 | |
| Type | Public (OTC Pink: DYMTF) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Technology, Energy |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Richmond, British Columbia, Canada |
| Products | BioOil, BioOil Plus, CQuest |
| Subsidiaries | Dynamotive USA Dynamotive Latinoamericana First Resources Corporation |
| Website | www.dynamotive.com |
Dynamotive Energy Systems Corporation is a Canadian based Renewable Energy Company which specializes in fast pyrolysis, a process which creates a product named bio-oil. Its only other residue is char.
Dynamotive was incorporated on April 11, 1991 under the laws of the Province of British Columbia. The Company changed its name from Dynamotive Technologies Corporation on June 26, 2001. [1]
2000 BioOil patent acquired from Resource Transforms Ltd. (RTI). Dynamotive designs and builds 10 tonnes per day (tpd) commercial demonstration plant, (picture of pilot plant) Dynamotive completes gas turbine tests
2001 Commission of 10 tpd commercial demonstration plant, upgraded to 15 tpd, TECNA validation of technology
2002 Design and development of a 100 tpd plant
2003 Construction started for 100 tpd plant at Erie Flooring and Wood Products, West Lorne, Ontario in partnership with UMA Engineering, Ontario Power Generation, and Magellan Aerospace (Picture of West Lorne Plant)
2005 Completion of the first commercial plant (West Lorne, Ontario) and launch of full commercialization of Dynamotive’s technology First commercial shipments of BioOil
2006 Ground breaking for 200 tpd BioOil plant in Guelph, Ontario Entry into strategic partnership with Consensus Business Group Fabrication and procurement of two 200 tpd plants to be located in Canada R&D offices & laboratory opened on University of Waterloo campus, Ontario, Canada Continued international expansion through Australian master license
2007 Dynamotive launches higher energy content renewable fuel - BioOil Plus Dynamotive opens offices in United States and Argentina [2]
2008 The British Columbia Securities Commission issues a cease trade order due to Dynamotive's failure to publish financial statements. [3]
In July 2005 Dynamotive signed an agreement to initiate research on the gasification of BioOil at the University of Western Ontario, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. The research project involves the development of a process for gasification of BioOil by catalytic steam reforming to produce syngas and/or hydrogen. Syngas can be further converted into synthetic diesel, a renewable, greenhouse gas neutral fuel that can replace hydrocarbon diesel. With the escalating cost of fossil fuels and the dependence on crude oil as the primary source of energy for automobiles, it has become increasingly important to develop synthetic fuels. [4]
In April 2009 Dynamotive successfully produced renewable gasoline and diesel from biomass at its research facility in Waterloo, Ontario through a novel two-stage upgrading process of its pyrolysis oil, BioOil. The BINGO (Biomass INto GasOil) process involves pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass to produce a primary liquid fuel, BioOil, which is then hydroreformed to a Stage 1 gas-oil equivalent liquid fuel that can either be directly utilized in blends with hydrocarbon fuels for industrial stationary power and heating applications or be further upgraded to transportation grade liquid hydrocarbon fuels (gasoline/diesel) in a Stage 2 hydrotreating process. [5]
The major by-product from lingo-cellulosic biomass pyrolysis is Biochar which has emerging value for soil productivity enhancement and carbon sequestration. Dynamotive markets its Biochar under the trade name CQuestTM. [6]
On May 12, 2009 Dynamotive released the results of a year-long test applying Dynamotive’s CQuest Biochar in commercial farming test plots. The tests revealed an overall increase in crop yield from 6 percent to 17 percent in plots where biochar was applied versus the control plots. [7]
BioOil is an industrial fuel produced from cellulose waste material. When combusted it produces substantially less smog-precursor nitrogen oxide ('NOx') emissions than conventional oil as well as little or no sulfur oxide gases ('SOx'), which are a prime cause of acid rain. BioOil and BioOil Plus are price-competitive replacements for heating oils #2 and #6 that are widely used in industrial boilers and furnace. They have been EcoLogo certified, having met stringent environmental criteria for industrial fuels as measured by Environment Canada's Environmental Choice Program. BioOil can be produced from a variety of residue cellulosic biomass resources and is not dependent on food-crop production. [8]
In April 2005 Dynamotive completed its first Demonstration scale plant at West Lorne. This plant at the time could create up to 100tpd. The West Lorne BioOil Cogeneration Project (the first of its kind for pyrolysis technology) is partially funded with a Cdn $5 million contribution from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a foundation created by the Government of Canada to support the development and demonstration of clean technologies. Additional support was leveraged from consortia members. [9]
In 2007 Dynamotive signed a contract with Ontario Power Authority to supply renewable power under the province's Standard Offer Program ('SOP'). Under the terms of the newly signed contract, Dynamotive would deliver electricity to the grid from its 2.5 MW cogeneration facility at West Lorne. Dynamotive would sell renewable power to the grid at 11 cents per kilowatt hour, or more, for up to 20 years. Fuel for the plant is derived from wood residues from Erie Flooring and Wood Products that are converted to BioOil through Dynamotive's patented fast pyrolysis process. The plant is the first commercial plant of its kind in the world. [10]
By March 2008, The plant had undergone an upgrade process to increase its nominal capacity to 130 tonnes of biomass input per day, a 30% increase in capacity, and to incorporate technological advances that were developed and implemented in Dynamotive's 200 tonne per day capacity plant located in Guelph, Ontario. The plant incorporates a 2.5 megawatt electric cogeneration package developed by Magellan Aerospace. [11]
Dynamotive broke ground on October 7, 2006 for the MegaCity Recycling, 200 tonnes per day BioOil plant on a 22-acre (89,000 m2) site in Guelph, Ontario. The plant began producing BioOil in Q1 2007 as it ramped up through its commissioning process. [12] The plant operates under the name Evolution Biofuels Inc. Dynamotive will have a minority ownership position in Evolution Biofuels and will be leasing the pyrolysis unit to the Company. [13] On May 25, 2007 Dynamotive announced that it had completed the initial production run of BioOil in its new generation plant in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Intermediate grade BioOil, which has higher calorific value than regular BioOil, was produced. [14]
Wood gas is a fuel gas that can be used for furnaces, stoves, and vehicles. During the production process, biomass or related carbon-containing materials are gasified within the oxygen-limited environment of a wood gas generator to produce a combustible mixture. In some gasifiers this process is preceded by pyrolysis, where the biomass or coal is first converted to char, releasing methane and tar rich in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Wood does not release any carbon from fossil reserves underground and can still power a vehicle. Wood gas generators used for vehicular applications are essentially wood sealed in a drum, heated on a wood fire with the gas pumped to a petrol engine.
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. Since biomass can be used as a fuel directly, some people use the words biomass and biofuel interchangeably. However, the word biofuel is usually reserved for liquid or gaseous fuels used for transportation. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) follows this naming practice.
The pyrolysis process is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures in an inert atmosphere. It involves a change of chemical composition. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements pyro "fire", "heat", "fever" and lysis "separating".
Bagasse is the dry pulpy fibrous material that remains after crushing sugarcane or sorghum stalks to extract their juice. It is used as a biofuel for the production of heat, energy, and electricity, and in the manufacture of pulp and building materials. Agave bagasse is similar, but is the material remnants after extracting blue agave sap.
Ethanol fuel is ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, used as fuel. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. The first production car running entirely on ethanol was the Fiat 147, introduced in 1978 in Brazil by Fiat. Ethanol is commonly made from biomass such as corn or sugarcane. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17×109 liters (4.5×109 U.S. gal; 3.7×109 imp gal) to more than 52×109 liters (14×109 U.S. gal; 11×109 imp gal). From 2007 to 2008, the share of ethanol in global gasoline type fuel use increased from 3.7% to 5.4%. In 2011 worldwide ethanol fuel production reached 8.46×109 liters (2.23×109 U.S. gal; 1.86×109 imp gal) with the United States of America and Brazil being the top producers, accounting for 62.2% and 25% of global production, respectively. US ethanol production reached 57.54×109 liters (15.20×109 U.S. gal; 12.66×109 imp gal) in May 2017.
Coal liquefaction is a process of converting coal into liquid hydrocarbons: liquid fuels and petrochemicals. This process is often known as "Coal to X" or "Carbon to X", where X can be many different hydrocarbon-based products. However, the most common process chain is "Coal to Liquid Fuels" (CTL).
Synthetic fuel or synfuel is a liquid fuel, or sometimes gaseous fuel, obtained from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, in which the syngas was derived from gasification of solid feedstocks such as coal or biomass or by reforming of natural gas.
Biomass to liquid is a multi-step process of producing synthetic hydrocarbon fuels made from biomass via a thermochemical route.
Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Most WtE processes generate electricity and/or heat directly through combustion, or produce a combustible fuel commodity, such as methane, methanol, ethanol or synthetic fuels.
Pyrolysis oil, sometimes also known as bio-crude or bio-oil, is a synthetic fuel under investigation as substitute for petroleum. It is obtained by heating dried biomass without oxygen in a reactor at a temperature of about 500 °C (900 °F) with subsequent cooling. Pyrolysis oil is a kind of tar and normally contains levels of oxygen too high to be considered a pure hydrocarbon. This high oxygen content results in non-volatility, corrosiveness, immiscibility with fossil fuels, thermal instability, and a tendency to polymerize when exposed to air. As such, it is distinctly different from petroleum products. Removing oxygen from bio-oil or nitrogen from algal bio-oil is known as upgrading.
The United States produces mainly biodiesel and ethanol fuel, which uses corn as the main feedstock. The US is the world's largest producer of ethanol, having produced nearly 16 billion gallons in 2017 alone. The United States, together with Brazil accounted for 85 percent of all ethanol production, with total world production of 27.05 billion gallons. Biodiesel is commercially available in most oilseed-producing states. As of 2005, it was somewhat more expensive than fossil diesel, though it is still commonly produced in relatively small quantities.
Renewable Fuels are fuels produced from renewable resources. Examples include: biofuels and Hydrogen fuel. This is in contrast to non-renewable fuels such as natural gas, LPG (propane), petroleum and other fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Renewable fuels can include fuels that are synthesized from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Renewable fuels have gained in popularity due to their sustainability, low contributions to the carbon cycle, and in some cases lower amounts of greenhouse gases. The geo-political ramifications of these fuels are also of interest, particularly to industrialized economies which desire independence from Middle Eastern oil.
Biochar is the lightweight black residue, made of carbon and ashes, remaining after the pyrolysis of biomass. Biochar is defined by the International Biochar Initiative as "the solid material obtained from the thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment". Biochar is a stable solid that is rich in pyrogenic carbon and can endure in soil for thousands of years.
Biofuel is fuel that is produced from organic matter (biomass), including plant materials and animal waste. It is considered a renewable source of energy that can assist in reducing carbon emissions. The two main types of biofuel currently being produced in Australia are biodiesel and bioethanol, used as replacements for diesel and petrol (gasoline) respectively. As of 2017 Australia is a relatively small producer of biofuels, accounting for 0.2% of world bioethanol production and 0.1% of world biodiesel production.
Second-generation biofuels, also known as advanced biofuels, are fuels that can be manufactured from various types of non-food biomass. Biomass in this context means plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel.
Algae fuel, algal biofuel, or algal oil is an alternative to liquid fossil fuels that uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils. Also, algae fuels are an alternative to commonly known biofuel sources, such as corn and sugarcane. When made from seaweed (macroalgae) it can be known as seaweed fuel or seaweed oil. It also actually carbon negative unless the dead plant matter is burned, the energy is produced by solar photosynthesis and comes from the sun. The emissions from burning the hydrogen make up only water and air.
Agrocarbon is the international brand name of biochar products produced by 3Ragrocabon. 3Ragrocarbon is owned and operated by Terra Humanities LTD, a Swedish ecological-innovation technology and engineering company. 3RAgrocarbon utilizes patented 3R zero-emission Pyrolysis to create environmentally friendly bio-char and soil-nutrient enrichment products. The firm is headquartered in Hungary where its main production facility is located. The company is supported by, and partnered with the European Union on several projects focused on eco-safe agricultural and soil nutrient initiatives. The Agrocarbon is applied in all formulations, from stand alone biofertilizer to any combination as compost or soil activator. The refined and formulated Agrocarbon products are multi effect used for sustainable soil and carbon negative environmental and climate protection improvements. This includes economical food crop production and forest nursery, biological pest control, natural fertilization, soil moisture retention, restoration of soil biodiversity and natural balance.
Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a thermal depolymerization process used to convert wet biomass, and other macromolecules, into crude-like oil under moderate temperature and high pressure. The crude-like oil has high energy density with a lower heating value of 33.8-36.9 MJ/kg and 5-20 wt% oxygen and renewable chemicals.
Pyrogenic carbon capture and storage (PyCCS) is a proposed carbon sequestration technology that can mitigate climate change while improving soil fertility. It is discussed as a promising technology for greenhouse gas removal.
