Aconex, provider of the world’s most widely used construction project management software, is supporting Zilkha Biomass Energy, a renewable energy company, in the design and building of a black pellet fuel plant. Source: Penn Energy
With an output capacity of 275,000 metric tons per year, this will be the first full-scale commercial black pellet production facility in the world.
The plant is expected to be completed and fully operational by early 2015.
Zilkha uses the Aconex Online Collaboration Platform to manage project information and processes across a multi-company team of contractors, consultants, subcontractors, and vendors involved in construction of the new plant.
The Aconex platform provides a secure, neutral collaboration system for managing workflows and processing RFIs, documents, drawings, and correspondence.
Version control ensures that users always have up-to-date project information at their fingertips, and all decisions and actions are maintained in a permanent audit trail for transparency and accountability.
The Zilkha Black Pellet is made of woody biomass – compressed green wood that is pre-dried to reduce moisture content. It has higher energy density than conventional white pellets, without the safety risks, and is waterproof to decrease storage and transportation costs.
As a next-generation renewable fuel, black pellets can seamlessly replace coal, which is currently the world’s primary source of energy.
Zilkha opened its first commercial production facility, with a capacity of 40,000 metric tons per year, in Crockett, Texas in 2010.
