Global Bioenergies demo plant in Leuna operates successfully its entire process

By -


The demonstration plant of Global Bioenergies, located in Leuna, has successfully operated its entire technical process: fermentation, purification and filling station (see press release). The facility is devoted to the production of isobutene from renewable raw materials. As is well known, this molecule is used as an intermediate in the manufacturing of a variety of products: fuels and fuels additives (it reacts with methanol and ethanol to generate MTBE and ETBE, respectively; its alkylation with butane produces isooctane), polymers (butyl rubber), paints, cosmetics and so on.

Project datasheet:
Location
Facility owned by the Fraunhofer CBP at the Leuna refinery platform.
The Fraunhofer team is in charge of operating the facility in the most effective way possible.
Feedstock
1G sugars: beets and cane, glucose syrup from cereals.
2G sugars: wheat straw, bagasse, wood chips…
Product and production capacity
100 ton/year of isobutene.
Investment
11 M€.

Figure 1. Fermentation unit of the Leuna demo plant (extracted from the web page of Global Bionergies)

Timeline:
Mid-2015
Start of the construction.
End of 2016
Completion of the construction (see press release).
First months of 2017
Gradual start-up of the unit.
April 2017
The fermentation unit was the first section started-up.
Fermentation performances previously obtained on the pilot plant located at Pomacle-Bazancourt were replicated and even exceeded
(see press release).
August 2017
Site maintenance.
September 2017
Restarting of the plant.
Initial test involving the full technical process.
First bottle was filled.

The words of Marc Delcourt, CEO of Global Bioenergies, summarize well the next steps: “With this achieved, Global Bioenergies is now looking to the future. This means gradually approaching the process’ commercial performances, prior to building IBN-One, the first commercial plant project that we have with Cristal Union, the second largest French sugar producer. In a strongly improving macro-economic context (price of sugar sharply down; price of oil sharply up; energy transition now at the heart of global concerns, etc.), our ambition is to establish a large number of plant projects in various geographic areas.”

More information of IBN-One can be found in these posts: IBN-One – A Joint Venture to build a bio-isobutene plant and IBN-One awards FEED for the first bio-isobutene biorefinery to Technip and IPSB.

Popular Posts

Fotobiorreactores

By -
Image
El cultivo de microalgas no es algo novedoso, muchos de los métodos y conceptos que se usan hoy en día fueron desarrollados a finales del siglo XIX y principios de la pasada centuria. En décadas posteriores, se han ido refinando por la intervención de varias disciplinas que han trabajado de manera conjunta: biología, ingeniería de procesos, matemáticas y física. En los últimos 30 años, la industria biotecnológica de las microalgas ha crecido y se ha diversificado de manera significativa. Sin embargo, las aplicaciones comerciales existentes, todavía se hallan limitadas a comercios de bajo volumen y gran valor añadido como el de los suplementos alimenticios o el de los extractos (por ejemplo, el beta-caroteno). De acuerdo con un informe de IEA Bioenergy del 2010, la cantidad de biomasa algal producida comercialmente estaba en el entorno de las 9.000 toneladas. 1,2,3,4 Actualmente, el interés creciente que despiertan el empleo de las microalgas en la obtención de biocombustibles y e
Read more

Levulinic acid biorefineries

By -
Image
Publication date: 16/11/2015 Last update: 20/02/2016 Description 1,2 Levulinic acid (also known as 4-oxopentanoic acid or γ-ketovaleric acid) is an organic compound with chemical formula C 5 H 8 O 3 . It is a white crystalline solid soluble in water and polar organic solvents. It contains ketone and a carboxylic group whose presence results in interesting reactivity patterns. It is one of the more recognized Biobased Chemical Building Blocks , a starting material for a wide number of compounds (see Applications below). In fact, it was recognized by the US DoE as one of the top biobased platform chemicals of the future and it can successfully address many performance-related issues attributed to petroleum-based chemicals and materials. Process technologies 1,3,4,5 The controlled degradation of C6-sugars by acids is the most widely used approach to prepare levulinic acid from lignocellulosic biomass. Other methods have also been studied, for instance, the hydroly
Read more

Hydrotreating (HVO) – Advantages over FAME and properties

By -
Image
Versión en Español Section: ADVANCED BIOFUELS Series: HVO - Hydrotreating (HVO) – Concepts, feedstocksand specifications - Hydrotreating (HVO) – Advantages over FAME and properties - Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils (HVO) Biorefineries – The rise of renewable diesel - Posts: HVO Hydrotreating is an alternative process to esterification to produce diesel from biomass. Traditionally, diesel components produced from vegetable oils are made by an esterification process. In fact, HVO are commonly referred to as renewable diesel or green diesel in order to distinguish from Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME), best known as biodiesel. Other acronyms are also used depending on the feedstock, such as Rape Seed Methyl Ester” (RME), “Soybean Methyl Ester” (SME), “Palm Oil Methyl Ester” (PME) or “Used Cooking Oils Methyl Ester (UCOME). In the HVO production process, hydrogen is used to remove the oxygen from the triglycerides and does not produce any glycerol as a side product. Additi
Read more

Biorrefinerías de ácido succínico

By -
Image
Fecha de publicación: 16/10/2015. Última actualización: 20/12/2016. Introducción Dentro de muy poco, el blog contará con una nueva sección centrada en resumir la información disponible sobre las plantas piloto y comerciales de los bloques modulares verdes (BCBB por sus siglas en inglés, “Biobased Chemical Building Blocks”) más prometedores. Esta sección contará con enlaces a entradas monográficas que se actualizarán de manera regular. El motivo fundamental de empezar la serie con el ácido biosuccínico es que varias empresas han conseguido alcanzar objetivos importantes relacionados con su comercialización a gran escala. Claramente, es una de las 12 principales BCBB identificadas por el DoE que está cumpliendo con las expectativas generadas previamente. Descripción 1,2,3 El ácido succínico (ácido butanodioico) es un ácido dicarboxílico cuya fórmula química es C4H6O4. Se trata de un cristal incoloro y soluble en agua que posee sabor ácido. El nombre deriva del voc
Read more

Biorrefinerías de ácido levulínico

By -
Image
Fecha de publicación: 16/11/2015 Última actualización: 20/02/2016 Descripción 1,2 El ácido levulínico (también conocido como ácido 4-oxopentanoico o ácido γ-cetovalérico) es un compuesto orgánico con fórmula química C 5 H 8 O 3 . Es un sólido cristalino soluble en agua y en disolventes orgánicos polares. Contiene un grupo cetona y un grupo carboxilo cuya presencia posibilita patrones reactivos interesantes. Es uno de los “ Biobased Chemical Building Blocks ” más reconocidos, precursor de un amplio número de compuestos (véase el apartado Aplicaciones más abajo). De hecho, fue reconocido por el DoE como una de las principales moléculas plataforma del futuro y puede cubrir de manera eficaz muchas de las atribuciones de productos químicos y materiales procedentes del petróleo. Tecnologías de proceso 1,3,4,5 La degradación controlada de azúcares C6 mediante ácidos es el proceso más usado para preparar ácido levulínico a partir de biomasa lignocelulósica. Se han estu
Read more