17-04-2012

Honeywell’s Envergent technologies receives sustainable biofuels award

Envergent Technologies LLC, a Honeywell company, announced today that it has been awarded a Sustainable Biofuels Award for its contributions toward sustainable biopower generation facilities.

The award recognized Envergent’s RTP® Rapid Thermal Processing technology to convert biomass into renewable fuels that can be used in a variety of heat and power applications. RTP is the only commercially proven process of its kind and the only biomass conversion technology commercially operating today that produces a liquid biofuel that can directly replace petroleum-based fuel oil. The award was presented in the category of Sustainable Biopower Generation Facility at the World Biofuels Markets, a leading event for the biofuels industry.

“As the demand for renewable fuels increases, Envergent is committed to innovation using sustainable resources and bringing relevant technology to the marketplace that will help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and improve our environmental footprint,” said Dave Cepla, managing director for Envergent Technologies LLC. “We are pleased to receive the Sustainable Biofuels Award, and we look forward to continuing our development of clean energy solutions.”

RTP technology converts biomass, including forest and agricultural residues, into a clean-burning, nearly carbon-neutral liquid biofuel that can be burned to generate heat or electricity, or further upgraded to other fuels. RTP technology works by rapidly heating biomass at ambient pressure to generate high yields of a liquid biofuel. The fuel can be burned in industrial burners to produce heat or to power electric generators. RTP technology has been used in a number of projects worldwide using a variety of wood biomass sources for the generation of heat and power in regions such as Europe, Asia and North America. In addition to its use for renewable power and heat, fuel from the RTP process can also be upgraded into green transportation fuels.

Honeywell’s UOP received a $25 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy to build an Integrated Biorefinery in Kapolei, Hawaii. In 2011, it began construction of the demonstration unit, which will convert forest residuals, algae and other cellulosic biomass into pourable, liquid biofuel using RTP technology. This liquid biofuel will then be upgraded to green transportation fuels using hydroprocessing technology from Honeywell’s UOP.

Envergent Technologies LLC is a joint venture of Honeywell’s UOP and Ensyn Corp. that combines nearly 100 years of refining and process technology development from UOP and more than 25 years of commercial RTP experience from Ensyn Corp. Envergent’s RTP technology is currently in use in seven commercial biomass processing plants in the U.S. and Canada.