Imagine using a giant magnifying glass to heat up organic waste instead of burning fossil fuels to process it. This system captures the sun's heat to bake biomass into useful oils and charcoal. It can also store that heat in special particles, acting like a thermal battery to keep working even when the sun isn't shining.
Conventional biomass pyrolysis relies on burning fuels to generate heat, which increases CO2 emissions and operational costs. There is a lack of efficient, scalable ways to integrate concentrated solar power into this chemical process.
A solar particle receiver and a pyrolysis reactor with an integrated particle-char separator.
If you are a bio-refinery operator dealing with high energy costs for pyrolysis — this project developed a solar-powered heating system that minimizes CO2 emissions and maximizes the production of bio-oil and biochar.
If you are a grid provider dealing with unstable renewable energy spikes — this project developed a system that uses excess electricity from wind and PV to create high-temperature heat, providing balancing services to the electric grid.
If you are a biochar producer dealing with the inefficiency of traditional heating — this project developed a particle-based heat carrier system that simplifies scaling up the reactor and improves operational flexibility.
Based on available project data, specific cost figures are not provided; however, the project aims for economic benefits compared to conventional pyrolysis by using free solar energy.
The project uses a particle heat carrier specifically to avoid heat transfer surfaces in the reactor, which the data states facilitates the system scale-up.
Based on available project data, there is no specific mention of patents or licensing terms at this stage of the project.
It provides balancing services by converting available pyrogas to electricity or by using excess low-cost electricity from wind and PV to generate thermal energy via induction heating.
The project is active from 2023-07-01 to 2027-06-30, focusing on reaching TRL4 during this period.
The consortium consists of 9 partners across 4 countries, showing a balanced mix of research and industry. With 5 research organizations and 2 universities providing the technical foundation, and 2 industrial partners (including 2 SMEs) ensuring a 22% industry ratio, the project is well-positioned to bridge the gap between academic theory and industrial application.
Contact Politecnico di Milano
Contact us to explore licensing opportunities for solar-pyrolysis technology.
