Insight into BIOCOREs results

INTRODUCTION TO BIOCORE

BIOCORE IN A NUTSHELL
BIOCORE is an advanced biorefinery process
Uses a variety of lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks NO1st generation sucrose-, starchbased or oleaginous feedstocks were considered

Produces a variety of products, from chemicals to food ingredients Optimize process and product
integration

Maximizes the use of biomass, water and utilities Uses all major components to best of
ability 3

CHALLENGES IN THE BIOCORE PROJECT

Develop and test technologies
Biomass cracking, or pretreatment, technologies Biotechnologies Chemistry

Show how different biomass components can produce commercial products

Fuel, chemicals, polymers, materials, food/feed ingredients

Explore how biorefineries can perform in real environments

Case study approach rolled out in 5 regions

Propose new process design methods

Explore unit operation integration and product synergies

Perform an extensive sustainability analysis of the concept

Determine sustainability of the biomass to products value chain, exploring several product portfolios

THE BIOCORE BIOREFINERY

Regional territory
Power Biomass

Biorefinery
CHP

Conditioning

Pretreatment/fractionation

Fuel Residues Water Xylose Inputs Fertilizer Glucose Lignin

Manufacturing
Xylose-based product 1 Xylose-based product 2 Xylose-based product n

Conversion

Glucose-based product 1 Glucose-based product 2 Glucose-based product n

Lignin-based product 1 Lignin-based product 2 Lignin-based product n

THE ORGANOSOLV PROCESS

+H2O

+Peracids/H2O2 +H2O2/NaOH

A FEW BOUNDARY CONDITIONS IN BIOCORE

To better study the BIOCORE concept and provide simulations the following assumptions were made
The fictional timeframe for the deployment of BIOCORE biorefineries is 2015 The investment payback period is 15 years, so 2025 is a pertinent milestone BIOCORE biorefineries will operate using 150,000 tonnes (dry weight) biomass per annum BIOCORE biorefinery feedstocks are cereal straws or hardwoods, including short rotation coppice poplar BIOCORE lignin will command a market price of 1000 per tonne

CASE STUDIES IN BIOCORE

BIOCORE CASE STUDIES

Rice

Hardwood

Wheat and barley

Maize, wheat, barley

BIOCORE CASE STUDIES

Policy frameworks Transport and logistics

Local social impacts and stakeholder interest Local environmental impacts

Local biomass availability and uses

BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: BIOMASS SUPPLY

Biomass is available, but..
Theoretical availability does not necessarily reflect local realities
Appetite to sell, variable soil requirements

Availability is likely to be reduced

Increased competitive uses, new less intensive farming methods

etc

Punjab possesses large biomass resources

Our findings supply a strong case in EU for feedstock flexible biorefineries

BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: TRANSPORT AND

LOGISTICS
Transport and storage are major cost factors in biomass price
Transport and storage could represent up to 77% (India) of final biomass procurement cost Canals and railways can reduce cost by at least 10% Storage is particularly an issue for annual crops
In India storage is a major weak point at the present

The findings underline the need for consistent regional development policy

BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Advanced biorefineries will have both negative and positive local impacts
All scenarios predict an increase in Mans pressure on the environment, with intensification of production systems (there is no free lunch!) Some scenarios indicate advantages Improved groundwater quality and biodiversity
(if cereal production is replaced by SRC poplar) End of in-field straw burning in India

Many negative impacts can be mitigated by good practice clear policy and guidelines required

BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: STAKEHOLDER VIEWS

Biorefining is a good opportunity to drive local development New qualified jobs, rural development, add value to local products before export Not in my backyard
Woody biomass is also used in fireplaces Biorefining will drive excessive biomass
extraction and jeopardize livelihoods (e.g. by lowering soil organic carbon levels)

Any plans for biorefineries should involve stakeholders and take account of their needs and (financial) aspirations

BIOCORE CASE STUDIES: STAKEHOLDER VIEWS

Biorefineries can help to substitute fossil resources
Probably better to make chemicals than (just) making fuels Multiproduct portfolios are perceived as being better than fuel/energy only facilities
although CHP units are a step in the right direction and ethanol for fuel is
welcome (India)

Stakeholder opinion supports using biomass, first for materials and chemicals, then fuels and energy

LESSONS FROM PROCESS DESIGN

PROCESS DESIGN APPROACH

Synthesis stage
Which products and feedstocks to select

Targeting stage
Scope to integrate and save

Process development
Process flowsheeting and process integration

BIOCORE used systems technology to set up high-throughput analysis

PROCESS DESIGN: SPECIFIC CHALLENGES

Variety of feedstocks Local deployment model Three intermediates (C6, C5, lignin) >60 different products and chemistries New products

BIOCORE assessed single and integrated paths

PROCESS DESIGN: RESULTS AND SOME LESSONS

Biorefineries present specific process challenges
e.g. Water-energy integration important for biochemical processes

No simple methods to screen complex product portfolios

In BIOCORE promising value chains were screened on efficiency and carbon footprint criteria

No short-cut costing models

Available models are for oil and gas industries Many uncertain markets for biochemicals

PROCESS DESIGN: RESULTS AND SOME LESSONS

Integration of product manufacture is highly beneficial in terms of energy savings
65-85% for increasing product portfolios Strong incentives for combining biomass fractionation with downstream conversions Large scope for novel processes

Intermediates

Manufacturing

PROCESS DESIGN: RESULTS AND SOME LESSONS

Integration of product manufacture is high beneficial in terms of energy savings
65-85% for increasing product portfolios Strong incentives for combining biomass fractionation with downstream conversions Large scope for novel processes

Biorefinery Biomass Manufacturing

ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF VALUE CHAINS

SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENTS
PU elastomer coatings Rigid PU foams

Bio-ethanol for fuel or PVC

Biobased phenol-formaldehyde resins wood panels Itaconic acid for alkyd coatings

ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMICS

Environment (global/regional impacts) Climate change, ozone depletion, respiratory inorganics (PM10), photochemical ozone formation, acidification, aquatic eutrophication, resource depletion: non-renewable energy Environment (local impacts) human beings, fauna and flora; biodiversity soil, water, air, climate and the landscape material assets and the cultural heritage the interaction between the above Economics Market analysis
Green premium

CAPEX
Correlation between rated power
and fixed capital investment

OPEX
Raw materials, utilities, operating
labour, plant overhead costs, maintenance and repairs, operating supplies, laboratory charges, patents and royalities, administration costs, depreciation,
etc

Economic performance

ECONOMICS
CAPEX is 120-160 Mn
for 150 kt capacity

A few biorefinery schemes are able to generate profits

Especially in India at 500 kt scale

There is very limited scope to achieve an internal rate of return of 25% When dimensioned for 150 kt and using currently available data

25% IRR target could be reached for many portfolios if products receive modest subsidies or green premiums
Less than those currently applied to ethanol

Economics shows that modest subsidies for biobased chemicals could be sufficient to launch advanced biorefineries

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES
Energy use in the biomass refining process is high
This is clearly a target for further process optimization

Some product portfolios provide benefits (e.g. GHG savings)

Others are not favourable

The best products are those that conserve biomass functionality Limit mass loss and energy exchange in biomass to product conversion
Ethanol does not provide favourable results

These findings suggest that the sustainable use of biomass involves preserving intrinsic structures and functions

CONCLUSIONS BIOCORE has supplied a variety of advancements for the study of biorefineries
Chemical technologies and biotechnologies New process design methods Extensive and ambitious sustainability analyses New method for social sustainability Integrated analyses

CONCLUSIONS
Building on the CIMV process, BIOCORE has revealed how an advanced biorefinery can work
BIOCORE has supplied a paradigm for advanced biorefineries A multitude of results has shown how a variety of chemicals and polymers
can be made from glucose, hemicelluloses and lignins

BIOCORE has revealed the promise of the CIMV process

Powerful technology that displays feedstock flexibility Production of valuable biomass intermediates refutes the adage you can make everything with lignin except money

CONCLUSIONS
BIOCORE indicates that advanced biorefining can be sustainable Further improvements will be gained through scale up (e.g. 250 kt) Advanced biorefineries will need to favour integration, linking the production of biomass intermediates to the manufacture of commercial products (e.g. chemicals) on one site
An incentive for industrial symbiosis

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Integrate the land use change question into a wider framework
Some LUC will be beneficial in restoring groundwater quality and biodiversity (e.g. the case of food crops on poor soil) Take into account the construction of biorefinery facilities in rural areas Better inform the general public about LUC and its consequences for Europe e.g. biggest source of LUC in EU is land artificialization and this is
still rampant

Reconsider LUC using a more systemic approach

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Biorefineries will benefit from well-developed transport and logistics infrastructures
The presence of waterways and railways is a clear advantage Extensive storage facilities will be required for large biorefineries

Integrate the needs of biorefineries into regional planning policy

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
In a biomass-constrained Europe, competition for biomass will be ferocious
Subsidies are promoting the development of CHP units and liquid fuels biorefineries Biomass is the only renewable energy source that is also a source of carbon Promoting the use of biomass for the manufacture of more valuable products might get the bioeconomy moving

Define a level playing field for all biomass uses

Warm thanks to all who took part in BIOCORE and THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

to the European Commssion for funding the work

Grant number FP7-241566