PowerPlatform: Establishment of platform infrastructure for highly selective electrochemical conversions

Project Information

PERFORM

Grant agreement ID: 820723

DOI

10.3030/820723

Project closed

EC signature date 27 September 2018

Start date 1 January 2019

End date 31 December 2023

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Advanced manufacturing and processing

Total cost

€ 8 627 446,44

EU contribution

€ 7 368 068,75

Coordinated by

NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNO
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - PERFORM (PowerPlatform: Establishment of platform infrastructure for highly selective electrochemical conversions)

Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The PERFORM project targets two global trends: Electrification and a shift towards bio-based feedstocks. The objective of PERFORM is to reduce the environmental impact of the chemical industry and to reduce CO2 emissions from the production of chemicals. As society continues to develop towards a bio-based economy over the coming decades, the biorefinery will take on an increasingly important role. It will enable Europe to convert biomass into the marketable products needed to meet the demands of European society in the areas of food, chemicals, materials and pharmaceuticals. The challenge of these developments, amongst others, are changes in raw material and expansion of the product range, requiring the need of new process concepts. The future of sustainable society and economy is largely based on realizing technologies which use local resources (including renewable energy) and allow to shift from large centralized productions to distributed models (at regional level). There are many benefits for society in this new model of production, from a better integration at territory level with positive impact on jobs, to lower costs, risks and environmental impact of transporting chemicals, creation of symbiosis models, reduction of the impact of large production plants, etc

The main objective of PERFORM is the development, construction and demonstration of a highly versatile and modular TRL6 PowerPlatform for the valorization of biomass, demonstrating the use of electrochemistry and advanced technologies for efficient and selective conversions of biomass molecules to building blocks for high performance applications (e.g. polymers / coatings / adhesives).

The PERFORM project applied a multi-level approach including a combined integration between electrification, reduction of process complexity, avoiding the use of co-reactants through system integration, innovation in processes and bio-based use of feedstocks, as well as the development of a flexible PowerPlatform pilot plant platform. Additionally, dissemination and exploitation activities are of importance.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The PERFORM project is finalized - new process concepts have been developed and demonstrated from feedstock to pilot plant, for two demonstration cases (“lines”). Glucose feedstock selection and processing has been analysed and reported early in the project, and a detailed evaluation has been done on competitive technologies. Here it is confirmed that the PERFORM technologies score high from the perspective of green chemistry: 1) Electrocatalytic conversion is regarded to be safer, since it is operated with water as solvent and at ambient pressures and lower temperatures 2) Electrocatalytic conversion eliminates the need for H2 or O2 gas. This reduces risks and reduces the CO2 footprint of the process. 3) Increased Energy efficiency: the targeted process is run at ambient conditions. The energy consumption can be finely controlled by the applied electrical potential. 4) Renewable feedstock is used, eliminating the need for fossil carbon 5) renewable electricity is used, eliminating the need for fossil fuels / energy.

Electrode materials for the two lines, for anodes and cathodes have been developed and optimized. A performance (“Faradic yield”) has been reached within the targets for the Line 1 anode (towards maleic acid), the Line 2 anode (towards glucaric acid) and the Line 1 cathode (towards valeric acid).

A major effort has been done to design and develop the integrated process and PowerPlatform system which would be able to run both lines. Not only for the electrochemical conversions, but additionally for the downstream processing (DSP), recycles and product extraction and purification. Different options were researched and processes tested at lab scale. The specifications of the process, the design and test of the electrochemical reactors, the DSP process and units have been established. Finally the integrated process at lab scale has been demonstrated and reported. This work lead to the design and realization of the pilot platform units. The picture shows the realized upstream electrochemical unit and the ED unit, the main parts of the PowerPlatform and the main outcome of the project.

A testing campaign has been executed demonstrating successfully the production of maleic acid at pilot scale, and the production of glucaric and valeric acid at bench scale. Using the produced outputs, application testing has been carried out, leading to the production of plastic sheet material with excellent properties.

Life cycle assessment and life cycle costing in different scenario’s was used to evaluate the impact on global warming potential. A complete process model (“digital twin”) has been developed with which it is possible to analyse scale-up and energy efficiency improvements. A market assessment shows the overall market attractiveness of the PERFORM technologies.

Finally, a large number of dissemination and training activities have been taken place. Documents, video’s, recording of workshops and the whitepaper can be found on the PERFORM website: https://performproject.eu/. The project also achieved a strong presence on social media in different channels, such as LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project is finished and results have been reported. With respect to the global warming potential, the LCA results indicate the perfect suitability of the processes aimed as consumers of renewable energy as well as for future scenarios where the PowerPlatform is connected to the electricity grid. A market assessment has been done where the need for a ground-breaking solution like the POWER PLATFORM appears to be getting more and more important, especially relevant for Europe. The impact towards exploitation has been investigated.

With respect to the business case, a conclusion based on initial estimates is that it would be possible to produce maleic acid at a price of 1.2 to 1.9 €/kg, which is positive. Also, the business case is sensitive, it strongly depends on the future price of feedstocks and energy so there is not “one answer”. Although the project was unable to fully validate at TRL6 within the given timeline, these results obtained are promising and encourage further research toward commercial implementation.

To maximize the impact, it is important to note that the PowerPlatform will be Open Access after the project. As it is a modular equipment, it can be used to research and scale up other chemical conversion routes apart from the ones demonstrated in the project. The project partners are actively looking for industrial partners who want to invest in green chemistry.

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