CLAMBER biorefinery opens invitation to tender for the supply, construction and commissioning of a supercritic fluid extraction unit

Type of post: NEWS.

The Instituto Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario y Forestal de Castilla-La Mancha (Regional Institute of Agrifood and Forestry Research and Development of Castilla-La Mancha) has issued on the State Contracting Platform the invitation to tender for the supply, construction and commissioning of a supercritic fluid extraction unit.

- “Profile: CLAMBER R&D Biorefinery”, 15/11/2017.

- Invitation to tender on the State Contracting Platform (in Spanish).

Contracting body	Dirección del Instituto Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario y Forestal de Castilla-La Mancha (IRIAF)
Contract object	Supply, construction and commissioning of a supercritic fluid extraction unit in plant CLAMBER - 5101CR19SUM00501
Budget bid base and estimated value of the contract	491,735.54 € (+VAT 21% = 595,000.00 €)
End date of bid submission	27/12/2019 14:00

Figure 1. Downstream unit of the CLAMBER biorefinery

CLAMBER is a R&D advanced biorefinery at demo scale located in Puertollano (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain). Currently, it has equipment capable of valorizing different biomass, both residual and cultivated, through biological transformations but these starting feedstocks may contain compounds with high added value which, with its existing facilities, is not able to take advantage of. There is a plethora of compounds that can be obtained by extraction.  In this sense, funding has been obtained from the European Regional Development Fund, in a percentage of 80% on the total costs of this supply, through an aid for the acquisition of scientific and technical equipment, corresponding to the State Program for the Generation of Knowledge and Scientific and Technological Strengthening of the R&D&i System, State Subprogram of Research Infrastructures and Scientific-Technical Equipment, Multi-Regional Operational Program of Spain, investment priority 1.A., within the framework of the “Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020. Una manera de hacer Europa”.

Description of the supply

The equipment consists of a unit for extracting compounds of high added value from residual biomass or cultivated with supercritical fluids dedicated entirely to research. The solid is loaded in the extractor basket. The CO₂ enters the extractor in supercritical conditions and extracts the desired product, leaving the top of it. In the first separator, the first fractionation takes place, when working under less pressure, the CO₂ loses solvent power. The CO₂ is directed to a second separator that works at a lower pressure than the first one, where a second fractionation occurs. The CO₂ is filtered and recirculated to its storage tank for reuse later.