Porto, Portugal — August 2, 2021
IncBio has signed a contract with BGW BioGreen Woods to engineer, build, and install a multi-distillation liquid refinery at BGW's biomass pyrolysis facility in Portugal.
The refinery features eight distillation columns designed to process the liquid fraction produced by BGW's wood biomass pyrolysis process. Output streams include wood vinegar, liquid smoke, methanol, acetic acid, and furfural — all commercially valuable products derived from the thermal decomposition of organic material.
For IncBio, this project represents a significant expansion of its pyrolysis engineering capabilities. While the thermochemical conversion of biomass to biochar and gas is handled upstream by BGW's pyrolysis units, IncBio's scope focuses on the recovery and refinement of the liquid fraction — a technically demanding process that requires precise separation, condensation control, and distillation sequencing.
The engineering knowledge gained here — particularly around liquid fraction recovery, vapour condensation systems, and multi-stream separation — directly informs IncBio's subsequent work in plastic and tyre pyrolysis, where oil yield, quality, and consistency are the primary commercial value drivers.
The project also incorporates full water treatment, ensuring that process water contaminated during distillation is fully cleaned and safe for discharge — reflecting IncBio's commitment to environmentally sound industrial design.
José Marques, CEO of IncBio, stated: "This project represents a major step in our pyrolysis engineering capabilities. The liquid fraction of biomass pyrolysis is technically complex to refine, and the systems we are developing here will serve as a reference for future thermochemical recovery projects."