Aarhus University inaugurates a green biorefinery at demonstration scale in Foulum
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.
A new demo biorefinery has been inaugurated at Aarhus University Foulum (AU
Foulum) on June 25th as part of the Circular Bioeconomy
Days 2019 (event which brings together important players from Denmark and
abroad to debate the circular bioeconomy as a tool to implement the UN
Sustainable Development Goals). The new plant can process 10-20 tons/h of fresh
wet green biomass.
Press release: “Nyt
bioraffineringsanlæg på AU Foulum skal bidrage til grøn omstilling”,
20/5/2019.
Figure 1. New green biorefinery at AU Foulum (taken
from the twitter account of Climate-KIC Nordic)
Cultivation of perennial crops, such as grass
and clover grass, has many benefits for the environment and climate. Trials at
AU Foulum have shown that leaching of nitrogen to the aquatic environment is
significantly reduced when perennial grass crops are grown. In Denmark, there
are several areas where there is a particularly high risk of nitrogen loss. In
these areas, leaching can be avoided by cultivating sustained grass instead of
grain. Similarly, grass cultivation without the use of pesticides can be an
option in water extraction areas.
This grass can be used for cattle feed, but
there are many other options. Fresh grass contains about 20% protein and
research at AU Foulum has shown that protein derived from green biomass can be
used as protein feed for pigs and poultry. And, if the protein is further
refined, food ingredients can be obtained. In addition, there are by-products
that can be valorised as cattle feed, bioenergy and a basis to produce
chemicals and other products.
AU has been carrying out research in laboratories and on a small experimental plant on green biomass refining. But, before the construction of a biorefinery, it is necessary to gain more knowledge about how the plant on a full-scale must be arranged and what costs are associated with the production. In 2018, a number of agricultural companies and foundations allocated money for the construction of the new demo plant in Foulum. The recently opened platform has been established to optimise and validate technical solutions and will provide solid datasets to perform economic, environmental and climate sustainability assessments.
