3r2020+ Project – Residue, Resource, Recycling

By -


Some of the last posts of the blog have been focused on topics related to the circular economy (The Circular Economy Village of Ekokem and the REnescience technology of DONG Energy). Along the same line, I am going to present an interesting project approved in the call CIEN 2015 of CDTI (The Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology), a Public Business Entity which fosters the technological development and innovation of Spanish companies.

The project is called 3R2020+ “From the Residue to the Resource through Recycling” and it falls within the category of integral management of the waste. The blog was aware of the project during the Innovation Workshop “Evolución de las plantas de biogás a nuevos modelos basados en el concepto de biorrefinería” (June 28th, Madrid) organized by ainia and wherein Alexandre Colzi from Urbaser made a brilliant presentation about the first results of one of the work packages.

Goal

Its general objective is to develop innovative technologies that allow to recover and recycle certain waste flows, not currently valorized, to transform them into useful and economically viable resources. Strategic products and raw materials will be obtained, among them, fertilizers, metals, chemical products and liquid fuels with market value and application on different industrial areas.

The achievement of this general goal will allow to improve the percentages of secondary raw materials on the urban waste treatment facilities, to reduce risks associated to pollutant emission, to reduce landfilling and to contribute to reuse of materials. 3R2020+ is totally aligned with the international strategies related to the policies of smart and sustainable growth.

Partnership

The organizational structure is based on a partnership formed by the following members:

Figure 1. Working scheme of the 3R2020+ project (extracted from the web page of the project)

Technologies

In the following table, a summary of the wastes, transformation processes and final products involved in the project.

Waste
Transformation process
Final product
Polyolefins from waste treatment facilities
Thermal cracking + Catalytic hydroreforming.
Green diesel
Organic fraction of MSW
1. Hydrolysis stage of anaerobic digestion: Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) production.
2. Bacterial synthesis of polyhidroxyalcanoates (PHAs) from SCHAs.
PHAs
1. Hydrolysis stage of anaerobic digestion: Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) production.
2. Chain elongation.
Caproic acid
1. Hydrolysis stage of anaerobic digestion: hydrogen production.
Hydrogen
1. Anaerobic digestion: methane production.
2. Bacterial synthesis of polyhidroxyalcanoates (PHAs) from methane.
PHAs
1. Anaerobic digestion: digestate production.
2. Digestate fermentation.
D-lactic acid
Sewage sludge
1. Anaerobic digestion: liquid stream.
2. Centrifugation to separate the supernatant.
3. Struvite crystallization.
Struvite
1. Anaerobic digestion: liquid stream.
2. Selective recovery of ammonia and production of ammonium sulfide.
Ammonium sulfide
Waste from incineration, galvanization and chromium plating
Lixiviation and purification.
Basic metals, precious metals and strategic metals

After developing the process at laboratory scale, a demonstration stage will start to validate the information collected. Pilot plants will be constructed according to the maturity level achieved in the previous tests. In addition, a technical and economical assessment of the processes will be carried out in order to enable an ulterior commercial scale application. 

Popular Posts

Braskem and Sojitz launch Sustainea to produce and market biobased glycols

By -
Image
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF. Braskem and Sojitz have announced the launch of Sustainea, which will produce and market bioMEG (monoethylene glycol) and bioMPG (monopropylene glycol). The market launch of the brand follows the approval of the joint venture (the process began in March 2022) by antitrust authorities. Press release: " Braskem and Sojitz Corporation launch Sustainea ", 21/10/2022. Related posts:  - " Braskem and Haldor Topsoe to validate new bio-MEG production process in a demo plant ", 13/11/2017. - " Braskem and Haldor Topsoe start production of biobased MEG at their demo plant in Lyngby ", 25/11/2020. Figure 1. Braskem and Sojitz launch Sustainea to produce and market biobased glycols The business plan envisages the construction of three industrial plants, with the first unit slated for operational startup in 2025, taking advantage of market opportunities and feedstock availability. The locations where the industrial units will be built have
Read more

Biorrefinerías de ácido levulínico

By -
Image
Fecha de publicación: 16/11/2015 Última actualización: 20/02/2016 Descripción 1,2 El ácido levulínico (también conocido como ácido 4-oxopentanoico o ácido γ-cetovalérico) es un compuesto orgánico con fórmula química C 5 H 8 O 3 . Es un sólido cristalino soluble en agua y en disolventes orgánicos polares. Contiene un grupo cetona y un grupo carboxilo cuya presencia posibilita patrones reactivos interesantes. Es uno de los “ Biobased Chemical Building Blocks ” más reconocidos, precursor de un amplio número de compuestos (véase el apartado Aplicaciones más abajo). De hecho, fue reconocido por el DoE como una de las principales moléculas plataforma del futuro y puede cubrir de manera eficaz muchas de las atribuciones de productos químicos y materiales procedentes del petróleo. Tecnologías de proceso 1,3,4,5 La degradación controlada de azúcares C6 mediante ácidos es el proceso más usado para preparar ácido levulínico a partir de biomasa lignocelulósica. Se han estu
Read more

New HVO plant enters into operation in China

By -
Image
Versión en Español Type of post: NEWS. According to S&P Global Platts, last month, State-owned energy company Beijing Sanju Environmental Protection & New Materials launched a 400 ktons/year capacity HVO plant in Rizhao (Shandong, China) province. The biorefinery utilizes used cooking oil (UCO) and palm oil mill effluent (POME) as feedstocks. News (S&P Global Platts): “ China reinforces position in HVO market with launch of new 400,000 mt/year plant ”, 24/03/2021. Hydrotreating (HVO) – Concepts, feedstocks and specifications . HVO posts. Figure 1. Beijing Sanju, current and planned HVO plants (source: S&P Global Platts Analytics) The new HVO plant (Shandong Sanju Bioenergy) was the result of a cooperation agreement (07/04/2020) between Beijing Sanju (primary owner, investor and tech provider), Hainan Qilu Development (investor and subsidiary of Qilu Transportation Development Group) and the Juxian County Government (minority owner, fixed assets). Shandong Sanju Bio
Read more

Glucaric acid biorefineries

By -
Image
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
Read more

Hydrotreating (HVO) – Advantages over FAME and properties

By -
Image
Versión en Español Section: ADVANCED BIOFUELS Series: HVO - Hydrotreating (HVO) – Concepts, feedstocksand specifications - Hydrotreating (HVO) – Advantages over FAME and properties - Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils (HVO) Biorefineries – The rise of renewable diesel - Posts: HVO Hydrotreating is an alternative process to esterification to produce diesel from biomass. Traditionally, diesel components produced from vegetable oils are made by an esterification process. In fact, HVO are commonly referred to as renewable diesel or green diesel in order to distinguish from Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME), best known as biodiesel. Other acronyms are also used depending on the feedstock, such as Rape Seed Methyl Ester” (RME), “Soybean Methyl Ester” (SME), “Palm Oil Methyl Ester” (PME) or “Used Cooking Oils Methyl Ester (UCOME). In the HVO production process, hydrogen is used to remove the oxygen from the triglycerides and does not produce any glycerol as a side product. Additi
Read more