Cat-HTR™ Technology

Our pioneering Cat-HTR™ (Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor) platform is helping to create a low carbon circular economy.

Biocrude (renewable and sustainable bio oil) is generally made through the process of Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) or Fast Pyrolysis. HTL uses water under high pressure and temperature - water is the ‘agent of change’. Whereas the process of Fast Pyrolysis uses high temperatures in absence of oxygen.

HTL is the “next-generation” of feedstock recycling - the depolymerization process for natural polymers (biomass) and man-made polymers (such as plastic). The Cat-HTR™ technology is an advanced HTL process.

Over the past 13 years, technology developers Licella have extensively tested the Cat-HTR™ platform at the world’s first large scale continuous-flow pilot plant on the NSW Central Coast (Australia). Over AU$100M has been invested in the technology. 

The high quality of renewable oil from the Cat-HTR™ process remains unchanged over three different scales of pilot plants. It converts a wide range of post-consumer and waste biomass into biocrude (a renewable and sustainable bio oil for the circular economy), from which a range of low carbon transportation fuels, biochemicals and biomaterials can be made.

Arbios biocrude (a renewable and sustainable bio oil for the circular economy) from our hydrothermal liquefaction process is proven to be of higher quality than pyrolysis oil.
Benefits of our high-value, low-carbon, renewable biocrude (compared to pyrolysis oil) include: 

• More than double the energy density (more value)
• Much lower oxygen content
• Less corrosive 
• Easier to mix (miscible) 
• More stable
• Easily transportable