The Finish project of circular economy City Refinery boosted with 7.9 M€

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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).
Feedstocks
Biomass residues from forestry and agriculture and various materials that are difficult to recycle (side streams generated in Helsinki).
Products
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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