilization of biocarbon in metal production processes. In this project, wood wastes will be screened and pre-treated to ensure supply of starting materials with desired quality for biocarbon production using WAI’s pilot scale pyrolysis units. The densification of the produced biocarbon will be carried out to enhance mechanical strength and minimize porosity and reactivity. Finally, the conversion behaviors of biocarbon and biocarbon pellets will be systematically investigated under industrial relevant conditions by SINTEF Energy Research.
WAI Environmental Solutions AS, WAI, (www.waies.no) is a Norwegian technology company with headquarter in Tønsberg, offering environmental solutions for pyrolysis treatment of organic materials. Industrial plants called CarbonWorks® produce metallurgical biocarbon and thermal- and electrical-energy. WAI is also involved in several R&D projects involving syngas and biogas technology enhancement, and development of advanced biocarbon products for energy storage.
SINTEF Energy Research, SINTEF ER (https://www.sintef.no/en/sintef-energy/) is a part of the SINTEF Group, one of the largest independent research organizations in Europe. SINTEF ER is an institute for applied research focusing on finding solutions related to power production and conversion, transmission/distribution and the end use of conventional and renewable energy. SINTEF ER carries out fundamental and applied research within pyrolysis of biomass for producing biocarbon for different applications, upgrading and reusing process by-products and improving process efficiencies.
Eramet Norway AS (https://eramet.no/), with processing plants in Sauda, Kvinesdal and Porsgrunn, and an R&D group in Trondheim, is fully owned by the French mining and metallurgy group ERAMET SA and part of the Group’s manganese division. ERAMET is the world’s second largest producer of manganese ore and manganese alloys, and the world’s leading producer of refined manganese alloys. The Group’s overall goal is to “become a reference for the responsible transformation of the Earth’s minerals resources for living well together”.