Biomass undergoes various processing steps at the plant. This includes chipping, drying, milling, pelletizing, cooling, sorting, and storage. The facility has high quality equipment installed by leading wood processing technology providers. This enables Coega Biomass Facility to produce pellets at Industrial Class 1 & 2 quality according to ISO 17225-2 quality norms.
First the production of white pellets will be restarted. White pellets are perfectly suited to be burned in clean cooking devices, in industrial furnaces for steam and power production and as a substitute for coal to produce electricity.
Torrefaction
Coega Biomass Centre is conducting a feasibility study to introduce new drying and torrefaction technologies to produce black pellets. The range of feedstocks used to produce black pellets is broad and enables the beneficiation of biomass residues – such as forestry residues that would otherwise being left in the plantations to rot, producing methane which has a very high Green House Gas impact.
Future R&D
Future research and development will include the feasibility of biomass use for value-add products and pellet supplies into advance fuel technologies (biomass-to-liquids) via gasification and Fischer-Tropsch.