The development of Carbon Balance Finland Oy’s PyroHeat facility
Carbon Balance Finland Oy is an Oulu-based cleantech company whose mission is to create innovative solutions to enable an economically and ecologically sustainable future. One of the company’s innovations is the PyroHeat® biomass pyrolysis plant, a modular and highly automated biomass processing facility. Recycled containers are used in the construction of the plant, making it easily scalable and transportable at a low cost. One of the key strengths of the PyroHeat® facility is its high production capacity, based on the ModHeat® drying system developed by Carbon’s parent company, SFTec. The system utilizes waste heat for drying the raw materials, and drier raw materials ensure faster pyrolysis and, consequently, higher capacity.
Where did it all begin?
The actual development of the PyroHeat® facility started in 2020 initially under the parent company SFTec, and then in 2021, the biochar plant business was separated into the subsidiary Carbon Balance Finland Oy. According to the CEO of Carbon, Juha Roininen, the development story of the PyroHeat® facility can be traced back a decade when the development of the core component of the facility, the ModHeat® drying system, began. The development of the PyroHeat® facility was preceded by several years of intensive research projects related to biochar production and utilization, as well as extensive exploration of optimal biochar plant concepts, initially seeking partners, but concepts designed for small-scale drying did not fit the requirements for large-scale production.
Optotec has been involved in the development of the PyroHeat® facility from the conceptual and prototyping phase, and currently, the productionization phase is underway.
“We needed a true product development expert for the design of the facility, and we selected Optotec as a development partner based on their impressive references. Once the collaboration started, we quickly realized that Optotec’s designers are efficient and grasp our CEO’s innovative visions,” says Sakari Kiviniemi, Director of Business Development at Carbon.
From a prototype to the production version
The first prototype of the pyrolysis plant was commissioned in the summer of 2022, after which various updates and improvements were made during the winter and spring. Currently, the productionization phase is ongoing, which involves designing and manufacturing the final version of the facility for end customers. When developing the production version of the facility, many aspects that may not have been implemented or considered in the prototype phase need to be taken into account, such as meeting the requirements for CE certification.
In the design of the PyroHeat® facility, compliance has practically meant adding various safety-related solutions, such as safety barriers, switches, and gates, to the original system. The requirements for scalability have also brought their own challenges to the design of the facilities since the system needs to function regardless of the size of the containers used. Designing a complex and new type of facility requires an innovative approach from the design partner to ensure that the facility is not only safe but also functions smoothly in all aspects.
Entering the manufacturing phase
Currently, the development of the pyrolysis plant has reached a point where the updated version of the prototype has been put into trial use a few weeks ago, and based on this trial, it will be determined if any fine-tuning is required before the components of the final version of the facility go into production.
“With Optotec’s contribution, significant progress has been made in the development of the facility. However, there is still work to be done, and Optotec’s contribution will be needed in the future as well. The collaboration so far has been very successful: the communication with Optotec’s designer is close, and Optotec is a productive and flexible development partner,” praises Kiviniemi.
Additional information: carbonbalance.fi