In 2016, the magazine Bioénergie International set out in search of a low profile, Jura-based company that carried out cutting edge work in the development of bio-sourced materials. Enerphyt is a company from a long family line of millers dating back hundreds of years, namely that of the Sauvin de Patornay family, based in France’s Jura region. The company mechanically refines lignocellulosic biomasses such as wood, miscanthus, or vine shoot, in order to produce micro-elements that can be incorporated into materials such as concrete, ceramics, plastics, or water filters, with a view to achieving a more neutral carbon balance.
Ten years of business and progress, on the right side of history
Ten years ago, the plant materials market for the production of materials and manufactured products was already showing good progress in light of a situation whereby, with regards to the industrial sector, the use of plant products had been abandoned for decades or had never been pursued in the first place. Enerphyt, still a fledgling company at the time, sustained this progress, and continues to do so to this day. It is targeting a production output of almost 45,000 tonnes per year by 2030, having micronised just a few thousand tonnes of biomass each year following the launch of the company.
A craft that turns very large pieces wood into very small pieces
The company works with local soft wood and beech Its supply comes primarily from products associated with saw milling: sawdust and chips from the soft woods, logs and associated products from the beech. The company thus holds a permanent stock of 5 to 7,000 tonnes of logs, which are utilised on a 6 to 8 month rotation. In addition to serving as a buffer in terms of demand and seasonal supply, within this region of Haut-Jura - where the air is relatively dry - this stock enables the pre-drying of the wood, which saves on the amount of drying energy required.
The logs are then reduced down to chips by a service provider then, as pre-fractionated materials, they are dried at low temperature prior to undergoing the final micronisation process. This transformation, performed to within micrometre accuracy, takes place in ultra-fast refining mills, and is required to follow the specifications stipulated by each individual client in terms of dimensions, particle shape and adhesion, ratio of ultra-fine particles, humidity... The precision of each task is therefore almost akin to that applied in the watchmaking industry, and it is with this goal in mind that the STELA dryer has been retained alongside the other necessary equipment.
Once dried and micronised, the biomass - now in powder form - is stored in a dozen vertical silos dedicated to producing carefully defined properties. Delivery is performed primarily by tanker, but also by big bag or in bags for small volume markets or those located far away. For example, the company currently supplies Italian and British industrial companies in containerised big bags. It should also be noted that, for the shipping of certain less dense wood flours in tankers, a fine granulation of the powder enables the densification of the volumes transported. To this end, Enerphyt recently acquired an MTD pellet press with an output of one tonne/hour.
Initial equipment that has been functioning for ten years without ever stopping
Upon its launch in 2014, the company invested in a 1 MW Agro Forst biomass boiler and a STELA belt dryer with an output of one tonne/hour to dry its raw materials, equipment supplied by VBI Bois; a group of companies based in Barr, Alsace, specialising in the supply of equipment for the wood-processing industries.
With the increase in demand for bio-sourced raw materials, in 2022 Valérian Sauvin, the founder and CEO of Enerphyt, reached the limit in terms of the level of production possible with the company’s first series of equipment, namely 15,000 tonnes/year.
This raised questions regarding the dimensioning and supply of new equipment. With regard to dimensioning, a new 3.3 MW boiler was installed, while the new dryer has an evaporation capacity of 2.7 MW. Given that the new equipment is operating alongside the original equipment, with the creation of a new boiler house and in light of the fact that the initial dryer still had reserve capacity, the two boiler houses are now both connected to the two dryers, thus guaranteeing a drying capacity of 4.3 MW. The new equipment was installed and commissioned in the first half of 2024, providing the opportunity to shut down the 1 MW boiler and the initial dryer for the first time in 10 years!
Regarding the choice of suppliers for the new equipment, Valérian is emphatic:
“How could we possible hange boiler or dryer brand, in spite of the fact that the two pieces of equipment that we commissioned ten years ago have been running fantastically well ever since, 24/7?. Over the ten years, the boiler has cost us €2,000 in consumables expenses, excluding fuel and electricity, that is. Having first been fired up in 2014, the boiler has undergone hot servicing, with the extraction fan in continuous forced operation. It has operated for more than 3,650 days, or 90,000 hours, without incident, with no major wear, with damp and non-milled bark, but always at maximum power. During its shutdown period this year, we were also able to confirm what we had observed during maintenance with the boiler running hot - namely that all of the grating bars are still in a good functional condition!. Concerning the initial dryer, as a precaution we decided to change the belt in spite of having commissioned the second dryer and the supplier having indicated that it was not strictly necessary to do so!”
Considering the exceptional condition of the company’s first Agro Forst boiler and its STELA dryer, Valérian therefore did not hesitate to come back to VBI for its second round of investment.
A low-carbon production strategy for a low-carbon material
For Valérian, and for his father Gilles who still assists him, these new investments were also an opportunity to reflect on the electrical autonomy of this electricity-intensive company. With the continuous requirement currently at 500 kWe, and a forecast requirement of 800 kWe in 2030, the upward trend in terms of electricity pricing is a matter of vital importance. Therefore, in order to one day be able to self-generate a large proportion of its electricity requirement, Valérian opted in the medium-term for the installation of an ORC co-generation module. As such, he requested that Agro Forst supply a 3.3 MW boiler, for the time being running with hot water but whereby the exchanger could be interchanged with a thermal oil exchanger. To this end, the supplied model features a vertical exchanger of the same type as the future model, which will use oil. The new boiler is also already equipped with an economiser. The installation is fitted with an electro-filter to treat the smoke. And in the new boiler house, the installation of the ORC has already been planned. It will be capable of producing 600 kWe, 24/7, while also recovering bark. Once this investment has been made, the carbon balance of Enerphyt biomass, harvested 100% locally, will be ranked among the best decarbonised products on the market.
Credits: Frédéric Douard, Bioénergie International
