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Glucaric acid biorefineries

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Publication date: 14/12/2015 Last update: 24/05/2017 Description 1,2,3,4 D-Glucaric acid, also called saccharic acid, is a chemical compound with formula C 6 H 10 O 8 and member of a large family of molecules known as oxidized sugars. It is a naturally occurring aldaric acid, typically found in small amounts in a variety of fruits and vegetables. It is a highly functionalized compound with four chiral carbons and a plethora of reaction pathways. Its commercial potential was unveiled in the report “Top Value Added Chemicals from Biomass” from the Department of Energy of USA which described its use as a building block for a number of polymers, including new nylons and hyperbranched polyesters. Process technologies 1,3,4,5,6,7,8 The synthetic preparation of D-glucaric acid dates back to a report of Sohst and Tollens (1888) who carried out the nitric acid oxidation of D-glucose to D-glucaric acid. Current methods for its production are based on this process and in...
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UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery

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Nombre / Name UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery Empresa / Company UPM Biofuels  ( www.upmbiofuels.com ) Localización / Location Lappeenranta (Finland) Categoría / Category Comercial / Commercial Estado / Status Operación / Running Plataforma / Platform Aceites /  Oil Materia prima / Feedstock Tall oil Producto / Product Biodiésel  / Biodiesel Puesta en marcha / Start-Up Enero 2015  / January 2015 Figure 1. UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery (extracted from UPM Biofuels webpage) La primera biorrefinería del mundo que produce biodiesel a partir de residuos forestales inició su funcionamiento comercial en enero de 2015. La instalación está localizada en el mismo enclave que la planta papelera Kaukas de UPM en las orillas del lago Saimaa en Lappeenranta al sudeste de Finlandia. La capacidad de la planta es de 100.000 de toneladas al año y emplea a un...
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IBN-One awards FEED for the first bio-isobutene biorefinery to Technip and IPSB

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A very short post to report a new contract award that has been announced by Global Bioenergies few hours ago (see press release ). Following a consultation process carried out in spring 2016, IBN-One (a subsidiary of Global Bioenergies and Cristal Union ) has awarded the initial engineering work contract for its bio-isobutene plant to a consortium that includes Technip and IPSB . Video: Activity and prospects of Global Bioenergies (including its vision to commercialize bio-isobutene) This first front-end engineering design (FEED) phase will run for 12 months and precedes the detailed engineering studies for the plant’s construction. IPSB will be responsible for the engineering of the plant’s upstream segment, dedicated to the intake of the raw material from the neighboring sugar mill and its conversion into bio-isobutene by a process of fermentation. Technip will manage the project and conduct the studies for the downstream part of the process, namely the purification o...
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Cellulosic ethanol biorefineries at commercial scale

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Publication date: 12/08/2015. Last update: 11/12/2017. Type of post: Overview. Series: Advanced biofuels. Cellulosic ethanol is an advanced biofuel. A wide range of terms and approaches are used to refer to advanced biofuels and classify them in different generations (type of feedstock, conversion technology, properties of the fuel molecules produced…). Taking into account a definition based on the carbon source from which the biofuel is derived, cellulosic ethanol can be considered as a 2nd generation biofuel. In this generation, the biofuel carbon is derived from cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin or pectin. Cellulosic ethanol is produced by processing lignocellulosic agricultural wastes (straw, corn stover…) or purpose-grown non-food feedstocks (short rotation coppice, energy grasses…). It can be obtained through biological and ther mochemical routes. The end product has the same characteristics as any other type of ethanol and is typically blended with gasoline. GHG emiss...
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BBI JU flagship projects - The new generation of European advanced biorefineries

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The flagship is the main vessel of a fleet. It carries the flag of the commander indicating the route to follow. The BBI JU reserves this designation for a special kind of prominent projects that has the potential to lead the European bioeconomy to the next level. While I was reading the new Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) of the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) to prepare a recent post , I realised how important they are for the creation of a new generation of advanced biorefineries, So, I decided to write a post explaining the concept and introducing briefly the flagship projects funded so far. One of the main priorities of the BBI JU is bringing sustainable technologies to maturity through R&D and demonstration activities. The work done to date is really impressive: 36 running projects + 29 starting from call 2016 giving a total of 65 projects. 6 of those 65 are flagships. What are their common characteristics? They mainly involve demo activities...
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