Biomass trading firm Steampower loaded the first 9,000t cargo of acai stones — biomass waste obtained from the processing of the acai fruit — out of Brazil last week, to be delivered to the Iberian industrial heat market.
Acai stones "shall bring a huge novelty to the Iberian market and at very competitive prices", Steampower owner and chief executive Tiago Andrade told Argus.
The first shipment will be delivered to a number of industrial users in Portugal for testing at cement, steel and pulp plants — some of which will co-fire acai stones with wood chips. The firm will ship a second 9,000–10,000t cargo in July to industrial users in Spain for testing.
Should the tests go as planned, regular 20,000 t/month shipments will come into Iberia for multi-port discharge.
Steampower aims to supply industrial heat consumers that operate midsize boilers, of 5-25MW capacity, which typically seek to outsource fuel procurement. It currently operates in Portugal and Spain but has plans to expand operations to France and Italy through a new partnership.
"The cost per GJ of acai stones is highly competitive even against local biomass, with the advantage of not being wood," Andrade said. "We would like to deliver to Europe at around €7.50-8/GJ cif Europe."
An acai stone has a net calorific value of about 14.5 GJ/t on an as-received basis and relatively low ash content compared with other agricultural biomass types — about 1.1-1.7pc — according to laboratory test results commissioned by Steampower. It has "borderline" content of the other chemical compounds, and power and heat generators might opt to use the fuel as a stand-alone or blend it with other types of biomass. "We can also wash and peel the stones if that will be the requirement of our customers," Andrade said. The acai stones also have a storing advantage, as they absorb little moisture when left outside, he added.
Other European customers have also expressed interest, particularly because of the stones' price competitiveness, but they are keen to see the test results in Iberia before committing, Andrade said.
Brazil produces a large share of the global acai fruit output, and most of the produce is farmed in the state of Para in northern Brazil, making it easily exportable. Statistics over Brazil's total production of acai fruit — 85pc of which is typically composed of the stone — are mixed, but about 1.4mn t/yr is thought to be produced in the state of Para in recent years. That said, the amount of new plantations — mainly replacing soya plantations — is very large and production in 2024 and the coming years is expected to be much higher, Andrade said.
"We have initially secured around 1mn t/yr of acai stone supply with five exclusive suppliers," Andrade said, adding that there was scope to ship more in the future should there be demand in Europe.
Steampower, the recently acquired sister company of biomass brokerage, agency and logistics firm WPS, has also been shipping palm kernel shells (PKS) for some years — from Indonesia and Nigeria — with plans to bring coconut shells to Iberia.
"We shall bring some coconut shells in containers for the 5-25MW boiler segment," Andrade said.
Steampower shipped 12,000t of PKS in February from Indonesia and is scheduled to bring 10,000t from Nigeria in early July. It plans to deliver 85,000 t/yr of PKS to Iberia, sourced out of Asia and Africa. The company offers PKS as received or as "premium quality" PKS — sieved, washed and dried before being sold into the market.
