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So what is it? How is it made?

If it's the same as this biotumen [1], then it's "a fraction extracted from pyrolysis oils", specifically "the lignitic fraction".

I had never heard of fast pyrolysis before, have no idea what pyrolysis oils are, and still don't know what's actually in it!

[1] https://task34.ieabioenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2...




From what is written in the document linked by you, those "pyrolysis oils" are obtained by heating wood in an oven, where the wood presumably consists of cheap byproducts of wood processing.

The "lignitic fraction" refers there to products of thermal decomposition of the lignin, which is a major constituent of wood.

So this "biotumen" is just some kind of tar a.k.a. pitch. Various kinds of tar or pitch have been produced by heating wood for thousands of years and used for water-proofing boats or vessels for long-term food storage, or for other similar uses.

Recent research has shown that the Neanderthals knew how to make tar from wood at least two hundred thousand years ago and they used it to glue stone blades on wooden handles:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-08106-7

The Neanderthals' slightly earlier technology might invalidate some of the patent claims of this company, which is why they disclose few details about their product.


Sadly, Neanderthals probably do not count as valid inventors under patent law. As they are not typically (?) considered persons, their inventions would be interpreted as natural processes, which in another absurdity can often be discovered and patented.


The german article [1] that lead me to this claims it is made from two components: some naturally occuring resin and a viscous extract from cashew shells. Both obviously not super common but (their claim) possibly up to 5℅ of the global bitumen market.

[1] https://www.wiwo.de/unternehmen/industrie/erdoelfreier-aspha...




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