Ecoera Biofuel Engineering –
a BIOAGRO development partner
Ecoera, a Swedish biofuel engineering company is responsible for the completion of Step 3 in the BIOAGRO project.
By using the BIOAGRO method, enables to get a higher quality ash component to be fed back to the fields as fertilizer. Foremost it will provide any BIOAGRO-method applier to shift oil heating to a renewable energy source.
Ecoera will do lab-scale verifications of different mixtures and their combustion properties. Analyses are performed at state-of-the art lab facilities at Dept. of Environmental Inorganic Chemistry at Chalmers Institute of Technology.
 Ecoera will enable the BIOAGRO-method by unlocking combustion potential of residual agro-biomass. Ecoera will work on minimizing ash-related problems and enhancing binding of trouble-causing fuel components, rich in chlorine and sulphur, which is of special relevance in respect to HCl and SOx emissions as well as corrosion. This type of fuel is also characterized by a high ash content which in turn contains comparatively low calcium but high potassium and silicon contents. Such composition makes the ash to start to sinter and melt at relatively low temperatures. By analyzing a broad variety of raw material residual biomass sources, Ecoera will get data around the following: ash melting points, element composition, combustion preferences, incorporationof enhancers/additives and optimizing ignition performance.

  Through the use of minute ash analyses through i.e. AAS, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and X-ray analyses (XRD) of ash crystal components, Ecoera will also provide the BIOAGRO project with detailed raw material element composition. This high-granular information is crucial for the optimization of the BIOAGRO pellet design. The extensive data output will be used along with further combustion trials to establish an optimal composition of biomass and additives/enhancers, thereby realizing entry to the era of second generation pellet fuels and enabling the BIOAGRO-project to enter Task 4.
Ecoera was founded at Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship in 2006. The core operative team consists of civil engineers, business development team and Tech. Lic. Ecoera has tight collaborations with a broad bioenergy competence network providing knowledge in the fields of combustion, agriculture, chemistry, and business development in the bioenergy sector. Ecoera continuously strives to realizing a sustainable energy system and health profits for all stakeholders by state-of-the-art bioenergy R&D competence and business development capabilities.
For contact details: www.ecoera.se