Technip has signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with BTG BioLiquids (BTL) to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for its modular pyrolysis plants.

The plants will be based on BTL’s Fast Pyrolysis Oil (FPO) technology which converts biomass to oil through a rapid pyrolysis process.

The agreement combines Technip’s global strength in technology, engineering, procurement and construction with BTL’s experience in the design and commercial operation of one of the world’s first FPO production facilities.

Using clean wood as feedstock, the facility has been in operation since 2015 in The Netherlands. Uses of FPO include heat, power, transport fuels and potential bio-based chemicals.

Technip and BTL will also collaborate in the development of commercial uses for FPO as renewable fuel and petrochemical feedstock.

The agreement will be managed by Technip’s operating centre in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands, which has significant technology and EPC experience. The centre is part of Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology, which looks after Technip’s expanding portfolio of onshore process technologies in petrochemicals, refining, hydrogen and syngas, polymers and gas monetization.

Stan Knez, president, Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology, stated: "This partnership with BTL will enable Technip to take our development further in a market which is of strategic importance to many of our clients. It will also allow us to better respond to future “green” projects, linking biomass with the petrochemical and refining industries."

Gerhard Muggen, managing director of BTL, stated: "This agreement will allow our technology company to launch its global roll-out. The strong combination of Technip and BTL will now start to offer turnkey pyrolysis plants and services to industrial companies seeking to develop new bio-sourced applications and anticipate the transition to a bio-based economy.”

Unlike traditional biofuels which are produced from edible feedstocks, new generation biofuels are produced from lignocellulosic materials such as straw or wood waste. The fast pyrolysis technology mixes biomass particles and hot sand in a reactor which transforms the material into pyrolysis oil. This oil can be used as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels for the production of renewable energy and chemicals.  -TradeArabia News Service