Holla Fresh Pyrolysis

About This Project

SDA Engineering played the key engineering role in the design, development, construction and commissioning of a unique biomass-to-energy (B2E) pyrolysis system that saw its first full-scale installation at Holla Fresh, a greenhouse grown culinary herbs provider located in Tantanoola in South Australia. The plant converts waste biomass, in this case construction and demolition timber, into a combustible synthesis gas (syngas), biochar, and wood vinegar.

The syngas is used to fire a hot water boiler to produce up to 800kW of heat for the adjacent glasshouse, yielding 250kg/h of horticultural CO2, or can also be utilized in gas engine generator producing electrical power and residual heat.

The biochar is a valuable product with a range of uses, including soil enrichment, as a livestock feed supplement similar to activated carbon, as a construction material, and even as a fuel itself, similar to charcoal. It further acts as a carbon sink, making the whole process strongly carbon negative.

Wood vinegar is also a product with several possible uses, including as a liquid pesticide and soil conditioner.

The process is typically zero-waste, however in this installation it’s actually a negative-waste process, as the woodchip fuel is derived from mostly construction and demolition timber which is converted into profitable products.

The Holla Fresh plant is fully automated and features a comprehensive control system with remote access capability for SDA support personnel.