Profile: Group of Applied Research in Biorefinery of the University of Alcalá
Some weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit
the Centre for Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology (CQAB, acronym in Spanish) of the
University of Alcalá (Madrid) and have an interesting talk with Sergio
González Egido (Project Manager at the Chair on Environment) about the
activities of the Group of Applied Research in Biorefinery and the situation of
the biorefining sector in Spain. Currently, this group works in several
projects using different processes of the thermochemical platform (thermal and
microwave) to transform diverse biomass feedstocks into 2G biofuels and
bioproducts. In this post, we are going to know more about the group, the
biorefinery model that they are developing and one of the projects that they
are working in.
The Group of Applied Research in
Biorefinery
The group is formed by the merger of two units of
applied research very active and with an expertise gained throughout more than 15
years: the CQAB and the Chair on Environment. It is leaded by the researchers
Juan José Vaquero (Professor of Organic Chemistry) and Manuel Peinado Lorca (Professor
of Plant Biology).
The CQAB was designed and created with the
purpose of boosting the cooperation between the academic research groups and the
chemical pharmaceutical sector. It started in 1998 under the designation of Pilot
Plant of Fine Chemistry (PPQF, acronym in Spanish). Currently, activities related
to biotechnology, biorefining and quality analysis are developed. It has 3,500 m2,
22 laboratories fully equipped and 3 industrial rooms. Also, the CQAB offers
technical services of consultancy and training.
Figure 1. Photography of a part of the CQAB
facilities
The Chair on Environment is focused on carrying
out life cycle analysis and studies on carbon footprint for different sectors,
comparing several feedstocks and products. Moreover, reports of quantification of
forest and agricultural biomass and wastes have been prepared for many years.
The new Group of Applied Research in
Biorefinery of the University of Alcalá has join all these resources and
experience to be very active in the biorefining sector and the field of the rural
development. They are working with a wide range of feedstocks, among them, MSW,
sludge from water treatment, forest and agricultural biomass and wastes from
green fields and gardening. If we talk about urban wastes, they are also
working hard in the chemical recycling of plastics. The group cooperates with
the environment administrations and develops strategical advice for companies.
Last works are centered on the field of circular economy through the drafting of
action plans and specific laws.
Its biorefinery model
As it was commented before, the group investigates
on the thermochemical platform. Specifically, it is focused on the pyrolysis
oil platform (if you want to learn more about this one and other platforms,
press here).
Generally, the thermochemical technologies are particularly interesting because
of their excellent robustness for the utilisation of very complex feedstocks
with a heterogeneous composition. This step allows to obtain intermediate relatively
homogeneous.
Those are the characteristics of its
biorefinery concept:
Feedstock
|
Lignocellulosic wastes
|
|
Platforms
|
Pyrolysis
oil (bio-oil) platfom
|
|
Processes
|
Thermal
and catalytic microwave pyrolysis
|
|
Products and further valorization
|
Solid fraction: biochar
|
Permanent
carbon storage and biofertilizers component.
|
Liquid
fraction: Pyrolysis oil (bio-oil)
|
It is
upgraded to obtain:
- 2G
biofuels.
- Biobitumen.
Substitute or complement of fossil bitumen as asphalt binder with better
performance from a thermal point of view and with an environmental footprint
very positive.
|
|
Condesate
of the pyrolysis vapors: “wood vinegar”
|
Substitute
of herbicides, phytosanitary products and pesticides in sustainable
agriculture. Also, it can be used as a starting point for fermentation
processes.
|
|
Figure 2. Some of the bioproducts obtained in
the biorefinery model proposed by the Group of Applied Research in Biorefinery
of the University of Alcalá
Highlighted project
The group is demonstrating its biorefinery
concept through one of the projects that is involved in. Hereafter, the most
relevant information about this project is summarized.
Name
|
Generation
of advanced low-carbon bioproducts by the transformation of wastes and
biomasic byproducts.
|
Objective
|
To demonstrate the economic and environmental
feasibility of using lignocellulosic residues as source to obtain high-added
value bioproducts in the field of the thermochemical biorefineries (catalytic
pyrolysis).
|
Call
|
RETOS-COLABORACIÓN 2016 (funded by the “Ministerio de
Economía y Competitividad de España” and cofunded by the European Union). Identification
Number: RTC-2016-5823-5.
|
Partnership
|
- Group
of Applied Research in Biorefinery.
- University of León (experts in the agricultural use of the biochar).
- Neoliquid Advanced Fuel and Liquid (Technology Base Company of the thermochemical biorefining
sector).
- Biomasa Peninsular SA (biomass
management company, provider of biomass for the project).
- Grupo
Layna (waste
management company, provider of RSU for the project).
|
Budget
|
1,175,873
€ of total budget. The public funding rises to 697,095 €.
|
Duration
|
Start date: 10/03/2016.
End date: 31/12/2019.
|
The partnership operates two catalytic
pyrolysis plants at industrial and preindustrial scale with operating
capacities of 1 t/hour and 1 t/day, respectively. The lab equipment allows to
carry out pyrolysis trials from 100 to 1,000 g/hour. All this set of facilities
enables the experimental scale-up from lab to industrial level.
Together with the aforementioned biobitumen and
wood vinegar, several bioproducts based on the use of biochar as matrix are being
studied during the project:
- Biofer-char
Solid-state biofertiliser for agricultural
crops. The biochar finally divided and sieved is used as carrier of a liquid
biofertiliser consists of a pure crop (or a mixture of pure crops) of bacterial
of bacteria selected by their PGP (Plant Growth Promotion) properties.
- Biochar +
Biochar with digestate from anaerobic digestion.
- Compost plus
It is a carbocompost with Biofer-char as biochar.
Also, biological technologies are being studied
to improve the use of sugars generated in the thermochemical process because of
the cracking of cellulose and hemicellulose. The biotechnological via allows to
obtain other bioproducts as acetic and succinic acids.
