Blog

ARTi’s is as compelling as the topics the company deals with. Characteristically, there always is a unique combination of the down-to-Earth and the global. Juan Proano, Edson Vendrusculo, Matthew Kieffer, and Bernardo del Campo founded ARTi in 2013. We came together as a group of graduate engineers and began working on ways to help farmers and gardeners make a healthier soil. ARTi has been working on developing renewable environmental technology and agricultural solutions since the beginning. ARTi and subsidiaries have grown to make up an international team of more than 30 team members from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, Mexico, US and Uruguay with a multitude of academic backgrounds. Mechanical, agricultural, chemical, and electrical engineers, as well as economists, physicists, agronomists, and lifelong farmers are part of the ARTi team dedicated to creating a variety of biochar-based products and improving our technology day by day to  help more companies to accelerate its journey to a greener future.

ARTi Team (from left to right) Maria Calvopiña, Lissette Cordova, Carlos Rosero, Mateo Davalos, Pedro Reina, Maria Jacome, Jose Cevallos, Matthew Kieffer, Juan Proaño, Andres Narvaez, Diego Guevara & Bernardo del Campo in Quito, Ecuador at “La Virgen del Panecillo”, November 2021

ARTi Founders  (from left to right) Matthew Keiffer, Bernardo del Campo & Juan Proaño in Quito – Ecuador, November 2021

ARTi has been engaged in research, extension, and development efforts in pyrolysis, biochar and advanced carbon related technologies and processes for almost a decade. Nowadays, ARTi has expanded in different areas, now offering:  

• Engineering consultancy: Biochar Production Units (BPU) enhancement and development, Drying systems, Gasifiers development, Waste heat utilization, Gas and liquid filtration systems, Systems CFD and CAD design, Energy efficiency and renewable Energy consultation.

• Research & Development (R&D): Carbon products, Products development, Wood vinegar collection, Bio-oil Characterization, Non condense gas analysis, Compost and soil media formulation, multiple purpose waste heat recovery and utilization, and Pyrolysis and Biomass testing.         
• Economics And Life Cycle Assessment: Techno-economic Analysis (TEA), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Carbon Credits Certification, Carbon Intensity Quantification, Carbon accounting.

Academic research & white papers developed

• Biochar Carbon Sequestration Potential, ARTi Economics (Link)
• Bagasse Biochar and bio-oil for ethanol production, ARTi Economics (Link)
• Equipment Service Profile, ARTi Engineers (Link)
• Categorization of Biomass Processed by ARTi’s BPU system, ARTi Economics (Link) 

ARTi engineers (from left to right) Mateo Davalos, Carlos Rosero, Andres Narvaez & Matthew Kieffer

ARTi Economics and Carbon Team (from left to right) Matthew Kieffer, Lissette Cordova, Bernardo del Campo, Diego Guevara

ARTi members (from left to right) Pedro Reina, Matthew Kieffer, Diego Guevara, Maria Jacome, Melany Estrella, David Jaramillo, Andres Narvaez, Carlos Rosero & Mateo Davalos

Our technologies are tools not only to create valuable products from agricultural and forestry residues, but also designed to help farmers, horticulture and gardeners. We assist composting facilities, homeowners and landscape designers integrate sustainable products into their operations and gardens. We design and build cutting-edge pyrolysis systems for the production of biochar, activated carbon, and “green” carbon black. Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has been a daily task for our organization, which involves converting any organic material into biochar, which lasts for generations in soil. The carbon is reorganized into highly stable carbon rings that do not break down and remain in the earth for generations thanks to ARTi’s pyrolysis technique. This generates a carbon sink since plants absorb more carbon each year and do not release it when the plant residues are turned into biochar. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are effectively reduced and put to use in the soil. For our company, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has been part of our daily work since 2013. At ARTi, we have been working on developing renewable environmental technology and agricultural solutions since then, such as  our Biochar Production Units (BPU). Our containerized mobile systems are able to house up to five pyrolysis trains per container. Our simplest unit is able to sequester ~4 tons of CO2 per day, which means ~1,400 tons of CO2 per year. This is scalable for up to 5 trains which would sequester up to 20 tons of CO2 per day (~6,000 tons CO2 per year). Our efforts in developing biochar technology have proved to be the best ones available for carbon sequestration in terms of costs and efficiency. Other approaches for this same purpose are inherently dynamic and impermanent (e.g forestry projects) and others economically non-viable and overly complex from the engineering and design point of view, such as direct air capture and CO2 geological injection. Our dedicated team focuses on the development of our technology and its implementation suited to our customer’s needs at the desired location. To ensure a successful techno-economic operation, we work closely with our clients. We start with laboratory scale trials to analyze their particular feedstock and the desired carbon product. We validate the results in our containerized unit by performing large scale trials and laboratory analyses. Depending on the requirements we might develop R&D for them as well.In parallel, the team also performs a Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)  for the particular ARTi BPU according to the location of your project.  This process analyzes and ensures the feasibility of the projects, opportunities and the various sources of revenue including risk simulations to understand the project’s outcome from a dynamic point of view and assist our client in recommending the best pathway to follow. In our experience, the economies of scale for our bigger systems are significant and yield more profitable projects. Once all requirements are met and needs are understood, our exceptional engineering team will design and manufacture the system.   In addition to biochar production, ARTi’s BPU, is capable of generating different sources of revenue for our clients with the following co-products ·        

• Carbon Credits Certificates (CORCs) 
• Bio oil, wood vinegar, and non condense gases collection
• Usage of waste heat for: 
  • Drying Purposes: Crops, biomass, feedstock.
  • Electricity generation.
  • Implementation of economisers and boilers.

We can undertake any type of analysis and engineering project that may be of interest to you. Our Research and Development team will work with your team to build a new product for your research or industrial uses. We offer our own laboratory or assistance from our considerable list of specialised laboratories and research institutions. ARTi can offer Engineering Consultancy services to help with the development of new systems or aid with an ongoing project.  You are welcome to contact us! 

ARTi members (from left to right) Carlos Rosero, Lissette Cordova, Diego Guevara, Mateo Davalos, Nicolas Alvarez, Jose Cevallos, David Jaramillo, Maria Calvopiña, Ral Lopez, Andres Narvaez, Maria Jacome, Ivan Nolivos & Juan Orozco 

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: Products development Wood vinegar collection Compost formulation Pyrolysis and Biomass testing ECONOMICS AND LCA Techno economic analysis (TEA) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Carbon Credits Certification Carbon accounting ENGINEERING Drying systems Gasifier development Filter design, e.g. H2S, VOC, CBOD, etc Systems CAD design Energy efficiency: thermal losses