19 December 2007

”The comprehensive and sustainable utilisation of biomasses requires networking and cooperation between companies operating in different industries,” says Dr. Niklas von Weymarn. Photo: Antonin Halas

Biorefinery concepts provide added value to existing biomass-based value chains

Biomasses are expected to generate new chemicals, materials and transport fuels in the future. Business opportunities are most likely to emerge through wide-range cooperation between academic groups and industries of different backgrounds. Bridges designed to bring about such cooperation are currently being built e.g. between companies from the forest, chemical and energy sectors.

Having begun last year and continuing until the end of 2010, the scope of VTT's Biorefinery research programme ranges from forest and agricultural biomasses to industrial side streams and municipal wastes.

“We aim at developing technologies and products that can be applied and produced in a financially and environmentally sustainable manner, while at the same time keeping a keen eye on the needs of the industry,” says Dr. Niklas von Weymarn, who heads the research programme at VTT.

A rational starting point is to first look at opportunities based on current industrial activities and their infrastructure and logistics, in particular those of the forest and chemical industry.

“Finland can also further strengthen its position as an exporter of equipment, technology and now-how related to the biomass processing world. Cooperation with companies in the forest, chemical and energy industries is of crucial importance in that regard as well,” Dr. von Weymarn points out.

Competitive edge for the future

There are already several biomass-based products on the market, adding e.g. health-promoting features to food products. Xylitol and Benecol® products are among the most well-known examples. Biodegradable polymers manufactured from e.g. lactic acid have been introduced in cutlery and textiles.

Starch-based packages manufactured from agricultural biomass are becoming more and more common, while new biodiesel production routes based on forest biomass are currently tested in pilot plants.

“The competitiveness of biomass-based products improves when the price of oil increases,” von Weymarn remarks. “In such a situation, the role of biotechnology that applies biomass-based sugar as its main raw material becomes increasingly pronounced.”

The most potential of the Finnish biomass sources are the side streams of forest industry. The required infrastructure and logistics are already in place. This makes it possible to advance rapidly to commercial production.

"We develop concepts and technologies for new value chains that mostly start from current industrial side streams, thus maximising the added value obtained from the raw material. The current main product lines we try to affect as little as possible,” von Weymarn explains. “When we extract a certain biomass component for further processing from e.g. bark or black liquor, we study carefully the effects that the extraction will have on the energy output of the processes, in which the side streams are currently used.”

During the first 18 months, VTT's research programme has focused on developing and evaluating new process concepts.

“The operations of the new biorefinery concepts are designed from the start in view of maximising the synergy benefits. This essentially involves an optimised integration of different material streams as well as energy,” Dr. von Weymarn points out.

The programme also develops tools, such as mathematical models that can be used for assessing the cost-efficiency, environmental impact and energy balance of the new concepts.

Potential present in nature

Technologically, the research programme has focused on three different value chains: extraction and valorisation of chemicals and polymers present in nature, thermo-chemical processing of biomass, and the manufacture of ethanol and other platform chemicals from lignocellulosic sugar.

“There are already several interesting chemicals and polymers present in nature, especially in wood and berries. We attempt to extract and purify these substances,” says von Weymarn.

Composite materials represent an interesting future application for biomass-based chemicals and polymers.

“The realisation of this value chain also requires the development of the composite manufacturing equipment. Traditional composite manufacturing equipment do not necessarily work as such when components originating from biomass are used,” von Weymarn points out.

“Our vision is to come up with composites, in which all components would originate from biomass, but in this regard we are advancing gradually.”

Thermo-chemical technologies are used for processing biomass at high temperatures, as a result of which the biomass disintegrates into gases or solutions that resemble tar. After purification, the intermediate products can catalytically be converted into liquid biofuels and, in the future, perhaps also chemicals.

Lignocellulose, on the other hand, can also be hydrolysed into sugars and, through additional biotechnological processes, into a variety of further products, primarily ethanol.

“We also study the conversion of sugars into different sugar derivatives. The objective is to develop technologies that enable the production of novel platform chemicals from which commercially interesting chemicals and polymers are produced additional technologies.” This resembles the value chain in which starch-based sugar is used for making lactic acid, while the lactic acid is subsequently used for making fully biodegradable PLA plastic.

Competence integration

The Biorefinery research programme is one of VTT's four ongoing research programmes aiming at technology breakthroughs and significant impact also on a longer time span. An essential characteristic of all the programmes is strong cooperation and networking with the best partners.

VTT's investment into the Biorefinery research programme amounts to EUR 15 million. The objective is to extend the financing basis with outside funding so as to raise the volume of the programme to EUR 30-35 million.

Potential financing partners in the field of biomass refinement include, amongst others, the BioRefine technology programme recently initiated by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes), Forest Cluster Ltd., the seventh framework programme of the EU, and the companies in the relevant industries.

Key technology development partners in Finland include Åbo Akademi University, Helsinki University of Technology, KCL, University of Helsinki, and Lappeenranta University of Technology. On the raw material side, VTT is cooperating with the Finnish Forest Research Institute and MTT Agrifood Research Finland.