Production methods

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to methods of chemical extraction and biomass fuel production.

Description

[0001] Production Methods

[0002] Cross-reference to related applications

[0003] The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2023902101 filed on 30 June 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0004] Technical field

[0005] The present disclosure generally relates to methods of chemical extraction and biomass fuel production.

[0006] Background

[0007] One of the most pressing issues for future generations is the development of a sustainable society. Fossil fuels that are currently used for both energy production have finite availability. As such, there is an increasing need to maximise production and use of sustainable and renewable energy sources. Biomass fuels are a renewable resource and advantageously do not emit net CO2 to the atmosphere. However, biomass fuels can still contribute to potential environmental problems through emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Typically, monoterpenes dominate these emissions during the biomass fuel production process.

[0008] Accordingly, improved methods for sustainable biomass fuel production are required.

[0009] Summary

[0010] The present disclosure predicated, in part, on the identification of sustainable methods of chemical extraction and biomass fuel production. In particular, these methods provide for responsible utilisation of a biomass to reduce waste therefrom and efficiently utilise energy produced from the method.

[0011] The present disclosure provides a method for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production using a resinous wood, said method including the steps:

[0012] (i) treating the resinous wood with an agent that comprises, consists or consists essentially of a terpene to thereby extract rosin and / or terpene fractions from the resinous wood; and

[0013] (ii) processing the treated resinous wood to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

[0014] The period of time between the step of treating the resinous wood with the agent and processing the treated resinous wood may be no more than about 15 minutes, no more than about 10 minutes or no more than about 5 minutes. Processing the treated resinous wood may include the step of grinding and / or milling the treated resinous wood to form a particulate form thereof.

[0015] The particulate form of the treated resinous wood may have a dimension of between about 0.1 cm to about 0.6 cm.

[0016] The grinding step may include dry grinding and / or wet grinding.

[0017] Processing the treated resinous wood may further include the step of drying the particulate form of the treated resinous wood.

[0018] The drying step may reduce the moisture content of the particulate form of the treated resinous wood to less than about 30%, less than about 20% or less than about 10% by weight thereof.

[0019] Processing the treated resinous wood may further include the step of compressing the particulate form of the treated resinous wood to form a compressed form thereof.

[0020] The compressed form of the treated resinous wood may be or comprise a pellet or a briquette.

[0021] Processing the treated resinous wood may further include the step of heat treating the compressed form of the treated resinous wood at a temperature of between about 100°C and about 200°C or between about 200°C and about 350°C.

[0022] Processing the treated resinous wood may further include the step of heat treating the particulate form of the treated resinous wood at a temperature of between about 100°C and about 200°C or between about 200°C and about 350°C.

[0023] Processing the treated resinous wood may further include the step of compressing the particulate form of the treated resinous wood to form a compressed form thereof.

[0024] The biomass fuel may be a white pellet, a white briquette, a torrefied pellet or a torrefied briquette.

[0025] The biomass fuel may be substantially free of contaminants.

[0026] Processing the treated resinous wood or the treatment step of (i) may further include the initial step of at least partly subdividing or desizing the resinous wood, such as prior to step (i). The treatment step of (i) may further include the step of separating the rosin fraction and the terpene fraction extracted from the resinous wood.

[0027] Processing the treated resinous wood may further include the initial step of at least partly removing a bark portion and / or a root portion from the resinous wood.

[0028] The bark portion and / or the root portion may be at least partly utilised to generate energy for use in one or both of the treating and processing steps of (i) and (ii).

[0029] Processing the treated resinous wood may further include the initial step of separating a wood source into the resinous wood and a residual wood portion.

[0030] The residual wood portion may not be treated with the agent.

[0031] Suitably, the present method further includes the step of treating the residual wood portion to extract a further terpene fraction therefrom. The treating step may comprise heat treating the residual wood portion or the wood substrate under conditions to generate a gaseous stream comprising the further terpene fraction. Moreover, the treating step may comprise heat treating the residual wood portion at a temperature of between about 155°C and about 300°C, about 180°C and about 280°C or about 200°C and about 260°C.

[0032] Processing the residual wood portion may further include at least partly subdividing or desizing the residual wood portion.

[0033] Processing the residual wood portion may further include grinding and / or milling the residual wood portion to form a particulate form thereof.

[0034] Processing the residual wood portion may further include drying the particulate form of the residual wood portion.

[0035] Processing the residual wood portion may further include compressing the particulate form of the residual wood portion to form a compressed form thereof.

[0036] Processing the residual wood portion may further include heat treating the compressed form or the particulate form of the residual wood portion at a temperature of between about 100°C and about 200°C or between about 200°C and about 350°C. Processing the residual wood portion may further include compressing the heat treated and particulate form of the residual wood portion to form a compressed form thereof.

[0037] The particulate form of the residual wood portion may have a dimension of between about 0.1 cm to about 0.6 cm.

[0038] The grinding step may include dry grinding and / or wet grinding.

[0039] The drying step may reduce the moisture content of the particulate form of the residual wood portion to less than about 30%, less than about 20% or less than about 10% by weight thereof.

[0040] A volatile fraction released from the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion during the grinding step and / or drying step may be transferred to a condenser.

[0041] In another form, the present disclosure provides a method for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production using a wood substrate, said method including the steps:

[0042] (i) treating the wood substrate to thereby extract a terpene fraction from the wood substrate; and

[0043] (ii) processing the treated wood substrate to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

[0044] In some examples, the treating step comprises heat treating the wood substrate under conditions to generate a gaseous stream comprising the terpene fraction.

[0045] In other examples, the treating step comprises heating treating the wood substrate at a temperature of between about 155°C and about 300°C, about 180°C and about 280°C or about 200°C and about 250°C.

[0046] In particular examples, the present method further includes the step of at least partly subdividing or desizing the wood substrate.

[0047] According to various examples, the present method further includes the step of grinding and / or milling the wood substrate to form a particulate form thereof.

[0048] For some examples, the present method further includes the step of drying the particulate form of the wood substrate.

[0049] In certain examples, the present method further includes the step of compressing the particulate form of the wood substrate to form a compressed form thereof. Referring to other examples, the present method further includes the step of heat treating the compressed form of the wood substrate at a temperature of between about 100°C and about 200°C or between about 200°C and about 350°C.

[0050] According to some examples, the present method further includes the step of heat treating the particulate form of the wood substrate at a temperature of between about 100°C and about 200°C or between about 200°C and about 350°C.

[0051] In various examples, the present method further includes the step of compressing the heat treated and particulate form of the wood substrate to form a compressed form thereof.

[0052] The particulate form of the wood substrate may have a dimension of between about 0.1 cm to about 0.6 cm.

[0053] The grinding step may include dry grinding and / or wet grinding.

[0054] The drying step may reduce the moisture content of the particulate form of the wood substrate to less than about 30%, less than about 20% or less than about 10% by weight thereof.

[0055] Suitably, the biomass fuel is a white pellet, a white briquette, a torrefied pellet or a torrefied briquette.

[0056] In some examples, the biomass fuel is substantially free of contaminants.

[0057] For the present method, the period of time between the step of treating the wood substrate and processing the treated wood substrate may be no more than about 15 minutes, no more than about 10 minutes or no more than about 5 minutes.

[0058] In particular examples, the present method further includes the initial step of at least partly removing a waste portion (e.g., a bark portion and / or a root portion) from the wood substrate. The waste portion may be at least partly utilised to generate energy for use in one or both of the treating and processing steps of (i) and (ii).

[0059] The present disclosure provides a biomass fuel produced according to the methods described herein. The present disclosure provides a terpene and / or rosin fraction produced according to the methods described herein.

[0060] The present disclosure provides a system for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production from a resinous wood comprising: a treatment chamber for treating the resinous wood with an agent that comprises, consists or consists essentially of a terpene and a processor for processing the treated resinous wood to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

[0061] The present disclosure also provides a system for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production from a wood substrate comprising: a treatment chamber for treating the wood substrate and a processor for processing the treated wood substrate to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

[0062] The treatment chamber of the above systems may be in communication with the processor.

[0063] The processor of the above systems may comprise a compression chamber in communication with a heating chamber.

[0064] The present disclosure provides a system described herein, for use in a method described herein.

[0065] Particularly preferred embodiments are described herein, including in the independent claims.

[0066] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0067] The following figures form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain embodiments of the present disclosure. The disclosure may be better understood by reference to one or more of these figures in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and / or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

[0068] Figure 1 is a schematic of an apparatus or system according to a particular embodiment of the disclosure.

[0069] Figure 2 is a schematic of an apparatus or system according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Figure 3 is a schematic of an apparatus or system according to a further embodiment of the treatment step of (i).

[0070] Figure 4 is a schematic of a further embodiment of an apparatus or system according to the present disclosure.

[0071] Figure 5 is a schematic of a further embodiment of an apparatus or system according to the present disclosure.

[0072] Detailed description

[0073] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It is to be understood that the disclosure includes all such variations and modifications. The disclosure also includes all of the steps, features, compositions and compounds referred to or indicated in this specification, individually or collectively, and any and all combinations of any two or more of said steps or features. Thus, each feature of any particular example or embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied mutatis mutandis to any other example or embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0074] The present disclosure is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein, which are intended for the purpose of exemplification only. Functionally equivalent products, compositions and methods are clearly within the scope of the disclosure, as described herein.

[0075] Throughout this specification, unless specifically stated otherwise or the context requires otherwise, reference to a single step, composition of matter, group of steps or group of compositions of matter shall be taken to encompass one and a plurality (i.e. one or more) of those steps, compositions of matter, groups of steps or group of compositions of matter.

[0076] As used herein, the singular forms of “a”, “and” and “the” include plural forms of these words, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0077] The term “and / or”, e.g. “X and / or Y” shall be understood to mean either “X and Y” or “X or Y” and shall be taken to provide explicit support for both meanings or for either meaning.

[0078] Throughout this specification, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

[0079] Conversely, the terms “consist”, “consists” and “consisting” are used exclusively, such that a stated integer or group of integers are required or mandatory, and no other integers may be present. The phrase “consisting essentially of’ indicates that a stated integer or group of integers are required or mandatory, but that other elements that do not interfere with or contribute to the activity or action of the stated integer or group of integers are optional.

[0080] The term “about” in relation to a numerical value x is optional and means, for example, any number within 1, 5 or 10% of the referenced number. The term “about” also encompasses the exact number recited.

[0081] Methods of chemical extraction and biomass fuel production

[0082] The present disclosure arises, in part, from the identification of a sustainable method for chemical extraction and production of biomass fuel. In particular, the method integrates the chemical extraction and production of biomass fuel processes to reduce waste and efficiently use energy from the methods.

[0083] Advantageously, the method described herein treats a wood substrate, such as a resinous wood, with heat and / or an agent to extract terpenes and / or rosin fractions from the biomass and the treated wood substrate or resinous wood is used to produce a biomass fuel. Accordingly, the methods described herein may provide little to no biomass waste. Furthermore, and owing to the associated chemical extraction processes, biomass fuel produced by the methods described herein may be substantially contaminant and / or chemical free and / or have reduced emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Thus, the methods described herein may be more amenable for environmentally friendly downstream use, such as for example, energy generation by burning. The chemical removal process and generation of wood chips with a high degree of uniformity further ensures consistency of processing and less volatility in the ebbs and flows of plant production.

[0084] Additionally, by virtue of the efficient use of energy of the methods and little to no waste of the biomass, the methods described herein typically have lower capital and operational costs, and / or may be more efficient, and / or may demonstrate improved yields and / or may be more environmentally friendly than those previously described in the art. For example, the methods described herein may use the excess heat from the heating step of the treatment step described herein to produce the biomass fuel of the processing step described herein. To this end, wood chips of a wood substrate having just or recently exited the treatment step or treatment chamber described herein (e.g., a desolventiser) can enter the processing and / or drying steps of the methods described herein to produce a biomass fuel at an elevated temperature (e.g., at least about 20°C to about 140°C). By virtue of this arrangement, less energy is required to dry the wood chips from the treatment step to the processing step to produce the biomass fuel. The methods described herein may also use biomass “waste” products to produce heat and / or generate electricity that may be utilised in the present method.

[0085] The methods described herein also allow for the use of stumps as a wood substrate for generating wood pellets and / or torrefaction: Typically, stumps have a higher level of contamination (e.g., soil and debris) that can make it as unusable as a feedstock for wood pelleting and / or torrefaction processes. The methods described herein, however, advantageously produces a substantially contaminant-free wood substrate from stumps that would not normally be suitable for downstream processing into a biomass fuel.

[0086] In one broad form, the present disclosure provides a method for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production using a wood substrate, said method including the steps:

[0087] (i) treating the wood substrate with an agent that comprises, consists or consists essentially of a terpene to thereby extract rosin and / or terpene fractions from the wood substrate; and

[0088] (ii) processing the treated wood substrate to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

[0089] Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a method for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production using a resinous wood, said method including the steps:

[0090] (i) treating the resinous wood with an agent that comprises, consists of or consists essentially of a terpene to thereby extract rosin and / or terpene fractions from the resinous wood; and

[0091] (ii) processing the treated resinous wood to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

[0092] Additionally, the present disclosure provides a method for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production using a wood substrate, said method including the steps:

[0093] (i) treating the wood substrate to thereby extract a terpene fraction from the wood substrate; and

[0094] (ii) processing the treated wood substrate to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

[0095] Moreover, the present disclosure provides a method for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production using a wood substrate, said method including the steps: (i) treating a first portion, such as a resinous wood portion, of the wood substrate with an agent that comprises, consists or consists essentially of a terpene to thereby extract rosin and / or terpene fractions therefrom;

[0096] (ii) treating a second portion, such as a residual wood portion, of the wood substrate to thereby extract a further terpene fraction therefrom;

[0097] (iii) processing the treated first and / or second portions of the wood substrate to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

[0098] Chemical Extraction

[0099] As used herein, the term “rosin” broadly refers to a resin obtained from different species of resinous trees, such as coniferous or softwood trees. Whilst the composition of rosins can vary somewhat according to their source, usually they comprise, as a major component, resin acids such as unsaturated mono-carboxylic acids, including components or derivatives thereof. In this regard, the proportion of different resin acids in rosin can vary according to the softwood or coniferous species from which the rosin was obtained. By way of example, the rosin may contain from 85 to 95% of resin acids. In general, rosin primarily contains abietic acid (e.g. from 50% to 80%), and to a lesser extent dihydroabietic acid (e.g. from 5% to 30%) and pimaric acid (e.g. from 5% to 30%). Rosin may also include isopromic acid, palustric acid, and neoabietic acid.

[0100] The terms “terpene” and “turpentine” are used interchangeably herein and refer to the large and diverse class of organic compounds produced by a variety of plants, particularly conifers. As will be appreciated, the main components of terpene or turpentine are unsaturated hydrocarbon monoterpenes, such as a-pinene, 0-pinene and 3 -carene.

[0101] The term “wood substrate” refers to any cellulose / lignin-based material derived from the hard, fibrous structural organization of, for example, the stems, branches, trunks, stumps and roots of trees or other woody plants. Wood includes, for example, hardwood and softwood wood cut directly from trees. Specific examples of wood species may include Radiata Pine, Scots Pine, Red Pine, Yellow Pine, Maple, Alder, Birch, Aspen, Balsawood, and Beech. The wood substrate may be of any geometric shape and size and include a wood sheet, wood fibres, green lumber, pre-dried lumber, beam, plank, veneer, chip, logs, chunks and wood particles.

[0102] In particular examples, the wood substrate comprises a resinous wood or a resinous wood portion, such as that described herein.

[0103] In other examples, the wood substrate comprises a portion or fraction of a terpene, such as those described herein. For such examples, the wood substrate may or may not comprise a portion or fraction of resin or comprise substantially no resin (e.g., contains resin in a concentration of less than about 3%, about 2% or about 1% by weight of the wood substrate). Moreover, for such examples, the wood substrate may be substantially derived from bark, roots, stems, trunks and / or logs.

[0104] Broadly, “resinous wood” refers to wood that contains a portion of resin. Resinous wood is generally associated with softer wood species, like pine, that secrete resin as protection mechanism against parasites and disease, but may also include resinous hardwood species, such as teak, agarwood and acacia. The resinous wood may contain a terpene fraction. The resinous wood may contain a rosin fraction. The resinous wood may contain a terpene fraction and a rosin fraction. The resinous wood may be substantially derived from stumps. Generally, the term “stump” refers to the remainder of a felled or harvested tree (e.g. a tree base), which at least in the area of the roots, extends into the ground. The stumps may be substantially debarked or retain some or substantially all of their bark. Similarly, the stumps may have a portion or substantially all of their roots removed prior to use in the method of the present disclosure. Suitably, resinous wood contains resin in a concentration of greater than or at least about 3% (e.g., about 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15% of resin by weight or any range therein), about 4%, about 5%, about 7.5% or about 10% by weight of the wood substrate.

[0105] Generally, the residual wood portion is a portion of a wood source or substrate that contains a relatively lower concentration of resin than that of the resinous wood (e.g., contains resin in a concentration of less than about 5%, about 4%, about 3%, about 2%, about 1% or 0.5% by weight of the wood). To this end, the residual wood portion may also be referred to as non- resinous wood, particularly in relation to a wood substrate containing little, substantially no or no resin therein (e.g., having a resin content or concentration of less than 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5% or 0.1% by weight of the wood substrate). The residual wood portion may be substantially derived from bark, roots, stems, trunks and / or logs. Suitably, the residual wood portion does not comprise or is substantially derived from a stump. As the skilled person will appreciate that term “log” is to be used in a broad sense and typically refers to a harvested tree unit, which may be at least partly or substantially debarked or retains all or substantially all of its bark.

[0106] Suitably, the wood substrate, and more particularly the resinous wood portion and the residual wood portion, contains a portion of terpene, which may be suitable for extraction therefrom. Suitably, resinous wood contains resin in a concentration of greater than or at least about 0.5% (e.g., about 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15% of resin by weight or any range therein), about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 7.5% or about 10% by weight of the wood substrate. As described in more detail herein, the residual wood portion may or may not be subjected to a treatment step (e.g., a heat treatment step) so as to remove a terpene fraction therefrom prior to being subject to a processing step described herein. Suitably, such a treatment step does not include contacting the residual wood portion with the agent. As such, and unless expressly stated otherwise, references to the residual wood portion herein can encompass treated and / or untreated forms thereof.

[0107] The wood substrate or source described herein, including the resinous wood and residual wood portion, may comprise, consist of or consist essentially of a coniferous wood. As generally used herein, the term “coniferous wood” refers to, for example, fibrous masses obtained from the wood of coniferous trees (i.e. gymnosperms), such as varieties of fir, larch, spruce, cedar, cypress, yew and pine. Non-limiting examples include Caribbean Pine, Slash pine, Colorado spruce, balsam fir, Douglas fir, incense pine, Elliot pine, prickly spruce, Banks pine, Radiata pine, white spruce, broadly twisted pine and sequoia. The wood substrate or source, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, may be at least partly or substantially derived or obtained from Radiata pine.

[0108] The wood substrate, or more particularly the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, may be derived from a single type or species of tree or conifer or a combination thereof (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. types or species) and / or can be non-modified and / or modified. The wood substrate (e.g., the resinous wood) may also be transgenic (i.e. genetically modified) and derived from any portion of a tree or plant, such as branches, logs, roots, trunks, stems and stumps.

[0109] The wood substrate, or more particularly the resinous wood, may have been processed by a processor, such as a tree harvesting or stump removal operation, prior to the treatment step of the methods described herein.

[0110] In some examples, the present methods may include the earlier or initial step of separating or dividing the wood substrate into a resinous wood portion and a residual wood portion. The resinous wood portion may then be subjected to those treatment methods described herein for producing rosin and / or terpene fractions therefrom, whilst the residual wood portion may be subjected to those treatment methods described herein for producing a terpene fraction (and suitably no rosin fraction) therefrom. One or both of the treated resinous wood portion and the treated residual wood portion may then be processed by the methods described herein to produce a biomass fuel. It is envisaged that the present method may further include the initial step of harvesting the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and the residual wood portion, such as from a plantation or the like. The period of time between harvesting the wood substrate, (e.g., the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion) and the treatment step described herein may be no more than about 12 weeks (e.g. about 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 week or any range therein), no more than about 4 weeks, no more than about 2 weeks or no more than about 1 week. To this end, the inventors have found that this time frame advantageously minimises loss of the terpene fraction to evaporation thereby maximising yield thereof and minimising any effects of oxidation of the rosin fraction in wood substrate or the resinous wood which can adversely affect its colour and reactivity. Suitably, the wood substrate, or more particularly the resinous wood, undergoes little or no further processing or treatment after harvesting and prior to the treatment step of methods described herein (i.e. the wood substrate or the resinous wood is essentially in its natural state).

[0111] As used herein, “treating” or “treatment” may refer to, for example, contacting, soaking, steam impregnating, spraying, suspending, immersing, saturating, dipping, wetting, rinsing, atmospheric mechanical refining, impregnating, washing, submerging, and / or any variation and / or combination thereof.

[0112] As will be understood by the skilled person, the step of treating the wood substrate, and more particularly the resinous wood, may simply comprise passage thereof through a bath containing the agent. The step of treating the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood, may comprise passage thereof through a batch vessel, wherein the batch vessel recirculates the agent.

[0113] The wood substrate, and more particularly the resinous wood, may be contacted or treated in a counter-current or counter-flow manner with the agent. The term “counter-flow” or “countercurrent” is understood to mean that the wood substrate (e.g., the resinous wood) being treated in a treatment chamber or the like generally flow, or are conveyed, in one direction, whereas the agent and / or the terpene / rosin fractions extracted by the treatment process flow in an opposite direction. By way of example, the treatment step comprises passage of the wood substrate (e.g., the resinous wood) through a rotary extractor, a loop type extractor, a drag chain extractor and / or a continuous belt extractor.

[0114] In other examples, the step of treating the wood substrate, and more particularly the residual wood portion, may simply comprise passage thereof through a heating chamber, such as a desolventizer or desolventizer-toaster, as are known in the art. The step of heat treating the wood substrate, such as the residual wood portion, may comprise passage thereof through a heating chamber, in which heat may be directly applied thereto by way of steam and / or indirectly applied thereto by way of one or more heated elements or trays therein. The elements or trays may be heated, for example, by recirculating steam, water or oil therein.

[0115] The treatment step of the methods described herein may be performed for a period of time and under conditions sufficient or suitable to extract the rosin and / or terpene fractions from the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion.

[0116] To this end, the treatment step of the methods described herein, such as when extracting both terpene and rosin fractions from the wood substrate with the agent, may be at least partly carried out at a temperature from about 60°C to about 155°C, or any range therein, such as, but not limited to, about 70°C to about 140°C or about 75°C to about 130°C. The treatment temperature may be higher than the melting point of the rosin fraction at the pressure at which the treatment step of (i) is to be performed (e.g. greater than about 73°C at atmospheric pressure). Similarly, the treatment temperature may be lower than the boiling point of the terpene fraction (e.g. pinenes) at the pressure at which the treatment step of (i) is to be performed (e.g. less than about 155-156°C at atmospheric pressure).

[0117] The treatment step of the methods described herein may be carried out at a temperature of about 60°C, 61°C, 62°C, 63°C, 64°C, 65°C, 66°C, 67°C, 68°C, 69°C, 70°C, 71°C, 72°C, 73°C, 74°C, 75°C, 76°C, 77°C, 78°C, 79°C, 80°C, 81°C, 82°C, 83°C, 84°C, 85°C, 86°C, 87°C, 88°C, 89°C, 90°C, 91°C, 92°C, 93°C, 94°C, 95°C, 96°C, 97°C, 98°C, 99°C, 100°C, 101°C, 102°C, 103°C, 104°C, 105°C, 106°C, 107°C, 108°C, 109°C, 110°C, 111°C, 112°C, 113°C, 114°C, 115°C,

[0118] 116°C, 117°C, 118°C, 119°C, 120°C, 121°C, 122°C, 123°C, 124°C, 125°C, 126°C, 127°C,

[0119] 128°C, 129°C, 130°C, 131°C, 132°C, 133°C, 134°C, 135°C, 136°C, 137°C, 138°C, 139°C,

[0120] 140°C, 141°C, 142°C, 143°C, 144°C, 145°C, 146°C, 147°C, 148°C, 149°C, 150°C, 151°C,

[0121] 152°C, 153°C, 154°C, 155°C or any range therein. The treatment step of (i) may be carried out at a temperature from about 75°C to about 155°C.

[0122] Furthermore, the treatment step of the methods described herein may be performed or carried out for a period of time from about 5 minutes to about 240 minutes or any range therein, such as, but not limited to, about 5 minutes to about 100 minutes, or about 10 minutes to about 90 minutes. The treatment step of (i) may be carried out for a period of time of about 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,

[0123] 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34,

[0124] 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59,

[0125] 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84,

[0126] 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 180, 185, 190, 195, 200, 205, 210, 215, 220, 225, 230, 235, 240 minutes, or any range therein. The treatment step of (i) may be carried out for a period of time of about 15 minutes to about 120 minutes. More particularly, the treatment step of the methods described herein may be carried out for a period of time of about 30 minutes to about 90 minutes. Even more particularly, the treatment step may be carried out for a period of time of about 45 minutes to about 75 minutes.

[0127] For the treatment step of the methods described herein, the agent may be present at an amount of about 10% to about 200% or any range therein, such as, but not limited to, about 20% to about 150%, about 30% to about 100%, or about 50% to about 70% by weight of the resinous wood (i.e. the agent to resinous wood ratio). The agent may be present at about 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 26%, 27%,

[0128] 28%, 29%, 30%, 31%, 32%, 33%, 34%, 35%, 36%, 37%, 38%, 39%, 40%, 41%, 42%, 43%,

[0129] 44%, 45%, 46%, 47%, 48%, 49%, 50%, 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%, 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%,

[0130] 60%, 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%,

[0131] 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%,

[0132] 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, 100%, 101%, 102%, 103%, 104%, 105%, 106%, 107%, 108%, 109%, 110%, 111%, 112%, 113%, 114%, 115%, 116%, 117%, 118%, 119%,

[0133] 120%, 121%, 122%, 123%, 124%, 125%, 126%, 127%, 128%, 129%, 130%, 131%, 132%,

[0134] 133%, 134%, 135%, 136%, 137%, 138%, 139%, 140%, 141%, 142%, 143%, 144%, 145%,

[0135] 146%, 147%, 148%, 149%, 150%, 151%, 152%, 153%, 154%, 155%, 156%, 157%, 158%,

[0136] 159%, 160%, 161%, 162%, 163%, 164%, 165%, 166%, 167%, 168%, 169%, 170%, 171%,

[0137] 172%, 173%, 174%, 175%, 176%, 177%, 178%, 179%, 180%, 181%, 182%, 183%, 184%,

[0138] 185%, 186%, 187%, 188%, 189%, 190%, 191%, 192%, 193%, 194%, 195%, 196%, 197%,

[0139] 198%, 199%, 200% or any range therein, by weight of the resinous wood.

[0140] The wood substrate, and more particularly the resinous wood, may be treated with an agent that comprises, consists or consists essentially of a terpene. In this regard, the agent may be considered a terpene-based solvent. A terpene, including those described herein and mixtures thereof, can be present in the agent in an amount from about 50% to about 100% by weight of the agent or any range therein, such as, but not limited to, about 60% to about 80%, about 70% to about 90%, or about 80% to about 100% by weight of the agent. A terpene may be present in the agent in an amount of about 50%, 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%, 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%,

[0141] 60%, 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%,

[0142] 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%,

[0143] 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, 100% or any range therein, by weight of the agent. The terpene may be present in an amount from about 90% to about 100% by weight of the agent. The terpene of the agent may, at least in part, be recovered, recycled or derived from a terpene fraction previously extracted from the resinous wood, the residual wood portion and / or the agent previously used to treat the wood substrate (e.g., the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion). In this regard, the recovered, recycled or derived terpene may be in a partially or fully purified or refined form. In this regard, the present method may include the further step of recycling the terpene fraction extracted from the wood substrate (e.g., the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion) and / or the agent for use in or as the agent in the treatment step. Accordingly, the agent may comprise the same or similar composition of terpenes as the terpene fraction to be extracted thereby. Additionally, the recovered or recycled terpene described herein, may be subjected to one or more processes, such as purification or filtration, to render it more suitable and / or advantageous for use in the present disclosure without converting it to “pure” or technical grade / refined (e.g. >97% purity) terpene or turpentine.

[0144] The method of the present disclosure may at least partially extract the rosin and / or terpene fractions present in the wood substrate, and more particularly the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion. To this end, the present method may extract 100% or less than 100% of the rosin and / or terpene fractions present in the wood substrate (e.g., the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion). The present method may result in the extraction and / or recovery of about 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, 100% or any range therein, of the rosin and / or terpene fractions present in the wood substrate (e.g., the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion) compared or relative to the amount of the rosin and / or terpene fractions present therein before treatment with the method described herein.

[0145] The wood substrate, including the resinous wood and / or the residual wood, may be desized, subdivided, fragmented or reduced (e.g., chipping, grinding, flaking, shredding, pulverising) prior to the treatment step described herein and / or prior to the processing step described herein. In this regard, solid wood, such as logs and stumps, may be subdivided into smaller pieces or fragments, such as strands, fibers, flakes and / or chips, prior to the treatment steps described herein so as to aid extraction of the rosin and / or terpene fractions therefrom. The wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood, may be subjected to a desizing step to achieve a target particle size, such as that described herein. Accordingly, the wood substrate, and more particularly the resinous wood and / or the residual wood, may comprise wood chips or flakes derived from one or a plurality of resinous trees, such as those hereinbefore described. It is further envisaged that the wood substrate may be subdivided by any suitable means known in the art, such as with a conventional wood chipper, a slow-speed or low-speed shredder, a hammer mill and / or a wet grinder. In particular examples, the wood substrate is at least partly reduced in size or subdivided by a low-speed shredder. A low-speed shredder may advantageously reduce frictional heat thereby preventing or minimising the evaporation of a portion of the terpene fraction therein. The low- speed shredder may also offer benefits like reduced maintenance requirements; extended equipment lifespan and effective dislodgement of debris and contaminants from the wood substrate prior to further processing.

[0146] In view of the above, the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood, may include wood portions or pieces having a volume of between about 0.01 cm3and about 1 cm3(e.g. about 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55, 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, 1 cm3or any range therein).

[0147] Furthermore, the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood, to be treated by the agent or heat treated may include wood portions or pieces having a surface area of between about 0.03 cm2and about 0.5 cm2(e.g. about 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5 cm2or any range therein).

[0148] Moreover, the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood, may include wood portions having a dimension (e.g. a largest dimension, a mean dimension or a median dimension), such as a length, width or diameter (e.g., a mean diameter), of between about 0.01 cm and about 1.5 cm (e.g., about 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55, 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, 1, 1.05, 1.1, 1.15, 1.2, 1.25, 1.3, 1.35, 1.4, 1.45, 1.5 cm or any range therein). The dimension of the wood portion may be between about 0.1 to about 0.6 cm. The dimension of the wood portion may be between about 0.2 to about 0.5 cm. The dimension of the wood portion may be between about 0.3 to about 0.6 cm. The dimension of the wood portion may be between about 0.3 to about 0.5 cm. The dimension of the wood portion may be between about 0.2 to about 0.6 cm.

[0149] The treatment step of the methods described herein may include the step of screening the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, so as to ensure an appropriate size and / or surface area thereof. Portions of the wood substrate, or more particularly the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, that are removed or selected out by this screening step may then be subjected to a further subdividing step until an appropriate size or surface area is achieved for treatment with the agent or heat treatment. Accordingly, the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, may be screened prior to the treatment step to remove wood portions having a volume, surface area and / or dimension greater than any of those aforementioned values. The wood substrate, including the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, may be screened prior to the treatment step to remove wood portions having a dimension, such as a length, width or diameter, greater than about 0.15 cm, greater than about 0.20 cm, greater than about 0.25 cm, greater than about 0.30 cm, greater than about 0.35 cm, greater than about 0.40 cm, greater than about 0.45 cm, greater than about 0.50 cm, greater than about 0.60 cm, greater than about 0.70 cm, greater than about 0.80 cm, greater than about 0.90 cm or greater than about 1.0 cm.

[0150] Generally, the period of time between the initial step of subdividing the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, and the treatment step may be no more than about 12 hours (e.g., no more than about 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.1 hours or any range therein), no more than about 8 hours, no more than about 4 hours, no more than about 2 hours, no more than about 1 hour, no more than about 30 minutes, no more than about 15 minutes or no more than about 5 minutes. In this regard, the skilled person will appreciate that the step of treating the wood substrate, or more particularly the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, may occur almost immediately after the present subdividing step. Again, this ensures that the terpene and / or rosin fractions are retained within the log or wooden core as long as possible without loss of the terpene portion due to evaporation and / or adversely affecting rosin fraction quality due to oxidation. In certain examples, the wood substrate after the subdividing step is stored in a storage unit, and more particularly a storage unit under vacuum or negative pressure so as to minimize evaporation of the terpene fraction therefrom.

[0151] The method may further include the step of separating the rosin fraction from the terpene fraction extracted from the wood substrate, or more particularly the resinous wood. As used herein, the term “separating the rosin fraction from the terpene fraction” means separating a mixture of molecules containing rosin and terpenes, into a first fraction of molecules with a higher concentration of or substantially containing rosin and a second fraction of molecules containing a higher concentration of or substantially containing terpenes, including terpenes from the agent. In this regard, it will be appreciated that the terpene fraction may be separated from the rosin fraction together with the agent, as the agent also comprises terpenes and is preferably derived from a terpene fraction previously extracted from the wood substrate, or more particularly resinous wood, as described herein. It is envisaged that such separating may be performed by any method or means known in the art, such as distillation, fractionation, chromatographic separation, crystallisation, extraction and the like.

[0152] The respective rosin and terpene fractions may be separated, at least partly, by distillation. The term “distillation” refers to the process of physically separating chemical components into a vapour phase or stream and a liquid phase or stream based on differences in the respective components’ boiling points and vapour pressures at specified temperatures and pressures. Distillation is typically performed in a distillation column or chamber, which usually includes a series of vertically spaced plates. A feed stream enters the distillation column at a mid-point, dividing the distillation column into two sections. The top section may be referred to as the rectification section, and the bottom section may be referred to as the stripping section. Condensation and vaporization occur on each plate, causing lower boiling point components, such as the terpene fraction, to rise to the top of the distillation column and higher boiling point components, such as the rosin fraction, to fall to the bottom. A re-boiler is located at the base of the distillation column to add thermal energy. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, recovery of energy and recycling of process streams can be applied to improve plant efficiencies. The “bottoms” product or liquid stream, which for the present disclosure suitably comprises, consists of or consists essentially of the rosin fraction, can then be directly removed from the base of the distillation column. A reflux pump is generally used to maintain flow in the rectification section of the distillation column by pumping a portion of the distillate back into the distillation column.

[0153] A condenser may be located at the top of the distillation column and operably connected thereto to condense the vapour or gaseous stream emanating from the top of the distillation column and produce a distillate. The associated condenser and liquid separation vessels that may be employed with the distillation columns may be of any conventional design. For the present disclosure, the distillate may comprise the terpene fraction and the agent used to extract the terpene fraction and optionally a water fraction if steam is used in the distillation process. As such, the method may further include the step of separating the terpene fraction and / or the agent from the distillate, particularly if the distillate comprises, for example, a water fraction.

[0154] The distillation conditions, such as feed rates, feed pressures, feed temperatures, column pressures, column temperatures, reflux rates, distillation times etc. are appropriate for efficient separation of the rosin and / or terpene fractions (inclusive of the agent) in the distillation column.

[0155] During the distillation step the mixture of the terpene fraction, the rosin fraction and the agent may be heated to between about 150°C and about 250°C or about 150°C and about 300°C (e.g., about 150°C, 155°C, 160°C, 165°C, 170°C, 175°C, 180°C, 185°C, 190°C, 195°C, 200°C, 205°C, 210°C, 215°C, 220°C, 225°C, 230°C, 235°C, 240°C, 245°C, 250°C, 255°C, 260°C, 265°C, 270°C, 275°C, 280°C, 285°C, 290°C, 295°C, 300°C, or any range therein).

[0156] The method may further include the subsequent step of heating or heat treating the resinous wood treated with the agent to at least partly remove residual portions of the agent and / or the terpene fraction therefrom. It is envisaged that such heating may be performed by any method or means known in the art to thermally evaporate residual portions of the agent and the terpene fraction from the treated resinous wood. The treated resinous wood may be heat treated at a temperature of about 150°C to about 300°C (e.g., about 150°C, 155°C, 160°C, 165°C, 170°C, 175°C, 180°C, 185°C, 190°C, 195°C, 200°C, 205°C, 210°C, 215°C, 220°C, 225°C, 230°C, 235°C, 240°C, 245°C, 250°C, 255°C, 260°C, 265°C, 270°C, 275°C, 280°C, 285°C, 290°C, 295°C, 300°C or any range therein). This heat treatment step may also be performed for a period of time from about 5 minutes to about 30 minutes (e.g., about 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 minutes or any range therein).

[0157] The wood substrate, or more particularly the resinous wood, may be steam treated after being treated with the agent, such as in a desolventiser or desolventiser-toaster, to produce a further gaseous stream. This further gaseous stream may be contacted with a further separator, such as a further condenser or the like so as to facilitate separation of a further portion of the agent and the terpene fraction from a water fraction derived from the steam. Given the difference in densities between the agent / terpene fraction and the water fraction, gravity separation can be used for separation with the less dense agent / terpene fraction floating on top of the denser water fraction. The residual portions of the agent and terpene fractions may then be removed from the further separator or condenser and transferred to a central storage vessel as required.

[0158] The treatment step of the methods described herein may comprise a final scrubbing step of a residual gaseous stream. In this regard, a residual gaseous stream from one or more of the separators or condensers may be contacted with a scrubbing device, such as a wet scrubber or other scrubbing device known in the art, to remove any further residual terpene fraction and / or agent therefrom. This further residual terpene fraction and / or agent may then be separated by yet another separator or condenser or decanting and transferred to a central storage vessel for the terpene fraction and the agent.

[0159] For those treatment steps of the methods described herein that are designed or configured to simply extract a terpene fraction (and suitably those configured to extract only a terpene fraction and no rosin fraction) from the wood substrate, such as a residual wood portion thereof, the treatment step suitably is or comprises a heat treatment step. In this regard, the wood substrate, or more particularly a residual wood portion containing little or no rosin, may not be contacted with the agent described herein, as there is no requirement to remove a rosin fraction therefrom.

[0160] Such a heat treatment step may be at least partly carried out at a temperature from about 160°C to about 300°C (e.g., 160°C, 165°C, 170°C, 175°C, 180°C, 185°C, 190°C, 195°C, 200°C, 205°C, 210°C, 215°C, 220°C, 225°C, 230°C, 235°C, 240°C, 245°C, 250°C, 255°C, 260°C, 265°C, 270°C, 275°C, 280°C, 285°C, 290°C, 295°C, 300°C or any range therein), such as, but not limited to, about 170°C to about 270°C, about 180°C to about 250°C, about 190°C to about 230°C or about 200°C to about 260°C. Suitably, the treatment temperature is higher than the boiling point of the terpene fraction (e.g. pinenes) at the pressure at which the treatment step of (i) is to be performed (e.g. greater than about 155-156°C at atmospheric pressure) so as to “flash off’ or convert the terpene fraction from the wood source being heat treated to a gaseous form (e.g., a gaseous stream comprising the terpene fraction). In such examples, the heat treatment step may comprise heating or contacting the wood substrate with steam (e.g., a saturated steam), such as at a temperature of between about 170°C to about 270°C, more particularly about 180°C to about 250°C or even more particularly between about 190°C to about 230°C. In some examples, the heat treatment step comprises heating or contacting the wood substrate with one or more heated elements or trays (e.g., heated internally by recirculating steam, water or oil), such as at a temperature of between about 170°C to about 270°C, more particularly about 180°C to about 250°C or even more particularly between about 190°C to about 230°C. Such treatment steps may be carried out in any suitable treatment vessel (e.g., a desolventiser or desolventiser-toaster) as are known in the art and inclusive of those described herein.

[0161] It is also envisaged that the above treatment or heat treatment step may be performed or carried out for a period of time from about 5 minutes to about 240 minutes or any range therein, such as, but not limited to, about 15 minutes to about 100 minutes, or about 30 minutes to about 120 minutes. The heat treatment step may be carried out for a period of time of about 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,

[0162] 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34,

[0163] 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59,

[0164] 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84,

[0165] 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126,

[0166] 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145,

[0167] 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 180, 185, 190, 195, 200, 205, 210, 215, 220,

[0168] 225, 230, 235, 240 minutes, or any range therein. The heat treatment step may be carried out for a period of time of about 15 minutes to about 120 minutes. More particularly, the heat treatment step may be carried out for a period of time of about 30 minutes to about 90 minutes. Even more particularly, the heat treatment step may be carried out for a period of time of about 45 minutes to about 75 minutes.

[0169] Suitably, the aforementioned treatment or heat treatment step produces a gaseous stream, which comprises the terpene fraction and a water fraction derived at least partly from the steam. This gaseous stream may then be separated into its component fractions by way of any means or method of separation known in the art, such as those described herein. In particular examples, the terpene fraction is separated from the water fraction by at least partly distillation and condensation, such as described herein. The terpene fraction may then be removed from a separator or condenser and transferred to a central storage vessel as required.

[0170] The method for chemical extraction may be as described in PCT / AU2021 / 050622, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0171] Biomass fuel

[0172] As used herein, the term “biomass” broadly refers to organic material, meaning it is made of material that comes from living organisms, such as plants and animals. The most common biomass materials used for energy are plants, wood, and waste. Biomass energy can also be used as a renewable energy source.

[0173] As used herein, the term “biomass fuel” refers to a renewable energy source derived from a biomass of wood substrate, such as a resinous wood and / or a residual wood portion, that can be burned to produce heat or power.

[0174] The period of time between the treatment step and the processing step of the methods described herein may be no more than about 120 minutes, no more than about 90 minutes, no more than about 60 minutes, no more than about 45 minutes, no more than about 40 minutes, no more than about 35 minutes, no more than about 30 minutes, no more than about 25 minutes, no more than about 20 minutes, no more than about 15 minutes, no more than about 10 minutes (e.g. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 minutes or any range therein), no more than about 5 minutes or no more than about 1 minute. In this regard, the skilled person will appreciate that the processing step may occur almost immediately after the treatment step of the methods described herein. This allows use of the generated heat or thermal energy from the treatment step to assist in the processing step.

[0175] Furthermore, the processing step of the methods described herein may be performed or carried out for a period of time from about 5 minutes to about 240 minutes or any range therein, such as, but not limited to, about 5 minutes to about 100 minutes, or about 10 minutes to about 90 minutes. The processing step of the methods described herein may be carried out for a period of time of about 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120,

[0176] 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139,

[0177] 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 180, 185, 190,

[0178] 195, 200, 205, 210, 215, 220, 225, 230, 235, 240 minutes, or any range therein. The processing step of the methods described herein may be carried out for a period of time of about 15 minutes to about 120 minutes.

[0179] The wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the treated residual wood portion, may be in a particulate form for the processing step of the methods described herein. As such, the processing step of the present methods may include the step of grinding and / or milling the wood substrate, inclusive of the treated resinous wood, the untreated residual wood portion and / or the treated residual wood portion, to form a particulate form thereof. The grinding step may include dry grinding. Alternatively, the grinding step may include wet grinding. The grinding and / or milling step may be done by any suitable means known in the art.

[0180] The term “particulate form” as used herein refers to particles of the wood substrate (e.g., the resinous wood and / or residual wood portion) that have been broken down as a result of grinding and / or milling. A particulate form of the wood substrate, and more particularly the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, may also comprise liquid droplets, such as water, thereby producing a slurry.

[0181] The wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, in a particulate form thereof may have a volume of between about 0.01 cm3and about 1 cm3(e.g., about 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55, 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, 1 cm3or any range therein). The wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, in a particulate form thereof may have a surface area of between about 0.03 cm2and about 0.5 cm2(e.g. about 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5 cm2or any range therein). The wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, in a particulate form thereof may have a dimension, such as a length, width or diameter, of between about 0.01 cm and about 0.8 cm (e.g. about 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55, 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8 or any range therein). The dimension of the wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, in a particulate form thereof may be between about 0.1 to about 0.35 cm.

[0182] The processing step of the methods described herein may include the step of drying the particulate form of the wood substrate (e.g., the treated resinous wood and / or residual wood portion) to at least partly reduce the moisture content of the particulate form thereof. In alternative examples, the processing step of the methods of the present disclosure may include the step of drying the wood substrate (e.g., treated forms of the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion) prior to the step of grinding and / or milling the treated wood substrate (i.e., prior to producing a particulate form thereof).

[0183] It is envisaged that such drying may be performed by any method or means known in the art to evaporate, and more particularly thermally evaporate, water from the wood substrate, such as a particulate form thereof. The wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or residual wood portion, and inclusive of particulate and non-particulate forms thereof, may be dried to reduce the moisture content thereof to less than about 30%, less than about 20% or less than about 10% by weight thereof (e.g. less than about 30%, 29%, 28%, 27%, 26%, 25%, 24%, 23%, 22%, 21%, 20%, 19%, 18%, 17%, 16%, 15%, 14%, 13%, 12%, 11%, 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2% or 1% by weight thereof). The drying step may be carried out at a temperature of about 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, 101°C, 102°C, 103°C, 104°C,

[0184] 105°C, 106°C, 107°C, 108°C, 109°C, 110°C, 111°C, 112°C, 113°C, 114°C, 115°C, 116°C,

[0185] 117°C, 118°C, 119°C, 120°C, 121°C, 122°C, 123°C, 124°C, 125°C, 126°C, 127°C, 128°C,

[0186] 129°C, 130°C, 131°C, 132°C, 133°C, 134°C, 135°C, 136°C, 137°C, 138°C, 139°C, 140°C or any range therein. This drying step may be performed for a period of time from about 5 minutes to about 60 minutes (e.g. about 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 minutes or any range therein). The present step of drying the wood substrate, such as the particulate form or the non- particulate form of the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, may be performed for a period of time and under conditions sufficient or suitable to at least partly reduce the moisture content thereof. The drying step may be performed by any means known in the art, for example by a belt drier or a horizontal drier.

[0187] The processing step of the methods described herein may include the step of screening the particulate form of the wood substrate (e.g., the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood) so as to ensure an appropriate size and / or surface area thereof following the treatment step of the present methods. Portions of the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, that are removed or selected out by this screening step may then be subjected to a further milling and / or grinding step until an appropriate size or surface area is achieved. Alternatively, the portions of the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, that are removed or selected out by this screening step may be recycled and used to produce heat or power, such as by being burnt.

[0188] The wood substrate, inclusive of the treated resinous wood and the residual wood portion, in a particulate form thereof may be screened to remove wood portions having a volume, surface area and / or dimension greater than any of those aforementioned values. In some examples, the wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, in a particulate form thereof is screened to remove wood portions having a dimension (e.g. a largest dimension, a mean dimension or a median dimension), such as a length, width or diameter, greater than about 0.15 cm, greater than about 0.20 cm, greater than about 0.25 cm, greater than about 0.30 cm, greater than about 0.35 cm, greater than about 0.40 cm, greater than about 0.45 cm or greater than about 0.50 cm.

[0189] The processing step of the methods described herein may include the step of compressing the particulate form of the wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or residual wood portion, to form a compressed form thereof. Alternatively, the processing step of the present methods may include the step of compressing a heat-treated particulate form of the treated resinous wood. To this end, it is envisaged that the heat-treating step and the compression step may be performed in any order (i.e., performing the heat-treating step first and the compression step second and performing the compression step first and the heat treating step second). In particular examples, a particulate form of the wood substrate is contacted or treated with steam, such as saturated steam, so as to heat the particulate form thereof and make it capable of being moulded or compressed into a compressed form.

[0190] The term “compressed form” is herein to refer to a biomass that is pressed, compressed, compacted and the like. The compressed form of the biomass may form granules, pressings, pellets, briquettes, discs, cubes or press moulds of larger dimensions. Any shape may be contemplated using any compression equipment that shapes the biomass fuel into the desired shape. For example, the shape of compressed form of the biomass may depend on how and with what devices the biomass fuel is to be burned. Biomass fuels in the form of pressings, pellets or briquettes may be suitable for use in heating in private households. When using biomass fuels in larger energy generation plants, such as a biomass power plant, larger volume moulds may be used. The compressed form of the particulate form of the wood substrate, inclusive of the treated resinous wood and the residual wood portion, may be a pellet. Alternatively, the compressed form of the treated resinous wood may be a briquette. The step of compressing the particulate form of the resinous wood may be performed for a period of time and under conditions sufficient or suitable to produce a biomass fuel that is pressed, compressed and / or compacted.

[0191] The processing step of the current methods may include the step of heat treating the compressed form of the wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion. Alternatively, the processing step of the methods disclosed herein may include the step of heat treating the particulate form of the wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion.

[0192] According to some examples, the heat treatment step for the compressed or particulate form of the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, may be carried out at a temperature of about 20°C, 21°C, 22°C, 23°C, 24°C, 25°C, 26°C, 27°C, 28°C, 29°C, 30°C, 31°C, 32°C, 33°C, 34°C, 35°C, 36°C, 37°C, 38°C, 39°C, 40°C, 41°C, 42°C, 43°C, 44°C,

[0193] 45°C, 46°C, 47°C, 48°C, 49°C, 50°C, 51°C, 52°C, 53°C, 54°C, 55°C, 56°C, 57°C, 58°C, 59°C,

[0194] 60°C, 61°C, 62°C, 63°C, 64°C, 65°C, 66°C, 67°C, 68°C, 69°C, 70°C, 71°C, 72°C, 73°C, 74°C,

[0195] 75°C, 76°C, 77°C, 78°C, 79°C, 80°C, 81°C, 82°C, 83°C, 84°C, 85°C, 86°C, 87°C, 88°C, 89°C,

[0196] 90°C, 91°C, 92°C, 93°C, 94°C, 95°C, 96°C, 97°C, 98°C, 99°C, 100°C, 101°C, 102°C, 103°C,

[0197] 104°C, 105°C, 106°C, 107°C, 108°C, 109°C, 110°C, U1°C, 112°C, 113°C, 114°C, 115°C,

[0198] 116°C, 117°C, 118°C, 119°C, 120°C, 121°C, 122°C, 123°C, 124°C, 125°C, 126°C, 127°C,

[0199] 128°C, 129°C, 130°C, 131°C, 132°C, 133°C, 134°C, 135°C, 136°C, 137°C, 138°C, 139°C,

[0200] 140°C, 141°C, 142°C, 143°C, 144°C, 145°C, 146°C, 147°C, 148°C, 149°C, 150°C, 151°C,

[0201] 152°C, 153°C, 154°C, 155°C, 156°C, 157°C, 158°C, 159°C, 160°C, 161°C, 162°C, 163°C,

[0202] 164°C, 165°C, 166°C, 167°C, 168°C, 169°C, 170°C, 171°C, 172°C, 173°C, 174°C, 175°C,

[0203] 176°C, 177°C, 178°C, 179°C, 180°C, 181°C, 182°C, 183°C, 184°C, 185°C, 186°C, 187°C,

[0204] 188°C, 189°C, 190°C, 191°C, 192°C, 193°C, 194°C, 195°C, 196°C, 197°C, 198°C, 199°C,

[0205] 200°C or any range therein. In particular examples, the heat treatment step is carried out at a temperature of about 30°C to about 150°C, about 35°C to about 120°C, about 40°C to about 100°C, about 40°C to about 80°C or about 30°C to about 100°C.

[0206] More particularly, the heat treatment step may be carried out at a temperature of about 20°C,

[0207] 21°C, 22°C, 23°C, 24°C, 25°C, 26°C, 27°C, 28°C, 29°C, 30°C, 31°C, 32°C, 33°C, 34°C, 35°C,

[0208] 36°C, 37°C, 38°C, 39°C, 40°C, 41°C, 42°C, 43°C, 44°C, 45°C, 46°C, 47°C, 48°C, 49°C, 50°C,

[0209] 51°C, 52°C, 53°C, 54°C, 55°C, 56°C, 57°C, 58°C, 59°C, 60°C, 61°C, 62°C, 63°C, 64°C, 65°C,

[0210] 66°C, 67°C, 68°C, 69°C, 70°C, or any range therein. In particular examples, the heat treatment step is carried out at a temperature of about 30°C to about 70°C, about 35°C to about 65°C, about 40°C to about 60°C or about 45°C to about 55°C.

[0211] Alternatively, the heat treatment step may be carried out at a temperature of about 200°C, 201°C, 202°C, 203°C, 204°C, 205°C, 206°C, 207°C, 208°C, 209°C, 210°C, 211°C, 212°C,

[0212] 213°C, 214°C, 215°C, 216°C, 217°C, 218°C, 219°C, 220°C, 221°C, 222°C, 223°C, 224°C,

[0213] 225°C, 226°C, 227°C, 228°C, 229°C, 230°C, 231°C, 232°C, 233°C, 234°C, 235°C, 236°C,

[0214] 237°C, 238°C, 239°C, 240°C, 241°C, 242°C, 243°C, 244°C, 245°C, 246°C, 247°C, 248°C,

[0215] 249°C, 250°C, 251°C, 252°C, 253°C, 254°C, 255°C, 256°C, 257°C, 258°C, 259°C, 260°C,

[0216] 261°C, 262°C, 263°C, 264°C, 265°C, 266°C, 267°C, 268°C, 269°C, 270°C, 271°C, 272°C, 273°C, 274°C, 275°C, 276°C, 277°C, 278°C, 279°C, 280°C, 281°C, 282°C, 283°C, 284°C,

[0217] 285°C, 286°C, 287°C, 288°C, 289°C, 290°C, 291°C, 292°C, 293°C, 294°C, 295°C, 296°C,

[0218] 297°C, 298°C, 299°C, 300°C, 300°C, 301°C, 302°C, 3O3°C, 304°C, 305°C, 306°C, 307°C,

[0219] 3O8°C, 309°C, 310°C, 311°C, 312°C, 313°C, 314°C, 315°C, 316°C, 317°C, 318°C, 319°C,

[0220] 320°C, 321°C, 322°C, 323°C, 324°C, 325°C, 326°C, 327°C, 328°C, 329°C, 330°C, 331°C, 332°C, 333°C, 334°C, 335°C, 336°C, 337°C, 338°C, 339°C, 340°C, 341°C, 342°C, 343°C,

[0221] 344°C, 345°C, 346°C, 347°C, 348°C, 349°C, 350°C, or any range therein. In particular examples, the heat treatment step is carried out at a temperature of about 200°C to about 350°C, about 210°C to about 340°C, about 220°C to about 330°C, about 230°C to about 320°C, about 235°C to about 310°C or about 240°C to about 300°C.

[0222] The heat treatment step may be performed for a period of time from about 5 minutes to about 60 minutes (e.g. about 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 minutes or any range therein). The step of heating the wood substrate, such as a particulate form or a compressed form of the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, may be performed for a period of time and under conditions sufficient or suitable to produce a biomass fuel. As will be understood by the skilled person, the timing of the heat treatment step will depend on the size of the particulate form or the compressed form of the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion, and the temperature thereof.

[0223] As will be understood by the skilled person, the step of compressing and heating the particulate form of the wood substrate (e.g., the resinous wood) may comprise passage of the particulate form thereof through a compression chamber to a heat treatment chamber. Alternatively, the step of compressing and heating the particulate form of the wood substrate (e.g., the resinous wood) may comprise passage of the particulate form thereof through a heat treatment chamber to a compression chamber. In another alternative, the step of compressing and heating the particulate form of the wood substrate, inclusive of the resinous wood, may be performed simultaneously.

[0224] The term “pellet” as used herein refers to particulate forms of biomass that have been heating and compacted to form a densified biomass fuel in the form of a small, rounded, compressed mass. In particular examples, a pellet has a dimension, such as a diameter, or more particularly an average diameter, of between about 0.5 mm to about 10 mm (e.g., about 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10 mm or any range therein). For certain examples, the pellet has a dimension, such as a diameter, or more particularly an average diameter of between about 1 mm and about 5 mm. According to other examples, the pellet has a diameter, such as an average diameter of between about 6 mm and about 8 mm. The term “briquette” as used herein refers to particulate forms of biomass that have been heated and compacted to form a densified biomass fuel in the form of a compressed block.

[0225] Heat treating the particulate form and / or the compressed form of the wood substrate, and more particularly the treated resinous wood, at a temperature of between about 20°C and about 200°C, more particularly between about 20°C and about 100°C or even more particularly between about 30°C and about 70°C, may produce a white biomass fuel. The term “white” as used herein refers to a biomass, such as the treated resinous wood, that has been heated, such as to a maximum temperature of 200°C or less. The produced biomass fuel may be a white pellet. The produced biomass fuel may be a white briquette. The produced biomass fuel may be a white disc. The produced biomass fuel may be a white cube. The produced biomass fuel may be a white press mould.

[0226] Treating the particulate form and / or the compress form of the wood substrate, and more particularly the treated resinous wood, at a temperature of between about 200°C and about 350°C produces a torrefied biomass fuel. To this end, the wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood, may be subjected to torrefaction or a torrefaction step. For such temperature conditions, the heat treating step is suitably carried out in a low oxygen, oxygen-free or oxygen- depleted environment (e.g., an environment containing less than about 15%, less than about 10%, less than about 5% or less than about 1% oxygen). The term “torrefied” as used herein refers to a biomass, such as the treated resinous wood, that has been heated to a minimum temperature of 200°C (e.g., undergone a mild form of pyrolysis). The produced biomass fuel may be a torrefied pellet. The produced biomass fuel may be a torrefied briquette. The produced biomass fuel may be a torrefied disc. The produced biomass fuel may be a torrefied cube. The produced biomass fuel may be a torrefied press mould. The heat treatment step may be carried out at a temperature between about 240°C to about 350°C at atmospheric pressure. The heat treatment step may be carried out at a temperature between 260°C to 270°C at atmospheric pressure. The heat treatment step may be carried out at a temperature between about 240 °C to about 300°C at atmospheric pressure. The heat treatment step may be carried out in the absence or substantial absence (e.g., less than 1%, 0.5% or 0.1%) of oxygen.

[0227] The torrefaction treatment may be as described in US8,252,966, US8,246,788 or US9,359,556, each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0228] One of skill in the art will appreciate that a binder may be used to improve the mechanical strength of the pellet; provide lubrication to control press temperature and to enable high throughput; increase polymerization reactions of natural binders present in the biomass; improve hydrophobic properties; modify thermoplasticity of natural binders; and / or modify ash melting temperature of constituents present in the biomass.

[0229] The biomass fuel may be free or substantially free of contaminants (e.g. has no more than about 0.5%, 0.2%, 0.1% or 0.05% contaminants by weight of the biomass fuel).

[0230] The processing step of the methods described herein may include the step of desizing, subdivided, fragmented or reducing the wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood, from the treatment step provided herein (e.g. chipping, grinding, flaking, shredding, pulverising). The wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood, may be subdivided into smaller pieces or fragments, such as strands, fibers, flakes and / or chips so as to aid in producing the compressed form thereof. The wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood, may be subjected to a desizing step to achieve a target particle size, such as that described herein.

[0231] The processing step of the methods described herein may include the step of screening the wood substrate, inclusive of the treated resinous wood and the residual wood, prior to the heat treatment and / or compression step so as to ensure an appropriate size and / or surface area thereof. Portions of the wood substrate, or more particularly the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood, that are removed or selected out by this screening step may then be subjected to a further subdividing step until an appropriate size or surface area thereof is achieved for the processing step. Accordingly, the wood substrate, such as the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood, may be screened to remove wood portions having a volume, surface area and / or dimension greater than any of those aforementioned values. The wood substrate, inclusive of the treated resinous wood and / or the residual wood, may be screened prior to remove wood portions having a dimension, such as a length, width or diameter (e.g., a mean or median length, width or diameter), greater than about 0.05 cm, greater than about 0.1 cm, greater than about 0.15 cm, greater than about 0.20 cm, greater than about 0.25 cm, greater than about 0.30 cm, greater than about 0.35 cm, greater than about 0.40 cm, greater than about 0.45 cm or greater than about 0.50 cm.

[0232] Processing the wood substrate, such as the resinous wood and / or the residual wood, may further include the initial step of at least partly removing a bark portion and / or a root portion therefrom. In order to at least partly eliminate waste, the bark portion and / or the root portion may be at least partly utilised to generate energy for use in one or both of the treating step and the processing step described herein. The bark portion, the root portion and / or any fine matter or other biomass waste matter may, at least in part, be recycled. In this regard, the present method may include the further step of recycling the biomass waste matter resulting from the method described herein. Accordingly, the recycled biomass waste matter may be burned to produce heat and / or generate electricity. For example, the biomass waste matter may be screened out of the treatment step and / or the processing step described herein and used to generate heat for the drying step or a steam wash step.

[0233] The method provided herein may include the initial step of separating a wood substrate or source into a resinous wood and a residual wood portion.

[0234] As used herein, the term “separating the wood source into a resinous wood and a residual wood portion” means separating the tree or plant, into a first portion of resinous wood suitably containing a higher concentration of resin, such as for example, the stump, and a second portion of residual wood containing a lower or no concentration of resin, such as for example, branches, logs, bark, trunks and / or roots. It is envisaged that such separating may be performed by any method or means known in the art, such as a tree harvesting, stump removal, stump grinding, cutting, lopping, pruning, and trimming operations.

[0235] The residual wood portion of the wood substrate or source may not be treated with the agent. For example, the residual wood portion of the wood source may proceed directly to the processing step of the methods described herein to produce a biomass fuel. Alternatively, the residual wood portion can be subjected to a treatment step so as to remove a further terpene fraction therefrom, as described in more detail herein, prior to being subjected to the processing step of the methods of the present disclosure to produce a biomass fuel, as described above.

[0236] Processing of the residual wood portion may include one or more of the steps of: at least partly subdividing or desizing the residual wood portion; grinding or milling the residual wood portion to form a particulate form (e.g. a dimension, such as a length, width or diameter, of between about 0.01 cm and about 0.8 cm, more particularly between about 0.05 cm and about 0.5 cm, or even more particularly between about 0.1 cm and about 0.35 cm) thereof; drying the particulate form of the residual wood portion; compressing the particulate form of the residual wood portion to form a compressed form thereof; heat treating the compressed form or the particulate form of the residual wood portion at a temperature of between about 20°C and about 200°C (e.g., between about 30°C to about 150°C, about 35°C to about 120°C, about 40°C to about 100°C, about 40°C to about 80°C, about 30°C to about 100°C, about 30°C to about 70°C or about 40°C to about 80°C) or between about 200°C and about 350°C (e.g., between about 200°C to about 350°C, about 210°C to about 340°C, about 220°C to about 33O°C, about 230°C to about 320°C, about 235°C to about 310°C or about 240°C to about 300°C); and / or compressing the heat treated and particulate form of the residual wood portion to form a compressed form thereof, such as per those methods described herein for the resinous wood.

[0237] The residual wood portion may be desized, subdivided, fragmented or reduced (e.g. chipping, grinding, flaking, shredding, pulverising) prior to being subjected to one or more of the above steps. The residual wood portion may be subjected to a desizing step to achieve a target particle size, such as that described herein (e.g. a dimension, such as a length, width or diameter, of between about 0.01 cm and about 1.0 cm, more particularly between about 0.1 cm and about 0.6 cm or even more particularly between about 0.3 cm and about 0.5 cm.

[0238] As will be appreciated by the skilled person, one or more steps, or part thereof, of the method described herein may be performed under pressure or vacuum. By way of example, one or more steps of the method, or part thereof, of the present disclosure may be performed at a pressure of about 0 psi to about 120 psi or any range therein such as, but not limited to, about 25 psi to about 75 psi, or about 40 psi to about 60 psi. One or more steps of the method, or part thereof, may be performed at a pressure of about 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,

[0239] 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41,

[0240] 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66,

[0241] 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91,

[0242] 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120 psi or any range therein.

[0243] The resinous wood may comprise a volatile fraction that is not released during the treatment step described herein. Alternatively or additionally, in those examples in which the residual wood portion is not subjected to a treatment step, it may still comprise a volatile fraction. As such, the grinding and / or milling step of the processing step may result in the release of a volatile fraction from the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion. The grinding and / or milling step of the processing step may be performed under vacuum, wherein a volatile fraction released during the grinding step may be transferred to a condenser as described herein.

[0244] A biomass fuel may be produced according to a method of the present disclosure.

[0245] Rosin and / or terpene fractions

[0246] The rosin and / or terpene fractions may be produced according to a method of the present disclosure. The rosin and / or terpene fractions may be free or substantially free of contaminants (e.g. has no more than about 0.5%, 0.2%, 0.1% or 0.05% contaminants by weight of the fraction), such as may be present for other solvent or tapping extraction methods known in the art (e.g. hexanes, methyl ethyl ketone, hydrocarbons, petrochemicals, sulphides, sulphates, heavy metals, acids, growth hormones etc.).

[0247] In some examples, the terpene fraction comprises about 50% to about 100% pinenes (e.g. about 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 % or any range therein) by weight of the fraction. As used herein, the term “pinene” refers to a bicyclic monoterpene chemical compound of formula (lS,5S)-2,6,6- trimethylbicyclo[3.1.1]hept-2-ene. There are two structural isomers of pinene found in nature: a-pinene and P-pinene, both of which are chiral. “Pinene” as used herein may be a-pinene, P- pinene, or a mixture thereof, such as a 50-50 mixture. As will be appreciated by the skilled person, the component and / or percentage pinenes of the terpene fraction may vary with, for example, the type, species and age of the resinous wood.

[0248] The terpene fraction extracted from the resinous wood may comprise less than about 25% (e.g. less than about 25%, 24%, 23%, 22%, 21%, 20%, 19%, 18%, 17%, 16%, 15%, 14%, 13%, 12%, 11%, 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4.5%, 4%, 3.5%, 3%, 2.5%, 2%, 1.5%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.4%, 0.3%, 0.2%, 0.1% or any range therein) of a terpene polymer, such as diterpenes and triterpenes, by weight thereof. In this regard, the terpene fraction may be considered to be free or substantially free of terpene polymers. The term “terpene polymer” is used herein to refer to an oligomer or a polymer containing one or more structural repeating units derived from a terpene. These may comprise, for example, homopolymers and copolymers.

[0249] The terpene fraction extracted from the resinous wood may comprise less than about 15% (e.g. less than about 15%, 14%, 13%, 12%, 11%, 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4.5%, 4%, 3.5%, 3%, 2.5%, 2%, 1.5%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.4%, 0.3%, 0.2%, 0.1% or any range therein) of a synthetic pine oil, such as terpene alcohols, by weight thereof. In this regard, the terpene fraction may be considered to be free or substantially free of synthetic pine oils. To this end, the absence of an acid from the present extraction method advantageously prevents or minimises the conversion of a- and P-pinenes to synthetic pine oils.

[0250] The rosin fraction extracted from the resinous wood may be near colourless or very light in colour. The rosin fraction has a Gardner colour number of no more than about 8 (e.g. about 8, 7.5, 7, 6.5, 6, 5.5, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1 and any range therein). The rosin fraction may have a Gardner colour number of no more than about 5. The rosin fraction may have a Gardner colour number of no more than about 3. In this regard, the present method advantageously facilitates the production of a rosin fraction having little or no colour, which is a known drawback of prior art solvent extraction methods (see, e.g. US 4,906,733). As used herein, the term “Gardner colour” refers to a visual scale and was originally developed to describe the colour of commercially available chemical products, such as rosin. The lower the value of the Gardner scale, the lighter the colour of the chemical product. Colouration of the rosin fraction can be determined by any means known in the art, such as by comparison with a Lovibond disc. The skilled person would further appreciate that colour charts that define colour, such as those that define rosin colour from M, N, WG, WW, X and XA, may also be used to estimate colour of the rosin fraction or as a substitute of the Gardner scale (e.g. X or WW being 5 on the Gardner scale). The rosin fraction described herein may not have been subjected to any further decolourisation step / s (e.g. contacted with a decolourisation agent), as is known in the art (see, e.g. US 4,906,733).

[0251] The rosin fraction may have an acid value between about 160 to about 175 (e.g. about 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175 and any range therein). The rosin fraction may have an acid value between about 162 to about 170. The rosin fraction may have an acid value of about 165. The skilled artisan will understand that the acid value is the mass of potassium hydroxide (KOH) in milligrams that is required to neutralize one gram of a chemical substance or in this case rosin or a rosin derivative. To this end, the acid value is a measure of the amount of carboxylic acid groups present in the rosin fraction. Determining the acid value of the rosin fraction can be performed by any method known in the art, such as by titration with KOH of a solution of rosin in a suitable solvent using an indicator to determine the endpoint (e.g. as described in ASTM method D 465-05(2010)).

[0252] The rosin fraction may comprise an abietic acid content or concentration in the range from about 15% to about 35% (e.g. about 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 % or any range therein) by weight of the rosin fraction. The abietic acid content of the rosin fraction may be about 15% to about 25% or about 15% to about 20% by weight thereof. The abietic acid content of the rosin fraction may be about 20%. The skilled artisan will appreciate that abietic acid is a primary component of rosin and is an abietane diterpenoid that is abieta-7, 13 -diene substituted by a carboxy group at position 18.

[0253] The present disclosure also provides a terpene fraction produced according to the method hereinbefore described. As such, the terpene fraction can be that hereinbefore described.

[0254] The terpene fraction may comprise at least about 65%, at least about 70%, at least about 75% or at least about 80% pinenes (e.g. about 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33,

[0255] 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58,

[0256] 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 % or any range therein) by weight of the terpene fraction.

[0257] The terpene fraction may be substantially free of contaminants.

[0258] The terpene fraction comprises less than about 20%, less than about 10%, less than about 5%, less than about 2.5% or less than about 1% terpene polymers, such as diterpenes and triterpenes, by weight of the terpene fraction.

[0259] The terpene fraction may comprise less than about 15%, less than about 10%, less than about 5%, less than about 2.5%, less than about 1% or less than about 0.5% of a synthetic pine oil by weight thereof.

[0260] The present disclosure also provides an isolated terpene fraction that comprises one or more of the below features:

[0261] (a) at least about 65%, at least about 70%, at least about 75% or at least about 80% pinenes by weight of the isolated terpene fraction;

[0262] (b) substantially free of contaminants;

[0263] (c) less than about 25%, less than about 10%, less than about 5%, less than about 2.5% or less than about 1% terpene polymers by weight of the isolated terpene fraction; and

[0264] (d) less than about 15%, less than about 10%, less than about 5%, less than about 2.5%, less than about 1% or less than about 0.5% synthetic pine oil by weight of the isolated terpene fraction.

[0265] The isolated terpene fraction may comprise or consist of: at least about 75% pinenes by weight thereof; substantially free of contaminants; comprises less than about 2.5% terpene polymers by weight thereof; and less than about 2.5% synthetic pine oil by weight thereof.

[0266] For the purposes of the present disclosure, by “isolated” is meant material that has been removed from its natural state or otherwise been subjected to human manipulation. Isolated material may be substantially or essentially free from components that normally accompany it in its natural state, or may be manipulated so as to be in an artificial state together with components that normally accompany it in its natural state. The isolated material may be in a native or near-native form.

[0267] The present disclosure also provides a rosin fraction produced according to the method described herein. The rosin fraction may have a Gardner colour number of no more than about 8.

[0268] The rosin fraction may be substantially free of contaminants.

[0269] The rosin fraction may have an acid value between about 160 to about 175.

[0270] The present disclosure also provides an isolated rosin fraction that comprises one or more of the below features:

[0271] (a) a Gardner colour number of no more than about 8, no more than about 5 or no more than about 3;

[0272] (b) free or substantially free of contaminants;

[0273] (c) an acid value between about 160 to about 175 (e.g. about 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175 and any range therein); and

[0274] (d) an abietic acid content in the range from about 15% to about 35% (e.g. about 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 26%, 27%, 28%, 29%, 30%, 31%, 32%, 33%, 34%, 35% and any range therein), about 15% to about 25% or about 15% to about 20% by weight of the isolated rosin fraction.

[0275] The isolated rosin fraction may comprise of consist of: a Gardner colour number in the range of about 3 to about 5; free or substantially free of contaminants; an acid value between about 163 to about 170; and an abietic acid content in the range from about 17% to about 22%.

[0276] The isolated rosin fraction may comprise of consist of: a Gardner colour number of about 3; free or substantially free of contaminants; an acid value between of about 165; and an abietic acid content of about 20%.

[0277] The present disclosure also provides a method of making a polymer, said method including the step of treating, such as chemically treating, a rosin fraction and / or a terpene fraction produced according to the method described herein to thereby make the polymer. In some examples, the method is directed to making a rosin polymer, said method including the step of treating a rosin fraction produced according to the method described herein to thereby make the rosin polymer. In other examples, the method is directed to making a terpene polymer, said method including the step of treating a terpene fraction produced according to the method described herein to thereby make the terpene polymer.

[0278] The present disclosure also provides a polymer produced according to the aforementioned methods. The term “polymer” refers to a compound prepared by polymerizing monomer units, such as terpene and rosin monomer units, whether of the same or a different type. The generic term polymer thus embraces the term homopolymer (i.e. polymers prepared from only one type of monomer), and the term “interpolymer” (i.e. polymers prepared by the polymerization of at least two different types of monomers).

[0279] Polymerized rosin compounds typically have a high level of pigment dispersing ability, compatibility, cohesion and adhesion, and other properties, and therefore are advantageously used as binders or additives in a wide variety of fields such as printing ink, paint, pressuresensitive adhesives or adhesives, and flux. Terpene polymers may also be utilised as bioplastics and biofuels.

[0280] A variety of methods have been utilised for producing polymerized rosin compounds and polymerized terpene compounds. These may include, for example, using a solvent (e.g. an organic solvent, such as toluene or xylene) and / or a catalyst, such as an acid catalyst (e.g. aliphatic sulfonic acid, formic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, methanesulfonic acid), a metal catalyst and a Friedel-Crafts catalyst.

[0281] Apparatus

[0282] The present disclosure also provides an apparatus or system for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production from a resinous wood comprising: a treatment chamber for treating the resinous wood with an agent that comprises, consists or consists essentially of a terpene and a processor for processing the treated resinous wood to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

[0283] In another form, the present disclosure provides an apparatus or system for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production from a wood substrate comprising: a treatment chamber for treating the wood substrate, such as to extract a terpene fraction therefrom, and a processor for processing the treated wood substrate to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

[0284] The processor may comprise a compression chamber in communication with a heating chamber. The treatment chamber may be in communication with the processor.

[0285] The apparatus or system may further comprise a distillation chamber in communication with the treatment chamber, the distillation chamber for separating the rosin and terpene fractions extracted from the resinous wood.

[0286] The apparatus or system may further comprise a desolventiser in communication with the treatment chamber, the desolventiser capable of heating, such as steam treating, the resinous wood treated with the agent so as to at least partly remove residual portions of the agent and / or the terpene fraction therefrom. The apparatus or system may further comprise a separator, such as a condenser, in communication with the distillation chamber, the separator for separating the terpene fraction from a distillate produced by the distillation chamber.

[0287] According to some examples, the apparatus or system may further include a further or additional treatment chamber for treating, or more particularly heat treating, the wood substrate, or more particularly the residual wood portion, to thereby extract a terpene fraction therefrom. To this end, the further treatment chamber may be considered to be or comprise a further desolventiser, as described herein, which may be in communication with: (a) the distillation chamber or a standalone further distillation chamber; and / or (b) the separator or a standalone further separator so as separate the further terpene fraction from a distillate produced by the distillation chamber or the further distillation chamber. In this regard, the apparatus or system herein may be designed or configured to subject the wood substrate, and more particularly the respective resinous wood and the residual wood portions thereof, by way of two separate treatment streams to produce rosin and terpene fractions, prior to their processing into a biomass fuel.

[0288] The apparatus or system may further comprise a scrubbing device, such as a wet scrubber. The apparatus or system may be configured to operate in a continuous or semi-continuous manner.

[0289] The apparatus or system described herein may be for use in a method described herein.

[0290] A particular embodiment of the apparatus or system 10 is shown in Figure 1. In referring to Figure 1, the system 10 may comprise a mill gate 30 for entry of a wood substrate and more particularly stumps 20 into the treatment step of (i). The stumps 20 may be decontaminated, cleaned and / or washed 40 and stored 50 prior to being placed in a chipper 60 to produce wood chips.

[0291] Any woody by-product which would be considered waste by any methods of the prior art may be used to generate energy 44, 74. The “waste products” may include, for example soil, branches, leaves, roots, bark 42 and / or fines 72. The waste products may be used to power the boiler 52 for steam washing 205 or drying the wood chips 240, 250 in the processing step of (ii) of a method of the present disclosure.

[0292] The wood chips produced from the chipper 60 may be screened 70 to a size of 1 cm to 10 cm and then stored 80 before milling 90. Following milling 90 the wood chips may be further screened 100 to a size of 0.1 cm to 1.0 cm, any fines 105 are separated from the wood chips and steam washed 205 prior to being stored 10 for use in the biofuel production process 220.

[0293] The 0.1 cm to 1.0 cm wood chips may be placed in a treatment chamber 110 where the agent (i.e. solvent) is added. The system 10 further comprises a desolventiser 120 to which the wood chips may be transferred following appropriate treatment with the agent. The desolventiser 120 may be designed to heat treat the wood chips with superheated steam. The desolventiser 120 may be in fluid or gaseous communication with a distillation column 130, the distillation column 130 configured to promote separation of the terpene fraction and the agent from the rosin fraction. The distillation column 130 may be continuous steam distillation column and steam distillation may be carried out by a conventional steam distillation method, as are known in the art. The distillation column 130 may be carried out under vacuum 235. A feed stream from the treatment chamber 110 containing the agent, the terpene fraction and the rosin fraction enters the distillation column 130. Once separated, the rosin and terpene fractions may be stored or sold 140, 150.

[0294] The treated wood chips 125 may then be transferred to storage 210 before milling and / or wet grinding 220 in the biomass fuel production process.

[0295] Referring to Figure 1, the system 10 may also comprise a mill gate 160 for entry of logs 25 into the processing step of (ii) and thus bypassing the treatment step of (i). The logs 25 may be debarked 170, placed in a chipper 180 and stored 190 prior to milling 200. The bark can be used may be used to power the boiler 52. Once milled, the wood chips can be steam washed 205 prior to further storage 210. Any terpene fraction released during this step under vacuum 235 may be transferred to a condenser. Alternatively, the wood chips may not be steam washed and may go straight to storage 210. The treated wood chips may undergo milling and / or wet grinding 220 before being placed in a storage silo 230. The storage silo 230 may be under a vacuum 235 which transfers any terpene fraction volatile fractions to the distillation column 130.

[0296] The treated wood chips may be transferred from the storage silo 230 to a drying chamber 240, 250 followed by a further optional milling step 260. Following drying and optionally milling the treated wood chips may be transformed (e.g. heat treated at about 100°C to about 200°C) into white pellets 270 and stored 280 prior to being loaded for sale 310. Alternatively, the treated wood chips may be transformed (e.g. heat treated at about 200°C to about 350°C) into torrefied pellets 290 and stored 300 prior to being loaded for sale 310. Another embodiment of the apparatus or system 10 is shown in Figure 2. In referring to Figure 2, the system 10 may comprise a mill gate 30 for entry of stumps 20 and / or logs 25. The stumps 20 may be decontaminated, cleaned and / or washed 40 prior to being placed in the chipper 60. The logs 25 are debarked 170 prior to being placed in the chipper 60. Following the chipper 60, the stumps 20 and / or logs 25 are placed in a storage bin 62.

[0297] As noted above, any woody by-product which would be considered waste by any methods of the prior art may be used to generate energy 44, 46. The “waste products” may include, for example soil, branches, leaves, roots, bark 42, 76 and / or fines 72, 105. The waste products may be used to power the boiler 52 for steam washing turbine power generation 54 and / or steam feed 58.

[0298] The stumps 20 and / or logs 25 produced from the chipper 60 may be ground 65 and then screened 70 to a size of less than about 0.1 cm. Any wood chips over about 0.1 cm are ground and sized again 74. The screened may be ground again 90 and then screened 100 to a size of between 0.3 cm and 0.6 cm. Any wood chips over about 0.8 cm are ground and sized again 95.

[0299] The wood chips may be stored 108 before being placed in a treatment chamber 110 where the agent (i.e. solvent) is input. The system 10 further comprises a desolventiser 120 to which the wood chips may be transferred following treatment with the agent. The desolventiser 120 may be designed to heat treat the wood chips with superheated steam. The desolventiser may be in fluid or gaseous communication with a distillation column 130, the distillation column 130 configured to promote separation of the terpene fraction and the agent from the rosin fraction. The distillation column 130 may be continuous steam distillation column and steam distillation may be carried out by a conventional steam distillation method, as are known in the art. A feed stream from the treatment chamber 110 containing the agent, the terpene fraction and the rosin fraction enters the distillation column 130. Once separated, the rosin and terpene fractions may be stored or sold 140, 150.

[0300] The treated wood chips may then be transferred to a drying chamber 240 followed by a further optional milling step 260. Following drying and optionally milling the treated wood chips may be transformed into white pellets 270 prior to being sold 275. Alternatively, the treated wood chips may be transformed into torrefied pellets 290 prior to being sold 295.

[0301] A further embodiment of an apparatus or system 1000 of the present disclosure is shown in Figure 4. The logs 25 may be debarked 170, placed in a chipper 180 and stored 190 prior to milling 200. The bark can be used may be used to power the boiler 52.

[0302] According to Figure 4, the system 1000 comprises a debarking apparatus 1055 and a slow- speed shredder or chipper 1060 for initially receiving the wood substrate 1020, such as a residual wood portion thereof. If required, the debarking apparatus 1055 is designed to substantially remove any bark from the wood substrate 1020, which may be utilised to power various components of the system 1000, as described herein. The wood substrate 1020 may also be decontaminated, cleaned and / or washed and stored prior to being placed in shredder 1060. The slow-speed shredder 1060 is configured to reduce the size of the wood substrate 1020 into wood chunks and substantially remove any contaminants therefrom. These wood chunks can then be stored 1065 prior to further processing in the system 1000. The wood chunks of the wood substrate 1020 may then be screened 1070 to remove debris and dirt if necessary. The oversized wood chunks or “overs” may be stored 1080 prior to further desizing. Any appropriately-sized wood chunks removed by the screen 1070 may be transferred directly to storage 1210 prior to treatment by treatment chamber 1110. Any fines or undersized wood chunks or wood chips removed by the screen 1070 may be transferred directly to drying chamber 1240 prior to the biofuel production process described in more detail herein.

[0303] The wood chunks of the wood substrate 1020 are then fed into a horizontal grinder fitted with a chipper 1090 to produce wood chips therefrom. Typically, wood chips having a dimension, such as a length, width or diameter, of about 0.1 mm to about 150 mm are produced by the chipper 1090. The wood chips produced from the chipper 1090 may be screened with trommel screens 1100 to allow a size of 0.1 cm to about 0.6 cm to pass through. Appropriately sized wood chips of the wood substrate 1020 are then stored 1210. Oversized wood chips may be reprocessed or milled in a hammer mill or the chipper 1090. Following milling, the wood chips may be re-screened 1100 to the aforementioned size and then stored 1210 prior to being added to a treatment chamber 1110 containing a desolventiser 1120. Any fines or undersized wood chips that are separated from the wood chips can be transferred to drying chamber 1240 for use, for example, in the biofuel production process.

[0304] The desolventiser of the 1120 is designed to heat treat the wood chips with superheated steam or saturated steam (e.g., up to 210°C) and horizontal trays heated by a recirculating oil (e.g., up to 250°C) to convert any terpene fraction within the wood substrate 1020 into a gaseous stream. The desolventiser 1120 is in fluid or gaseous communication with a separator 1130 having a distillation column and a condenser, the separator 1130 configured to promote separation of the terpene fraction and the water from the steam by way of distillation and gravity separating vessels. The distillation column may be continuous steam distillation column and steam distillation may be carried out by a conventional steam distillation method, as are known in the art. A feed stream from the treatment chamber 1110 containing the gaseous stream enters the separator. Once separated from the water, the terpene fractions may be stored or sold.

[0305] Wood chips exit the treatment chamber 1110 and are transported to a drying chamber 1240 and enter at up to 100°C. One or more chemical additives may be added to the wood chips to improve pellet quality and / or the subsequent processing step. Wood chips are dried in horizontal driers at up to 120°C until reaching a moisture content suitable for pelletization.

[0306] Following drying, the wood chips may be further reduced in size (e.g., having a dimension of about 1-2 mm) using a grinder or hammer mill as required. The wood chips are then transferred into a processor 1270 having a heating chamber in which they are contacted with saturated steam to heat up the wood chips and make them mouldable. The processor 1270 can create white pellets having diameters of, for example, lmm-5mm and 6mm-8mm using a ring die press. The white pellets can then be stored 1280 prior to sale or undergo a torrefaction process in a torrefaction chamber (not shown) optionally present in the processor 1270 to produce torrefied pellets.

[0307] As shown in Figure 4, it is contemplated that the system 1000 may be operated in combination with a larger apparatus or system 1010, such as the apparatus 10 of Figures 1 to 3, so as to produce terpene, rosin and a biofuel from the wood substrate 1020. Alternatively, the system 1000 may be operated in isolation (e.g., without the apparatus 1010) so as to produce terpene and a biofuel from the wood substrate 1020.

[0308] Example 1

[0309] This Example relates to an embodiment of the methods described herein.

[0310] Methods

[0311] The process outlined below follows the design of a module of 500 tonnes per day (tpd) extraction and pelletising plant. Approximately 800-900 tpd delivered to the mill gate is required to run the 500 tpd plant at maximum processing capacity. The remaining 320 tpd is removed as bark, roots and non-resinous wood. The 320 tpd will be utilised in the furnace of the wood fired boiler to generate steam for the extraction of chemicals and the production of biomass fuel.

[0312] The stumps, logs and tops branches are collected from forests. The different types of wood (i.e. stumps, logs and tree tops & branches) are separated and stored prior to preparation of the wood source for chipping and / or grinding. The stumps are processed through a decontamination debarker, split and presented for chipping. This process removes about 35-40% of the stump roots and residual wood (i.e. substantially non-resinous wood). The logs are processed through a debarker to remove up to 10% of bark. The bark, tops, branches and other forest “waste” are used for burning in the wood fire boiler to generate steam for the extraction of chemicals and production of biomass fuel.

[0313] The debarked logs and stumps are presented to the chippers and / or shredders to reduce their size. The initial wood chipping reduces the logs and stumps to a wood chip size of 3 cm to 6 cm. These wood chips are then screened and wood chips less than 0.3 cm in size (i.e. “fines”) are diverted to the boilers for use a fuel and to generate steam for the extraction of chemicals and the production of biomass fuel. Dirt and other contaminants are also removed during this process.

[0314] The wood chips are put through a first milling process (e.g. hammer mills / shredders) to further reduce their size to approximately 1 cm. Following, this first milling process the wood chips go through a first screening process where up to 10% of the wood is removed and diverted to the boiler for fuel to generate steam for the extraction of chemicals and the production of biomass fuel.

[0315] The remaining wood chips are fed into a second milling process (e.g. hammer mills / shredders), which reduces the wood chips to a size or dimension of between about 0.1 cm to about 0.6 cm. These wood chips go through a second screening process where up to 10% of the wood is removed and diverted to the boiler for fuel to generate steam for the extraction of chemicals and the production of biomass fuel. The remaining wood chips are fed into the extractor for chemical extraction.

[0316] A drag chain extractor processes the wood chips for a period of 60 to 90 minutes. Following this, the wood chips enter a wood pressing process which removes excess solvent. The wood chips then enter a desolventiser for up to 60 minutes. The desolventiser introduces steam and heat to the wood chips removing any remaining solvent and drying the wood chips prior to exiting the desolventiser. Up to 100% of the solvent is removed from the wood chips in the desolventiser.

[0317] The wood chips exit the desolventiser at temperatures of up to 120°C and are moved by conveyors to the dryer. During this transfer process the temperature of the wood chips drops to about 80-90°C. This residual heat from the wood chips benefit the biomass fuel production stage, making it considerably easier and more efficient. The wood chips enter the belt dryers where up to 50% of moisture is removed from the wood chips at a temperature of about 20°C to 50°C. The wood chips then go through a final milling process to reduce the size of the wood chips from a dimension of 0.3 - 0.6 cm to approximately 0.1 to 0.3 cm.

[0318] The treated wood chips are then steam cleaned and presented for wood pellet extrusion and manufacturing. The treated wood chips are dried and processed to create white wood pellets (see Table 1). The moisture content of the pellets is less than 10%. White wood briquettes may also be produced. Following manufacture of the white wood pellets and / or briquettes they can be torrefied (see Table 1).

[0319] Results

[0320] Table 1 - Wood pellet specification

[0321] Example 2

[0322] This Example relates to an embodiment of the system / apparatus of Figure 4 and related methods described herein. Table 2 - Process specification Table 3 - Process calculations and assumptions

[0323] Example 3 This Example relates to an embodiment of the system / apparatus of Figure 5 and related methods described herein.

[0324] 1. Process breakdown

[0325] • Stump Harvesting: Stumps are extracted using a specialised harvester (T-Rex). • Stump Splitting: The T-Rex harvester splits the stumps into smaller pieces suitable for the shredder. • Large contaminants removal: The split stumps are dropped momentarily to remove large rocks and debris stuck to the wood.

[0326] • Low-Speed Shredding: A low-speed shredder is used to reduce frictional heat, preventing the evaporation of valuable pine chemicals. Additionally, the low-speed shredder offers benefits like: o Reduced maintenance requirements o Extended equipment lifespan o Effective dislodgement of debris and contaminants from the wood

[0327] • In-Forest Screening: Wood chunks are screened to remove any remaining contaminants before loading, ensuring only desired material is transported.

[0328] • Direct Truck Loading: The processed wood chunks are directly loaded onto trucks for efficient transport to our plant.

[0329] 2. On-site Raw Wood Processing

[0330] Once the wood is exposed to atmosphere, the pine chemicals like rosin can oxidise and cause discoloration, while terpenes can evaporate over time. The present process aims to minimise these losses by following the philosophy ‘fresh is best’ and planning supply of resinous wood to arrive on site as soon as possible within 24 hours following its processing in-forest.

[0331] The process will handle two separate wood streams:

[0332] 1. Resinous wood: Primarily comprised of stump wood chunks with resin content.

[0333] 2. Non-resinous wood: Composed of logs and various wood cuts with low resin content.

[0334] 2.1 Resinous wood

[0335] The resinous wood refers to the chunked wood coming from the forest:

[0336] • Offloading and Storage: Wood chunks will be unloaded and temporarily stored in a controlled wood yard to minimise exposure to the elements.

[0337] • Washing: A loader will feed the chunks into a wash plant to remove dirt and contaminants. This will also assist in cooling down the wood chunks and preventing evaporation of the pine chemicals.

[0338] • Dewatering: Washed wood chunks will be placed on a concrete pad for controlled removal of excess water. The excess water will be recycled in the washing process. o Residence time: Will be determined during trials. Up to 12 hours within the production shift.

[0339] • Chipping: The dewatered wood chunks will be chipped into 3 -6mm sized pieces.

[0340] • Buffer Storage: o Chipped wood is more susceptible to chemical evaporation due to the increased surface area. o Therefore, the chips will be stored in a dedicated buffer hopper with vacuum management control to avoid losses of any pine chemicals. This is storage S02 in Figure 5. o Capacity: 581 TPD, which is equivalent to 2 shifts of 12 hours each. Considering a wood chip density of 267 kg / m3, requires a silo with a capacity of 2, 176 m3. o Residence time: 12-24hours.

[0341] 2.2 Non-resinous wood

[0342] • Offloading and Storage: Logs will be unloaded using a gantry crane and will be stored according to a log management plan.

[0343] • Debarking: Logs will be debarked to remove bark and other contaminants.

[0344] • Chipping: o Debarked logs will be chipped into 3-6mm sized pieces. o In-forest debarking may occur, therefore there may be some logs already debarked which will be fed directly into the chipper.

[0345] • Buffer Storage: Non-resinous wood chips will be stored in a buffer. o This is storage SOI in Figure 5. o Capacity: 859 TPD which is equivalent to 2 shifts of 12 hours each. Considering a wood chip density of 313 kg / m3, will require a silo with a capacity of 2,744 m3. o Residence time: 12-24 hours.

[0346] 3. Wood Sizing & Screening

[0347] The primary reason for decreasing the size of the wood chip is to enhance the chemical extraction process. This is achieved through two key factors:

[0348] 1. Increase the surface area to allow for better heat transfer and solvent permeability.

[0349] 2. The target chip will ensure less process blockage due to fines management and elimination of cross-contamination process streams (liquid in wood or solvent in wood).

[0350] The present Examples keeps a split process with two wood streams:

[0351] 1. Resinous wood: Destined to the chemical extraction process.

[0352] 2. Non-resinous wood: After its processing it will be passed through a ‘Desolventiser toaster’ to remove any small amounts of chemicals and lower the moisture content. Resinous wood

[0353] • First Screening: The wood chips will be fed to ‘Screen #2’, with having three streams as output: o Target chip between 3 -6mm in diameter, being estimated as 80% of the input.

[0354] ■ The target chip will be sent directly to the ‘Resinous’ wood chip storage (S06 in Figure 5). o Fines: Particles with less than 3mm and contaminants. Estimating to be 10% of the input.

[0355] ■ The fines will be removed from the process to container W02 due to their potential high content of contaminants. Capacity of 58 TPD o Overs: Wood chip sized above 6mm. Estimating to be 10% of the input.

[0356] ■ They will be directed to an overs storage (S04)

[0357] • Capacity: 58 TPD.

[0358] ■ They will be sent to a mill to reduce their size to 3-6mm

[0359] ■ They will go through the ‘Screen #4’ to ensure the chips meet the required size.

[0360] ■ Target chip will be subsequently conveyed to the ‘Resinous’ wood chip storage (S06).

[0361] ■ Over-sized chips exiting out of the ‘Screen #4’ will be re-circulated to the mill until meeting the target size.

[0362] ■ The fines will be conveyed directly to the S07 silo (Wood Chip Storage before the Metal Detector) to bypass the ‘Extraction Process’ and avoid clogging the system.

[0363] • S06 Resinous Wood Chip Storage: o Capacity: 500 TPD which is equivalent to 2 shifts of 12 hours each. Considering a wood chip density of 267 kg / m3, will require a silo with a capacity of 1,873 m3. This will feed the ‘Extraction Plant’. o Residence time: 12-24 hours. Non-resinous wood

[0364] • First Screening: The wood chips will be fed to ‘Screen #1’, with having three streams as output: o Target chip between 3 -6mm in diameter, being estimated as 70% of the input. The target chip will be sent directly to the ‘Non-Resinous’ wood chip storage (S05 in Figure 5). o Fines: Particles with less than 3mm. Estimating to be 10% of the input.

[0365] ■ The fines will be conveyed directly to the S07 silo (Wood Chip Storage before the Metal Detector) to bypass the ‘desolventiser toaster’ process and avoid clogging the system. o Overs: Wood chip sized above 6mm. Estimating to be 20% of the input.

[0366] ■ They will be directed to an overs storage (S03 in Figure 5)

[0367] • Capacity: 172 TPD.

[0368] ■ Then will be sent to a mill to reduce their size to 3-6mm

[0369] ■ They will go through the ‘Screen #3’ to ensure the chips meet the required size.

[0370] ■ Target chip will be subsequently conveyed to the ‘Non-Resinous’ wood chip storage (S05 in Figure 5).

[0371] ■ Over-sized chips exiting out of the ‘Screen #3’ will be re-circulated to the mill until meeting the target size.

[0372] ■ No significant fines are expected as an output of ‘Screen #3’

[0373] • S05 Non-Resinous Wood Chip Storage: o Capacity: 773 TPD, which is equivalent to 2 shifts of 12 hours each. Considering a wood chip density of 313 kg / m3, will require a silo with a capacity of 2,470 m3. This silo will feed the ‘Desolventiser Toaster’. o Residence time: 12-24 hours.

[0374] 4. Pine Chemicals Extraction Process from Resinous Wood Chips

[0375] This section details the extraction process of the pine chemicals from the target resinous wood chips. A chip size of 3 -6mm is chosen to maximise chemical extraction efficiency during the solvent wash process. This size ensures a having a sufficient surface area for optimal solvent contact with wood chips.

[0376] • Feedstock: Resinous wood chips, sized 3-6mm, will be sourced from silo S06 in Figure 5 (‘Resinous Wood Chip Storage’)

[0377] • Extraction Plant: The wood chips will be fed into the extraction plant to recover and separate the pine chemicals. o Throughput: 500 TPD. • Outputs: o Terpenes:

[0378] ■ We can expect a yield of 12%, however we are wanting to extract the maximum quantity.

[0379] ■ The terpenes will have a storage capacity of approximately 180,000 L in 6x 30,000L containers. o Rosin:

[0380] ■ Hot rosin will be produced and stored in a dedicated tank.

[0381] ■ The rosin will reside in the tank for up to 12 hours before packaging.

[0382] ■ Bulk drums stored in designated areas.

[0383] ■ Packaged rosin will be stored in logistics storage (pallet racking). o Spent Wood Chips:

[0384] ■ After extraction, the wood chips will be conveyed to silo S07 (‘Wood Chip Storage before Metal Detector’) with a capacity of 1,308 TPD.

[0385] ■ These chips will then be fed to the "Metal Detector & Dosing Bin" for further processing.

[0386] ■ The residence time of the spent wood chips in S07 will be 12 hours.

[0387] 5. Desolventising (DT) & Distillation Process for Non-Resinous Wood Chips

[0388] This section details the desolventising and distillation process of the non-resinous wood chips.

[0389] • Feedstock: Non-Resinous wood chips, sized 3 -6mm, will be sourced from silo S05 of Figure 5 (‘Non-Resinous Wood Chip Storage’) o Feed rate: 32 TPH

[0390] • Desolventiser Toaster: The wood chips will be fed into the DT to heat the wood chip and recover any remnant terpenes. The wood chip moisture will be reduced as part of this process. o Throughput: 773 TPD. o Residence time: Up to 50 minutes, TBC.

[0391] • Outputs: o Terpenes: Expecting to extract 1.75% or 14 TPD. o Spent Wood Chips:

[0392] ■ After the DT, the wood chips will be conveyed to silo S07 of Figure 5 (‘Wood Chip Storage before Metal Detector’) with a capacity of 1,308 TPD.

[0393] ■ These chips will then be fed to the "Metal Detector & Dosing Bin" for further processing.

[0394] ■ The residence time of the spent wood chips in S07 will be 12 hours. 6. Post-Extraction / Desolventiser Process

[0395] This section outlines the handling of wood chips after the extraction process. Four separate streams of wood chips will be directed to silo S07 (‘Wood Chip Storage before Metal Detector’):

[0396] 1 Spent Wood Chips (Extraction): These chips originate from the pine chemical extraction process and have undergone terpene and rosin removal.

[0397] 2. Spent Wood Chips (Desolventiser Toaster): These chips come from the non-resinous wood stream after being processed in the DT to remove residual solvents and moisture.

[0398] 3. Non-Resinous Fines: Particles less than 3mm from the non-resinous wood screening (Screen #1) will bypass the Desolventiser Toaster and be directly conveyed to S07.

[0399] 4. Resinous Fines: Particles less than 3mm from the resinous wood screening (Screen #4) will bypass the extraction process and be directly conveyed to S07. We still need to further investigate the usability of these fines due to potential contaminants but for the process of this calculation, we determined the fines to be usable.

[0400] Silo S07 of Figure 5 will have a capacity of 1,308 TPD, which is equivalent to 2 shifts of 12 hours each. Considering a wood chip density of 290 kg / m3, will require a silo with a capacity of 4,514 m3. This density was calculated as the average of the resinous and non-resinous wood. The average moisture content in the wood chips is to be considered as 55% based on literature. All these wood chip streams will then be fed into the ‘Metal Detector & Dosing Bin’ for further processing.

[0401] 7. Pellet Plant Scope

[0402] This section details the processes involved in transforming wood chips into white wood pellets for storage or further processing.

[0403] • Metal Detection and Dosing: o The incoming wood chips from silo S07 will be conveyed to the ‘Metal Detector & Dosing Bin’ system for collecting and dosing the product for being dried. o The metal detector will ensure no metal contaminants enter the process. o Dosing bins capacity: 3x 20m3

[0404] • Drying: o The wood chips will be fed onto 3x continuous belt dryers. o These dryers will reduce the wood chips’ moisture content to -10%. • Intermediate Storage: o The wood chips will be then conveyed to the ‘Dried Wood Chip Intermediate Storage’ silo S08. o Capacity: 750 m3. o It is required to have a certain retention time after the dryer in order to get very homogenous moisture content in the product. During storage, the whole product is in contact and moisture content will become an average value into the silos. Homogenous moisture content means a stable pelletizing process and high pellet quality.

[0405] • Milling & Pelletising: o The dried wood chips from S08 of Figure 5 will be fed into 3x ‘Dry Milling lanes’ for size reduction. o The milled wood would then be processed by 3x Pelletising production lines to produce white pellets.

[0406] • White Pellets Storage: o The white pellets will be conveyed to the designated storage silos S09-A, S09- B and S09-C. o Capacity: 250 Tonnes per silo, 750 Tonnes in total. o Residence time of the white pellets in storage: Up to 24 hours.

[0407] • Bagging plant (Optional): o A bagging plant will be installed for added flexibility. This allows Foresta to:

[0408] ■ Package white pellets for separate sale if downstream processing encounters issues.

[0409] ■ Provide additional storage time for the pellets if needed before torrefaction. o For pellet loading on big bags of 1 ton / each. o Automatic big bag filler designed for big bags with four loops. o It’s also included an instrument to inflate the big bag before filling, optimising the filling process.

[0410] 8. Torrefaction Plant Scope

[0411] This section outlines the transformation of white wood pellets into high-value torrefied pellets.

[0412] • White Pellet Receiving: o Three continuous feed hoppers (S10-A, S10-B, and S10-C) will receive white wood pellets with a moisture content of approximately 10%. o Capacity: Each receiving hopper is designed to hold 5 Tonnes of white wood pellets, ensuring a continuous supply for the torrefaction process. Considering a wood pellet density of 650kg / m3, this is equivalent to a capacity of 7.7 m3 per hopper = 23 m3 in total. o The pellets would then be conveyed via a continuous screw feed conveyor into the reactor vessel.

[0413] • Torrefaction process: o The ‘R-O2’ Torrefaction reactor will thermally treat the pellets and raise their calorific value in a continuous process. In addition, it will make them hydrophobic which means they are suitable for outside storage. o The ‘R-O2’ technology is designed to operate at temperatures up to 300°C in a reduced oxygen atmosphere. o The ‘R-O2’ system utilizes superheated steam to create a low-oxygen atmosphere within the reactor, heating the pellets through a mild pyrolysis process. o The torrefaction process is normally completed within 30-45 minutes, subject to the required calorific value of the pellets. o For torrefied pellets with a calorific value of 22GJ / T, an input of 10 TPH, the output will be approximately 7.5 TPH of torrefied pellets.

[0414] • Pellet cooling system: o The torrefied pellets will then be discharged from the reactor and cooled in 3x separate airtight cooling augers. o Capacity: Each cooling system has a capacity of 7.5 Tonnes each. o This cooling system ensures the pellets reach a safe handling temperature of around 80°C before discharge.

[0415] • ‘Torrefied Pellets Storage’ Silos o A conveyor system will then transport the cooled torrefied pellets to three designated storage silos (Sll-A, Sl l-B, and Sl l-C). o Capacity: 1,000 Tonnes per silo, 3,000 Tonnes in total. o Each silo has a capacity of 1,000 tonnes, providing ample storage for the final product.

[0416] • Torrefied Pellet Loading:

[0417] The silos (Sil A, SUB, and S11C of Figure 5) will be equipped with a loading system for direct transfer of torrefied wood pellets into trucks for transport.

[0418] 9. Boiler

[0419] • 25 MW biomass boiler.

[0420] • Estimating 80% thermal efficiency. • Steam production: o 1.5 Tonnes of steam per MW per hour.

[0421] • Steam usage: o Chemical extractor process (indirect steam for solvent heating). o Desolventising process (direct and indirect steam). o Belt dryer (indirect steam). o Wood pellet manufacturing. o Water heating and treatment. o Fire suppression system. * 5 tonnes of biomass fuel required per hour.

[0422] • Estimating 55% moisture content in the biomass fuel.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production using a resinous wood, said method including the steps:(i) treating the resinous wood with an agent that comprises, consists or consists essentially of a terpene to thereby extract rosin and / or terpene fractions from the resinous wood; and(ii) processing the treated resinous wood to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the period of time between the step of treating the resinous wood with the agent and processing the treated resinous wood is no more than about 15 minutes, no more than about 10 minutes or no more than about 5 minutes.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein processing the treated resinous wood includes the step of grinding and / or milling the treated resinous wood to form a particulate form thereof.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the particulate form of the treated resinous wood has a dimension of between about 0.1 cm to about 0.6 cm.

5. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the grinding step includes dry grinding and / or wet grinding.

6. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein processing the treated resinous wood further includes the step of drying the particulate form of the treated resinous wood.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the drying step reduces the moisture content of the particulate form of the treated resinous wood to less than about 30%, less than about 20% or less than about 10% by weight thereof.

8. The method of claim 6 or 7, further including the step of compressing the particulate form of the treated resinous wood to form a compressed form thereof.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the compressed form of the treated resinous wood is or comprises a pellet or a briquette.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, further including the step of heat treating the compressed form of the treated resinous wood at a temperature of between about 100°C and about 200°C or between about 200°C and about 350°C.

11. The method of claim 6 or 7, further including the step of heat treating the particulate form of the treated resinous wood at a temperature of between about 100°C and about 200°C or between about 200°C and about 350°C.

12. The method of claim 11, further including the step of compressing the particulate form of the treated resinous wood to form a compressed form thereof.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the biomass fuel is a white pellet, a white briquette, a torrefied pellet or a torrefied briquette.

14. The method of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the biomass fuel is substantially free of contaminants.

15. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, further including the initial step of at least partly subdividing or desizing the resinous wood prior to step (i).

16. The method of any one of claims 1 to 15, further including the initial step of at least partly removing a bark portion and / or a root portion from the resinous wood.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the bark portion and / or the root portion is at least partly utilised to generate energy for use in one or both of the treating and processing steps of (i) and (ii).

18. The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, further including the initial step of separating a wood source into the resinous wood and a residual wood portion.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the residual wood portion is not treated with the agent.

20. The method of claim 18 or claim 19, further including the step of treating the residual wood portion to extract a further terpene fraction therefrom.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the treating step comprises heat treating the residual wood portion or the wood substrate under conditions to generate a gaseous stream comprising the further terpene fraction.

22. The method of claim 20 or claim 21, wherein the treating step comprises heat treating the residual wood portion at a temperature of between about 155°C and about 300°C, about 180°C and about 280°C or about 200°C and about 260°C.

23. The method of any one of claims 18 to 22, further including one or more of the steps of:(a) at least partly subdividing or desizing the residual wood portion;(b) grinding and / or milling the residual wood portion to form a particulate form thereof;(c) drying the particulate form of the residual wood portion;(d) compressing the particulate form of the residual wood portion to form a compressed form thereof;(e) heat treating the compressed form or the particulate form of the residual wood portion at a temperature of between about 100°C and about 200°C or between about 200°C and about 350°C; and / or(f) compressing the heat treated and particulate form of the residual wood portion to form a compressed form thereof.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the particulate form of the residual wood portion has a dimension of between about 0.1 cm to about 0.6 cm.

25. The method of claim 23 or 24, wherein the grinding step of (b) includes dry grinding and / or wet grinding.

26. The method of any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein the drying step of (c) reduces the moisture content of the particulate form of the residual wood portion to less than about 30%, less than about 20% or less than about 10% by weight thereof.

27. The method of any one of claims 3 to 26, wherein a volatile fraction released from the resinous wood and / or the residual wood portion during the grinding step and / or milling step is transferred to a condenser.

28. A method for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production using a wood substrate, said method including the steps:(i) treating the wood substrate to thereby extract a terpene fraction from the wood substrate; and(ii) processing the treated wood substrate to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the treating step comprises heat treating the wood substrate under conditions to generate a gaseous stream comprising the terpene fraction.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the treating step comprises heat treating the wood substrate at a temperature of between about 155°C and about 300°C, about 180°C and about 280°C or about 200°C and about 250°C.

31. The method of any one of claims 28 to 30, further including one or more of the steps of:(a) at least partly subdividing or desizing the wood substrate;(b) grinding and / or milling the wood substrate to form a particulate form thereof;(c) drying the particulate form of the wood substrate;(d) compressing the particulate form of the wood substrate to form a compressed form thereof;(e) heat treating the compressed form or the particulate form of the wood substrate at a temperature of between about 100°C and about 200°C or between about 200°C and about 350°C; and / or(f) compressing the heat treated and particulate form of the wood substrate to form a compressed form thereof.

32. A biomass fuel produced according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 31.

33. A terpene and / or rosin fraction produced according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 31.

34. A system for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production from a resinous wood comprising: a treatment chamber for treating the resinous wood with an agent that comprises, consists or consists essentially of a terpene and a processor for processing the treated resinous wood to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

35. A system for chemical extraction and biomass fuel production from a wood substrate comprising: a treatment chamber for treating the wood substrate and a processor for processing the treated wood substrate to thereby produce a biomass fuel.

36. The system of claim 34 or claim 35, wherein the treatment chamber is in communication with the processor.

37. The system of any one of claims 34 to 36, wherein the processor comprises a compression chamber in communication with a heating chamber.

38. The system of any one of claims 34 to 37, for use in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 31.

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