Biomass valorisation to high value added chemicals: BIOALL
Author
Christa Ivanova, PhD
Publication Date
August 14, 2021
Status
Keywords
Biomass valorisation
high value added chemicals
CO2 auto-methanation
carbon capture
fossil fuels
biomass-derivative molecules
waste value
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Biomass valorisation to high value added chemicals: introduction
Due to the depletion of natural resources and increasing greenhouse emissions, sustainable developments such as reusing waste and biomass are imperative actions in the fight against climate change.
BIOALL aims to address this need by developing efficient, low-cost processes for converting biomass and CO2 into high-added-value chemicals and fuels, generating clean energy, and supporting a circular economy.
Biomass and CO2 valorisation to high value added chemicals: project description
Hydrogen is central to the process of valorization, and today, approximately 95% of hydrogen is produced either from wood or fossil fuels, which strongly opposes the objective of sustainability.
To avoid the use of hydrogen from fossil fuels, BIOALL utilizes formic acid, a subproduct of biorefinery processes, in the transformation of critical biomass-derivative molecules, succinic acid, and furfural, to high-value chemicals, γ-butyrolactone, and furfuryl alcohol, respectively.
Since the decomposition of formic acid leads to the release of CO2, BIOALL aims to obtain cost-effective catalysts for the auto-methanation of CO2, generating CH4 as a fuel source.
In this multidisciplinary and international consortium of 9 partners, we use our expertise in microfluidics to improve carbon capture and CO2 auto-methanation efficiency by optimizing the precursor microfluidic systems and participating in developing the microchannel reactors.
Furthermore, we endeavor to maximize the dissemination of information promoting BIOALL, its technology, and its long-term applications.
This project to valorize biomass has received funding from the European Union under H2020-MSCA-RISE-2020, grant agreement No. 101008058 (BIOALL).
Start date: 1 September 2021
End date: 31 August 2024
Overall budget: € 722 200. 00
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FAQ – Biomaterials engineering for organ repair: THOR
What is BIOALL in one line?
BIOALL is an H2O2 project coordinated by microfluidic process intensification that develops inexpensive, effective pathways to transform biomass and collected CO2 into high-value chemicals and fuels, bridging green chemistry and microfluidic process intensification.
What is the reason why hydrogen is a bottleneck to the valorisation of green?
Significant reduction processes frequently involve H2, but the vast majority of industrial H2, even today, still stems from wood or fossil feedstocks, compromising the sustainability of downstream chemistry. It avoids that dependency with the help of BIOALL, which relies on formic acid as an on-demand hydrogen donor.
What is the practical benefit of using formic acid?
Formic acid, this is easily used as a biorefinery by-product that decomposes to give out reducing equivalents at the expense of generating CO2. In BIOALL two benchmark transformations are done by replacing external H2:
- GBL (succinic acid → g-butyrolactone)
- Furfural → furfuryl alcohol (FA)
The two molecules are useful intermediates with polymers, solvents, and resins.
However, when formic acid produces CO2, is that a retrograde reaction?
BIOALL develops cost-effective CO2 autometanation catalysts that convert released CO2 into CH4 (a fuel that can be utilized). Conversion and methanation are done on the consortium couples to prevent carbon escaping to the atmosphere.
In what way does microfluidics have an impact?
Microfluidic engineering enhances gas-liquid-solid contact, residence time, and heat control. In BIOALL, MIC’s role is to:
· Optimize precursor microfluidic systems of carbon capture and CO2 activation.
· Develop microchannel reactors that enhance the intensity of auto-methanation and liquid-phase reductions.
The end result: increased space-time yields, safer reactions with reactive species, and simpler scale-out via numbering-up.
What are the anchor molecules and the reasons why they were chosen?
Examples of bio-based platforms are succinic acid and furfural. The conversion of them to g-butyrolactone and furfuryl alcohol shows hydrogen-transfer upgrading on two scaffolds (dicarboxylic acid and furanic aldehyde), which are important to solvents, fiber resin, bio-based plastics, and specialty monomers.
What is the relationship with the metrics of the circular economy?
CO2 and biomass-derived intermediates. The continuous flow transfer-hydrogenation-methanation process minimizes the external H2 requirement and recycles CO2 into energy. The change that LCA practitioners are driving at the systems level is, in turn, less imported fossil inputs and more inner-city carbon loops.
So what was the Microfluidics Innovation Center (MIC) constructing?
In addition to the design assistance, MIC had been undertaking microchannel reactor precursor microfluidic modules that (a) stabilize gas-liquid interfaces, (b) reduce hot spots during exothermic catalytic reactions, and (c) keep catalytic beds shear-controlled under continuous operation (important towards repeatability).
Why engage MIC, a European-based SME, in your next consortium?
Because the Horizon calls success is bound to performance and realistic realization. MIC is deeply experienced in microfluidic engineering, prototyping, and technology transfer and is an active member of several EU consortia. With MIC as an R&D-industrial partner, as in our case, proposal success rates are higher than official baselines, including for higher work plans, scale-up, and exploitation routes.
So, what do I do next, practically speaking, when I am assessing a project on biomass or CO2 conversion?
Choose a pilot reaction (e.g., a formic-acid-based reduction), specify experiment inlet conditions (concentration, viscosity, gas fraction), and trace the heat of reaction. Based on it, MIC would be able to suggest a microchannel architecture with a catalyst implementation strategy and a validation protocol within a HE/Horizon Europe time frame.
Any lessons for the lab staff regarding transitions of batch to flow?
Begin small and steady: prove that you can replicate your optimal batch selectivity in a millifluidic testbed, and only then can you begin to use microchannel arrays. Maintain three interfacial areas per volume, specific power input, and mean residence time distribution constants on scaling.
Is the strategy extrapolated to GBL and furfuryl alcohol?
Yes. The principles of platform logic, i.e., (i) formic acid as a harmless H-donor; (ii) valorisation of the product CO2, apply to other bio-platforms (levulinates, HMF derivatives, itaconates). The microfluidic coating is primarily used to provide well-endowed kinetics and heat exchange when you change substrates or catalysts.