BBI2019.SO2.R2 – Develop breakthrough technologies to improve the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of pre-treatment steps within biorefining operations
Background
This is a topic in the 2019 work programme of the Biomass Based Industries Joint Undertaking which was launched in April 2019. The deadline for submitting proposals to this call is September 4th 2019, with the results expected by the end of the year and projects expected to start in 2020.Celignis is an SME that was spun-out from an EU research project (the FP7 advanced biofuels project DIBANET) that was written and coordinated by Celignis's founder Daniel Hayes. It has now been five years since the end of that project and over that time Celignis has grown in size and reputation and now occupies a valuable niche as being the premier analytical provider to clients in the biomass sector. We provide a wide range of compositional analysis services and bioprocessing expertise to a diverse array of customers (including SMEs, multinationals, and universities) looking to utilise biomass feedstocks, residues and wastes for the production of biobased products, biofuels, and energy.
But we have not lost sight of the importance of science and in advancing the start of the art. We were born from pioneering research and we are still passionately committed to playing our part in advancing the bioeconomy. As a result we continue to be highly active in European research projects and are particularly excited by the calls presented in the 2019 BBI work programme.
Celignis is a partner in 2 ongoing BBI projects, BIOrescue and UNRAVEL. These are RIA (Research and Innovation Action) projects. Click here to read more about our involvements in these BBI projects. Celignis is also a partner in an Innovation Action (i.e. Demonstration scale) BBI project that is currently in the Grant Agreement stage and is expected to start in September 2019. In addition to these BBI projects, Celignis is also a partner in the Horizon 2020 Coordinating and Supporting Action project ENABLING. As we are a spin-out company from an EU research project we are well-versed in the preparation of proposals and in the implementation of projects.
Below we present a summary of this topic and indicate how Celignis could be a valuable project partner. Click here to see more details on our relevant expertise as well as summaries of how we can contribute to the other topics in the 2019 BBI work programme.
Contributions Celignis can Make to BBI2019.SO2.R2
- Product analysis - For our clients we have analysed hundreds of samples of outputs from biomass pretreatment processes. We have a very strong understanding of the chemistry of biomass and how to evaluate the conversion and valorisation of the main constituents of lignocellulosic biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin). We target mass-closure in our analysis so that the full mechanisms of conversion can be understood and have a suite of analytical methods to characterise process liquids for monomers, oligomers, sugar degradation products, and fermentability.
- Expertise from ongoing BBI pretreatment projects - Our ongoing BBI project UNRAVEL concerns the development of a pretreatment process and Celignis plays a key role in the project regarding the analysis of the products of pre-treatment and through investigating the influence of extractives in biomass pretreatment. In our BBI project BIOrescue we are also analysing the solid and liquid outputs of biomass pretreatment and developing rapid analysis models for them using near infrared spectroscopy.
- Extractives analysis - We have extensive experience in the detailed analysis of the range of extractives present in an array of lignocelluosic feedstocks and have a good practical understanding of how these extractives can potentially cause reductions in process yields and in the purity of the target products if they are not first removed.
- Enzymatic hydrolysis experiments - The call mentions that one means by which costs can be reduced would be through a reduction in the amount of enzymes required in the pretreatment. Our personnel can investigate strategies for reducing enzyme loadings whilst maintaining, or even enhancing, product yields. We can also, based on our array of existing packages for the enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass and pretreated biomass, determine how efficient the pretreatment technology is in producing a substrate suitable for hydrolysis with enzymes.
Specific Challenge of BBI2019.SO2.R2
The implementation of biorefining concepts at large scales is often affected by the need to achieve a balance between pre-treatment steps and the main conversion phase. The need to obtain high-purity fractions from the starting biomass to be fed into the following steps entails the use of harsh conditions in the pre-treatments. This entails high costs caused by:- (i) energy, water and/or raw materials (e.g. chemicals, enzymes) requirements;
- (ii) complexity of operations and maintenance;
- (iii) an increase in waste and residues generation;
- (iv) increased production of inhibitor compounds that may affect the overall yields of biorefining processes.
On the other hand, soft operating conditions in pre-treatments often result in a lower effectiveness in biomass fractionation, thus directly affecting the yields in the targeted products during conversion phases.
Several technologies based on chemical, biochemical, physical processes or a combination of these has shown the potential to provide valuable and sustainable solutions to substitute and/or efficiently integrate pre-treatment processes currently implemented.
The specific challenge is to reduce costs and improve sustainability associated with the pre-treatment steps of biomass feedstock while making it possible to achieve of sufficiently high yields in the targeted products in the subsequent conversion steps.
Scope of BBI2019.SO2.R2
Identify and develop cost-effective, efficient and sustainable technologies for biomass pre-treatments, paving the way for feeding the biomass fractions/components obtained after pre-treatments into the subsequent conversion steps. The solutions developed may be based on chemical, biochemical or physical processes, or a combination of these.This topic may include any bio-based feedstock, provided it can be sourced in a way that is sustainable both from an environmental and an economic perspective.
Proposals should prove that the pre-treatment solution developed has the potential, when compared to state-of-the-art processes, to decrease costs, inhibitors and waste streams formation, and to make maintenance and process control easier.
Proposals should include testing activities on targeted bio-based feedstock to prove the potential for the subsequent upscaling of the developed process.
Proposals should address all requirements for RIA as shown in Table 3 in the Introduction.
The technology readiness level (TRL) at the end of the project should be 4-5 for the bio-based value chain in question. Proposals should clearly state the starting and end TRLs of the key technology or technologies targeted in the project.
Industry participation in the project would be considered as an added value because it can play a supportive role to demonstrate the potential for integrating the developed concepts and technologies into current industrial landscapes or existing plants so they can be deployed more quickly and scaled up to apply industry-wide.