The Finish project of circular economy City Refinery boosted with 7.9 M€
Type of post: NEWS.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
(MEAE) of Finland has granted 7.9 M€ to Helen for investing in City Refinery.
This project is a joint venture of Helen, Lassila
& Tikanoja and VTT, aimed to
process biomass and waste streams generated in Helsinki into high value added
products.
Press release: “Planning of City Refinery is making
progress – project is boosted by decision on MEAE aid”, 2/1/2020.
Figure 1. City Refinery Concept: ”Vuosaari Gas
Hub” (extracted from “Transportation
fuels from biomass via gasification route”, Esa Kurkela, VTT, January 2019)
The plant will process materials that were previously
unsuitable for re-use (such as plastics and sludges that were difficult to
recycle) and transform them into bioplastics and other renewable raw materials.
The biorefinery process will generate heat as a by-product. City Refinery
will recover this energy and distribute it to the district heating network
where it will be utilised to heat homes in the city of Helsinki. In this
manner, the refinery will contribute to a more sustainable energy system while
enhancing circularity at the same time. It is a clear example of the way the
energy sector can enable circular economy. The production plant will be 5 MW in
the demo phase. If it proves to be a successful project during this demo phase,
an industrial-scale plant investment can be launched.
Location
|
Vuosaari
(a neighbourhood of the capital of Finland).
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Feedstocks
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Biomass
residues from forestry and agriculture and various materials that are
difficult to recycle (side streams generated in Helsinki).
|
Products
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Raw
materials such as fuels or renewable plastics for different industries. Heat
is produced as a by-product, which is recovered and utilised by feeding it
into the district heating network.
|
Technology
|
City
Refinery is based on gasification technology, which binds the carbon
contained in the gasified materials in the closed cycle and does not release
it to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
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