[Gasification] Fw: Coal coocking.

[Doug Williams]

 Hi Andrew and Colleagues,

 I will pass this information on before I forget, to those of you
 keeping files on these technologies. It refers to a New Zealand
research company called Convertech.

> From: AJH <list at sylva.icuklive.co.uk>
> Date: Thu Sep 28, 2006  9:34:02  AM Pacific/Auckland

> Ian Bywater used a hydrolysis method that seemed to have the same
> basic method for his convertech New Zealand firm, now not trading
> though Ian is still active. He claimed his process was  autothermal or 
> autolysis which I took to mean it required no additional chemicals or
> heat input. His process yielded oils though.

By coincidence, a colleague in Ireland has just written to me asking
if I knew of Convertech, as the company was mentioned in an recent
 Limerick University Paper investigating liquid fuel technologies. For
 your information, the following is from my own files collected during
 personal communications over the years.

 1. The Convertech process is the steam hydrolysis of biomass  followed
 by thermolysis of the cellulose fraction to produce ethanol via
 levoglucosan to glucose.

 2. The process is owned by Ken Scott, convertech at convertech.co.nz.
the original researcher, who formed Convertech in 1989. He had a whole
 team of guys, and the research and development went through to solve
some difficult problems. (I talked through some of the fuel lock fabrication
issues with one of the guys a few years ago).

3. Ian Bywater was part of the management team, but left quite a few
years ago, and now operates his own consultancy business.

 4. I don't think the company ever traded or supplied technology to any
one, but some very vigerous promotion was done in the early days, but
like gasification, has been ignored. Convertech still exist, and
obviously of interest to those seeking  biomass-liquid fuel technology.
 Hope this is of interest.

Doug Williams,
Fluidyne Gasification.