Clariant moves forward with the installation of the Valmet pretreatment BioTrac at the cellulosic ethanol biorefinery in Podari

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Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.

Clariant is moving closer to the start-up of its commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Podari (southwest Romania). Valmet is the supplier of the biomass pretreatment system BioTrac which plays a key role in the operation.
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Figure 1. Clariant moves forward with the installation of the Valmet pretreatment BioTrac at the cellulosic ethanol biorefinery in Podari (taken from the press release)

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the work on the construction site continues and is fully complying with all pandemic precaution regulations established by the Romanian authorities. All of Valmet’s major pieces of equipment are now in place at the Podari plant and the piping and cabling of other process equipment is currently being done. It is expected that the plant will be completed and will start-up production by the end of 2021.

This represents the second BioTrac delivery to Clariant (the first one being commissioned in 2012 at the pre-commercial plant in Straubing) and is the biggest large-scale production line for bioethanol that Valmet has ever delivered. Valmet’s Pretreatment BioTrac system will process more than 250,000 tons of lignocellulosic biomass (wheat and barley straw) annually. The pretreatment step is essential in cellulosic ethanol production, since it makes the cellulose accessible for enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation.

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