Periodic Reporting for period 2 - VEHICLE (Valorise Extensive quantities of HemIcellulosic and Cellulosic sugars from Lignocellulosic biomass into high-value End products)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2020-11-01 do 2022-04-30
The VEHICLE project demonstrates novel technologies for providing and valorizing low value sugar streams. The industry consortium “VEHICLE” will develop and demonstrate technologies in industrial scale that utilise 100% plant-based chemicals produced from renewable raw materials like lignocellulosic biomass from pulp mills and non-food feedstock from biorefineries. The consortium will establish new value chains throughout Europe to supply these plant-based chemicals and materials into large array of industrial applications and consumer products like packaging applications, pulp and paper products and bioplastics-based consumer goods. Its objective is to enhance the business potential of both existing and future European biorefineries and other bioeconomy companies as well as create economic benefits and new jobs in their value chains.
The VEHICLE has advanced towards its main goals as follows:
• Demonstrating valorisation of dilute hemicellulose-containing prehydrolysate streams from pulp mills, which are currently waste streams with little value: Ecohelix built the demo production unit at the Domsjö mill and received permits from the municipality´s authorities for the start of production in the beginning of 2021. Ecohelix has ran the demo production unit for more than 1000 h (active running hours) and has optimized the running conditions. The Ecohelix LCC polymer has been delivered to Kemira and other customers. MetGen has produced and supplied the first batches of MetZyme® extremophilic laccases to Ecohelix for the detoxification of hemicellulose stream, with the validation tests ongoing.
• Widening the business and market opportunities of existing biorefinery investments by demonstrating the applicability of their sugar streams in several downstream options: Sugar streams will be provided by Avantium and Fibenol from their demonstration and flagship facilities. Avantium opened its Ray demonstration plant in 2020 and started the test runs of MEG / MPG production. Avantium has shown that the mix sugars and glucose streams from Dawn process after the relevant purification steps can be used as the feedstock for Ray TechnologyTM. Fibenol has achieved the scale-up in its biorefinery and has chosen the optimal process and purification steps for its sugar streams. Fibenol has validated the usability of the sugar streams with project partners Novamont and Metgen for their processes.
• Demonstrating the use of hemicellulose polymers from prehydrolysis streams in different pulp and paper product applications: Kemira has identified and studied the performance of the Ecohelix LCC polymer in varying paper and board applications. The Ecohelix LCC polymer has been tested in new application areas and three new patent applications have been filed. Kemira has identified the main applications areas of the Ecohelix LCC polymer, selected the most promising applications and successfully scaled up to pilot production.
• Demonstrating conversion of hemicellulose and cellulose based sugars into intermediate and building block chemicals – glycols, diols and diacids – as well as into specialty sugars (glucosone, fructose): Avantium has shown that the mix sugars and glucose streams from Dawn process after the relevant purification steps can be used as the feedstock for Ray TechnologyTM. Novamont has demonstrated the suitability of use of 2G sugars as raw material for monomers production. MetGen has demonstrated pilot scale (batch) production of glucosone with 100% conversion using Fibenol C6 hydrolysate. Development of optimized SOP for batch production finalized and ready for technology transfer to demonstration scale.
• Demonstrating valorisation of dilute hemicellulose-containing prehydrolysate streams from pulp mills, which are currently waste streams with little value: Ecohelix built the demo production unit at the Domsjö mill and received permits from the municipality´s authorities for the start of production in the beginning of 2021. Ecohelix has ran the demo production unit for more than 1000 h (active running hours) and has optimized the running conditions. The Ecohelix LCC polymer has been delivered to Kemira and other customers. MetGen has produced and supplied the first batches of MetZyme® extremophilic laccases to Ecohelix for the detoxification of hemicellulose stream, with the validation tests ongoing.
• Widening the business and market opportunities of existing biorefinery investments by demonstrating the applicability of their sugar streams in several downstream options: Sugar streams will be provided by Avantium and Fibenol from their demonstration and flagship facilities. Avantium opened its Ray demonstration plant in 2020 and started the test runs of MEG / MPG production. Avantium has shown that the mix sugars and glucose streams from Dawn process after the relevant purification steps can be used as the feedstock for Ray TechnologyTM. Fibenol has achieved the scale-up in its biorefinery and has chosen the optimal process and purification steps for its sugar streams. Fibenol has validated the usability of the sugar streams with project partners Novamont and Metgen for their processes.
• Demonstrating the use of hemicellulose polymers from prehydrolysis streams in different pulp and paper product applications: Kemira has identified and studied the performance of the Ecohelix LCC polymer in varying paper and board applications. The Ecohelix LCC polymer has been tested in new application areas and three new patent applications have been filed. Kemira has identified the main applications areas of the Ecohelix LCC polymer, selected the most promising applications and successfully scaled up to pilot production.
• Demonstrating conversion of hemicellulose and cellulose based sugars into intermediate and building block chemicals – glycols, diols and diacids – as well as into specialty sugars (glucosone, fructose): Avantium has shown that the mix sugars and glucose streams from Dawn process after the relevant purification steps can be used as the feedstock for Ray TechnologyTM. Novamont has demonstrated the suitability of use of 2G sugars as raw material for monomers production. MetGen has demonstrated pilot scale (batch) production of glucosone with 100% conversion using Fibenol C6 hydrolysate. Development of optimized SOP for batch production finalized and ready for technology transfer to demonstration scale.
Key exploitable results include an optimised process setup and its verification with sidestreams, to be used in designing an industrial scale production unit; improvement of sugar quality for downstream applications; five patent applications; a published manuscript, conference presentation and an abstract.
The VEHICLE project demonstrates the valorisation of hemicelluloses from pulping process side streams as well as wood fractionated with novel technologies, resulting in new bio-based building blocks, new bio-based materials and new bio-based consumer products.
Expected impacts include:
- Enabling pulp mills to recover higher value and better sustainability for their existing capacity by valorising their hemicellulose-containing side (waste) streams that currently have no or low value-added use
- Enabling 2G biorefining to guarantee a higher valorisation of its hemicellulose and cellulose based by-products in a broader spectrum of conversion routes into possible end products, thus increasing their business potential and decreasing risks
- Enabling even >90% conversion of hemicellulose-based materials into end products, expanding the existing biorefining feedstock base significantly
- Demonstrating up to nine value chains and nine end-products, with standalone routes and in combinations towards the separate markets, with the market size for each main product group in the scale of billions of euros annually
- Demonstrating the end products in VEHICLE to answer to all key market requirements and be comparable to existing alternatives in terms of technical performance and costs. Furthermore, their sustainability is far superior compared to the fossil- or food-based conventional products, enabling significant growth opportunities for the partner companies and addressing the major societal challenge.
- Linking tightly with several large-scale European projects, maximising the impacts of previous European investments
Expected environmental impacts include:
- Replacing oil-based materials in pulp and paper applications with hemicellulose polymers. The replacement polymers will be fully biodegradable while not competing with resources for food and feed production.
- Converting a large portion of the organic material from pulp mills, currently considered a waste product, into valuable products by valorising a side-stream.
- Reducing water consumption substantially – by up to 70 percent – with associated improvements in energy consumption. This will improve the economics of the process and reduce its environmental impact.
- Reducing CO2 emissions. Renewable feedstocks have a smaller environmental footprint and can replace fossil-based building block production with hemicellulose-derived alternatives and replace food-based starches currently used in paper manufacturing.
The VEHICLE project demonstrates the valorisation of hemicelluloses from pulping process side streams as well as wood fractionated with novel technologies, resulting in new bio-based building blocks, new bio-based materials and new bio-based consumer products.
Expected impacts include:
- Enabling pulp mills to recover higher value and better sustainability for their existing capacity by valorising their hemicellulose-containing side (waste) streams that currently have no or low value-added use
- Enabling 2G biorefining to guarantee a higher valorisation of its hemicellulose and cellulose based by-products in a broader spectrum of conversion routes into possible end products, thus increasing their business potential and decreasing risks
- Enabling even >90% conversion of hemicellulose-based materials into end products, expanding the existing biorefining feedstock base significantly
- Demonstrating up to nine value chains and nine end-products, with standalone routes and in combinations towards the separate markets, with the market size for each main product group in the scale of billions of euros annually
- Demonstrating the end products in VEHICLE to answer to all key market requirements and be comparable to existing alternatives in terms of technical performance and costs. Furthermore, their sustainability is far superior compared to the fossil- or food-based conventional products, enabling significant growth opportunities for the partner companies and addressing the major societal challenge.
- Linking tightly with several large-scale European projects, maximising the impacts of previous European investments
Expected environmental impacts include:
- Replacing oil-based materials in pulp and paper applications with hemicellulose polymers. The replacement polymers will be fully biodegradable while not competing with resources for food and feed production.
- Converting a large portion of the organic material from pulp mills, currently considered a waste product, into valuable products by valorising a side-stream.
- Reducing water consumption substantially – by up to 70 percent – with associated improvements in energy consumption. This will improve the economics of the process and reduce its environmental impact.
- Reducing CO2 emissions. Renewable feedstocks have a smaller environmental footprint and can replace fossil-based building block production with hemicellulose-derived alternatives and replace food-based starches currently used in paper manufacturing.