Japanese petrochemical producer Tokuyama plans to build a 500kg/hr pilot plant to manufacture black pellets in south Japan's Yamaguchi prefecture, targeting to complete construction by October 2025.
Tokuyama aims to incorporate the technology of Danish start-up Yilkins Drying Solutions into its pilot plant to develop black pellets, which are made by heating biomass under low-oxygen conditions to produce the properties of thermal coal. The fuel will be used for Tokuyama's in-house power generation. The firm will import feedstock biomass from southeast Asia. It does not have any plans yet to produce or sell black pellets on a commercial basis.
Tokuyama operates the 300MW Shunan coal and biomass co-fired power plant in Yamaguchi with real estate agency Tokyo Century and trading house Marubeni. The companies set a goal to raise biomass co-firing rates from 20pc to 50pc by using white and black pellets by March 2026. But Tokuyama declined to disclose if its pilot black pellet plant will contribute to increased co-firing at the Shunan power plant.
Japanese energy firm Idemitsu also targets to produce 3mn t of black pellets at its plants in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and the US by 2030, tapping domestic demand growth with the trend towards decarbonisation. Idemitsu aims to supply the pellets to domestic coal-fired power plants.
