The University of Hohenheim opens a technology center to demonstrate a small-scale biorefinery concept
Type of post: NEWS.
Late last month, the Chancellor of the
University of Hohenheim officially opened the on-farm biorefinery technology
center at the research station Unterer Lindenhof. This facility is destined to demonstrate
a small-scale biorefinery concept for the conversion of all components of
lignocellulosic biomass into platform chemicals.
Press release: “Bioraffinerie-Technikum:
Wie aus Gras Plastikflaschen warden”, 23/10/2018.
The technology center has a modular design and is
fed with miscanthus coming from the nearby farm. The core of the plant is the hydroxymethylfurfural
(HMF) module that includes a reactor for the conversion of biomass into HMF and
the unit for separating HMF from water. In order to create an integrated
biorefinery concept, new modules for the valorization of hemicellulose and
lignin will be added in the future. The nutrient-rich solution, which is
obtained as residue in the biorefinery, is returned to the fields after be
treated in a biogas plant that also supplies heat and electricity.
Figure 1. Model of the on-farm biorefinery
technology center (Source: University of Hohenheim, Dominik Wüst)
The costs of transforming the former
slaughterhouse into a technical center amounts to approximately 630,000 €. The
project is receiving funding from several sources:
- GRACE
project (Growing Advanced Industrial Crops on Marginal Lands for Biorefineries).
BBI JU project.
- B4B project (Biorefinery for the bioeconomy
in Baden-Württemberg). Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the State
of Baden-Württemberg.
- IBÖM03 project (Backkreislauf-Basischemikalien
und Kohle aus Altbackwaren). Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The center will serve as a platform for further process and product optimisations in new projects and collaborations.
The center will serve as a platform for further process and product optimisations in new projects and collaborations.