Game-changing technology creates new raw materials for consumer goods Biopolymers have a wide range of industrial applications, from textiles to cosmetics. Sulfur is a key component in current pulping processes, but an innovative approach uses pressurised hot water extraction, making the process cleaner and more efficient. Industrial Technologies © CH-Bioforce Until now the pulping industry relied on what is known as the kraft process. Patented back in 1884 the method is inefficient, extracting only cellulose which makes up just 40-50 % of the raw material, and is sulfur dependent. The process is not only polluting and inefficient, but also costly – expensive post-treatments are necessary, especially if pulp is refined to textile fibres. The EU supported CHBTECH project has developed a process based on pressurised hot water extraction (PHWE) and very few chemicals are used in the process. “As a result, we produce three high-quality biopolymers in undamaged and native form. The method we have developed is also far more flexible: it can utilise wood, but also agricultural and industrial waste streams as feedstock,” explains Mari Taipale, chief operating officer of CH-Bioforce, the company behind the project. Time to update a century-old process Compared to the material efficiency of the kraft process, the technology developed with the help of the EU-supported CHBTECH project has shifted efficiency from less than 50 % to over 90 %. Where the kraft process leaves half of the raw material behind as waste, the technology developed with the help of the EU-supported CHBTECH project can transform 90 %. This means the process is more cost-effective not only when it comes to yield, but also when it comes to feedstock as PHWE can be applied to a wider range of raw materials such as straw and industrial waste stock. “Our technology brings the circular economy closer,” says Taipale. “We can take certain industrial wastes and convert them into cellulose that can go on to be used in the textile industry.” It is no more expensive to achieve this extra efficiency – in terms of both investment and environmental impact, CH-Bioforce’s development is less costly. “It’s not just use of sulfur that is avoided, the overall chemical usage is low. The process has a closed water circulation so the need for fresh water is low, and pollutants are not released into the environment. As the material efficiency is over 90 %, the amount of by-produced waste is negligible,” adds Taipale. The production of CO2 is also slashed: “Recent research has indicated the CO2 emission of CH-Bioforce’s process is only 0.0176 metric tonnes CO2 equivalent, per air dry tonne, which is less than 1 % compared to the current mainstream kraft process.” Efficiency comes in various sizes – flexible plants and capacity The other key benefit of this new system is that plants can be constructed in a variety of sizes, so relatively small businesses can harness the technology. Thanks to the lower price of initial investment, high material efficiency and superior end products, the company has created a highly scalable technology. “Instead of investments in the billion scale, as in the traditional pulping industry, we can now offer a technology that enables a totally new segment of customers to invest in our game-changing technology. This means the pulping process can be conducted closer to both the raw materials and end users, thereby also reducing transportation costs and emissions.” Scaling up to demonstrate potential The team decided to build the first production plant by themselves to demonstrate the concept to the project’s industrial partners: throughout the CHBTECH project, industry players have been evaluating CH-Bioforce’s biopolymers in textiles and cosmetics. “The results have been very promising, and we now have letters of intent from companies interested in buying our biopolymers once they are available. If only a few of them lead to a contract, we have sold the whole capacity of the first plant,” Taipale says. Whatever the future holds, Taipale is happy with the evolution of the project: “Our biggest achievement has been to raise market awareness and demand for our products. We have scaled up our technology and successfully performed several proof of concept trials with a wide variety of raw materials.” Keywords CHBTECH, sulfur-free, pulping, cellulose, pressurised hot water extraction, PHWE, circular economy, kraft process, CH-Bioforce, textiles, cosmetics
