BBI2019.SO2.R7 – Model the composition of bio-based residual streams and its evolution to optimise its management and processing
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.R7
- Our extensive expertise in physico-chemical analysis of biomass and residues - This topic is the perfect fit for Celignis since we analyse hundreds of samples of biomass and residues per week. We have a wide ranging and deep understanding of the physical and chemical nature of biomass and biobased residue streams. Click here to see a list and descriptions of just some of the hundreds of different biomass types that we have analysed.
- Feedstock Profiling - The call suggests that the seasonal variations in composition for residual biomass streams should be investigated. This is something that Celignis has significant experience in both through the analytical work we undertake for our clients as well as in our activities in a number of our ongoing research projects. For example, in our BBI project BIOrescue we analysed the compositional variability of wheat straw and spent mushroom compost collected over the course of a year from a mushroom farm in Ireland. In an upcoming BBI demonstration-scale project (which is currently in the grant agreement stage) Celignis will analyse samples of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste collected over a year. This will allow the variability in composition to be more clearly modelled and understood, which will allow biorefinery operators to predict with more confidence the potential product yields that could occur in a given season. Additionally, Celignis founder Daniel Hayes undertook detailed feedstock profiling studies in his PhD and subsequent post-doctoral work (before launching Celignis) covering feedstocks such as sugarcane bagasse, peat, straws, and Miscanthus. The work on Miscanthus involved highly in-depth analysis concerning the potential biomass yields and compositional changes in the harvestable biomass associated with a delayed harvest and potentially only recovering certain parts of the plant (see 'Mass and compositional changes, relevant to biorefining, in Miscanthus x giganteus plants over the harvest window' for more details). The work led to the preparation of a Miscanthus Database that allowed the user to investigate correlations between composition and supply-side parameters such as stand age, harvest date, and location.
- Data Visualisation Tools - The Celignis Database is a tool that is highly regarded by many of Celignis's clients. It allows the user easy access to all of the analytical data we obtain for their samples and presents these data in a user-friendly format that facilitates deeper understanding of the nature of the biomass and the trends between samples. The Database also links compositional data to yields that may be expected if the sample were to be processed in a number of representative conversion technologies. Some of the Database's webpages are available to be viewed on a public version of the site, click here to see a page presenting lignocellusic data, here to see some representations of thermal data, here to see some process-liquids data on the Celigis Database, and here to see detailed biogas data for a sample with additional data concerning the digestate that is obtained after the sample has been digested. We consider the Celignis Database, and the expertise of Celignis personnel Deepak Kumar (in chemometrics and full-stack programming) and Daniel Hayes (in understanding the chemistry of biomass and how it can be modelled, trended and visualised) to be the perfect foundation on which to build our contributions to this topic.
- Rapid analysis models for biomass composition - The call states that the project should develop 'tools to monitor and analyse the evolving composition of organic residual streams'. Celignis is a world-leader in the development of rapid analysis models for feedstocks, process intermediates, and outputs of the biomass, biofuels, and bio-based product sectors. We are the only company that has commercialised near infrared spectroscopy as a rapid analysis tool for the determination of the lignocellulosic compositon of biomass. We currently offer analysis packages that accurately predict 13 different lignocellulosic parameters using models that are applicable to a wide variety of biomass feedstocks, as well as the products of biomass convesion. Within our ongoing BBI project BIOrescue we have further advanced the art with these models through the implementation of advanced chemometric techniques such as locally weighted regression (though custom code developed in R-Studio) that allow for significant improvements in predicitive accuracy. In our ongoing BBI project UNRAVEL we are developing custom models for process liquids and oligomers, and, in a soon to start BBI Innovation Action project, we will be demonstrating these models for at-line analysis within the demo biorefinery. This work will also allow for API tools to be developed and these will enable responsive process control decisions to be made based on real-time analytical data. We see a multitude of possibilities for further advancing the art in this space within this 2019 BBI topic.
- Understanding and modelling biomass transformations - The call also mentions that the project should enable better insight into the transformation reactions affecting feedstock composition and energetic content. At Celignis we have analysed hundreds of samples of outputs from biomass pretreatment and conversion 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. Such knoweldge will be key in developing relevant and effective tools for modelling and optimising biomass transformations.
Specific Challenge of BBI2019.SO2.R7
Variations in composition of bio-based residual streams are a major drawback for their effective management and processing. Better insight into their nature, composition and transformation reactions affecting their composition and energetic content is crucial for putting the right valorisation steps in place.Modelling systems to track and chart impacts of relevant variables in managing and processing organic residual streams can provide the desired insight and help simulate value chains for valorisation.
The specific challenge is to increase insight into the changing quality of bulk organic residues with the aid of modelling systems
Scope of BBI2019.SO2.R7
Develop and test adequate analytical tools and innovative algorithms to model the composition of different organic residual streams.Proposals should deliver adequate tools to monitor and analyse the evolving composition of organic residual streams. Proposals should enable and facilitate the testing of parameters such as availability, seasonality, territorial features and the origin of the targeted residual streams.
The developed models should focus on the physico-chemical characteristics of the different residual streams, paving the way to a better valorisation of such feedstock into a wide range of products.
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.
Participation of industry and territorial waste managing authorities in the project would be considered as an added value because they can play a supportive role to demonstrate the potential for integrating the developed concepts into current waste management schemes, industrial landscapes or existing plants so that they can be deployed more quickly and scaled up.
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.