Project description
Using pulp and paper industry sludge for coal alternatives
Torrefaction improves the fuel characteristics of biomass and torrefied pellets can be an alternative to coal. However, at this stage, these pellets are not cost competitive to coal. On the other hand, pulp and paper industries (PPI) produce a lot of organic residues, and handling them is associated with environmental and economic issues. The TOPIS-BioCirc project will study the feasibility of torrefaction of PPI sludge (PPIS) and integrating it with microbial conversion to produce bio-coal, bio-methane and volatile fatty acids. The fuel characteristics of torrefied PPIS will be established. The applicability of torrefaction condensate to produce bio-methane and volatile fatty acids will be studied and then compared with anaerobic digestion of PPIS. Later, process simulation will be carried out to investigate the overall feasibility of the process at industrial scale. Using PPI’s organic residues in this manner will reduce waste, increase sustainability of resources and allows to produce sustainable bio-products.
Objective
Pulp and paper industries (PPI) are known for producing large quantities of organic residues. Considering the economic and environmental aspects, the resource recovery from PPI wastes is necessary in order to increase the resource efficiency. In that regard, developing novel biorefinery processes to produce multiple products from PPI wastes is interesting under bio and circular economy. On the other hand, the interest on torrefied biomass is rising over the globe as it can replace the coal. However, the economics of torrefied pellets is not competitive compared to the coal. As the majority of the torrefied pellets production costs are coming from raw materials, sourcing them from low cost resources could be helpful to improve the economic competitiveness of the torrefied pellets over coal. To address the above said two issues, this project will study the feasibility of the torrefaction of pulp and paper industry sludge (PPIS) and integrating it with microbial conversion to produce bioenergy carriers i.e. bio-coal and bio-methane and volatile fatty acids. To achieve this, the expertise of the experienced researcher on biomass torrefaction, process modeling and feasibility analysis will be combined with the expertise of the supervisor on microbial conversion processes and biomass pretreatment. Initially, torrefaction of dewatered PPIS will be carried out in order to establish the biofuel characteristics of torrefied PPIS. Later, anaerobic digestion of torrefaction condensate produced through the torrefaction of PPIS will be studied at varied operating conditions in order to establish the production potential of bio-methane and volatile fatty acids. Finally, the proposed process integration will be simulated to a commercial scale from laboratory experimental results in order to evaluate the techno-economic and environmental feasibility. The proposed study can help the European society to shift toward low carbon economy and achieve sustainable development goals.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology bioremediation bioreactors
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels fossil energy coal
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology biomaterials biofuels
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
51014 Tartu
Estonia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.