The Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group (BBRG) is a multi-department, multi-disciplinary team at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. BBRG conducts innovative research in biomass densification, preprocessing, resource management, material characterization, and supply logisitcs. BBRG bridges the gap between biomass sourcing and biomass conversion, i.e. ‘feedstock engineering’ – integrating all the processes and management strategies involved from biomass harvest until just prior to final conversion to bioenergy, and bioproducts such as chemicals.

The group includes experts in several biomass fields:

Supply chain logistics

Resource assessment and analysis

Densification

Combustion and gasification technologies

Life cycle analysis

Multi-criteria decision support system

BBRG collaborates with industry and government to meet the needs of the emerging bioeconomy. Our research ranges from fundamental laboratory experiments to applied, short-term contract work for companies and other organizations on strategic biomass opportunities.

Feedstock engineering transforms raw bulky biomass to a consistent feedstock with a high energy density (see the below figure). The following schematic diagram outlines elements of BBRG proposed facility. The process line consists of a set of modular unit operations. These units include sorting devices for dry fractionation, a thermal treatment reactor for carbonization, a doulble extrusion unit for steam pulping, a filter press, a general purpose dehydrator, two grinders, a pelletization mill and a cooler. Instrumentations are required for recording data and to develop validation tools for process modeling.

If you would like to collaborate with BBRG or have questions about our research, please contact us