Clariant’s sunliquid® technology proves good performance with miscanthus

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Type of post: NEWS.

Clariant has recently announced that it has conducted tests on approximately 30 tons of miscanthus provided by INA (Croatia’s oil and gas company) in its pre-commercial plant in Straubing (Germany). INA has chosen Clariant’s sunliquid® technology to assess usability of miscanthus for conversion into cellulosic sugars and ethanol within the framework of the BBI JU GRACE project.
Press release: “Clariant successfully concludes testing on energy crop miscanthus at Straubing plant for GRACE project”, 3/9/2019.

Figure 1. Miscanthus crop (taken from WUR website)

The aims and objectives of the GRACE project are: (1) to optimize various miscanthus value chains; (2) to generate sustainable products with a strong market potential; (3) to develop miscanthus as a sustainable feedstock resource for cultivation on marginal, contaminated and abandoned land. Against this background, Clariant was asked by the consortium to run tests on miscanthus as feedstock. The biomass was harvested and baled at the INA demonstration site in Croatia in February this year and shipped for processing to Clariant’s pre-commercial sunliquid plant. Final results prove that the technology can successfully convert miscanthus biomass into cellulosic sugars and ethanol.

Miscanthus (also known as elephant grass or China reed) is an interesting feedstock option for the production of cellulosic sugars and ethanol. Once cultivated in marginal lands, the plant grows rapidly over 15-20 years as a permanent crop, has a low mineral content and offers a high yield per hectare. Pesticides and fertilizers are not required on a yearly basis, which further adds to miscanthus’ ecological benefits.

Over the past seven years Clariant’s pre-commercial plant has also demonstrated cellulosic ethanol production on agricultural residues (corn stover, sugarcane bagasse and straw, wheat straw, barley straw and rice straw). In the fall of last year, Clariant broke ground on its greenfield first-of-its-kind full-scale commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in Podari (Romania).
Learn more:
- “Clariant starts the construction of its cellulosic ethanol plant in Romania”, 17/9/2018.
- “Valmet to deliver biomass pretreatment system to Clariant cellulosic ethanol plant in Romania”, 6/11/2018.

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