On: 7th April 2015 In: News

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | April 8, 2015

Heumann Environmental plays integral role in Zilkha Biomass Energy’s black pellet fuel plant

SELMA, Ala. – Heumann Environmental, a company that engineers and installs specialized equipment to optimize production processes, has provided its industrial expertise to the renewable energy company Zilkha Biomass Energy and its Alabama black pellet fuel production plant.

When fully operational, the facility will be the world’s first full-scale commercial black pellet plant, with a yearly production capacity of 275,000 metric tons. The plant produces black pellets, a high-density energy source and coal alternative that is made from a biomass of pre-dried, compressed green wood.

For its part, Heumann Environmental integrated high efficiency cyclones into Zilkha’s production process, which separates the wood fibers to be made into pellets. In addition, the Heumann equipment maximizes fiber yield and minimizes emissions. The end product is durable, water resistant, has a higher energy content than comparative pellet products and is less expensive to ship.

“We are delighted to contribute our skills and resources to further develop a process that has the potential to grow as an alternative energy source and reduce the emissions produced by coal,” said Bill Heumann, CEO of Heumann Environmental.

“We chose Heumann because they had a reputation for both tackling unusual applications such as our thermal conditioning technology, and for great customer service,” said Clyde Stearns, VP of Engineering at Zilkha Biomass Energy. “They lived up to their reputation and provided a good technical solution at a very competitive price. It was good to have a partner we could count on to deliver well-engineered products on-time and on-budget.”

In 2010, the renewable energy company opened its first production facility in Texas with a 40,000 metric ton per year capacity.

About Heumann Environmental

Based in Louisville, HEC provides engineering consulting services and specializes in designing, manufacturing and installing industrial particulate separation equipment known as high-efficiency cyclones. Cyclones separate microscopic particles from gas streams and are used to improve the performance of dust collection, pollution control, ventilation, and product recovery systems. The company complements the use of cyclones with an array of scrubber and filter technology. For more information about HEC, visit www.heumannenviro.com.

About Zilkha Biomass Energy

Zilkha Biomass Energy is dedicated to innovative sustainable energy solutions. Zilkha Biomass Energy makes power out of woody biomass. It produces baseload natural renewable fuel, providing good long term jobs both in the field and in its plants. Zilkha Biomass Fuels produces the Zilkha Black® Pellet, a proprietary water-resistant biomass pellet that is transportable like coal. Zilkha Biomass Power operates a proprietary direct-fired biomass-fueled gas turbine unit that powers commercial and industrial facilities. More information is available at www.zilkha.com.

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Additional Contacts:

Bill Heumann, CEO, Heumann Environmental, [email protected], 812-280-1854
Jonathan Ohueri, Director of Communications, Zilkha Biomass Energy, LLC, 713-979-9093, [email protected]

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