CBI providing equipment for Rentech expansion

January 10, 2014, Newton, N.H. – Continental Biomass
Industries is providing equipment for the two new pellet mills being
constructed by Rentech in northern Ontario. 

Rentech is converting two decommissioned wood fibre board
mills in Atikokan and Wawa for pellet production. As part of the conversion of
these facilities, the CBI systems will deliver uniform 6mm – 8mm microchips in
a single pass that can immediately be dried and milled into feedstock for
pellet manufacturing.

“We went back and forth with numerous iterations, and came
up with a debarking line consisting of a feed conveyer, 2-roll flail debarker,
and a 1200 horsepower CBI Magnum Force 8400 Stationary Chipper with 5-pocket
microchip rotor,” says Anders Ragnarsson, founder and president of CBI. “Each
system will have production capabilities of up to 120 tons per hour.”

Ragnarsson continued, “CBI worked in close cooperation with
engineers and operating personnel at AgriRecycle and Rentech to design the best
solution for producing feed-stock from hardwood species for Rentech’s pellet
production needs.”

AgriRecycle was contracted by Rentech as consultants to
assist in the design, construction and operation of both pelleting plants as
well as evaluate options for new chipping lines. Mike Ferguson of AgriRecycle
knew first-hand the benefits of CBI from having one of CBI’s 6400 machines with
a microchip rotor that fed his pellet plant, Ozark Hardwood for years.

The final result will be two CBI flail/microchipping systems
installed at Rentech’s Wawa, Canada facility, and a singular CBI
flail/microchipping line installed in Rentech’s Atikokan, Canada facility. At
the Atikokan facility, CBI will also deliver a Grizzly Mill to grind the bark
into the proper size for boiler fuel. These CBI systems will eliminate hammer
milling of wet product prior to the dryer. The CBI systems produce a specific-sized
chip that can be fed directly into the dryer. The resulting product is then
hammer milled immediately after drying.

The systems are scheduled for installation in the spring of
2014. The customized systems are being designed specifically for the Rentech
facilities.