VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND LTD
Future biorefinery concepts
Jussi Manninen, VTT IEA Bioenergy & IETS workshop on 'The role of industrial biorefineries in a low carbon economy', Gothenburg, 16 May 2017
26/05/17 2
What should biomass be used for?
1. Food and feed 2. Products that benefit from the
chemical or physical structure of biomass, like fiber products
3. Products that replace fossil based products, like biobased chemicals
4. Energy
Product markets and profitable production are key requisites for a sustainable bioeconomy!
26/05/17 3
Value added and impact from bioeconomy Multiple use by a market driven approach provides most added value
and the greatest impact
Valu
e/un
it
Total raw material/market potential
New bioproducts and services
Innovative traditional products
Biofuels/Bio oil
Traditional fiber products
Traditional wood products
Heat and power
New bioproducts
€/unit * units = total value
Maximum:
High value Cascade use
High value Multiple use
Low value Extensive use
Circular economy is a key element in future bioeconomy
26/05/17 5
We will soon publish integrated bioeconomy and low-carbon economy scenarios for Finland
Baseline Current structure of the economy. 2030 energy and climate targets included.
Low carbon scenario (2C-CNS) Focus on optimal reduction of GHG emissions. No major changes in industrial structure. Optimistic implementation of new energy technology
Bioeconomy scenario (BioEco) New biobased products from forests, fields, side streams and wastes included.
26/05/17 6
Versatile use of wood for new products → new industrial ecosystems
§ Pulp production flourishes
§ Dissolved pulp products § Lignin and hemicellulose
for products
§ From sawn goods to wood products
§ Integrated 2. generation biorefineries
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100% CNS BioEco
Woo
d co
nsum
ptio
n in
205
0, %
SNG
Liquid fuels
Solid fuel use
Recovery boiler
New fibre products
Paper pulps
Wood products
Energy use
26/05/17 7
2050 2030
Textiles and hygiene products
15
10
5
Glues, chemicals
Wood and paper products
Reinforcers
Plastic replacement
Doubling the value-add of forest bioeconomy in Finland with new innovative products
26/05/17 8
Bioenergy remains as the most important renewable energy source We need to invest in all new technologies to reach the low-carbon targets
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
9002050203020202010
Rene
wab
le p
rimar
y en
ergy
, PJ
Baseline
2°C-CNS
2°C-BioEco
Baseline
2°C-CNS
2°C-BioEco
Baseline
2°C-CNS
2°C-BioEco
Ambient
Waste
BioliquidimportsAgrobio
PulpingliquorWood
Solar
Wind
Hydro0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
802050203020202010
Gre
enho
use
gas
emis
sion
s, M
t
2010
Base
line
2°C
-CN
S
2°C
-Bio
Eco
Base
line
2°C
-CN
S
2°C
-Bio
Eco
Base
line
2°C
-CN
S
2°C
-Bio
Eco
OtherGHGs
Other CO2
TransportCO2
IndustrialsectorsCO2
Energysector CO2
GHG emissions per sector Renewable primary energy
26/05/17 9
Pulp mills are in the heart of the forest bioeconomy – new products will increase in significance
26/05/17 10
Lignocellulosic feedstock
Pulp for paper and board
Cellulose fraction for bio-
ethanol
Other bio-based products
Lignin side-stream Technical lignin
Isolation
Lignocellulosic bio-refinery
Lignin is the major by-product of chemical pulping and emerging biorefineries § ~55 Mt/a kraft lignin* produced by
chemical pulping, of which ~150 kt/a recovered currently**
§ ~1.8Mt/a lignosulphonates recovered** § Substantial amount of lignin estimated to
originate from the 2nd generation bioethanol production
Most of the lignin is burned for energy, and only small fraction is utilised in high-value
products
* Gellerstedt et al (2013) ** Calculated based on several public sources
Bioproduct mills produce material and energy products
26/05/17 11
Pretreatment and hydrolysis
Fermentation Product recovery
Liquid fuels
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Thermal or catalytic fast pyrolysis
Product upgrading
Co-refining with mineral oils Liquid fuels
FAST PYROLYSIS
Gasification Gas cleaning to syngas
Synthesis to liquid fuels
Hydrogen
SNG Methanation
PSA
GASIFICATION
Residues and side-streams into fuels and chemicals
26/05/17 12
Further in the future… § Efficient and selective extraction methods, like ionic liquids and
DES for fractionation of lignocellulose § Synthetic biology for production of efficient strains for production
of chemicals and materials § New, high-yielding biomass sources, such as algae, and CO2 as
a source of carbon with renewable electricity providing the hydrogen
26/05/17 13
26/05/17 14
Conclusions
§ Future biorefineries need to satisfy several criteria § Climate change mitigation § Jobs and growth § Profitability
§ Based on our scenarios for Finland, versatile production of added-value bio-based products and bioenergy products can help achieving both climate and GDP-goals
§ We are already seeing that lignocellulosic biorefineries, like pulp mills, are becoming the backbone of bioeconomy ecosystem
§ Advanced biofuels provide market for investments that can be later utilised for production of biochemicals
§ For future, we need more selective extraction and production technologies, as well as widen our raw material selection. Integration to renewable electricity system can benefit both biorefineries and electricity grid.
26/05/17 15
Top Related