PULP2VALUE project – A full biorefinery model for sugar beet pulp

By -


The EU is the world’s leading producer of sugar from beet with around 50% of the total. Most production is processed into crystallised or liquid sugar for food applications. Only 2% of total sugar production is used in non-food applications (for instance, production of bioethanol in conventional sugar biorefineries). The sugar sector needs to develop new markets to grow.

One of the opportunities is boosting the use of the sugar as a basis for fermentation. This will lead to simplified processes with lower energy needs and use of all the sugar content for value-added end products. A good example is the industrial project for the plant of PHAs biopolymer that Cristal Union (leading sugar beet producer in France) and Bio-on will build in France (see press release).

But, this is not the only way. During the processing of the beets, a major residual stream called sugar beet pulp is generated after extracting the sugar. In Europe, it accounts for approximate 13 million tons per year and it is mainly used for animal feed. Therefore, new solutions to valorize this waste could represent a significant opportunity to open new value chains and markets. And, that is the overall objective of the project PULP2VALUE. In other words, the approach of this project intends to demonstrate a biorefinery system to refine sugar beet pulp and isolate high value components for detergents, personal care, coatings, composites and other applications.

PULP2VALUE (Processing Underutilised Low value sugarbeet Pulp into VALUE added products) is one of the two European demonstration projects that are being funded by the European Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU call 2014, see previous post about the results of this call). It has a total budget of €11.5 million with €6.6 million coming from the BBI JU. The consortium is being managed by the agro-industrial cooperative Royal Cosun (The Netherlands) and comprises six partners more from four countries: The Netherlands (Food and Biobased Research part of Wageningen UR and Division of Human Nutrition Wageningen University), Belgium (Orineo bvba and Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant), United Kingdom (Refresco Gerber UK Limited) and Germany (Nova-Institut fur Politische und Okologische Innovation GmbH).

In order to increase the value of sugar beet pulp, PULP2VALUE will develop multiple extraction techniques to isolate more valuable products from this large fraction. Roughly, 65% of the dry matter mass can be isolated as high value products being: microcellulose fibers (MCF) (33%), arabinose (16%) and galacturonic acid (16%). By demonstrating an integrated and cost-effective cascading biorefinery system to refine sugar beet pulp, PULP2VALUE aims to significantly increase (20-50 times) the value of the sugar beet pulp by applications for approximately 65% of its mass in high value markets.

Figure 1. PULP2VALUE concept (extracted from the leaflet available on the web page of the project)

For each of the components to be obtained, Royal Cosun has identified multiple product market combinations. Basic economic considerations point to the fact that the full potential of the MCF can only be fully exploited in case of developing a cascade biorefinery system producing also arabinose and galacturonic acid. PULP2VALUE explicitly builds on research that has already been carried out and aims to integrate and scale up these achievements. Royal Cosun has already developed a pilot facility in which the state-of-the-art units has been previously tested. Now, the ultimate goal is to set up a plant to demonstrate the concept.

Regarding to the future applications to be unfold during the project, it should be noticed that Royal Cosun and the Dutch chemicals giant AkzoNobel have recently formed a new partnership to develop novel products from cellulose side streams resulting from sugar beet processing (see press release).

Popular Posts

Biofuels from algae

By -
Image
In my opinion, the production of biofuels and biobased chemicals from algae is one of the most fascinating topics in the sector of the biorefineries and it will be one of the niches of opportunity with highest potential in the medium and the long terms. This post pretend to be a very basic approach to the topic Algae-to-Biofuels through three general key points. Algae 1,2,3,4,5 Algae include a wide variety of photosynthetic organisms capable of transforming light, water and specific nutrients into products that can be used with commercial and industrial purposes. We can say that algae are sunlight-driven factories with potential to convert CO 2 into biofuels, high-value biochemical, food and feed. There are four algae cultivation technologies currently in use for commercial algae cultivation and proposed for algal biofuel production: extensive or open ponds, intensive or raceway ponds, closed photobioreactors in many designs and closed fermenter systems. Algal biof
Read more

Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones

By -
Image
English version Sección: BIOCOMBUSTIBLES AVANZADOS Serie: HVO - Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones - Hidrotratamiento(HVO) – Ventajas sobre el biodiesel convencional y propiedades - Biorrefinerías de Aceites Vegetales Hidrotatados (HVO) – El auge del diésel renovable - Entradas: HVO                El acrónimo HVO significa en inglés “ Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrotratados”) o ” Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrogenados”). Clave del proceso: Tratamiento con hidrógeno. En el proceso de producción de HVO, el hidrógeno se usa para eliminar el oxígeno de los triglicéridos produciendo una mezcla de parafinas lineales, CO 2 y agua. Posteriormente, el producto de la primera etapa se isomeriza, siempre en presencia de hidrógeno, para ramificar las cadenas lineales con el propósito de mejorar las propiedades de flujo en frío de los productos finales. Por tanto, los HVO son
Read more

Biorrefinerías de FDCA (ácido 2,5-furanodicarboxílico)

By -
Image
Fecha de publicación: 15/06/2017 Última actualización: 24/01/2018 Introducción 1,2,3,4,5 El ácido 2,5-furanodicarboxílico (FDCA, por sus siglas en inglés), también conocido como ácido ácido piromúcico, es un compuesto orgánico que fue detectado por primera vez en la orina humana. De hecho, una persona sana genera 3-5 mg/día. Se trata de un compuesto muy estable. Algunas de sus propiedades físicas, tales como insolubilidad en la mayor parte de disolventes y un punto de fusión muy alto (funde a 342ºC), parecen indicar la existencia de enlaces de hidrógeno intermoleculares. El FDCA posee dos grupos carboxilo, lo que le convierte en un monómero adecuado para reacciones de policondensación con dioles o diaminas. Es uno de los 12 principales compuestos químicos de alta valor añadido listados por el el DoE de los Estados Unidos en 2004. Esta lista se actualizó en 2010 y el FDCA fue incluido de nuevo, pero esta vez en un grupo junto con el furfural y el 5-hidroximetilfurfu
Read more

Etanol celulósico – Lo básico: Conceptos y materias primas

By -
Image
English version Sección: BIOCOMBUSTIBLES AVANZADOS Serie: Etanol celulósico - Lo básico: Concepto y materias primas - Lo básico: Ruta de conversión –Bioquímica - Lo básico: Ruta de conversión –Termoquímica - Cellulosic ethanol biorefineries at commercial scale Entradas: ETANOL CELULÓSICO 1. Conceptos generales El etanol (también conocido como alcohol etílico, alcohol para beber o simplemente alcohol) es un líquido volátil, inflamable e incoloro con la fórmula molecular C 2 H 6 O (también se puede escribir como CH 3 CH 2 OH y C 2 H 5 OH) y a menudo se abrevia como EtOH. La Asociación Europea de Etanol Renovable (ePURE) afirma que el mercado del etanol se puede dividir en tres segmentos: (1) Combustible : etanol utilizado como aditivo en la gasolina o como combustible alternativo. (2) Potable : etanol utilizado para producir bebidas espirituosas, como aditivo alimentario, para la extracción de aromas, para la conservación de alimentos y
Read more

Fast pyrolysis plants

By -
Image
Versión en Español Type of post: OVERVIEW. Posts: PYROLYSIS OIL PLATFORM . Fast pyrolysis Process Rapid thermal decomposition of organic compounds in the absence of oxygen to produce liquids, char and gas. Temperature Around 500ºC. Residence time 0.5 - 2 s Typical yields distribution - Oil: 60-70%. - Char: 12-15%. - Gas: 13-25%. Bio-oil characteristics - Low viscosity, dark-brown fluid. - Carboxylic acids: 4-6 w%. - Aldehydes, ketones, furans, pyrans, monomeric phenols: 15-20 w%. - Sugars: 25-35 w%. - Water: 20-30 w%. - Pyrolytic lignin, extractives, solids (including ash), polymerisation products: 20-25 w%. Bio-oil applications - Heating fuel. - Production of advanced biofuels. - Production of food ingredients. - Production of bitumen and coatings. Figure 1. Pyrolysis oil (taken
Read more