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BRUSSELS, Sept. 19, 2011 (RISI) -Precipitation of calcium oxalate in the pulping processes is a common problem. A Swedish project with participants from academy and industry has developed new and more efficient oxalate-degrading enzymes. Additionally, a comprehensive survey shows that knowledge about the calcium oxalate problem, as well as how to solve it, may reduce the problem.

Anyone who has experienced a kidney stone attack knows that it is a painful experience one wants to avoid in the future. A kidney stone normally consists of calcium oxalate and when leaving the body it can cause a lot of pain. This can, at least metaphorically, illustrate how parts of the pulping process may feel when it is hit by calcium oxalate precipitations.

Increasing environmental demands and needs to reduce water and energy consumption have lead to more closed process systems. Oxalic acid, as well as calcium, are present in the wood and is also formed during pulp bleaching. In certain process steps, where the chemical, temperature and pH conditions are favorable, the oxalic acid forms an only slightly soluble precipitation with calcium. This is why many pulp mills experience problems due to calcium oxalate precipitation in tubes and heat exchangers as well as on washing filters.

During end of 1980s and 1990s, MoDo, among others, worked hard to close the bleaching processes. The company succeeded in doing that in the Domsjö mill in Örnsköldsvik, which still has the only closed loop bleaching plant in the world, but could only partly close the bleach plant for birch pulp in the Husum mill, which could run in a closed-loop mode during shorter periods.

Karlstad University, Domsjö Fabriker, EKA Chemicals, Holmen Paper, M-real and Novozymes have participated in the project Control of oxalic acid in pulp manufacturing and in active packaging with Stora Enso, SCA and Södra supporting the research. This project was part of forest products industry related research at Karlstad University with financial support from the Swedish Knowledge Foundation and the participating companies.

The project's aim was to avoid calcium oxalate precipitation in the pulp and paper industry using a biotechnical method based on oxalate acid degrading enzymes. Other goals were to contribute to a better understanding of how and when oxalate acid is formed during the bleaching processes as well as to investigate the extent of the oxalic acid precipitation problem in pulp mills and biorefineries.

Nils-Olof Nilvebrant shows a pipe filled with calcium oxalate incrusts

Worldwide survey

To get a grip on the extent of the problem information was gathered in a couple of rounds from in total 78 pulp mills around the world. Mills in Europe, America, Asia and Africa participated in the study. The first set of answers, based on information from 11 European pulp mills, showed that:

  • Many mills are planning to reduce water consumption in the next five years, which will increase the risk for calcium oxalate precipitations.
  • Seventy percent of the mills had frequent problems with calcium oxalate precipitations.
  • Advantages of reduced risk of these precipitations mentioned are for example: better possibilities to close process streams, increased production capacity, production of a more bleached pulp and better heat exchange efficiency.
  • The costs for the problems caused in the different mills were difficult to estimate and figures between Euro 50,000 and 3 million per year were mentioned.

The biggest study covered 78 mills and showed that 29 had problems due to calcium oxalate precipitation whereas 11 had precipitation of other compositions. A general outcome was that mills in Asia, Brazil and Northern America appeared to have little or no problems, while mills in Europe in many cases stated that they had problems. One reason for this could be that the European mills in question had more closed systems. Another difference was that the proportion of mills producing peroxide bleached mechanical pulps was considerably higher in Europe.

The study showed that many mills lack knowledge about the precipitation problem and about the amounts of substances involved in the precipitations. Other mills, on the other hand, had done very careful mapping. Mapping of the presence of calcium and oxalate in process streams in different positions in these mills is done as part of the work to reduce problems caused by calcium oxalate precipitation.

The project has given both suppliers and mills an increased knowledge of how the oxalate problem can be reduced, says Eva Wackerberg

In one mill where careful mappings have been made, two important facts had been observed:

  • Calcium coming to the process via wood chips gave a calcium amount of about 1,000 kg/day in the black liquor. This calcium was removed when filtering the green liquor, which hence acted as the process kidney. This experience shows that the green liquor filtering operation is very important in order to control the incrust situation.
  • Oxalic acid enters the process via wood chips but is also formed in the bleaching process.

Increased knowledge about the calcium oxalate problem increases the possibilities to find efficient means and to identify critical process points where countermeasures can be used. Such measures can be conditions causing a reduced formation of oxalic acid or introduction of oxalic acid degrading enzymes.

One way to solve the problem is to degrade the oxalic acid by oxalic acid degrading enzymes like oxalate oxidas and oxalate decarboxylase. This requires that the enzymes function in the actual industrial process conditions and that it is possible to produce these enzymes on a larger scale.

The result showed that the oxalic acid degrading enzymes developed in the project were superior to enzymes available earlier. It was also shown that enzymatic degrading of oxalic acid in real process conditions is a technically realistic scenario.

To be continued ... Read Part IIhere.

Kidney stones: A problem not only for people

Posted in: Chemicals 09/18/2011 - 16:00

BRUSSELS, Sept. 19, 2011 (RISI) -Precipitation of calcium oxalate in the pulping processes is a common problem. A Swedish project with participants from academy and industry has developed new and more efficient oxalate-degrading enzymes. Additionally, a comprehensive survey shows that knowledge about the calcium oxalate problem, as well as how to solve it, may reduce the problem.

Anyone who has experienced a kidney stone attack knows that it is a painful experience one wants to avoid in the future. A kidney stone normally consists of calcium oxalate and when leaving the body it can cause a lot of pain. This can, at least metaphorically, illustrate how parts of the pulping process may feel when it is hit by calcium oxalate precipitations.

Increasing environmental demands and needs to reduce water and energy consumption have lead to more closed process systems. Oxalic acid, as well as calcium, are present in the wood and is also formed during pulp bleaching. In certain process steps, where the chemical, temperature and pH conditions are favorable, the oxalic acid forms an only slightly soluble precipitation with calcium. This is why many pulp mills experience problems due to calcium oxalate precipitation in tubes and heat exchangers as well as on washing filters.

During end of 1980s and 1990s, MoDo, among others, worked hard to close the bleaching processes. The company succeeded in doing that in the Domsjö mill in Örnsköldsvik, which still has the only closed loop bleaching plant in the world, but could only partly close the bleach plant for birch pulp in the Husum mill, which could run in a closed-loop mode during shorter periods.

Karlstad University, Domsjö Fabriker, EKA Chemicals, Holmen Paper, M-real and Novozymes have participated in the project Control of oxalic acid in pulp manufacturing and in active packaging with Stora Enso, SCA and Södra supporting the research. This project was part of forest products industry related research at Karlstad University with financial support from the Swedish Knowledge Foundation and the participating companies.

The project's aim was to avoid calcium oxalate precipitation in the pulp and paper industry using a biotechnical method based on oxalate acid degrading enzymes. Other goals were to contribute to a better understanding of how and when oxalate acid is formed during the bleaching processes as well as to investigate the extent of the oxalic acid precipitation problem in pulp mills and biorefineries.

Nils-Olof Nilvebrant shows a pipe filled with calcium oxalate incrusts

Worldwide survey

To get a grip on the extent of the problem information was gathered in a couple of rounds from in total 78 pulp mills around the world. Mills in Europe, America, Asia and Africa participated in the study. The first set of answers, based on information from 11 European pulp mills, showed that:

  • Many mills are planning to reduce water consumption in the next five years, which will increase the risk for calcium oxalate precipitations.
  • Seventy percent of the mills had frequent problems with calcium oxalate precipitations.
  • Advantages of reduced risk of these precipitations mentioned are for example: better possibilities to close process streams, increased production capacity, production of a more bleached pulp and better heat exchange efficiency.
  • The costs for the problems caused in the different mills were difficult to estimate and figures between Euro 50,000 and 3 million per year were mentioned.

The biggest study covered 78 mills and showed that 29 had problems due to calcium oxalate precipitation whereas 11 had precipitation of other compositions. A general outcome was that mills in Asia, Brazil and Northern America appeared to have little or no problems, while mills in Europe in many cases stated that they had problems. One reason for this could be that the European mills in question had more closed systems. Another difference was that the proportion of mills producing peroxide bleached mechanical pulps was considerably higher in Europe.

The study showed that many mills lack knowledge about the precipitation problem and about the amounts of substances involved in the precipitations. Other mills, on the other hand, had done very careful mapping. Mapping of the presence of calcium and oxalate in process streams in different positions in these mills is done as part of the work to reduce problems caused by calcium oxalate precipitation.

The project has given both suppliers and mills an increased knowledge of how the oxalate problem can be reduced, says Eva Wackerberg

In one mill where careful mappings have been made, two important facts had been observed:

  • Calcium coming to the process via wood chips gave a calcium amount of about 1,000 kg/day in the black liquor. This calcium was removed when filtering the green liquor, which hence acted as the process kidney. This experience shows that the green liquor filtering operation is very important in order to control the incrust situation.
  • Oxalic acid enters the process via wood chips but is also formed in the bleaching process.

Increased knowledge about the calcium oxalate problem increases the possibilities to find efficient means and to identify critical process points where countermeasures can be used. Such measures can be conditions causing a reduced formation of oxalic acid or introduction of oxalic acid degrading enzymes.

One way to solve the problem is to degrade the oxalic acid by oxalic acid degrading enzymes like oxalate oxidas and oxalate decarboxylase. This requires that the enzymes function in the actual industrial process conditions and that it is possible to produce these enzymes on a larger scale.

The result showed that the oxalic acid degrading enzymes developed in the project were superior to enzymes available earlier. It was also shown that enzymatic degrading of oxalic acid in real process conditions is a technically realistic scenario.

To be continued ... Read Part IIhere.

Read more

BRUSSELS, Jan. 3, 2011 (RISI) -Umeå in northern Sweden is home to a world-class interdisciplinary research program in forest biotechnology, the Umeå Plant Science Centre. Parts of its efforts are aimed at identifying the genetic mechanisms underlying the production of woody biomass and its properties. Sören Back spoke with Björn Sundberg, professor at SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), in Umeå and program director for FuncFiber.
The goal from the start was to be world leader in our field: Björn Sundberg, SLU Umeå, Sweden

How come Umeå, in the northern part of Sweden, is a world-leading centre within forest biotechnology?

Back some 15 years ago, the first steps were already being taken towards establishing a world-leading center in forest biotechnology. In 2000, the Umeå Plant Science Centre was established, and later, the forest biotechnology company SweTree Technologies. By optimizing our resources and competences and with support from forest industries, we have achieved this position.

Our goal was from the start to be world leader in our field and very early on, we were able to set up populus as a model species for biotechnology research on woody species. Among other things we established technology to produce transgenic trees, and we also established a database for gene sequences. These are necessary tools to produce high quality research.

You mentioned that the industry is part of the success story. How?

We realized from the beginning that any research has to have a receiver who can capitalise on the results and turn them into products. Therefore, early in the process we got in touch with the major Swedish forest companies to get their views and needs in this area as well as their support. They understood the importance of the new technology and have since then given us strong support. Our common view is that technology leaps are not possible without extensive, basic research.

Breeding of Populus at Umeå Plant Science Centre

What is FuncFiber and what has it achieved?

FuncFiber is a Formas centre of excellence in wood science. The Swedish Research Council Formas promotes and supports basic research and need-driven research for sustainable development within environment, agricultural sciences and spatial planning. In 2006 we were granted funds for the FuncFiber project, which ends this year (2010).

The aim was to unravel the function of genes underlying the biomass production and the structure and chemistry of wood fibres. It is an interdisciplinary research program which has taken advantage of using populus as model species.

A major effort within FuncFiber is the establishment of transgenic trees with modified wood properties to be used by the research groups as well as novel chemical tools and prediction models for wood properties. Large amounts of data about wood properties have been collected for the transgenic trees in the databank and analyzed with chemometrical approaches with the final goal to create models of wood properties from high throughput fingerprinting technology.

The collective output from this effort resulted in an extremely valuable tree database, "FuncFiber 100". A method for creating chemical maps of wood is now a reality due to this project as well as new NMR methods for chemical characterization. In all, FuncFiber has delivered in-depth knowledge about gene function in wood formation which will be exploited in the new project Bioimprove and last but not least, increased and strengthened the network of different competences within this field.

How will your results influence tree breeding?

It is important to understand how the biology controls the properties of woody biomass. So far, tree breeding in the Nordic countries has been done with traditional approaches, i.e., identification of trees with good properties, cross-fertilizing them and waiting 20 years for the next cross. Although this approach is very successful, it is still slow. With molecular technology it is possible to fingerprint the genome of individual trees in small seedlings. If we have knowledge about valuable gene-variants, this technology has the potential to speed up the whole breeding process enormously.

Hannele Tuominen is project leader for the Bioimprove project

You are now using populus as a model system. What about a softwood like spruce?

To do good research on gene function it is important to have the whole genome of the organism sequenced. Because the genome of conifers is many times larger than, for example, the human genome, it has up to now not been possible to sequence any conifer genome. But within the "Swedish conifer genome project" funded by the Wallenberg Foundations and headed by Professor Per Ingvarsson in Umeå, we are now using new sequencing technology to determine the genome sequence of Norway Spruce. This is an interdisciplinary project between UPSC, KTH and Karolinska Institutet. With the knowledge of the conifer genome sequence, the research about conifer genes will take a major leap and eventually the breeding of spruce will be faster and more efficient.

What's next for the program?

In summer 2010, we started up a new Formas funded project, Bioimprove: "Improved biomass and bioprocessing properties of wood", with a 25-million SEK grant for the five-year period, 2010-2014. The project is being led by Hannele Tuominen and will produce more knowledge about molecular mechanisms that control biomass production and chemical composition of the wood in forest trees. However, the project also aims at doing research on how this knowledge can be utilized to improve production of materials and green chemicals from the lignocellulosic raw material in biorefinery type of applications. We will, for example, modify the composition and content of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in transgenic populus trees, and analyze the effect on the bioprocessing properties in a laboratory-scale biorefinery.

FuncFiber - leading the way in forest biomass research

Posted in: Environment 01/02/2011 - 14:00

BRUSSELS, Jan. 3, 2011 (RISI) -Umeå in northern Sweden is home to a world-class interdisciplinary research program in forest biotechnology, the Umeå Plant Science Centre. Parts of its efforts are aimed at identifying the genetic mechanisms underlying the production of woody biomass and its properties. Sören Back spoke with Björn Sundberg, professor at SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), in Umeå and program director for FuncFiber.
The goal from the start was to be world leader in our field: Björn Sundberg, SLU Umeå, Sweden

How come Umeå, in the northern part of Sweden, is a world-leading centre within forest biotechnology?

Back some 15 years ago, the first steps were already being taken towards establishing a world-leading center in forest biotechnology. In 2000, the Umeå Plant Science Centre was established, and later, the forest biotechnology company SweTree Technologies. By optimizing our resources and competences and with support from forest industries, we have achieved this position.

Our goal was from the start to be world leader in our field and very early on, we were able to set up populus as a model species for biotechnology research on woody species. Among other things we established technology to produce transgenic trees, and we also established a database for gene sequences. These are necessary tools to produce high quality research.

You mentioned that the industry is part of the success story. How?

We realized from the beginning that any research has to have a receiver who can capitalise on the results and turn them into products. Therefore, early in the process we got in touch with the major Swedish forest companies to get their views and needs in this area as well as their support. They understood the importance of the new technology and have since then given us strong support. Our common view is that technology leaps are not possible without extensive, basic research.

Breeding of Populus at Umeå Plant Science Centre

What is FuncFiber and what has it achieved?

FuncFiber is a Formas centre of excellence in wood science. The Swedish Research Council Formas promotes and supports basic research and need-driven research for sustainable development within environment, agricultural sciences and spatial planning. In 2006 we were granted funds for the FuncFiber project, which ends this year (2010).

The aim was to unravel the function of genes underlying the biomass production and the structure and chemistry of wood fibres. It is an interdisciplinary research program which has taken advantage of using populus as model species.

A major effort within FuncFiber is the establishment of transgenic trees with modified wood properties to be used by the research groups as well as novel chemical tools and prediction models for wood properties. Large amounts of data about wood properties have been collected for the transgenic trees in the databank and analyzed with chemometrical approaches with the final goal to create models of wood properties from high throughput fingerprinting technology.

The collective output from this effort resulted in an extremely valuable tree database, "FuncFiber 100". A method for creating chemical maps of wood is now a reality due to this project as well as new NMR methods for chemical characterization. In all, FuncFiber has delivered in-depth knowledge about gene function in wood formation which will be exploited in the new project Bioimprove and last but not least, increased and strengthened the network of different competences within this field.

How will your results influence tree breeding?

It is important to understand how the biology controls the properties of woody biomass. So far, tree breeding in the Nordic countries has been done with traditional approaches, i.e., identification of trees with good properties, cross-fertilizing them and waiting 20 years for the next cross. Although this approach is very successful, it is still slow. With molecular technology it is possible to fingerprint the genome of individual trees in small seedlings. If we have knowledge about valuable gene-variants, this technology has the potential to speed up the whole breeding process enormously.

Hannele Tuominen is project leader for the Bioimprove project

You are now using populus as a model system. What about a softwood like spruce?

To do good research on gene function it is important to have the whole genome of the organism sequenced. Because the genome of conifers is many times larger than, for example, the human genome, it has up to now not been possible to sequence any conifer genome. But within the "Swedish conifer genome project" funded by the Wallenberg Foundations and headed by Professor Per Ingvarsson in Umeå, we are now using new sequencing technology to determine the genome sequence of Norway Spruce. This is an interdisciplinary project between UPSC, KTH and Karolinska Institutet. With the knowledge of the conifer genome sequence, the research about conifer genes will take a major leap and eventually the breeding of spruce will be faster and more efficient.

What's next for the program?

In summer 2010, we started up a new Formas funded project, Bioimprove: "Improved biomass and bioprocessing properties of wood", with a 25-million SEK grant for the five-year period, 2010-2014. The project is being led by Hannele Tuominen and will produce more knowledge about molecular mechanisms that control biomass production and chemical composition of the wood in forest trees. However, the project also aims at doing research on how this knowledge can be utilized to improve production of materials and green chemicals from the lignocellulosic raw material in biorefinery type of applications. We will, for example, modify the composition and content of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in transgenic populus trees, and analyze the effect on the bioprocessing properties in a laboratory-scale biorefinery.

Read more

BRUSSELS, Dec. 6, 2010 (RISI) -If the sunny and warm inauguration weather is a sign from above, the world's first plant for the production of a renewable motor fuel, BioDME, will be a sunshine story. In early September, 130 invitees from around the world came to Piteå, Sweden, to take part in the inauguration. "A major step forward for the global biofuels market", said Kyriakos Maniatis of the European Commission.

The plant is built and operated by Chemrec, a Swedish-based technology company, next to the company's black liquor gasification development plant located at the Smurfit Kappa pulp and paper mill in Piteå. The BioDME project is a unique cooperative venture between Chemrec, Haldor Topsøe, Volvo, Preem, Total, Delphi and ETC. It is supported by the EU 7th Framework program and the Swedish Energy Agency. The Smurfit Kappa mill supplies the black liquor needed.

Lars Tegnér, Birgitta Marke, site manager, Hans Nelving, Chemrec and Jonas Rudberg, COO Chemrec look forward to the start-up of the BioDME plant

Important milestone for biofuels

"An important milestone was achieved today bringing BioDME closer to commercial deployment, not only for the EU but for the global biofuel market", said Kyriakos Maniatis, Energy Technologies & Research Co-ordination at DG Energy of the European Commission. "This is also a major step forward for the EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan since a unique bioenergy value chain closely linking the pulp and paper industry and bioenergy has been fully deployed for the first time."

"Since the groundbreaking ceremony for the BioDME plant a year ago we have made considerable progress, said Max Jönsson, Chemrec CEO. "This plant is a good example of using wood in a way so that it doesn't cannibalise on the value of sawn products or paper products. Our raw material is black liquor from our next door neighbour and the energy from the black liquor used for our fuel production is replaced by forestry biomass.

"In addition to the building of the BioDME plant and getting the Volvo Truck test fleet into operation, also the process towards building an industrial scale plant at the Domsjö specialty cellulose mill in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, has advanced. For the Domsjö project, main technology providers have now been selected and we are ready to start the front-end engineering and design phase", Jönsson added.

Three sections were assembled separately and then raised and attached to each other

Industry and research in harmony

"The significant investment made in this pilot facility will not only demonstrate the production of BioDME but will also provide an opportunity to further develop our already well-proven methanol and DME production processes", said Jens Perregaard, general manager, Technology Division at Haldor Topsøe. "This will open even more efficient routes to green fuels and chemicals".

"This is a fine example of a good cooperation between industry and research", Dirk Poot, managing director of Smurfit Kappa Piteå, stressed in his speech. "This project has a holistic view as all partners complement each other securing an optimised utilisation of the wood raw material. I want to congratulate Chemrec, Volvo and Haldor Topsøe on their pioneering work".

The BioDME plant was officially declared open by Per Olof Eriksson, the governor of the Norrbotten County. This was followed by more in-depth information from each project partner as well as a tour through the BioDME plant.

The plant is part of the BioDME project where the production of BioDME and its use in heavy trucks is demonstrated. It uses proven technology, adapted to the specific process and conditions in Piteå. The product will be used by 10 Volvo trucks in different parts of Sweden and the development period will run until end of year 2012.

In September 2005 Chemrec started up its black liquor gasification development plant in Piteå. The purpose was to further verify and optimise this process at commercial pressure of 30 bar during extended operation, which has now reached in excess of 12,000 hours in a large pilot scale. The development has been very successful, which is why it will be possible to deliver syngas to the pilot plant to be converted into four tonnes a day of BioDME.

Haldor Topsøe's and Volvo's work on DME synthesis and engine development trigged off the idea of integrating Chemrec's gasifier with a BioDME pilot to demonstrate the whole "wood to wheel" concept .

Ten Volvo trucks have been modified to DME fuel and will run 100,000 km/yr during the project

99.5% clean BioDME

The plant consists of three high sections. Each one was assembled by Kossab in Piteå, raised and attached to each other. Horizontal tubes were installed and then all the sophisticated process control equipment was installed. The test runs were started in October.

For Haldor Topsøe the plant is a development and demonstration plant. With a total of seven reactors the production will be done in steps. The reactors can be run both in parallel and serial sequences. As all chemical plants are different, adaptations will have to be made and Haldor Topsøe's staff will test different process variables.

The process will, after gas cleaning, convert 99% of the syngas to methanol before synthesis to BioDME takes place. The BioDME product will be very clean and consist of 99.5% BioDME. Each day's production will be analyzed and after approval pumped to a storage tank. From there it will be distributed to four Preem filling stations in Piteå, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Jönköping.

All visitors had a guided tour of the gasification and BioDME plants. Here, Mats Lindblom, Chemrec, explains the gasification process

Same engine but new fuel system

"Ten Volvo trucks will use DME as fuel during the two-year project period", says Patrik Klintbom, coordinator, alternative fuels, Volvo. "The trucks are run by several customers of ours, among them DHL, Posten and Bröderna Lindqvist Åkeri in Piteå. Each truck in the test fleet will be used under commercial conditions and run about 100,000 kilometres a year. The influence of the winter conditions will be an important part to study in the project.

"The trucks have been modified to be able to use BioDME as fuel. BioDME burns without creating soot, so there is no need for a particle filter or advanced after treatment systems. The fuel tank is different as BioDME is stored in liquid form under 5-6 bar pressure. The engine is a 440-hp Volvo diesel engine with the exception of the fuel system, which has a new fuel pump and a special DME injector. The noise from the engine is actually lower in comparison with the normal diesel engine".

Klintbom concludes, "From the beginning of the field test the trucks will be able to do 400 km on each re-fuelling but the goal is to install larger tanks to increase cruising distance to 800 km before re-fuelling."

"The inauguration was a big success", says Jonas Rudberg COO of Chemrec. "The black liquor gasification development work we have done
over the years here in Piteå has shown that our gasification process is ready to ramp up to industrial scale. Today, we are embarking on an exiting downstream development together with Haldor Topsøe for the world's first BioDME pilot plant. The next step is planned to be an integrated industrial scale biofuel plant at the biorefinery Domsjö Fabriker".

Fact box
The plant is situated next to the Smurfit Kappa mill in Piteå.
The pilot plant investment is about Euro15 million ($20.7 million).
Total cost of the BioDME project, including development investments in trucks, engines and filling stations is Euro 28 million ($38.6 million).
Plant BioDME production capacity is four tonnes per day.
12 employees run the plant on five-shift basis.
Chemrec is supplying syngas from its existing black liquor gasification plant, is owner of and will operate the plant for BioDME production.
Haldor Topsøe, a Danish world leader in process technology and catalysts, is providing the process technology including the DME synthesis.
Volvo is developing and producing engines and vehicles with engines adapted to the DME fuel, which will be used to conduct a field test under commercial conditions.
Preem, Sweden’s largest oil refining and marketing company, is building four filling stations for DME.
Total, the major French oil and gas company, is developing fuel and lubricant specifications for DME.
Delphi, a leading auto parts maker, is developing fuel injection systems for Volvo’s DME adapted engines.
ETC Energy Technology Centre, a research institute in Piteå, conducts process analysis.
In addition to the consortium members, Smurfit Kappa supplies the BioDME plant with black liquor and utilities.

From wood to wheel and from black liquor to diesel

Posted in: Bio-Insight 12/05/2010 - 14:00

BRUSSELS, Dec. 6, 2010 (RISI) -If the sunny and warm inauguration weather is a sign from above, the world's first plant for the production of a renewable motor fuel, BioDME, will be a sunshine story. In early September, 130 invitees from around the world came to Piteå, Sweden, to take part in the inauguration. "A major step forward for the global biofuels market", said Kyriakos Maniatis of the European Commission.

The plant is built and operated by Chemrec, a Swedish-based technology company, next to the company's black liquor gasification development plant located at the Smurfit Kappa pulp and paper mill in Piteå. The BioDME project is a unique cooperative venture between Chemrec, Haldor Topsøe, Volvo, Preem, Total, Delphi and ETC. It is supported by the EU 7th Framework program and the Swedish Energy Agency. The Smurfit Kappa mill supplies the black liquor needed.

Lars Tegnér, Birgitta Marke, site manager, Hans Nelving, Chemrec and Jonas Rudberg, COO Chemrec look forward to the start-up of the BioDME plant

Important milestone for biofuels

"An important milestone was achieved today bringing BioDME closer to commercial deployment, not only for the EU but for the global biofuel market", said Kyriakos Maniatis, Energy Technologies & Research Co-ordination at DG Energy of the European Commission. "This is also a major step forward for the EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan since a unique bioenergy value chain closely linking the pulp and paper industry and bioenergy has been fully deployed for the first time."

"Since the groundbreaking ceremony for the BioDME plant a year ago we have made considerable progress, said Max Jönsson, Chemrec CEO. "This plant is a good example of using wood in a way so that it doesn't cannibalise on the value of sawn products or paper products. Our raw material is black liquor from our next door neighbour and the energy from the black liquor used for our fuel production is replaced by forestry biomass.

"In addition to the building of the BioDME plant and getting the Volvo Truck test fleet into operation, also the process towards building an industrial scale plant at the Domsjö specialty cellulose mill in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, has advanced. For the Domsjö project, main technology providers have now been selected and we are ready to start the front-end engineering and design phase", Jönsson added.

Three sections were assembled separately and then raised and attached to each other

Industry and research in harmony

"The significant investment made in this pilot facility will not only demonstrate the production of BioDME but will also provide an opportunity to further develop our already well-proven methanol and DME production processes", said Jens Perregaard, general manager, Technology Division at Haldor Topsøe. "This will open even more efficient routes to green fuels and chemicals".

"This is a fine example of a good cooperation between industry and research", Dirk Poot, managing director of Smurfit Kappa Piteå, stressed in his speech. "This project has a holistic view as all partners complement each other securing an optimised utilisation of the wood raw material. I want to congratulate Chemrec, Volvo and Haldor Topsøe on their pioneering work".

The BioDME plant was officially declared open by Per Olof Eriksson, the governor of the Norrbotten County. This was followed by more in-depth information from each project partner as well as a tour through the BioDME plant.

The plant is part of the BioDME project where the production of BioDME and its use in heavy trucks is demonstrated. It uses proven technology, adapted to the specific process and conditions in Piteå. The product will be used by 10 Volvo trucks in different parts of Sweden and the development period will run until end of year 2012.

In September 2005 Chemrec started up its black liquor gasification development plant in Piteå. The purpose was to further verify and optimise this process at commercial pressure of 30 bar during extended operation, which has now reached in excess of 12,000 hours in a large pilot scale. The development has been very successful, which is why it will be possible to deliver syngas to the pilot plant to be converted into four tonnes a day of BioDME.

Haldor Topsøe's and Volvo's work on DME synthesis and engine development trigged off the idea of integrating Chemrec's gasifier with a BioDME pilot to demonstrate the whole "wood to wheel" concept .

Ten Volvo trucks have been modified to DME fuel and will run 100,000 km/yr during the project

99.5% clean BioDME

The plant consists of three high sections. Each one was assembled by Kossab in Piteå, raised and attached to each other. Horizontal tubes were installed and then all the sophisticated process control equipment was installed. The test runs were started in October.

For Haldor Topsøe the plant is a development and demonstration plant. With a total of seven reactors the production will be done in steps. The reactors can be run both in parallel and serial sequences. As all chemical plants are different, adaptations will have to be made and Haldor Topsøe's staff will test different process variables.

The process will, after gas cleaning, convert 99% of the syngas to methanol before synthesis to BioDME takes place. The BioDME product will be very clean and consist of 99.5% BioDME. Each day's production will be analyzed and after approval pumped to a storage tank. From there it will be distributed to four Preem filling stations in Piteå, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Jönköping.

All visitors had a guided tour of the gasification and BioDME plants. Here, Mats Lindblom, Chemrec, explains the gasification process

Same engine but new fuel system

"Ten Volvo trucks will use DME as fuel during the two-year project period", says Patrik Klintbom, coordinator, alternative fuels, Volvo. "The trucks are run by several customers of ours, among them DHL, Posten and Bröderna Lindqvist Åkeri in Piteå. Each truck in the test fleet will be used under commercial conditions and run about 100,000 kilometres a year. The influence of the winter conditions will be an important part to study in the project.

"The trucks have been modified to be able to use BioDME as fuel. BioDME burns without creating soot, so there is no need for a particle filter or advanced after treatment systems. The fuel tank is different as BioDME is stored in liquid form under 5-6 bar pressure. The engine is a 440-hp Volvo diesel engine with the exception of the fuel system, which has a new fuel pump and a special DME injector. The noise from the engine is actually lower in comparison with the normal diesel engine".

Klintbom concludes, "From the beginning of the field test the trucks will be able to do 400 km on each re-fuelling but the goal is to install larger tanks to increase cruising distance to 800 km before re-fuelling."

"The inauguration was a big success", says Jonas Rudberg COO of Chemrec. "The black liquor gasification development work we have done
over the years here in Piteå has shown that our gasification process is ready to ramp up to industrial scale. Today, we are embarking on an exiting downstream development together with Haldor Topsøe for the world's first BioDME pilot plant. The next step is planned to be an integrated industrial scale biofuel plant at the biorefinery Domsjö Fabriker".

Fact box
The plant is situated next to the Smurfit Kappa mill in Piteå.
The pilot plant investment is about Euro15 million ($20.7 million).
Total cost of the BioDME project, including development investments in trucks, engines and filling stations is Euro 28 million ($38.6 million).
Plant BioDME production capacity is four tonnes per day.
12 employees run the plant on five-shift basis.
Chemrec is supplying syngas from its existing black liquor gasification plant, is owner of and will operate the plant for BioDME production.
Haldor Topsøe, a Danish world leader in process technology and catalysts, is providing the process technology including the DME synthesis.
Volvo is developing and producing engines and vehicles with engines adapted to the DME fuel, which will be used to conduct a field test under commercial conditions.
Preem, Sweden’s largest oil refining and marketing company, is building four filling stations for DME.
Total, the major French oil and gas company, is developing fuel and lubricant specifications for DME.
Delphi, a leading auto parts maker, is developing fuel injection systems for Volvo’s DME adapted engines.
ETC Energy Technology Centre, a research institute in Piteå, conducts process analysis.
In addition to the consortium members, Smurfit Kappa supplies the BioDME plant with black liquor and utilities.

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BRUSSELS, Nov. 15, 2010 (RISI) -In a German joint project between chemical companies, various universities and research institutes, an organosolv process has been developed for the conversion of beech and poplar wood into platform chemicals. The next step will be the construction of a pilot plant able to convert 1.25 tonnes/week of wood chips. Beyond that a 400,000-tonne/yr full-scale biorefinery might be a reality.

Historically, different industries have used the forest for different purposes during different periods. The early mining industry used wood as pit props to support the mine galleries but even more for the fire-setting used to blast for the ore. The steel industry in those days was also a big consumer of wood as charcoal. Next to cast its eyes on the forests was the forest products industry, first for sawmills and later for pulp and paper production. Having been King of the Hill for almost a century utilizing wood as its raw material, the forest products industry might soon face the chemical industry as a raw material competitor.

Although we have focused on beech and poplar, any kind of hardwood can be used for production of phenols, says Jürgen Puls

Organosolv - a promising biorefinery process

"We are running a project coordinated by Dechema, Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and funded by FNR, Agency for Renewable Resources, in Germany, says Jürgen Puls, vTI Institute of Wood Technology and Wood Biology in Hamburg. This joint project aims to develop a full-scale process in which wood can be used for production of chemicals.

In Germany, beech and poplar are available at reasonable prices while the competition for softwood is stiff. Hardwood species as well as lignocellulosic residues from annual plants are ideal substrates for a lignocellulose biorefinery. The delignification of these raw materials is easier to achieve than lignin removal from softwood.

"At the beginning, this was a six-month project but as the results were promising, a two-year project was launched," Puls adds. "We did a literature study on the organosolv process based on ethanol and chose it as the basic process for component separation. It allows for an effective utilization of all wood components; cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and extractives."

Organosolv pulping processes have been developed to avoid disadvantages in existing processes, especially with regard to the need for extremely large production units due to complicated chemical recovery systems. However, for the time being the Organocell process in Kelheim in Germany, which started its operations in 1992 based on spruce and with a capacity of 430 tonnes/day, is the only commercial plant.

Figure 1 - The organosolv process separates the different wood components into platform chemicals and products for different uses

From 100 G to 400,000 tonnes

Based on a factorial design, the optimal parameters, - ethanol:water ratio, temperature, time, liquor:wood ratio and addition of catalysts - were identified regarding accessibility of the cellulose fraction for cellulolytic enzymes as well as for lignin recovery and hemicellulose fermentability. Optimization of pulping parameters was achieved in the 100-g scale and verified in the 1-kg scale. Plans are now underway to build a pilot plant with a capacity of 1.25 tonnes/week of wood chips. When the process is developed and fine tuned on that scale, it is hoped that the 400,000-tonne/yr full-scale biorefinery will become a reality.

"As far as we have seen, organosolv pulping is one of the promising options for component separation including a material use for lignin," Puls continues.

High saccharification rates of beechwood polysaccharides can be obtained by high pulping temperatures or by addition of acids at lower temperatures. Co-pulping of wood and bark has been systematically investigated. Presence of bark has no negative effect on the sacharification rate and lignin utilization.

All components can be used

In the process the main components of hardwood; extractives, cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin, are separated as shown in Fig. 1. The extractives can be used in pharmacological products. Through enzymatic hydrolyses the main components cellulose and hemi-cellulose are turned into platform chemicals. In this process the lignin precipitates and is separated. It can be used in products like glue and certain plastics but the best value is to break it down (by a pyrolysis process) to phenol monomers, which have very big market opportunities, as they can be used as a raw material for many kinds of plastic.

"The chemical industry has a totally different view on wood as raw material compared to the pulp industry," says Puls. "The pulp industry wants to treat the fibres as gently as possible in order not to jeopardise paper properties like strength and opacity. The chemical industry, on the other hand, is looking for the monomers to be used as building blocs for polymer products like plastic."

"A very important part of the project has been the financial control and calculations to make sure that the end result will be economically viable. That has meant a cost pressure on raw material and process and I am happy to say that the calculations show that the proposed process will be profitable. I am therefore very optimistic about the future potential for the organosolv process as an import biorefinery process," Puls concludes.

Plastics threat to fiber supply on the horizon?

11/14/2010 - 14:00

BRUSSELS, Nov. 15, 2010 (RISI) -In a German joint project between chemical companies, various universities and research institutes, an organosolv process has been developed for the conversion of beech and poplar wood into platform chemicals. The next step will be the construction of a pilot plant able to convert 1.25 tonnes/week of wood chips. Beyond that a 400,000-tonne/yr full-scale biorefinery might be a reality.

Historically, different industries have used the forest for different purposes during different periods. The early mining industry used wood as pit props to support the mine galleries but even more for the fire-setting used to blast for the ore. The steel industry in those days was also a big consumer of wood as charcoal. Next to cast its eyes on the forests was the forest products industry, first for sawmills and later for pulp and paper production. Having been King of the Hill for almost a century utilizing wood as its raw material, the forest products industry might soon face the chemical industry as a raw material competitor.

Although we have focused on beech and poplar, any kind of hardwood can be used for production of phenols, says Jürgen Puls

Organosolv - a promising biorefinery process

"We are running a project coordinated by Dechema, Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and funded by FNR, Agency for Renewable Resources, in Germany, says Jürgen Puls, vTI Institute of Wood Technology and Wood Biology in Hamburg. This joint project aims to develop a full-scale process in which wood can be used for production of chemicals.

In Germany, beech and poplar are available at reasonable prices while the competition for softwood is stiff. Hardwood species as well as lignocellulosic residues from annual plants are ideal substrates for a lignocellulose biorefinery. The delignification of these raw materials is easier to achieve than lignin removal from softwood.

"At the beginning, this was a six-month project but as the results were promising, a two-year project was launched," Puls adds. "We did a literature study on the organosolv process based on ethanol and chose it as the basic process for component separation. It allows for an effective utilization of all wood components; cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and extractives."

Organosolv pulping processes have been developed to avoid disadvantages in existing processes, especially with regard to the need for extremely large production units due to complicated chemical recovery systems. However, for the time being the Organocell process in Kelheim in Germany, which started its operations in 1992 based on spruce and with a capacity of 430 tonnes/day, is the only commercial plant.

Figure 1 - The organosolv process separates the different wood components into platform chemicals and products for different uses

From 100 G to 400,000 tonnes

Based on a factorial design, the optimal parameters, - ethanol:water ratio, temperature, time, liquor:wood ratio and addition of catalysts - were identified regarding accessibility of the cellulose fraction for cellulolytic enzymes as well as for lignin recovery and hemicellulose fermentability. Optimization of pulping parameters was achieved in the 100-g scale and verified in the 1-kg scale. Plans are now underway to build a pilot plant with a capacity of 1.25 tonnes/week of wood chips. When the process is developed and fine tuned on that scale, it is hoped that the 400,000-tonne/yr full-scale biorefinery will become a reality.

"As far as we have seen, organosolv pulping is one of the promising options for component separation including a material use for lignin," Puls continues.

High saccharification rates of beechwood polysaccharides can be obtained by high pulping temperatures or by addition of acids at lower temperatures. Co-pulping of wood and bark has been systematically investigated. Presence of bark has no negative effect on the sacharification rate and lignin utilization.

All components can be used

In the process the main components of hardwood; extractives, cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin, are separated as shown in Fig. 1. The extractives can be used in pharmacological products. Through enzymatic hydrolyses the main components cellulose and hemi-cellulose are turned into platform chemicals. In this process the lignin precipitates and is separated. It can be used in products like glue and certain plastics but the best value is to break it down (by a pyrolysis process) to phenol monomers, which have very big market opportunities, as they can be used as a raw material for many kinds of plastic.

"The chemical industry has a totally different view on wood as raw material compared to the pulp industry," says Puls. "The pulp industry wants to treat the fibres as gently as possible in order not to jeopardise paper properties like strength and opacity. The chemical industry, on the other hand, is looking for the monomers to be used as building blocs for polymer products like plastic."

"A very important part of the project has been the financial control and calculations to make sure that the end result will be economically viable. That has meant a cost pressure on raw material and process and I am happy to say that the calculations show that the proposed process will be profitable. I am therefore very optimistic about the future potential for the organosolv process as an import biorefinery process," Puls concludes.

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