The Torftech technology, whether using a TORBED or a TORWAVE processor offers compact, efficient alternative to conventional technologies across a range of thermal processing applications including food processing, mineral processing, catalyst processing, sludge processing biomass processing and gas scrubbing.
The range of sectors and processes demonstrates the flexibility of our technology and the technical skill with which it has been applied over the 40 years since our first sale.
High heat transfer rates achieved in the TORBED and TORWAVE processors allow more rapid expansion of water or other volatiles in a feed particle causing it to expand more rapidly, opening up the structure of the particle. Good examples would be the processing of pasta shapes to produce puffed snack or roasting of coffee in industrial food processes or “exfoliation” (expansion) of minerals such as vermiculite in thermal mineral processing.
Used in the industrial processing of minerals, calcination is an example of thermal mineral processing, whereby solids are raised to a high temperature without melting, generally for the purpose of removing impurities or volatile substances and/or to incur thermal decomposition. Used in the processing of minerals, calcination is a chemical process in which a substance is heated to a high temperature in the absence of oxygen, in a neutral atmosphere or with limited oxygen supply.
This process is often used to decompose carbonate ores, such as limestone, into their respective oxides, releasing carbon dioxide in the process. In metallurgy, calcination is used to drive off volatile components from ores before further processing. In the pharmaceutical industry, it is utilized to remove impurities from drugs or to convert them into more stable forms.
Their use for calcination is a good illustration of TORBED processors operating as a solution for thermal mineral processing, where they offer their customary control, economy and efficiency.
Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
This can occur naturally: trees and plants absorb CO₂ during photosynthesis and store it as carbon in biomass (trunks, branches, leaves, and roots) and in soil. Engineered means of carbon sequestration include Carbon Capture and Storage, the initial stages of which typically include introduction of a gas stream to a reagent which adsorbs the CO2. A small, 3-d printed Torbed reactor is currently being used to test various reagents. The underlying technology is gas scrubbing, which Torftech first implemented using a TORBED processor in 1996.
The thorough mixing provided by a TORBED processor helps maximise the uptake of CO2.
A process used in destruction of some wastes and thermal biomass processing, delivering maximum energy extraction/completion and carbon burnout. Our processors offer control, intensification and thoroughness of processing, avoiding hotspots.
Drying is a feature of the Torftech technology across a range of applications from drying of starch powders in industrial food processes to thermal biomass processing and industrial sludge processing. Drying applications showcase the control that the TORBED offers, removing water without damaging underlying materials. For particularly sensitive applications, an initial pulse of microwave energy can be applied using the TORWAVE processor.
Drying is a good example of where our technology can fulfil its role as circular economy solutions equipment, recirculating waste industrial or process heat as a part of the drying process.
Flash calcination is used in industrial thermal processing and also industrial catalyst processing to heat materials quickly to high temperatures for a short duration. It is also used in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. This rapid heating process is typically accomplished within a few seconds or milliseconds. Flash calcination is often used for materials that require precise control over their properties, such as catalysts, ceramics, and certain types of minerals. It offers several advantages over conventional calcination methods, including shorter processing times, improved energy efficiency, and the ability to achieve specific material characteristics. TORBED processors have been used for commercial flash calcination processes since 2000.
Flash roasting is a specialized thermal processing technique used in industrial mineral processing for the extraction of metals from ores, particularly in the field of hydrometallurgy. It involves the rapid heating of finely ground ore particles to high temperatures in a controlled environment. The purpose of flash roasting is to transform the ore into a form that is more amenable to subsequent processing
TORBED processors are a highly effective forum in which to introduce reagents to gas streams to remove undesired constituents in industrial gas scrubbing processes. We sold our first processor for gas scrubbing in 1996. Industrial gas scrubbing is the core of any process of Carbon capture. These large plants scrub the gas in one pass as opposed to multiple passes as used in other processes using other technologies.
Gasification, as opposed to Pyrolysis (see below), occurs when biomass or organic waste is heated in an atmosphere with a limited oxygen content at over 650°C. Carbon monoxide, methane and hydrogen are generated to produce a combustible gas stream (‘syngas’), a key output of many industrial biomass processes. Syngas with a greater energy content can be produced either by introducing oxygen into the process or undertaking the process under greater than atmospheric pressure. The TORBED processors are particularly effective at the small/medium scale unpressurised gasification processes and can produce biochar with a high surface area.
As with cooling above, the high heat transfer rates achieved in TORBED and TORWAVE processors allow smaller but more effective pre-heaters for industrial minerals processing for example.
Where the contaminants to be removed or sufficiently reduced are held on the surface of a feedstock (spices for example), the TORBED processors are particularly effective for flash or high speed processing compared to large slow autoclave processes. Multiple large scale pasteurisation processes using TORBED processors have been in operation over many years.
Pyrolysis is the process of driving off volatiles from a material (typically biomass or forms of waste) at up to 650°C – in the case of industrial biomass processing to produce biochar and a volatile stream that can be condensed or combusted. The process aims to maximise biochar by minimising conversion of the fixed carbon in the material into the volatile stream (as with gasification above). It will require direct or indirect external heating. Pyrolysis is one part, together with gasification and combustion of a suite of solutions possible with TORBED processors for the thermal treatment of biomass
As with drying, this is an application that crosses a number of industrial boundaries from food to biomass processing and industrial minerals processing. The roasting of coffee or cocoa are good examples of processes used in high volume industrial food processing. The TORBED and TORWAVE processors are particularly effective at controlling roast processes due to the very close control inherent in their concepts. Close roast control allows better flavour development and increased extraction of the coffee oils generated for example.
Roasting is also used in the minerals industry for converting sulphides to oxides for example (such as zinc sulphide to zinc oxide). Again the TORBED processors produce a higher surface area, more reactive and purer product.
Torrefaction is most in anglophone regions commonly used in the context of thermal biomass processing. In France it is used to refer to the roasting of coffee.
Torrefaction is a roasting process reducing moisture and breaking down cellular structures, whilst preserving most volatiles. This increases energy density and brittleness, the latter permitting milling for easy pelletisation.
Torrefaction processes typically contain several process steps including low temperature drying, high temperature drying and roasting. The TORBED technology offers an efficient and often more effective alternative to conventional technologies, including rotary kilns, fluidised beds and circulating fluidised beds, drum dryers, belt dryers and rotary hearths.
Our processors have capabilities in a range of gas-solid contacting processes from high temperature flash calcination to low temperature drying across a diverse range of industries. Often our processors offer an alternative to less resource-efficient conventional technologies. Find out about some of the processes for which our technology has been used and see if we could assist you.
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