Martin Risseeuw is the new Plant Manager of Empyro. Coming from AkzoNobel, he has been indirectly involved with the pyrolysis process since 2001. Since July 2014, he, as a Plant Manager, has been responsible for the commissioning and managing of the plant.

What is your history and how did you get involved with Empyro?

For fifteen years I have worked for AkzoNobel, of which I worked seven years on-site in Hengelo and four years as a Power Plant Manager in Delfzijl. After my time in Delfzijl, I have been seconded at BTG-BTL for one year in order to set up the Empyro project. After that I have been responsible for the major energy contracts of AkzoNobel in the Netherlands. I have done this for three years and nowadays I am the official Plant Manager of Empyro. I have been involved with the pyrolysis process since 2001. AkzoNobel wanted to become more sustainable and we opened a study on the opportunities for greener energy supply. One of these opportunities was devoted to pyrolysis oil. However, we were too early at the time. I became involved with the project once again, as soon as the Empyro plans became more concrete. This was during the engineering and licensing phase.

What is your feel about managing the Empyro when you compare this to your previous work experiences?

At AkzoNobel everything is already planned and organized. As a Plant Manager or Manager you have access to specialists of all areas.  We do not have those people at Empyro. When I started this project, I had to figure out in what way I wanted to lead the organization in the right direction, whom did I have to contact for answers on which questions? Eventually, you end up doing everything. For example, the sowing of the grass had to be controlled as well. You need a temporary office building and this needs to have furniture. You need to arrange spare parts for the plant. Everything just needs to be done. To me personally, it is a very nice way to learn a lot. We started with a piece of paper and a laptop, and right now there is an actual pyrolysis plant. This can all be attributed to collaboration.

What has been the major challenge for you with regard to Empyro?

Our challenge has been to make the plant produce pyrolysis oil as soon as possible in a reliable and efficient manner and to figure out how this could be achieved with a small team. We are a small organization that has to achieve a lot. The operators are also maintenance technicians and that requires a lot of adaptability of people.

The beauty about this position is to pioneer! You will encounter the same technological challenges in other positions, but creating a complete picture makes the difference. The plant belongs to us all. The men also feel it in that way. Together we are building something great.

How are things at Empyro currently?

We have tested the facility from mid-January 2015 till mid-March after the construction was completed. Then there finally was the first oil. Obviously, we still have some problems to solve. On the other hand we are very busy with organizing the future. A very important step was receiving the NTA8080 certificate in February. This certification is necessary in order to allow us to make the use of pyrolysis oil at FrieslandCampina eligible for the SDE subsidy. With this we can demonstrate that the entire pyrolysis chain is sustainable and reduces at least 50% of the CO₂ emissions when compared to the combustion of natural gas in FrieslandCampina’s boiler. We achieve a 90% reduction and we will celebrate another milestone with the official opening of Empyro this week. 

How do you see in the future of BTG-BTL and Empyro?

Right now, the plant still requires a certain amount of subsidy. That is fine, there are more sectors in which that happens. The total balance has to be right. Pyrolysis oil alone is not the solution to our energy problem, but I envision a great future for pyrolysis oil as a solution for replacing fossil fuels in the chemical industry as a raw material substitute. In my opinion the future of pyrolysis plants can be found in biomass rich regions.

The strength of BTG-BTL can be found in the people who work there: perseverance, determination, creative solutions and responsiveness are their strengths. In addition, they are the experts in the field of their technology. With regard to pyrolysis they are way ahead of anyone else. 

Martin Risseeuw: “We started with a piece of paper and a laptop, and right now there is an actual pyrolysis plant. This can all be attributed to collaboration”.

Exactly one year after the construction of the pyrolysis plant Empyro started, the plant’s festive opening took place on Wednesday May 20^th. In the morning guest speakers from the Province of Overijssel and the Dutch topsector policy program explained how they view pyrolysis technology: as a foundation for the biobased economy of tomorrow. Afterwards all visitors were shown around the Empyro plant, which was then officially opened.

The opening ceremony was conducted by the Province of Overijssel’s representative, Eddy van Hijum, who filled a tank truck with pyrolysis oil. He stated: “Overijssel is the first place in the world with this innovative production plant, and we are very proud of that fact. The collaboration between the academia, industry and the government has been inspiring. It enabled us to take a giant leap into the bio-based economy. The collaboration and the sharing of knowledge shows and the pyrolysis oil flows!”

The rest of the day our guests listened intently to presentations on the realization of the Empyro plant and the sustainability of pyrolysis oil. FrieslandCampina Category Procurement Manager Tim Schröder (image above, on the right) explained what had motivated them to opt for pyrolysis oil .

The next day the Empyro symposium hosted speakers from around the world on all aspects of pyrolysis oil. Around 100 guests from 15 countries were captivated by the latest developments in pyrolysis oil productions, standardization and application for heat, power and transport fuels.

On behalf of the European Committe Dr. Kyriakos Maniatis gave an update on EC policies on advanced biofuels. (image above)

From the USA Dr. Doug Elliott of Pacific Northwest National Laboratories gave an overview of the role of IEA Task 34 in coordinating pyrolysis developments around the world (image above).

Pia Saari from Finland works for Fortum, the major Finnish heat and power provider, and is coordinating the standardization of pyrolysis oil in Europe under CEN.

One of the highlights of this symposium was the presentation of Mr. Marlon Almeida, senior researcher at the Brazilian oil major Petrobras. He shared the results of the research program which Petrobras has started several years ago into the use of crude pyrolysis oil at oil refineries. His group has managed to demonstrate that it is feasible to co-process crude pyrolysis oil in existing oil refineries into gasoline and diesel. 

Gerhard Muggen, Managing Director of Empyro: “We have already produced hundreds of tonnes of good quality pyrolysis oil during the startup of Empyro. Today, we can transport this oil to our customer FrieslandCampina. This is another important step which offers us and our customers a great deal of confidence in the future.”

A newscrew from the local television RTV Oost reported on the opening of the plant. We are happy with the way the opening and the symposium turned out and we wish to thank all those that were present!