Rentech-SilvaGas Gasifier

The patented Rentech-SilvaGas Biomass Gasification Process produces syngas from a wide variety of biomass feedstocks. The biomass gasification technology can be integrated with Rentech’s technologies for the production of certified renewable synthetic jet and diesel fuel, or it can produce syngas for renewable electric power or synthetic natural gas production.

The life-cycle carbon footprint of renewable fuels and power facilities using the Rentech-SilvaGas gasifier coupled with the Rentech Fischer-Tropsch Process for synthetic fuels will be near zero. The renewable synthetic diesel and jet fuels produced at these facilities will meet all applicable fuels standards, be compatible with existing engines and pipelines, and burn cleanly, with emissions of particulates and other regulated pollutants significantly lower than emissions of traditional fuels.

The renewable power produced using the Rentech-SilvaGas biomass gasification process is expected to qualify under the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program, which requires utilities to increase the amount of electric power they sell from qualified renewable-energy resources. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), as of November 2008, twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia had legislatively mandated RPS programs. The EIA estimates that electricity generation from biomass will comprise nearly 30 percent or 243 billion Kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity in 2030.

With approximately $100 million in funding from sources including private investors and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), SilvaGas developed biomass gasification technology that has operated successfully on a commercial scale. A gasifier in Burlington, VT, built in partnership with the DOE, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Battelle Columbus Laboratory converted 400 dry tons per day of wood-based biomass into synthesis gas used for power production. The SilvaGas gasifier operated on this scale between 1998 and 2001 during a series of operating campaigns. Prior to that, the SilvaGas process was tested at pilot scale during more than 22,000 hours of operation. Rentech acquired SilvaGas in June 2009.